TYEB MEHTA Bearing Weight FEATURED EVENTS

Anchored in TYEB MEHTA’s seminal Diagonal series, Virodhabhas: The Paradox of Wholeness explores the idea that contradiction is not the opposite of wholeness, but one of its essential conditions. Through visual art, music, and dance, the programme reflects on opposing states, including tension and harmony, logic and paradox, devotion and rebellion, and longing and fulfilment. Together, these forces shape human experience.

The evening begins with an illustrated presentation by Roobina Karode, Artistic Director and Chief Curator, KNMA, examining TYEB MEHTA’s powerful visual language. Focusing on the recurring motif of the diagonal, the presentation considers how the artist transformed rupture, conflict, and instability into a dynamic visual structure that holds opposing forces in balance.

The programme concludes with a Kathak abhinaya recital by Dr Navina Jafa, directed by Dr Maya Kulkarni. Drawing upon a poem by the medieval Maithili poet Vidyapati, the performance explores emotional and spiritual contrasts through gesture, expression, and movement. It evokes the simultaneous presence of separation and union, desire and restraint, devotion and vulnerability, reflecting on paradox as a condition of both artistic expression and lived experience.

Virodhabhas: The Paradox of Wholeness invites audiences to encounter contradiction not as discord, but as a generative principle that underlies artistic practice, philosophical inquiry, and human experience.

Light refreshments and soft beverages will be served following the programme.

About the Artists:

Dr Navina Jafa is an award-winning Kathak soloist, cultural historian, and recipient of the Sanatan Sanskriti Award (2024). Trained under Pandit Birju Maharaj and mentored by Kapila Vatsyayan, her practice bridges performance, heritage, and the visual arts through research, interpretation, and artistic innovation.

Dr. Maya Kulkarni is a dancer, dramaturge, and choreographer, described by The New York Times as a “dancer’s dancer.”

While you’re here, explore KNMA’s ongoing exhibition
TYEB MEHTA Bearing Weight (with the lightness of being).