Sonnet Of Samsara

Sonnet of Samsara responds to the pressing challenges of environmental crises, climate emergencies, conflicts, and societal divisions. Drawing from myths, memories, lived experiences, and imagination, the work reflects on the human journey—its cycles of discovery, transformation, and renewal.

Commissioned by the Serendipity Arts Festival and produced by Attakkalari in collaboration with Kinetika Design Studio, London, with support from the British Council, this powerful new production explores Samsara as an allegory for the compulsions of worldly pursuits, the karmic cycles of existence, and the themes of wandering and transmigration.

The performance intertwines global themes and dynamically adapts to the unique characteristics and histories of landscapes or sites, engaging with the experiences, memories, myths, and aspirations of the communities that inhabit them. It employs rituals, stylised movements, and everyday gestures set to an evocative musical score and majestic live percussion. The narrative style of Sonnet of Samsara explores how myths preserve collective memories and reveal erasures.

At DakshinaChitra, the performance enters into a vivid dialogue with the site’s architectural display of craft and material heritage. Here, space and performance converge, bridging tangible traditions with the intangible dimensions of identity, memory, and lived experience.

For more information on the production, visit www.attakkalari.org/sos

Transforming Lives Through Arts, Education and Culture

Celebrating 25 years of pioneering work in the performing arts, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts stands as India’s premier institution for contemporary dance. Attakkalari was established in 2001 in Bengaluru to foster the development of contemporary cultural expression in India, particularly in the realm of performing arts.

Today, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts is internationally recognized as a leading educational and cultural organization in South Asia. Guided by its core philosophy of “Traditional Physical Wisdom, Innovation and Technology,” Attakkalari seamlessly integrates India’s rich physical and performance traditions with global contemporary somatic practices, digital media, and emerging technologies.

Through a range of visionary and strategic programs, Attakkalari has made a bold and lasting impact on the contemporary dance landscape in India. Its initiatives continue to inspire and shape the work of artists and organizations across the country, setting benchmarks in education, innovation, and creative excellence.

For more information, visit: www.attakkalari.org | www.attakkalaribiennial.org

Founder and artistic director of Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Jayachandran Palazhy, is an internationally sought-after dancer, choreographer and pedagogue at the forefront of the contemporary movement arts scene in India.

Palazhy directs many of Attakkalari’s landmark initiatives such as the Attakkalari India Biennial, the Attakkalari Diploma in Movement Arts and Pedagogy, the internationally acclaimed Attakkalari Dance Company and the seminal NAGARIKA project, an interactive digital documentation series on Indian physical and performance traditions. Over the years Palazhy has helped to mould the careers of many contemporary dance artists in India and continues to guide budding artists through the Incubation Centre for the Arts and Media (ICAM) at Attakkalari. He has also been a consultant and mentor for artist residencies and festivals nationally and internationally. He is a visiting faculty at a few universities and participates as a speaker in conferences and seminars around the world.