In the climactic scene in Methil Devika’s dance documentary Sarpatatwam (2018), she enacts the opening of the chakras and the rising kundalini through the classical Indian dance form Mohiniyattam.
With her body, facial expressions and hands creating poetry in motion, the award-winning artist portrays within a few seconds of film the culmination of spiritual knowledge and practice: the destruction of the individualistic ego and the dissolution of self into the cosmos.
The 30-minute film brings together all of Devika’s passions – philosophy, music, dance and study of the scriptures. Critically acclaimed and even a contender for the Oscars, the film may touch a chord within you, and that won’t be accidental.
“People say my art gives them goosebumps or leaves them elevated. It would not be possible if I had not experienced that state myself; the experience comes first and then the art,” says the Thiruvananthapuram-based dancer, actor and educator, alluding to a divine energy that inhabits the world of artists and creators.
Her performances stand apart not just for Devika’s depth of knowledge about the classical dances but also the experiential insight she brings to them. “I have gone through the dark night of the soul. After an experience, I sink into this abyss – which I call the liminal space between the art being latent and the art materialising. It’s that dark phase when you wait. Creativity is a painful process. Like all artists, I’m very sensitive. But that’s why I create like this. The body has an intelligence even before the mind,” says the 44-year-old dance scholar, who is adjunct professor of dance at York University, Toronto, Canada, and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Kerala.
Devika is a well-known face in Kerala’s media not just for her own scholarly accomplishments and brilliant performances, but also for her famous husband: 64-year-old Malayalam film star and politician Mukesh.
The power couple have been married since 2013; both have children through previous marriages, a 14-year-old son in Devika’s case, and two from Mukesh’s first marriage to leading south Indian film actor Saritha.
Since 2016, Mukesh has been a member of Kerala Legislative Assembly representing Kollam constituency. If Devika’s life wasn’t full enough before, it is certainly packed to the brim now.
Born and raised in Dubai, Devika was wearing ghungroos even as an infant, and began learning Bharatanatyam at the age of four. By the age of 13, she knew she wanted to pursue the classical arts when she grew up.
But, like any other self-respecting Malayali girl who was also good at studies, she made conservative academic choices in college: a Bachelor’s in commerce from Palakkad, and an MBA from University of Madras. But her choice of location was strategic: “I wanted to study Kuchipudi dance in Chennai!”
After graduation, Devika got a job through campus placement at a television channel’s head office in Thiruvananthapuram but, three months down, she knew being a producer was not where her destiny lay. Instead, the city being a hub of arts offered her ample opportunity to be a dancer and performer.