In an interview to mid-day in August 2015, Mallika Sarabhai discussed her relationship with her danseuse mother and a dream called Darpana. Select excerpts
Mrinalini and Vikram Sarabhai at their wedding
On her relationship with Mrinalini Sarabhai
I was never a direct student of Amma's but started working with her when I joined the Company [Darpana] in late 1976. It was as though I could read and interpret her every thought. The first time we performed together was in a performance called Mira, where she choreographed for the two of us. I played the external Mira, she the internal. It was as if we were a one person.
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Mrinalini and Mallika Sarabhai
On Mrinalini establishing Darpana Academy
Darpana was established by my father and space scientist Vikram Sarabhai and Amma in Ahmedabad. Initially, my dad handled the administration while Amma was the artistic head. For a while, it was running on autopilot. I took over in 1977. Various forms including theatre, dance and puppetry co-existed at Darpana. It's an arts center where the arts meet society, to inform, educate and transform.
Read Story: Mallika Sarabhai to make a film on mother Mrinalini's life
I realised that we had so many excellent teachers each of whom believed in using their medium for helping better society. Kailash Pandya was doing it with theatre; Meher Contractor with puppetry and Amma with dance. We had so much talent and dedication under one roof. It was important to organize and channelise it so that we could put up acts that included diverse mediums to bring about change. In 1980, we established Darpana for Development (D for D) to focus attention on creating behavioural change communication. Government departments, ministries and other non-government agencies began partnering with D for D to educate the public in issues of health, education and women empowerment. Over the next two decades, D for D became the fastest growing segment of Darpana.
The challenges of running Darpana with Mrinalini
Initially, funding was a major issue. People told us they didn't want to spend money on 'naach gaana'. There is statistical evidence to prove that using art to create social awareness is far more effective than advertising.
On the documentary on Mrinalini and her work, Mrinalini Sarabhai: The Artist and her art; 2012
Amma started using classical styles to discuss issues that bothered her as early as 1949. She was the first classical dancer to do it. Her work touches dowry deaths, Dalit and tribal issues, violence and the destruction of environment. The film [by Yadavan Chandran] traces this journey and for it, we recreated some of her seminal pieces interweaving conversations with her. Yadavan has placed the entire film in a black box setting, integrating Amma into each of the pieces, although she is not dancing in them. In a sense, he too adds to the choreography by allowing audiences to see aspects of the dance they would normally not see from that perspective.
–Suprita Mitter
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