“Usually, Shiva is considered as the lord of dance, also known as Nataraj. But there are several mentions of Krishna as a dancing figure in our literature and art as well. And it is this concept of Natvar Krishna, the dancer and the actor that I wanted to explore through art in this exhibition,” explains Dr Harsha Dehejia, the curator of the exhibition, titled When Krishna Dances.

Bronze sculpture of Krishna

The concept of Natvar Krishna is seen in several stories and scenes from the life of the deity on earth, such as ones where the gopis or the female cow herders would dance with Krishna when he played tunes on his flute, (known as Krishna Leela) or when he performs the tandav on the hood of the mythical vicious snake Kaliya to remove him from the river Jamuna.