Juggling Bureaucracy, Dance, and Book Writing: Padma Shri Shovana Narayan Launches New Book on 'Speaking Sculptures'

New Delhi: In the quiet galleries of ancient temples and the living rhythm of a Kathak dancer’s feet, Padma Shri Dr. Shovana Narayan has spent decades listening. On a recent evening in the capital, those silent conversations found voice as she launched her deeply researched new book, Speaking Sculptures: Karanas in Kathak.

The book is no ordinary scholarly volume. It is the culmination of a lifelong quest -- one that bridges weathered stone carvings across the Indo-Gangetic plains and Vindhyan region with the vibrant, breathing tradition of Kathak. Through meticulous study of sculptures dating from the Indus Valley Civilization to the 17th century, Dr. Narayan reveals how the 108 karanas -- the foundational units of coordinated movement described in Bharat Muni’s Nāṭyaśāstra -- echo powerfully in North Indian classical dance, challenging long-accepted narratives about its origins.

Far from emerging solely from medieval Mughal courts, Kathak, the book argues, carries the continuous thread of ancient Indian dance theory. Sculptures that were never intended as mere dance manuals become eloquent visual records: frozen gestures of deities, celestial beings, musicians, and dancers that preserve posture, costume, gesture, and even musical traditions. By placing these archaeological treasures alongside textual descriptions and contemporary photographs of Kathak performers, Dr. Narayan invites readers to witness a living dialogue between past and present.

“For a long time, I wanted to understand how the movement vocabulary of Kathak could be read through India’s sculptural heritage,” Dr. Narayan reflected.

“This work is an attempt to bring together the evidence preserved in sculptures, the descriptions in the Nāṭyaśāstra, and the living tradition of Kathak,” she said.

As a young dancer, she accepted prevailing stories about her art form. But questions persisted -- gentle yet insistent companions that followed her across temple complexes, libraries, and ruins worldwide.

“I stood in front of sculptures reading positions,” she recalled.

“Dance leaves its imprints in stone. Texts may be interpreted, oral narratives evolve, but a sculpture belongs to its age and bears evidence of its civilisation. For forty years, I have observed and listened to the sculptures and this book is an outcome of that,” she said.

The launch event, held in the heart of cultural New Delhi, was graced by eminent figures including Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi; Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member-Secretary of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA); and Dr. Bharat Gupt, Vice Chairman of the National School of Drama. Dr. Purecha praised the book for opening “an important dialogue through archaeological analysis and cultural practices.” Dr. Joshi highlighted its authenticity in an age of artificial imagery: “This book has all the original images. In this era of AI, this book does not have a single AI image.” He also advocated passionately for integrating the Nāṭyaśāstra into school and college curricula, noting its broader relevance beyond performing arts.

The evening came alive with a special dance presentation by Dr. Narayan’s disciples. They embodied the karanas, seamlessly weaving Sanskrit nomenclature with Kathak’s intricate rhythms and movements -- a living demonstration of the book’s central thesis.

Beyond her scholarly and artistic achievements, Dr. Shovana Narayan stands as a luminous example of harmonious living. A Padma Shri awardee who has represented India’s cultural heritage globally, she has gracefully balanced a demanding career in bureaucracy with her roles as a celebrated Kathak exponent, guru, and author.

“I have loved doing all of it,” she says with quiet conviction.

“One did not come in the way of the other. I have been able to strike a balance between all my choices and interests. I had been equally passionate about bureaucracy as dance and writing. So, there was no conflict ever,” she said.

In Speaking Sculptures, the stones truly speak -- not as relics of a distant past, but as enduring witnesses to a dance tradition that flows unbroken through centuries. Through Dr. Shovana Narayan’s eyes, readers are invited to see not frozen figures in temples, but the eternal rhythm of a civilisation that continues to move, breathe, and inspire.