Jogati Nrithya

It begins with the curse.

Renukadevi was condemned by her own husband and dissolved into a river. She emerged as Yellamma: Goddess, Mother, the one who holds those whom the world has abandoned. The Jogatis are her earthly devotees. Initiated at her temple, they carry the goddess with them in the Koda, a sacred pot adorned with neem and flowers, and in their bodies, their movement, their songs. 

Jogati Nrithya is their tradition. Bhakti in practice. A living intersection of devotion, gender, caste, and community. The rhythm of the Chowdi is meditative, trance-inducing and deeply feminine. The sway of the body is devotion, the haunting stuti geethas are inseparable from the movement. The specific drape of the sari, the honey and kumkum, the three types of muttu — these are deeksha, initiation. 

This evening traces the myth, illuminates the form, and culminates in an uninterrupted Gondali where the audience gathers in a circle, with the goddess and her devotees.

This is the seventh presentation in the BIC Janapada series.

BIC Jaanapada is a bi-monthly (once in two months) series celebrating Karnataka’s folk traditions through the lens of regional identity and cultural preservation. Curated in collaboration with Tvarita Arts Collective India, the program combines scholarly discourse with live performances to explore the deep connections between geography and artistic expression. Through demonstrations, performances, and academic discussions, each session examines how landscape and local culture have shaped these distinct artistic practices.

In collaboration with: