NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

In an unusual memoir, dancer and actor Mallika Sarabhai writes about how her path to wellness has been as eventful as her life

- Poulomi Das

At 69, the multi-hyphenate Mallika Sarabhai is certain of one thing: she isn't interested in legacies. Over a Zoom video call from Ahmedabad, she talks to us about her favourite Sufi poem, 'The Conference of the Birds'. "It's a metaphorical journey that a set of birds undertake when they are told they have to find their king, the Simorgh. During this long, arduous journey, one of the valleys they cross is the Valley of Realisation, which underlines how small all of us are; how one is just a blink in time," she says.

"And if one is a blink, why should one think of legacy?" It seems odd to hear that from someone who belongs to a family of legacy. Sarabhai was born to legendary classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and Vikram Sarabhai, the Indian physicist and 1 space scientist responsible for pioneering space research and nuclear power in the country. In fact, Sarabhai's own legacy cultivated in over four decades of public life feels all-encompassing: an accomplished dancer, she has also immersed herself in an illustrious acting career, starring in several regional and international productions including playing Draupadi in Peter Brook's stage adaptation of The Mahabharata-while directing, writing and producing on the side.