A ZigZag Mind: Sonal Mansingh's Dance of Life and Divinity

Sonal Mansingh's Memoir: Weaving Dance, Ecology, and Resilience

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In the vast tapestry of Indian classical dance, few figures command the reverence and dynamism of Dr. Sonal Mansingh.

A Padma Vibhushan awardee, exponent of Odissi and Bharatanatyam, and cultural ambassador, Sonal Mansingh has long embodied the fluidity of artistic expression. Her memoir, 'A ZigZag Mind' a vibrant new edition by Indira Gandhi Mational Centre for the Arts and Vitasta Publishing house in August 2025, is less a autobiography than a kaleidoscopic whirl of introspection-a testament to a life zigzagging between the corporeal and the cosmic.

Spanning 208 pages, this hardcover gem (priced at around Rs1,100) weaves 26 chapters into a narrative that pulses with the rhythm of rivers, the grace of mudras, and the quiet thunder of inner awakening. It's a book for anyone who's ever felt the pull of the divine in the mundane, inviting readers to pirouette through the corridors of Indian aesthetics and ecology. In his very scholarly foreward, Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) writes- " The author ( Sonal Mansingh) beautifully differentiates the three components, namely, naatya, nritya, and nritta. Naatya is based on rasa; nritya is based on bhaava (emotions) and nritta (dance) is based on taala or rhythm and laya (time). At sundown the dance performed by the Lord Shiva is a manifestation of a ecstasy without any purpose."