Cultural Figures · 9 min read

Not Path, but Mārga: Piyal Bhattacharya in the Inner Journey of Exploration (Part 2)

This interview presents a sustained dialogue with Mahāmahopādhyāya Piyal Bhattacharya, founder of Chidākāśa and originator of the concept of Mārga Nāṭya, on the theoretical and practical foundations of his performance methodology grounded in Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra. Framed within the Indian epistemic mode of sākṣātkāra rather than journalistic interrogation, the conversation explores the etymological distinction between mārga and patha to articulate an unfixed, seeker-driven path of artistic pursuit. Central to the discussion is the concept of bhāvānukīrtana, a method of reviewing and re-manifesting inherited tradition rather than inventing novelty, illustrated through Bhattacharya's engagement with Kathakali, Kalaripayattu, and Kūṭiyāṭṭam. The interview further examines the construction of a five-layered pyramidal stage for Saugandhikāharaṇam as an embodiment of trans-epochal consciousness, alongside reflections on metaphysical fullness, the rejection of synthetic materials in performance, artistic independence from institutional grants, and Bhattacharya's ancestral connection to Mahāmahopādhyāya Haridās Siddhāntavāgīśa. The dialogue closes with a meditation on the limits of instruction in transmitting śāstric knowledge.

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Rik Amrit

21 Jul 2026 · · URN: IDEAS202607000083

(Continued from Part 1)

There is another dimension — the metaphysical. In your Nāṭya, one witnesses a movement from the mundane toward the metaphysical. What, then, is the metaphysical in your Nāṭya? What is adhyātma for you?

In truth, I have lived my entire life within the metaphysical. I inhabit the mundane world very little. Rabindranath spoke of the kalpaloka — and it is within that realm that I dwell. My room, my objects, colours, fabrics — everything I arrange differently. This has nothing to do with wealth. There was a time when I had no financial stability, and yet that kalpalokaexisted within me even then.

I never learned how to compromise with the metaphysical. I play the vīṇā. I rarely go outside. I have no friends. Even today, I do not use plastic flowers in my Nāṭya. I

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