Dakshinachitra's open-air amphitheatre under the starlit night sky overawed the senses and every nuance seemed magnified many times over. The chiseled beauty of the dancer only stood out in sharper focus in such a surreal setting. Malavika's Nrittanjali in Amrithavarshini and Keeravani ragam, Adi talam, delighted with its quick rhythm and geometry. Co-ordination between the dancer and the wing support added to the perfection of gait and precision of movement. Shila katha inspired by the Khajuraho sculptures and had a vassikasajja nayika 'awaiting her lover, like the Earth waits for rain...' in the composition 'Marivizhai kaathirukkum'. This was preceeded by a short piece on Kamadeva heralding the advent of spring with flower arrows.The two short pieces were penned by S.V.Seshadri and set in Kalyani and Behag ragams by Meera Seshadri.

Malavika concluded with the real life story of Thimmakka, in 'Itcha', the story of a woman longing for a child, and how she satisfies that urge by planting and nurturing banyan trees in her village. The lyrics and music by S.V.Sehadri and Meera Seshadri in ragamalika added to the poignancy of the tale. Malavika was still and intense in her portrayal, but tends to distract with her expansive gestures and stances. Her superlative orchestra seemed to foretell every movement and mood accurately. They consisted of Bhagyalakshmi, vocalist, A.S.Murali, nattuvanar, Sikhamani, violinist, and P.K.Ranganath, mridangist.

Though behind schedule, Pandit Jasraj took his time tuning, and once he started there was no stopping the flow. He kept the audience enthralled with his masterly Raag Durbari followed by a couple of semi classical numbers. Though his treatment was not weighty, his effortless switching through the three octaves of the musical scale was awe-inspiring. His disciple Gargi with a gorgeous but not-so-versatile voice, Abhijit Banerjee on the tabla, and Mukund Patkar on the harmonium accompanied him. The hour was late, but the heart was full.