Kala-Mandapa: Tantric Dance

Kala-Mandapa: Tantric Dance
Hotel Vajra
Kathmandu, Nepal
October 14, 2008

This week’s theme is Settling In. List topping events of the week include submitting my U.S. presidential write-in-ballot; reunions; homemade meals; betting at cards; a quiet Thamel--as Dashain came to a close; cooler weather; yoga DVDs on the hotel roof; drinks at the ultra-chic Tamas Spa Lounge, Thamel; and finding by-the-kilo laundry deal. Yes, indeed, it has been a full week! However, the sharable highlight of the week had to be Tantric Dance on a full moon night. Look out!

After a bit of haggling with Thamel cabs we set off to Hotel Vajra, which hosts Kala-Mandapa Tantric Dance performances every Tuesday night at 7:15 pm sharp. It may be the only performance in Nepal that happens on time so if you decide to follow my lead, break away from lackadaisical “it’s Nepal” time and revert to western punctuality.

Dancers perform between four and six moving meditations for an intimate group of perhaps 20 attendees, half of whom sit on the floor at the dancers’ feet. The event is held in Hotel Vajra’s rooftop Great Pagoda Hall. The performance hall is itself a work of art; Tibetan paintings cover the peaked ceiling, while lace-like lamps light the room, and flowers and candles give it a fresh, cherished ambiance.

Settling into my pillow, legs crossed in front of a tray containing Hibiscus flowers and an oil lamp, I listened to the host’s barely intelligible introduction to the many meanings behind Tantric Dance. Following a speedy guided meditation, three musicians opened with cymbals, a harmonium, drum, and singing. What followed were three solo performances and a closing duet performance of Durga’s defeat over the boastful water buffalo demi-god.

Throughout the night, traditionally dressed dancers exhibited a myriad of mudras—meaningful hand gestures—balancing poses, ferocious stomping and tongue displays, optic drama, and graceful fluttering. The performance was done expertly and the only draw back was that we weren’t allowed to take any photographs or clap for fear of disturbing the dancers’ meditative state. Following the performance, the dancers mingled with audience members on the rooftop terrace where, under the light of a full moon, we sipped milk tea and snapped photos of nearby Swayambhu. Pretty Magical!