"I Know it's all about inner beauty, but I think I am lucky I am beautiful. I mean... have you seen my brother?" quips Ashavari Majumdar, speaking into the mic, before she portrays a sequence of sibling rivalry between Surpanakha and Ravana with swift kathak movements. You wouldn't mistake her attire for anything but a kathak costume; complete with ghunghroos, churidar and a flowy kurta, matched aesthetically with an off-shoulder top. There's the tabla, sarangi and other musical accompaniments, but there are no Braj or Sanskrit songs. That's Majumdar's idiom of kathak — contemporary and accessible.

This weekend, the Auroville-based artiste, empanelled in the Indian Council for Cultural Relations as a soloist, is bringing Surpanakha to Mumbai. And as an extension of her work towards taking the classical dance form to new audiences, she will present the piece at two intimate performance venues. But the Ramayana hasn't always been her favourite read.