![Indus Valley Dancing Girl: Hallucinations of an Artifact [Feb 14,15]](/content/images/size/w320/format/webp/2026/02/rhythmic-gymnastics-svgrepo-com.svg)
She is only about 10 centimeters tall, but she casts a very long shadow.She's barely 10 centimetres tall. One hand on her hip, the other draped with bangles. For centuries, we've called her the "Dancing Girl" — but what if she was a warrior? What if she was a goddess? What if she was just… herself?
Hallucinations of an Artifact takes this tiny bronze figurine from the Indus Valley civilization (c. 2300–1750 BCE) and does something radical: it lets her talk back. Through dance and artificial intelligence, choreographer Mandeep Raikhy and performers Akanksha Kumari and Manju Sharma bring the Dancing Girl to life at the Kochi Biennale in Fort Kochi — not to settle the debate about who she is, but to blow it wide open.
The figurine has lived many lives already. Pakistan has claimed her as theirs, since she was excavated from Mohenjo-daro. India's Council of Historical Research rebranded her as the Hindu goddess Parvati. She's been turned into propaganda — labelled "Mother" at an art exhibition, dressed up in pink skin and new clothes as a mascot at the International Museum Expo.
Everyone wants to own her story. Nobody asks what she thinks.
That's the provocation at the heart of this work. Art historian Naman Ahuja reminds us that every artifact is shaped by the eyes looking at it. The Dancing Girl is a mirror — she reflects whatever narrative we bring to her. This performance disrupts those neat, linear stories. Through moving bodies and AI, the figurine hallucinates new possibilities, refusing to be pinned down.
Akanksha Kumari and Manju Sharma — both accomplished performers with international experience — become vessels through which the artifact breathes, perspires, and transforms. Mandeep Raikhy, known for bold, boundary-pushing works like Queen-size (2016), brings his characteristic irreverence to this piece.
The result? A performance that asks uncomfortable questions about ownership, identity, and the stories we impose on the past. Details below,
Join them at Feb 14,15 at 5:30–6:30 PM
SMS Hall Performance: Hallucinations of an Artifact By Akanksha Kumari, Manju Sharma, and Mandeep Raikhy. Reach early and get tickets. Usually around 200 INR
Other things to do on Feb 14 & 15, 2026 in Fort Kochi,
shemeer
Ginger
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