When Bhaskaracharya, the great 12th century astronomer and mathematician, taught his daughter Lilavati, mathematics through shlokas verses and ended up writing a book on mathematics, also called Lilavati, little did he know that a subject so dry as maths could inspire so sensitive an art form like dance in the 20th century. But this seemingly impossible event was made possible by Odissi danseuse, Jhelum Paranjpe. And it is no coincidence that it is perhaps related to the fact that the dancer is also a professor of mathematics. And this city-based artist along with her troupe will solve mathematical problems on stage on March 8, International Women’s Day, in a ballet titled, Lilavati.

Paranjpe executed the idea of presenting mathematics through dance for the first time in a Math Olympiad held in Mumbai about two years ago. She had used one of Bhaskaracharya’s shlokas then. The idea of presenting a full length ballet on his Lilavati remained with her ever since. quot;This 12th century book, to me, is a fine wayof teaching and learning mathematics in a very playful manner. This is exactly what the ballet aims to put across through demonstrations,quot; says Paranjpe.

This really is a very simple thought and it may be logic that has gone to make the ballet exactly like its composer envisioned it to be an exercise of posing and solving mathematical problems. An example: a peacock is perched on a pillar. A snake slithers towards the pillar. The peacock swoops down diagonally and pounces on the snake. A mathematical problem is posed on these actions as a triangle is formed. And the problem is put across through dance.

Another problem deals with the length of the shadow of a pawn formed due to the light of an oil lamp, placed at a particular distance from the chess board. quot;The solution to the problems is put across through dance as well. Lilavati is full of such mathematical problems that lend themselves well to dance. It excites both, the dancer and the math teacher in me,quot; says Paranjpe. She has selected from 261shlokas, written in the book, for the one hour 20 minute long ballet.

But converting the shlokas into a dance form was not as simple as it might appear. Paranjpe needed the creative help of a Sanskrit scholar, Vasant Bapat, and a mathematician, Dr Jayant Narlikar, to check her own interpretations of Lilavati. quot;We have not used any other material, other than the text of the book for the ballet’s script. Even the traditional Ganesh vandana has been composed on a shloka from the book,quot; says Paranjpe.The music for the ballet — a combination of western and Indian tunes — has been composed by noted musician Anand Modak. The highlight of the evening, however, will be Pandit Kelucharan Mohapatra’s son, Ratikant Mohapatra, in Bhaskaracharya’s role.

Paranjpe’s novel intellectual exercise is part of the quot;different kinds of cultural programmesquot; that her dance institution, the Smitalay which was founded in the fond memory of late Bollywood actress Smita Patil, stages every year on Women’s Day.

Lilavati, on March 8at 6.30 pm at Nehru Centre Worli. Passes will be available from March 5 onwards at Nehru Centre.