Photography by Kyle Adler
“Evocative and poignant, Drasti's tear-jerking ode to motherhood displays the hard relationship between loving others and self-love.”
~Ishita Mili, Founder and Artistic Director of IMGE Dance
“Paheli: The Riddle of Motherhood” is a powerful, full-length dance theater production that explores the transformation of identity through the deeply emotional and personal journey of motherhood. Thought-provoking and energizing, Paheli—meaning “riddle” in Hindi—invites audiences into the complex, layered experience of becoming, and unbecoming, a mother.
Conceived, choreographed, and performed by Drasti Mody, this intimate solo work weaves together the precision of Indian classical dance—primarily Bharatanatyam and Kathak—with the expressive fluidity of contemporary movement. The result is a rich, visceral narrative that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable.
At its core, Paheli is about the invisible shifts women undergo in motherhood—the quiet unraveling of one self and the becoming of another. It is a love letter to mothers. A reckoning. A reclaiming.
Photography by Kyle Adler
Why This Work Matters
In a world where motherhood is often idealized or invisible, Paheli creates space for the messy, raw, and sacred truths of this journey. The piece brings maternal mental health, identity loss, and cultural expectations to the forefront—sparking conversation, empathy, and healing.
Paheli offers:
A deeply moving narrative grounded in lived experience.
Cultural fusion that bridges Eastern tradition with contemporary relevance.
A call for awareness around maternal mental health in underserved communities.
A platform for dialogue, especially within South Asian and immigrant circles.
What Audiences Are Saying…
“A stunning and important work. Raw, captivating, and unforgettable…”
“A beautiful unraveling of motherhood—like a mirror held up to the parts of ourselves we rarely name. Honest and raw, it reveals the quiet struggle and slow transformation that so often lives in the background. I felt seen in all the messy, in-between things we carry, quietly, every day.”
“Powerful and tender…the piece captured the complexities of motherhood and left a lasting impression on an awestruck audience.”
“The performance brought me to tears. It gave language to what I’ve felt but never shared…”
Bring Paheli to Your Community
Let’s spark a new conversation around motherhood, identity, and healing. To book Paheli, request materials, or inquire about collaborations, reach out:
“Evocative and poignant, Drasti's tear-jerking ode to motherhood displays the hard relationship between loving others and self-love. Her subtle and genuine abhinaya as she looks in the mirror critiquing her changing body drives home every woman's insecurities. I've been fortunate to have seen several iterations of the solo, and with time, Drasti finds a way to go deeper and deeper.”
~Ishita Mili, Founder and Artistic Director of IMGE Dance
“ Drasti portrays a part of motherhood that is both soft and hard, difficult and easy, painful and pain free in its essence; a part that mothers are never eager to share, but are all connected to on a deeply personal level…the use of classical movement and expressions to create a window into a timeless experience for reproductive bodies everywhere is an experience that every witness can relate to... Beyond biology, our innate feminine divine spirit that allows us to mother our circles can be seen and felt in this work on a visceral level.”
~Brinda Guha, a Bessie-nominated artist, choreographer, producer, curator and arts administrator
"Life has a way of whittling you down and putting you in boxes. Drasti's performance dismantled those limitations. In her piece, she showed how any woman can be a multitude of feelings, of desires, of ambitions, especially in motherhood.
Drasti is a consummate artist whose dynamic presence, passionate delivery, and exceptional talent captivate the audience. ”
~Soni Bedi, performing artist with Ameya Performing Arts