My contribution to the Incredible India Collaboration hosted by the talented Tina Scott.

Nataraja (the lord of dance), is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer. His dance style is called Tandava which is described as a vigorous dance that symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death.

The classical form of the depiction appears in stone reliefs, as at the Ellora Caves and the Badami Caves, by around the 6th-century. He dances, legs bent in the energy of his movements, long matted tresses flying out in lively strands due to the wild abandon of a passionate dancer. Nataraja dances within a circle of flames (prabha mandala), which symbolically represent the circle of life. The lord is holding Agni (fire) in his left back hand, the front hand in gajahasta mudra, the front right hand with a wrapped snake that is in abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness) and the back hand holding a musical instrument called Damaru. His body is lean and supple like a dancer; yet the frame exudes the power of a God. The Nataraja stands proud in the constellation of Indian art, the myriad details flaming several secondary literature such as poems detailing its theological significance. A very difficult work in any medium; yet here is probably the first ever obeisance in fondant paid to one of the most recognized and revered art in the world. Thandava, from Cake Canvas – happiness in a box