What did the childhood of goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvathy, and their male counterparts Vishnu and Shiva, look like? Matangi Nritya Kshetra’s Bharatanatyam production featuring 78 children sought to answer this question when it was staged on Friday, 22 December 2023. The performance imagined the deities as eight-year-olds, exploring their world before they grew into their divine roles.

The story unfolded in Swargada Shaale, a fictitious school set in the heavens. Much like a Hogwarts for Hindu deities, it was no ordinary school. Here, young Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvathy, Vishnu and Shiva honed their divine powers and prepared to become dutiful gods and goddesses. In enchanted labs they created human beings and refined them until perfect, chose their vahanas (vehicles), and studied lessons on history and the eternal battle between good and evil.

For this unique production by Matangi Nritya Kshetra, Astu created the branding that carried the essence of the show’s playful imagination and mythological depth. The challenge was to translate the idea of goddesses and gods as children into a visual language that felt both magical and contemporary, while still rooted in the cultural gravitas of Bharatanatyam.

To achieve this, Astu experimented with AI to design Disney-like childhood versions of the lead deities and wove them into the poster artwork. In 2023, when AI was still in its infancy, this approach felt both pioneering and whimsical, offering audiences a fresh entry point into the story. The branding extended the performance’s core idea — blending tradition with imagination — and gave the production an identity that resonated with children, parents, and art lovers alike.