Saturday 21 September 2019

Book Review - The Last Dance: A lost opportunity - Madhur Gupta


The first thought that strikes after reading The Last Dance is of the brutal violence that spills over the entire extant of the book. From the political rebellions, murders, gurus slapping disciples, gurus raping disciples, the books seems to be dripping with gory details of humankind's wild side, more suited for a thriller than for a subject of classical arts.

The primary plot commences with the protagonist Ayla's family being caught in midst of the Kurdish rebellion, her grandfather getting executed, her family imposing self-exile running away to India, and their initial struggles of settling down in a foreign land. Another parallel storyline running is that of Chandrashekar, son of a renowned Bharatanatyam guru in Thanjavur, estranged from his father for reasons one can't fathom, wanting to make his own name in the industry and like Ayla's family self-imposing an exile and coming to Delhi. The book attempted to explore the complex relationship a Guru-shishya share between them, but it seems the writer who is not from the arts scene chose to be extravagantly surrealistic and ended up creating some incredible scenarios.

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