tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53243942099337109792024-03-16T14:28:06.965+05:30Narthaki Blog - Gateway to the world of DancePlease provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed. Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.comBlogger1713125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-45405804860733217002024-03-14T22:40:00.006+05:302024-03-14T22:46:32.159+05:30Profile - On the 17th Death Anniversary of Sushil Dasgupta (1923-2008) - Bharat Sharma<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/images/prof316a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/images/prof316a.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br /><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></b></div><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">FROM NARENDRA SHARMA ARCHIVES</b><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">From time immemorial, Music and Dance have an intimate relationship - one lives on the other in performing arts. In the 20th century, composers and choreographers shared a tenuous relationship in stimulating fresh trends in dance-making - both in the East and the West.</span> </p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">This post looks into a particular thread of music-making which evolved on Indian sub-continent, within the expansive 'nationalist/post-colonial' discourse, based on Indian instruments, voice culture, 'swara' of 'raga', intricate 'tala' system, and deeply embedded within the ethos of indigenous melodies and orchestration. A kind of 'new tradition' came into being, emanating from the ingenuity of their creators. In particular I would like to project the work of Sushil Dasgupta - a music composer par excellence - who became the longest collaborator of choreographer Narendra Sharma, with beginnings that can be tracked back to 1946.</span></p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/profl316.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-41429043186513977422024-03-13T11:38:00.002+05:302024-03-13T11:41:52.092+05:30When the artiste and the art become one entity in dialogue - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/images/tlm177a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/images/tlm177a.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Dance performances are a dime a dozen. But how often, while watching a performance, does one experience a feeling of being transported to another level of consciousness, where one has for a few moments, lost a feeling of oneself? This was the state-of-being I experienced watching Malavika Sarukkai dance in the </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Angan</i><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> of her home, before a small gathering of friends. To review such a performance would almost be an affront, for what was an act of worship and thanksgiving at the altar of the Dance muse, for having bestowed on the dancer's person, the benediction of mental and physical vigor to pursue with dedication, the dance for fifty two years - and for still being able to partake of its richness. I am more interested here in the process of what has transpired in the person of the dancer during these long years, with regard to her relationship with the dance.</span><p></p><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/taalam177.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-84360567809042163892024-03-10T14:51:00.001+05:302024-03-10T14:51:02.979+05:30Article - Reappraising Bharatanatyam for physical, psychological and psychosocial benefits - Krithika V Balaji<b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Abstract</b><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This article reappraises Bharatanatyam from a therapeutic point of view, intending to explore the benefits it offers in physical, psychological and psycho-social realms to the practitioner. The aim is to derive useful insights on employing Bharatanatyam as a therapeutic dance form to aspirants seeking benefits in this regard. The insights can serve as a benchmark to trainers who seek to expand the scope of the dance form to a therapeutic plane. While mainstream research focuses on the aesthetic and artistic features of Bharatanatyam, often the therapeutic benefits offered by this dance form that is comparable to yoga and other forms of wellness therapies are overlooked and under-researched. This research is a narrative exploration of the therapeutic dimensions of Bharatanatyam.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Introduction</b><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In India, the land renowned for culture and heritage, Bharatanatyam is considered as a representation of the ancient culture - connected with sculptures, music, poetry, scriptures, theatre and spirituality. Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest dance forms in India originating from the Southern part of the nation. This art form, as described in the </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Natya Shastra</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> [1] (200 BCE), is an aesthetic and divine art which is revered for ages for its authenticity and spirituality. Bharatanatyam is a dance form which evolved from the </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Natya Veda</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> [2] and has a spiritual dimension to it. The </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Natya Veda</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, as per the Hindu mythology, was imparted to the world by </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Lord Brahma </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">[3] as a </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">kreedaneeyatha</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> [4] or a plaything that could entertain as well as impart the sense of values implying its spiritual nature in the Indian culture. Bharatanatyam is a celebration of the mind, body and spirit, similar to all the other Indian classical forms. Anyone can learn and perform this art devoid of religion, caste or creed. It is a</span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> Darshan</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> - a philosophy on its own. It is always evolving and timeless. (Rele, K. 2018).</span> </p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/art541.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-34398689139231008722024-03-09T12:23:00.000+05:302024-03-09T12:23:00.842+05:30Panchabhutam! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm49f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="550" height="241" src="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm49f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">JGPAC sounds most unlike a dance music place. But it is. A college of performing arts, no less. In Ahmedabad, near Navrangpura area, beyond Gujarat University campus. The college architecture is nothing unusual in the landscape of mushrooming businesses in this city, now resembling a mini Manhattan. I've been visiting Amdavad (as locals call it) for 40 plus years now. It started with Paldi circle for most and ended at Ellis Bridge. There was one hotel those days called Karnavati and one dance institution of national importance - Darpana, initiated by the most gracious lady in dance field I've met in my 60+ conscious years - Mrinalini Sarabhai. What an epitome of goodness, on stage and off stage. She was a close friend of our family. My mother's guru vidwan Muthukumaran Pillai was her guru too. In fact, he went and helped start the first Bharatanatyam classes in that city in 1950s when Darpana was set up. He stayed there 2 years to help Mrinalini Amma find her feet and returned only as food and dusty city of textiles made him sick. As it makes me! Every time I've been to that city, I've fallen ill. 9/10 times. Something's in the air. Last I was there, I caught Covid. Two years I kept safe in the South and even Delhi trips but Gujus are very democratic people who follow no rules. No one wore masks inflight too! One can see it in city traffic and people's way of life. Shouting, talking loudly, laughing, not taking anything seriously except their accounts, stocks and shares; they are the Punjabis of West India.</span> </p><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/dm49.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-88707657976952177732024-03-05T15:11:00.005+05:302024-03-05T15:11:36.385+05:30Kathak draped in a different sensibility - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/images/tlm176d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="567" height="280" src="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/images/tlm176d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The program at Narthaki Studio was called </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Leela</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, dedicated to Anita Ratnam's late mother, a driving force encouraging Jigyasa Giri's dance urges, while having to deal with Kathak finding a place in Madras - the land of Bharatanatyam. Late Sohanlal from the Jaipur gharana and Maya Rao (from whom Jigyasa imbibed a great deal), a student of Shambhu Maharaj, did settle in South India propagating Kathak. But what Jigyasa Giri, whose initial training was under late Krishna Kumar Dharwa of Benares gharana, referred to in the program as </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Dakshina gharana Kathak</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, was in reality Kathak with a sensibility catering to South Indian audiences. There was none of the high pitched </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">jawab/saval</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, tabla versus </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">peir ka kaam</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> rhythmic razzmatazz, nor frequent sojourns to the microphone with announcements and </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">parhant</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, nor spinning of marathon countless pirouettes - all of which virtuosity, is a legitimate feature of this dance form. Instead, what Jigyasa, who since 2001 has been teaching students in her school in Chennai, </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Devaniya </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">established in 2009 has achieved, is in bringing to her dance an enhanced texture of flowing grace and poetic delicacy, without compromising on its classicism and technical exactitude.</span></div><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/taalam176.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-61266505265953081152024-03-03T11:46:00.004+05:302024-03-03T11:46:33.246+05:30Book Review - Mohan Khokar - The Father figure of Indian Dance History - Dr. Uma Anantani<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/bookrev/images/bkrev61b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://narthaki.com/info/bookrev/images/bkrev61b.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It is always difficult and complicated to apply an appropriate, praiseworthy epithet to Prof. Mohan Khokar. He was the one who had travelled wide and far in search of dance and dance material. And now in the year 2024, commemorating his birth centenary, a book titled 'Mohan Khokar - The Father figure of Indian Dance History' published by Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts and edited and compiled by Ashish Mohan Khokar, has 'travelled' for its launch and will continue to do so through many big cities of India and abroad; this will reinforce and concretise the dance history of past many centuries and create an awareness among readers of generations to come.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The tour itinerary in association with IGNCA of this extremely attractive compilation in 300 pages, this state-of-the-art volume began with its inaugural release on 30th December 2023 at Kalakshetra, Chennai, followed by release on 7th February, 11th February and 12th February 2024, at Mumbai, Vadodara and Ahmedabad respectively. At Mumbai, the release event was organised in association with Shri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts Sangeetha Sabha and Ministry of Culture, GoI; at Vadodara, it was in association with Anjali Memorial Committee and the Dance Department, Faculty of Performing Arts, MS University and at Ahmedabad with JG College of Performing Arts. For every release, the mesmerising feature was screening of a short film on Mohan Khokar and his works and interesting talks by practitioners and scholars on dance and dance history.</span> </p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/bookrev/bkrev61.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-83965495048995054692024-03-02T14:00:00.000+05:302024-03-02T14:00:07.083+05:30Article - Response to T. M. Krishna's Opinion article - Jeetendra Hirschfeld<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In his latest </span><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-loss-of-bharatanatyam-musics-nattuvanar-origins-and-aesthetic-2889678" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">opinion piece</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> (11 February 2024), singer T. M. Krishna again reminds us of the historical and ongoing injustices within Bharatanatyam art, focusing on its appropriation by the Brahmin community in the 20th century. In his article, T. M. Krishna adeptly blends academic discourse, employing terms like "rupture" and scholarly vocabulary ending in "-ness", with accessible English. Unlike many dance scholars who employ intricate terminology and convoluted sentence structures, the singer opts for clarity, potentially ensuring his message resonates with many. He also appears to acknowledge his caste privilege by using the inclusive "we" in his piece.</span></p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">T. M. Krishna raises valid concerns regarding the homogenisation of Bharatanatyam aesthetics on the 21st-century stage and the distinct "Carnatic-ness" of nattuvanar singers compared to the mechanised approach of contemporary singers, including his own (and I guess his disciples). While some of his points are well-founded, it is significant to note that historians universally recognise the fallacy of single-cause explanations for historical events. Countless causes converge to shape an event, leading to multitudes of consequences branching out from it. But as is often the case, the repeated mention of certain historical truths becomes ingrained through incessant repetition, leading to unquestioning belief.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">What caught my attention is when T. M. Krishna says: "When I hear the great nattuvanars or dancers belonging to the same community singing even a flash of a raga or line, I hear this Carnatic-ness. It is in the way they pronounce the syllable, move the raga, articulate the svara."</span><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/art540.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-27417922210750928382024-03-01T00:02:00.001+05:302024-03-01T00:02:19.740+05:30Anita says...March 2024<p><br /></p><i><div><i>To be alive at all is</i></div>to have scars </i><br />
- American writer John Steinbeck<div><br /></div><div>An extra day in February was most welcome to collect my thoughts after a month of relentless travel.<br />
<br />
Just two days before February closed, I had the unique opportunity to be
in the presence of one of India's most charismatic politicians. The
extraordinary security checks, the fastidious search of everyone's
social media handles, the minute by minute instructions of where to
stand, how much physical distance that was to be maintained and what to
say felt like a complex handbook of rules. Surrounded by business
professionals who were speaking finance, economics, profitability and
employment, I was the sole artiste in this private meeting. The term
VIKSIT BHARAT was being chanted ever so often during the speeches that
followed and I was left wondering about the most developed form of
expressions of this very idea that the Indian performing arts contained.
The most evolved and the least supported. VIKSIT means DEVELOPED and
while there is so much political emphasis today on a DEVELOPED INDIA -
education, medicine, space, technology and manufacturing, it is in the
arts - the classical arts - that India is truly VIKSIT. Yet, the needle
has shifted and the mood is stubbornly tilted towards popular culture
and the visual spectacle.<br /><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/anitasays/asmar24.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-17140903495308045562024-02-28T13:39:00.003+05:302024-02-28T13:39:18.582+05:30Profile - The last film of Kumar Shahani - Ileana Citaristi<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/images/prof315c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="450" height="280" src="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/images/prof315c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I got in touch with Kumar Shahani for the first time after seeing his maiden film </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Maya Darpan </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">which ends with Chandralekha's choreographic sequences of Chhau dance performed by dancers clad in white, red and black performing on a red surface which keeps on appearing and disappearing projecting a carousel of powerful and fragmented messages. Chandralekha's fascination for the Chhau idiom and my connection with her during the East West Dance Encounters of the 80s had been one more reason for me to approach him.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">From then, I started visiting him whenever I was in Mumbai and spent quite a lot of time sitting in the veranda of his Napean Sea Road apartment, listening to his fascinating and erudite talks on dance, music, films and politics. When from 1996 onwards I organised the Festival of Films of Performing and Visual Arts in Bhubaneswar I managed to show three of his equally iconic films </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Khayal Gatha, Bamboo Flute</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Bhavantarana</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, all three powerful statements of his deep understanding of music and dance not only as aesthetic tools but as visuals impregnated with epic, philosophical and spiritual connotations as well.</span> </p><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/profl315.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-39097200734513357822024-02-26T11:51:00.001+05:302024-02-26T11:51:11.329+05:30Interview - Saroja Vaidyanathan's son on her philosophy, Part 2 - Shveta Arora<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/images/int272a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="450" height="298" src="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/images/int272a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">How Saroja ji responded to the fear and lockdowns during Covid-19</b><p></p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">She didn't have any fear of living or dying. But she had the depression of no vibration. "I want some dancing," she would say. If you come to Natyalaya, what you experience - it's not one person or two people dancing, there is a very positive vibration. I feel that during Covid, she missed the ghungroos, the sound, that beating on the floor. It is a physical vibration, apart from the mental vibes. And then the kids being there, laughing, this and that. It's a mela with all these kids there.</span><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrv272.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-61695033398641865432024-02-26T11:49:00.001+05:302024-02-26T11:49:09.544+05:30Interview - Saroja Vaidyanathan's son on her philosophy, Part 1 - Shveta Arora<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/images/int271a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="338" height="400" src="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/images/int271a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">On 21 September 2023, when Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan left this world to take her place in a higher one, the world of dance lost one of its leading lights. She was mourned not only by her disciples but by contemporaries and gurus in all dance and art forms; not only in Delhi, but all over the world; and not only by rasikas, but by people whose lives she had touched despite them having nothing to do with dance at all. She was universally loved and respected in Bharatanatyam and in life.</span><p></p><p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Many tributes of Guruji were written following her demise, which mentioned her 'conservative family', an early marriage and then the decades of awards and honours that recognized her undeniable prowess in Bharatanatyam. A Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, Guruji began learning Bharatanatyam at the age of seven from Guru Lalitha of Saraswati Gana Nilayam (putting her in the parampara of Guru Kattumannar Muthukumaran Pillai of Thanjavur). She also learnt Carnatic music under Prof. P. Sambamoorthy at Madras University. An indefatigable 'content creator' from before it was called 'content', she wrote four books, compiled an encyclopaedia on Bharatanatyam, produced a DVD about the basics of Bharatanatyam, and was a member of every conceivable body related to dance, including the Ministry of Culture and ICCR. Over her decades of teaching, not only in Delhi but in Bihar, where she first started classes, she has trained hundreds of dancers to their arangetrams and thus produced perhaps not only performers, but also teachers of dance. Her choreographies featured prominently in international and prestigious events like the Queen's Baton Relay (2009), the XIX Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony (2010), the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (2017) and many more. She broke a world record with a day-and-a-half-long Bharatanatyam marathon relay in 2017 and her choreographies on the Ganga, pollution, AIDS, yoga and other subjects have been much acclaimed. Of course, the Ganesa Natyalaya in Delhi, the result of decades of her work, is a physical testament to her forest she created, starting with herself as the single seed.</span></p><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrv271.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-46832970814206165772024-02-16T13:23:00.001+05:302024-02-16T13:23:07.156+05:30Ekah! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm48a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="700" height="213" src="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm48a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Ekah danta...</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> runs the stuti on Ganesha.... But in dance finding qualified soloist of substance is not easy. It calls for minimum twenty years of work: Five years foundation, five in training, ten in performing experience professionally. So average is forty by the time one reaches national stage. By then either half have married or have families or no possibility to stay with the dance. 40-60 is the best run for a soloist, other things being equal.</span><p></p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The art of the soloist had steadily been on the decline, especially in Kathak. Bharatanatyam has enough volume so staying power is equal. Orissi is fifty-fifty. Group works is the vogue. It is so, as a teacher can show many students on stage at one go. The guru today is just a title, mostly. Solo training means focused attention. Teachers have assembly like training. Solo art is all but diminished. Reasons are many: first of all, gurus are not gurus but mostly art-teaching schools. More the number of students, more the earnings, outreach and social standing. This leads to a rather flimsy foundation. Gurus or teachers say parents are more ambitious and force them to fast-track and do debuts quickly so their ward arrives on the scene quickly! That helps visibility if not marriage market. Lastly, the students themselves. They change gurus like they change wardrobe or hair styles. Some are caught between wanting to be successful and stars while some think they are born stars. 5k followers on social media make them feel they have arrived. They don't have the staying power to learn to talk first before learning to dance first. Social media and self-reviews give most a fake sense of belief that they are good or worse, relevant. End result of above three: sub-standard end result, shows to empty halls and no real professional standing. No solos for sure.</span><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/dm48.html"><span style="color: black;"><b>Read more in the site</b></span></a></p><p><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-70529595803421654072024-02-01T00:09:00.004+05:302024-02-01T00:09:41.110+05:30Anita says...February 2024<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/anitasays/feb24txt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="800" height="376" src="https://narthaki.com/info/anitasays/feb24txt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">How can I begin this month’s musings without mentioning January 22nd and the inauguration of the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Nobody, anywhere in the world it seemed, could escape this extravagant show. My WhatsApp was flooded with texts and questions about “What is happening in India?” World media was full of India’s “dangerous tilt” towards autocracy. Diaspora Indians were seen celebrating in many cities across the planet. Opinions were sharply divided but the overwhelming majority made their feelings clear - from Ayodhya to Silicon Valley, on the streets of MALDIVES and onto the Times Square marquees in New York City.</span> </p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/anitasays/asfeb24.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-43360913278904364432024-01-28T07:01:00.003+05:302024-01-28T07:10:18.085+05:30Simple tale of 'Arisi: Rice' spins lavish cross cultural entertainment - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/images/tlm175b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="700" height="200" src="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/images/tlm175b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">The occasion under the aegis of the Music Academy was the Usha Marti Subrahmanyam Endowment Dance Program on Jan 15, 2024, with a packed hall of Chennai's socialites, treated to Singapore-based Apsaras Arts Dance Company's presentation of a lavish multidisciplinary production, innovatively conceived by Artistic Director Aravinth Kumarasamy, designed on what is taken for granted as a mundane everyday part of life - namely ARISI:RICE! Sharing the stage were Bharatanatyam dancers of Apsaras Arts, guest dancers from India, and Balinese dancers from the GEOK Ensemble....</span></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">The Narthaki Studio Series held amidst the very special ambience of Anita Ratnam's home has over the years, offered performance space for off-beat programs not attracting conventional Sabha patronage, during the Chennai Season. </span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Hailing from a powerful musical tradition, wherein the reason-to-be for the Dance, is the Music, Aniruddha Knight, as performer, while remaining faithful to the musical heritage, (expressed in movement improvisation in Bharatanatyam through gestures and abhinaya) has shown himself to be a fine teacher.</span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">...</span></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Seldom has a Lifetime Achievement Award evoked such a warm response of total approbation, as when Bragha Bessell received one bestowed on her by Prof. M. Ekambaranathan Educational and Charitable Trust on an evening arranged at Tag Centre....</span></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/taalam175.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-76828897906944407102024-01-06T07:01:00.005+05:302024-01-06T07:01:59.831+05:30India's biggest annual dance conference: The Natya Kala Conference - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm47b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="680" height="267" src="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm47b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Natya Kala Conference is an annual feature of the Krishna Gana Sabha. For those outside Tamil cultural landscape (and this portal and column travels far in the virtual world) </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">sabhas</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> are basically registered art bodies /societies from last century that serve the cause of the arts and culture. What began as a guild is now gold in terms of land and location; power and pelf. Trustees and members are either eminent citizens or families and they are pillars of the art eco systems. They dispense patronage while creating trends. Each may have preferences and power structures, yet, most are genuine and totally devoted to the purpose it was set up for.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So, the Krishna Gana Sabha (KGS) has for 40 years held the NKC (Natya Kala Conference). The current head Y Prabhu (son of R Yagnaraman who started and steered it for decades) with daughter Saashwathi are in-charge and do their duty with finesse, advised by stalwarts and icons in the field.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Rama Vaidyanathan needs no introduction to Indian dance audiences worldwide. A Delhi-based Bharatanatyam dancer, she is now also a star with substance and spunk. A student of Bharatanatyam's benchmark icon Yamini Krishnamurti, Rama is now herself a benchmark in dance and NKC convenorship. This year was dedicated to 'Swarna Saroja' in memory of her mother-in-law, Saroja Vaidyanathan, a veteran Delhi based Bharatanatyam dancer guru who started the Ganesa Natyalaya, whose 50th year anniversary too was being celebrated.</span> </p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/dm47.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-18747942960266925182024-01-01T00:07:00.006+05:302024-01-01T00:07:45.096+05:30Anita says...January 2024<p><br /></p><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /></p></i></div></i><i><i>DREAM. DARE. DO<br />
CARE. CLEAR. CHERISH<br />
LISTEN. LEARN. LET GO<br />
ABSORB. ADMIRE. APPLAUD<br />
REFRESH. REFINE. REBOOT</i><br />
</i>LET’S GO 2024!<div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Happy New Year</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We have done it!</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Navigated through the past 12 months to replace our calendars and look forward to a brand new year.</span><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The year 2024 is the Chinese year of the Dragon.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The United Nations has declared this year to be the year of CAMELIDS, a cluster of animals that include Llamas, camels, Alpacas and others who are vital to the indigenous peoples and local communities.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In 2023, some may have sailed through. Others trudged... some soared... or crawled... or limped... does not matter... we have all reached the starting point of yet another year... and it is a leap year!</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">What does it mean for us as a creative community?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">What can we do to make our lives and our immediate world safer, more harmonious and more vibrant? What can we do for ourselves and our emotional well-being?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Coming to you from Chennai, I know what a roller coaster year it has been. And how strange the fluctuating moods of the final month were for my city and myself.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/anitasays/asjan24.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-45213534725325523992023-12-15T23:51:00.005+05:302023-12-15T23:51:48.177+05:30Article - Harmony in Strings and Equations: Unravelling the mathematical beauty of veena - Dr. Sahana Prasad<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Being a Mathematics and Data Science person, I always look for patterns and well-defined systems. When I restarted my veena lessons after a huge gap, I was able to appreciate the instrument, the divine veena. Not only was I able to enjoy the calming effects of music, especially when the string is pulled using the right pressure and the sound is allowed to gradually die away, before pressing the next sound, but also observe a strong link between the veena and science of mathematics.</span> <p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/art539.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-6224812351584554452023-12-14T10:27:00.003+05:302023-12-14T10:28:59.714+05:30UNbox and outta box! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm46e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="555" height="225" src="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm46e.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">UNbox is the latest attempt to brand Bangalore. Earlier attempts were worthy but faded away without staying power and change in admin. As part of the 11 days feast, classical dance was offered by the UNbox Bangalore Habba team at Medea in Koramangala....</span><p></p><p><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm46i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="570" height="219" src="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/images/dm46i.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Crowds came in abundance to NADAM's 24th year Kalanadam festival at ADA Rangamandira. The hall has seen better days. Even with enhanced facilities, especially parking and elevator, the staff is nonchalant, uncooperative and plain rude. They are getting a salary for work but act as though they are doing a favour! I would tell the owners to replace them with younger, more qualified professionals if these think they are doing social service. Lights go off when needed most; elevator switched off unless you can prove you are above 80 and can't climb steps. NONSENSE.</span><p></p><p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">NADAM made sense despite that and for three days brought a dance palette of taste and substance. On day one were the popular local razz-m-tazz Kathak duo Nirupama and Rajendra. Day two was Odissi from the soil by Meera Das group and G. Narendra solo. Day three was Mohiniattam by Sunanda Nair, then Kathak by Nadam ensemble and Bharatanatyam by Poornima Ashok....</span></p><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/dm/dm46.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-70381073671034928472023-12-08T23:39:00.001+05:302023-12-08T23:39:11.159+05:30Article - The music of the Geeta Govinda - Dr.Ileana Citaristi<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">(Excerpt from: I. Citaristi, Odissi and the Geeta Govinda, New Delhi, Manohar Publisher, 2022)</span></p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The first English translation of the Geeta Govinda to appear in the West was the one published by Sir William Jones in 1792. In the preface to the book he writes:</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"When I first read the songs of Jayadeva who has prefixed to each the names of the mode in which it has to be sung, I had hoped to procure the original music, but the pundits of the South referred me to those of the West and the Brahmans of the West would have sent me to those of the North while they of Nepal and Kashmir declared that they had no ancient music but imagined that the notes of the Geeta Govinda must exist if anywhere, where the poet was born."</span><p><b><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/art538.html">Read more in the site</a></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-16244139242346894282023-12-08T00:59:00.002+05:302023-12-08T00:59:13.541+05:30Interview - Raja Reddy: We merge originality with traditional forms - Tapati Chowdhurie<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/images/int270c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="374" height="320" src="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/images/int270c.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The name of Raja-Radha Reddy is synonymous with Kuchipudi dance. Their illustrious career spanning over more than half a century has created a bench mark, which is hard to achieve. Their performances, public or private, in the country or outside have gained them a reputation for rare excellence and technical perfection. Both Raja and Radha Reddy got the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan individually and simultaneously for the same cause of propagating Kuchipudi dance. That created history. Similarly they were decorated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award too.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Sitting in the well-equipped library of his dance institution Natya Tarangini - running for the last 47 years - in Pushp Vihar in New Delhi, this writer had the rare opportunity of interviewing Raja Reddy, the doyen of Kuchipudi dance. </span> </p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrv270.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read the interview in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-53479873426600105582023-12-04T09:25:00.008+05:302023-12-04T09:25:57.388+05:30Book Review - Courting Hindustan: The Consuming Passions of Iconic Women Performers of India - Dr. Ragothaman M. Yennamalli<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/bookrev/images/bkrev57a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://narthaki.com/info/bookrev/images/bkrev57a.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Picking up the book 'Courting Hindustan' by Madhur Gupta was a delight. It was a breeze reading through it. I loved how the chapters chronologically trace from the famous Amrapali to T. Balasaraswati. Within the ten chapters, there is a lot of information along with familiar content that as dancers/artistes we know about. The good thing about this book is that if you are traveling, you would have finished it before reaching the destination. Packed within the pages are stories of how strong-willed women, ostracized by the society, fought with the system, survived and shone like bright stars for everyone to be inspired about.</span><p></p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/bookrev/bkrev60.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;">Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</span> </b></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-71367376291808304482023-12-03T01:38:00.005+05:302023-12-03T01:38:31.942+05:30Article - Mandala Nritta: Techniques of staging war sequences based on Naṭyashastra - Dr. Nancy Abraham<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/images/art537a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="742" height="227" src="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/images/art537a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Art revives and readapts time and space. Indian performing arts transcends boundaries and enables global platform to communicate human experiences. This study throws light on Maṇḍalas which is the core performing techniques particularly used to stage the war sequences mentioned in Bharatha’s Natyashastra. It emphasizes on war movements. Maṇḍala Nritta is a technique to perform war dance and usage of weapons. They are usually performed by movements of feet which are graceful and harmonic. It can be delicate movement of one leg or a combination of the movement of shank, feet and thighs. Bharatha’s Natyashastra mentioned only the lower limb movements which are divided into two types, Akasha mandala and bhu mandala or aerial and earthly mandalas. Indian dance research plays a significant role in ancestry of dance movement into the integral part of modern dance world. So texts and commentaries on the one hand and praxis on the other hand were essential to understand India’s dance tradition to reconstruct their history.</span><p></p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Naṭyashastra encompasses all that belongs to the Indian tradition of art and aesthetics. It is a Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. The study of Indian art and culture derived through various layers such as theory and its application, oral and textual tradition, ethics and aesthetics, classics and folks (Margi and Desi tradition). </span><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/articles/art537.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-91103174618442003242023-12-02T23:57:00.003+05:302023-12-02T23:57:23.850+05:30Profile - Vija Vetra: A century of dance - Prakhar Bajpai<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/images/prof314c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="450" height="215" src="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/images/prof314c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Vija Vetra, the legendary star performer and renowned Latvian dancer from the USA, is a national treasure who specializes in Indian dance forms. She is a dance choreographer and the first dancer who started “the Indian dance movement” in Latvia. Her name carries profound significance and deep meaning. In Latvian, “Vija” means garland, and in Sanskrit, it is pronounced as “Vijaya”, meaning victory. “Vetra” means the storm or dark clouds of God Indra. Combining both words from her name simply means “Garland of Victory”. Vija, often called the priestess of Indian dance, was born on February 6, 1923, and celebrated her 100th birthday this year. She has resided in the heart of the West Village, New York, since the 1970s and is known as the Westbeth icon. She has been an ambassador of dance, bridging different cultures and hearts and uniting the world through her talent. She is a dance architect who expresses the emotions of life and nature through her dance. Dance is her way of connecting with the universe.</span><p></p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/profl314.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-43309120296088802892023-12-01T00:03:00.006+05:302023-12-01T00:03:51.554+05:30Anita says...December 2023<p> <i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Where do stories come from?</i></p><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">They come from other stories</i><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">From deep within ourselves and from the cave of memories</i><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Stories bind us and release our imaginations to swoop and soar</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">- Author SALMAN RUSHDIE award acceptance speech, Germany</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We ask that same question each December!</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Where did the year go?"</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"What? Already?"</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Gosh! How time flies!"</span><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/anitasays/asdec23.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5324394209933710979.post-56210759164118565342023-11-26T09:32:00.006+05:302023-11-28T03:06:44.458+05:30UPAJ - Part II - NRITYA (Section # 2): Column by Janaki Patrik<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/btw/images/btw10r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="477" height="205" src="https://narthaki.com/info/btw/images/btw10r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></b></p>ELEMENTS of IMPROVISATION</b><p></p><p><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">1. The Kathak body stance & stage conventions</b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Kathak has origins in the village storytelling style </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">katha vaachak</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> - literally meaning "story speaker" - from the Sanskrit root </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">vaak</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> - speech. Kathak's lingering folk elements contribute to the informality of many of Kathak's storytelling techniques, and to the ease with which performers can improvise. Performed with an upright torso carried on straight legs and loose knees, Kathak can cover space with an un-stylized gait, which is close to ordinary human movement. With the continuity of its upright stance for both </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">nritta</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">nritya</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> (pure dance and storytelling), Kathak can seamlessly transition into the distinctive gaits of all kinds of characters in its stories, uninterrupted by the need to return periodically to a style-imposed position such as Bharatanatyam's </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">araimandi</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> , the "half-sitting" pose , or Odissi's </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">tribhanga</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> - "thrice-bent "- pose .</span> </p><p><a href="https://narthaki.com/info/btw/btw10.html"><b><span style="color: black;">Read more in the site</span></b></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px;"><b>Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.</b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Pl provide your name and email id</div>Narthaki Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094311174380813080noreply@blogger.com0