Anita says...April 2025

Happy birthday NARTHAKI. 25 years old!

How time has flown!

Who ever thought that this online infant, created and launched on April 14, 2000, would continue uninterrupted for a quarter of a century and make the impact that it has!
Thousands and thousands from the global Indian dance eco system have nurtured, cheered, applauded and welcomed our presence online.

As I write this, it is still sinking in that a small spark in 1992 caught fire to birth two best selling phone books and finally - this online web portal. I salute the small and dedicated team that has kept the back end of this "passion project" of mine going, in spite of all the pressures to give up and cave in.

As we congratulate ourselves in our Chennai headquarters, we also send out a collective cheer to all of you who read my thoughts and scour the site for news, interviews and information about dance across the globe. Thank you, readers, members and subscribers. Your positive feedback has been crucial for our sustained motivation.

March has been a gruelling month for my ensemble and particularly for me. There were two shows to navigate, various venues to negotiate, and multiple communication blips between the organisers and us. These days the back end of a performance is getting more and more important. It is not enough to just have a programme booking. As artistes, we are also responsible for generating content for social media postings and to maintain the excitement and momentum leading up to the main event.

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.

Kathak Kumbha! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

 .....Fast forward to today 2025. SNA has an active and hands-on chairperson Dr. Sandhya Purecha, who is both smart to games people play and artistically knowledgeable too. Being an academic, she brooks no nonsense and is no push-over either. Under her and Raju Das' guidance, the director of Kathak Kendra, Pranaame Bhagwati put up a mega Kathak festival from 21-26 March, in Delhi: 150 participating dancers; nearly 50 scholars; 18 sessions in all plus plus plus - that's a book fair, food fair and dance fair. A mela of Kathak, it was!

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.

Tribute - The Art and Legacy of Lakshmi Viswanathan: Dancing through time - Jeetendra Hirschfeld

Renowned as Nritya Kalanidhi, Lakshmi Viswanathan was a celebrated Bharatanatyam artiste, scholar, and writer. She was known for her mesmerising performances and innovative choreography for group productions. Alongside her illustrious dance career, she authored four highly acclaimed books and contributed extensively to journals, newspapers, and dance portals. Her erudite lectures, captivating demonstrations, and popular masterclasses made her a favourite among dance students worldwide. She also held the esteemed position of editor at the Kalakshetra Journal.

I knew Lakshmi for a long time, and over the decades, my relationship with her evolved - first as a rasika, and later as a collaborator and friend. She would often call me her sparring partner. We shared a deep interest in Bharatanatyam history, particularly Thanjavur, which has been the heart of South Indian music and dance for centuries. Lakshmi's familial ties to Thanjavur gave her a deep historical and personal connection, and our research frequently intersected with this rich heritage. 

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.

Interview - Sharmila Biswas on Manodarpan: Reflections of Life - Shveta Arora

I watched Guru Sharmila Biswas' thought-provoking 'Manodarpan: Reflections of Life' at Kamani in Delhi on 14 December and immediately wanted to talk to her about it. Sharmila Biswas is one of India's most renowned and much awarded senior Odissi exponents, responsible for some of the most lyrical, conceptually rich and intellectually stimulating Odissi productions I have watched over the years.

'Manodarpan' was no different, based on Natya Shastra shlokas and highlighting the various dramatic elements in performing arts in the context of bhava rasa. It presented how the Natya Shastra reveals the rasas that tell human stories of human experiences - anger, love, lamentation, power. The music direction was by Rajeswari Ganguly and it was performed by Sharmila Biswas, Krishnendu Saha, Koushik Das, Dipjoy Sarkar, Biswajit Mondal, Raaginni Hindocha and Saity Dey.

In this conversation, Sharmila Biswas narrated how, like many of the interesting productions toured in the last two years, this one too emerged from artistic endeavours initiated during the COVID-19 lockdown that were not intended to be for performance. She elaborated on the interpretation of rasas (eight, not nine), stagecraft and aharya, angik and vachik, and how learning and immersion are critical to the development of her productions.

Ashtarasa, not navarasa
Sharmila Biswas explained that the production used an early interpretation of the rasa in the Natya Shastra, in which shanta was not considered a rasa humans could produce.

It was actually ashtarasa, not navarasa, because the first rasa theory in the Natya Shastra talked about eight rasas, not considering shanta. They thought that shanta was total neutrality, so there was no rasa in it and it is not something that any human can show. So, it was ashtarasa. 

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.

Interview - Dr. Sandhya Purecha: I am very positive about the future - Dr. M. Surya Prasad

Bharatanatyam exponent, author, scholar, researcher, teacher and choreographer Dr. Sandhya Purecha is the founder-principal of Bharata College of Fine Arts and Culture, Mumbai, and the Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. Among her many awards and recognitions, she has been awarded Honorary Doctorate by the illustrious Karnataka State Gangubai University of Performing Arts, Mysore, for her exemplary and dynamic contributions to the dance field. She has also won the prestigious and well deserved 'Kalidas Samman' of the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Purecha shares her views in an exclusive interview for Narthaki.

I would like to celebrate these distinguished moments of your career through this interview. Please share your feelings.
I am deeply gratified to acknowledge the twin illustrious recognitions. I whole heartedly thank all for their inspiring wishes.

What is the specialty of your art form?
The specialty of my art is that it is rooted in the time tested Shastra and Sampradaya - forming the links between theory and practice of Indian dance.

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.

Kalakshetra Foundation's annual tribute to its founder - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

Established in 1936, Kalakshetra, in the very space it made its home finally in Thiruvanmiyur, which its founder, with a handful of enthusiasts, built almost brick by brick, a yearly festival titled Remembering Rukmini Devi intrigues this critic. Why? For the simple reason that unencumbered by present day voices advocating change, this is one institution, where not a smidgen of compromise would be acceptable even today, in what has come down the years, passed down to students as Rukmini Athai's approach to Bharatanatyam. Every aspect of Kalakshetra still resonates with strong vibes of the founder's image. So where is the question of remembering her? Birthday Homage to Rukmini Devi, would be a more understandable title for the three-day event, marking her birthday.

The number of repeat performances over the years of her dance drama productions, particularly the half a dozen episodes built round the Valmiki Ramayana text, between the late 1950s to 1970, would be legion. 

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.

7th Barnali Festival - Ratikant Mohapatra Calling

The 7th edition of the two-day Barnali Festival, organized by Rudrakshya Foundation, concluded with grandeur at Utkal Rangamanch in Bhubaneswar, leaving an enduring impression on the audience. Celebrating the artistic vision of Guru Bichitrananda Swain and the excellence of his institution, the festival brought together a distinguished gathering, with eminent Odissi vocalist and musicologist Guru Ramahari Das and Rudrakshya Foundation president Ramprasad Akkisetti as honoured guests.

This year's festival was dedicated to the memory of Christopher Charles Benninger, a renowned architect and a devoted supporter of Rudrakshya Foundation, whose unwavering encouragement played a significant role in shaping the institution's journey.

The evening unfolded with three compelling dance presentations, each offering a unique artistic expression. Lipsa Satapathy captivated the audience with a solo performance, followed by a powerful duet by Samrat Dutta and Santanu Roy. The festival concluded with a dynamic group presentation by the talented repertory dancers of Rudrakshya Foundation. 

Read more in the site

Please provide your name / email id along with your comment. Anonymous and derogatory comments will be removed.