Dancing India@75! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

So, dance matters? Yes, even in chess. Kavita Ramu is an ace talent of Tamilnadu. First, a fine dancer from the truly cultured belt that's Madurai (which part of TN is not cultured? Tanjore is, Chidambaram is, even far off Kanyakumari is; add Trichy) and then an ace IAS, currently the boss of Pudukkottai, as its Collector. A product of K. J. Sarasa, the main teaching star of the Vazhuvoor bani as initiated by the veritable Ramaiah Pillai, Sarasamma was the mainstay of his ghar-ana. She taught so many film stars too, like Kamal Hassan.

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Tribute to Kuchipudi exponent Ardhanareeswaram Venkat - Vijay Shanker

It was a shock to learn of the untimely demise of Hyderabad based Kuchipudi exponent Venkateswara Rao on 8th August 2022 after a prolonged illness. He was 58. He leaves behind his dancer wife Prasanti, son Rithwik and daughter Charmila. Both Rithwik and Charmila are dancers and poised to take the legacy forward.

Venkat hailed from Elluru in Andhra Pradesh and was one of the foremost disciples of veteran traditional mentor Korada Narasimha Rao, who also hailed from Elluru. Venkat was a brilliant dancer and teacher. In 1988, he established Nritya Darpana, his dance academy in Hyderabad, where he has trained several dance aspirants. Venkat was particularly known for the rendering of the Ardhanareeswara concept, which was his masterpiece act, hence he was popularly known as Ardhanareeswaram Venkat.

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Interview - Anita Ratnam on 30 years of Narthaki - Shveta Arora

Narthaki.com, the beloved e-magazine in the world of Indian classical dance, celebrates 30 years in 2022. Its founder, Anita R. Ratnam, was interviewed about it by actress and dancer Padmapriya at a session in Natya Vriksha’s World Dance Day celebrations in Delhi this year. In a film screened at the start of the session, Anita described how Narthaki came to be. In 1990, she was a TV producer of Indian content in New York, and was contacted by the American Broadcasting Company. They were doing a series of stories on India and needed the phone number of leading Bharatanatyam exponent Yamini Krishnamurthy. But no one in the Indian embassy had the number, so they approached Anita, who was running the Bombay Broadcasting Company there. Anita called her aunt in Delhi and procured the number within 24 hours, but it struck her that there was no cataloguing of classical dancers’ numbers.

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Interview - Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi on Guru Gopinath - Tapati Chowdhurie

Guru Gopinath had taught Aswathi and Puyam, the daughters of Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi at Thiruvithamcore Palace in Adyar in Madras, at the behest of Amma Maharani of Travancore, Sethu Parvathi Bayi. Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi was her daughter. Yours truly had the good fortune of asking Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, a noted writer, to tell me about her experiences in learning dance from Guru Gopinath. She said:

"My elder sister and I learnt for a brief period of time of just two months under Guru Gopinath while we were in Chennai with our whole family. Guruji was very enthusiastic and meticulous in teaching us, as our grandmother, Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi, was very particular in the way we were taught and kept a close watch on the words of the lyrics, or rather the sahitya. The songs were uneventful by and large.

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Article - Stepping out of the ordinary - Archana Kaul

True consciousness and spiritual growth have a connotation of giving more and expecting less. But I got more than I gave. The pleasure and fulfilment I got through my work, also provided me with a creative outlet. I had no idea how an opportunity to teach dance, incorporating basic techniques of Kathak to girls at an NGO would help these children grow confident and provide a gamut of rich experience to life. Interaction with these children made me step out of the ordinary and humdrum existence.

It was at the turn of the century, 26th of January 2000, that I visited and met the children of the NGO. At that time I did not even know the name of this NGO. I went along at a friend's suggestion, just for the heck of it. I didn't even know what I would be doing there, or if I was needed there. Most of my work experience had been in the field of teaching History to undergraduates in Delhi University, writing reviews on music and dance, and working as a researcher. I had worked in a small school in a Delhi village, as part of an educational experiment. After their disinterested response for studying their academic subjects, I decided to give some input of music and dance, as an icebreaker, having knowledge of Kathak.

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Dance in Delhi after the Pandemic - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

The first live stage performance this critic was experiencing after a two year pandemic lock was at the Habitat auditorium, featuring a Bharatanatyam recital by Sudhana Sankar, a long time student of Saroja Vaidyanathan, who however, with the Guru not in the best of health, has very recently come under the grooming of the successor and next in family line, Rama Vaidyanathan....

Nadasutra Arts and Resonance, a performing arts centre based out of New Delhi, presented yet another evening of dance, with rains playing spoilsport, at the Stein Auditorium under the title of Ananta (The Unconstrained). Akash Mallick (Artistic Director), Swarnali Kundu, a dancer who completed her M.A in Bharatanatyam from Rabindra Bharati University, and Kuchipudi dancer Amrita Singh who received training under late Dr. Sobha Naidu, work with the stated aim of 'taking Indian art to a larger audience in a comprehensive and yet contemporary presentation.'...

At Rabindra Bhavan's Meghdoot 3 auditorium, the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi held a special event as homage to late Kavalam Narayana Panikkar - 'A National Treasure' as he has been referred to....

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Anita says...August 2022

The future belongs to the young
We must not only trust them with responsibility
But must thrust it upon them
Whilst they are still young and full of energy, zest, hope
And even illusions
- JRD TATA, Industry Icon

It is the sheer force of young India that caught my eye last month. The papers are full of catchy images of dancers reshaping the idea of classical performances. Affluent 20 and 30 somethings who are spending extravagantly for that exclusive AHA moment (not on the Arts!) to notch one over their neighbours. Mixologists blending strange flavours like Basmati rice, cake and Tamarind with beer (?????) and the IN YOUR FACE images of Chess boards. Yes, Chess boards.

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