Interview - Suba Parmar: Dance class should be a celebration. not a punishment - Vijay Shankar

Bharatanatyam exponent and mentor, Guru Suba Parmar is the artistic director of Shubhanjali School of Performing Arts (founded in 1992) in New Jersey and has been associated with Bharatanatyam for the last five decades. With over three decades as a dance teacher, she is particularly credited for teaching students with memory disorder and Activity Disorder and Hyper Activity Disorder (ADHD), hence feels that learning should be an enjoyable process and not a punishment that could be rigorous and painstaking.
What difference do you see between the Vazhuvoor and Pandanallur tradition of Bharatanatyam?

As a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher, I have a deep connection with the Pandanallur style which I've had the privilege of learning from my gurus Indra Rajan and Pandanallur Srinivasa Pillai. This style's emphasis on precise technique, crisp footwork, breathtaking crisp jathis, nuanced expression, has been my foundation. (Some Pandanallur stalwarts include Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Alarmel Valli, Sai Subbulakshmi, Rukmini Devi Arundale, Pandanallur Jayalakshmi, Rajeswari Sainath, Meenakshi Chitharanjan to name a few). I've also had the opportunity to work with Vazhuvoor teachers, and I'm struck by the unique beauty of their approach - the slow, graceful movements, lots of poses, the fluidity, and the realism in their abhinaya (Gurus Padma Subrahmanyam, Rajarathnam Pillai, Chitra Visweswaran, Shobana).... 

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Profile - Jai Govinda: Retirement, Book and Award

Mandala Arts and Culture, Vancouver, celebrated Jai Govinda's retirement at a gala event held on Nov 2, 2025. Aside from thanking two long time board members, P. Rathanaswami and V. Gunja, Mandala officially launched the book 'Simply Bharata Natyam' by Jai Govinda.

Amongst honoured guests such as Dr. Mandakranta Bose, Kamal Sharma and executive director of The Dance Centre, Mirna Zagar, Jai Govinda presented a copy of his book to the Consul General of India, Mr. Masauki Rungsung. The event was attended by past and present students of Mandala, as well as present and past board members, families and friends. 

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Book Review - When Light Dances- Lighting the Aesthetic World of Indian Classical Dance - Dr. Ragini Sanath

When Light Dances- Lighting the Aesthetic World of Indian Classical Dance by Dr. Rashmi Thaper is a remarkable contribution to the world of Indian classical dance. It brings attention to an area that is often overlooked - stage lighting. It explains how light can transform a performance from being just visual to truly magical.

The book begins by tracing the history of stage lighting during the temple period, especially in the temples of Karnataka and then explores how lighting evolved through various theatre art forms. It gives readers a sense of how illumination, once rooted in ritual and tradition, gradually became a creative force that shapes the visual and emotional mood of a performance. 

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Article - Unspoken Dialogues: The healing language of Kathak dance - Simran Poddar

This paper looks at Kathak as a living art form that continues to touch emotions and bring balance to people's lives. Over time, Kathak has grown from temple storytelling into a personal and spiritual expression that helps dancers connect with their inner world. True to the saying "Katha kahe so Kathak kahawe" - the one who tells a story is called a Kathak - this study reflects on how rhythm, gesture, and emotion (nritya and abhinaya) create moments of peace and awareness, even in a busy, modern lifestyle. Drawing from both traditional ideas and my own experiences of performing Kathak, the paper views this dance as an unspoken dialogue - one that heals, expresses, and connects the dancer's heart with the essence of Indian culture.

 

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Exhilarating performances by Sutra, G Narendra and Anandita Narayanan - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

Collaborators above all, need a generous sponsor for agreements to fructify and aside from the Malaysian authorities of Arts Against Aids and Sai Ananda Foundation Malaysia, one cannot but have admiration for bodies in India, like Kala Kalp Sanskrutik Sansthan led by Dr. Atasi Misra, whose generous invitation to host the Sutra / Tridhara collaboration, at Delhi with a show of Radha Radhe at the Kamani, has enabled the latest Delhi visit for the Sutra troupe...

But for the two-day festival at the Triveni auditorium, Delhi, curated and executed by Dr.Sahana Selvaganesh, a Bharatanatyam student of Roja Kannan, under the aegis of an NGO Nirvikalpa started by her and her friends, the Delhi audience would not have had the chance of being treated to a performance by the very senior, established, Kalakshetra trained Bharatanatyam dancer G. Narendra....

The evening at the Triveni auditorium was titled Anavarna (Exploring the layers) presenting dancer Anandita Narayanan, a disciple of Bharatanatyam Guru Geeta Chandran. Expecting another of the well trained students of this teacher, one was totally unprepared for the mature performance of one, who, as the saying goes, has arrived - namely has graduated from locating the dance within her, to the point when she is beginning to discover herself in the dance - the latter a long process which in many cases, never happens....

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Chennai churning - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

Chennai is an experience; Madras was an emotion!

Growing up in the 1970s of my motherland Madras in Mylapore-Luz then Mandaveli area of Madras, one felt one was on a holiday. Few cars on the road; endless shopping and temples abound. Add the charm of Foreshore Estate empty beach, smiling faces, courteous and curious, looking at us aliens from North India with smart clothes and even footwear! Yes, most locals wore no chapals as they had to take it off often since every other metre or two there was a little koil - a statue of Ganapati or Meenakshi or Kamakshi or Elakshi.

Fast forward to today: One can't even walk on the roads, leave alone cross it easily. Shopping is a serious business now and many temples too have become shops: pay extra, get priority darshan! Trust us Indians to evolve systems the rest of the world can't even think of. 

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Article - Can YouTube be your Guru? - Anannya Mahanta

"The internet can show you the dance - but can it teach you devotion?"

For me, dance has never been just an art form - it has been a way of being. Having devoted over more than two decades to the sacred discipline of Sattriya Dance, one of India's most revered classical traditions, my journey began when I was barely three. Under the guidance of my Guru, I learned that dance is not mere performance - it is prayer. Every movement becomes a hymn, every gesture a meditation and every rhythm a quiet act of surrender. The 'Guru-Shishya Parampara', that timeless lineage between teacher and disciple, forms the lifeblood of Indian classical arts. Yet today, as studios turn into screens and reverence yields to reach, I often find myself wondering: can YouTube truly be your Guru? 

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Prism - De-ritualisation and Re-contextualisation: The shifting performance ecology of Bharatanatyam in the 21st century - Dr. Amrita Sengupta Dutta

Bharatanatyam, originally woven into the ritual and devotional life of South Indian temple culture, has traversed a complex path of transformation over the last century. From its deep association with temple worship and the devadasi system to its redefinition during the colonial and nationalist eras, and its subsequent digital and global incarnations, Bharatanatyam continues to evolve amid changing social, political, and technological landscapes. This essay investigates two interconnected processes - de-ritualisation, referring to the dance's gradual detachment from its sacred roots, and re-contextualisation, which signifies its adaptation within modern cultural, ideological, and digital environments. Employing a narrative research framework, the study explores how globalisation, feminism, diasporic identity, and social media cultures have reshaped Bharatanatyam's performance ecology, creating an ongoing negotiation between tradition and innovation. 

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Anita says...November 2025

As I stared at the blank page of my Ipad, beginning to process my thoughts for this edition, I heard the rain pouring outside, lashing through the garden and creating a cacophony of sounds on my roof and terrace. October is monsoon for Tamilnadu and every event becomes a hit or miss, with one eye on the sky and the other on the pothole filled roads. This year, I was pensive. Dussera and Deepavali had passed by, firecrackers and celebrations were muted and every second person was bedridden with the newest mutation of the Corona virus. Nothing, however, was stopping dance and music events from unfolding across the city. Rehearsals and shows continued unabated with gusto and enthusiasm. For me, this is the time to drive to the ocean front and gaze at the stormy waves. Ever since the Tsunami of December 2004, the fragile nature of human life when pitted against the giant waters has never left my mind screen. The irony of the most powerful human being on earth appearing ant-sized and vulnerable against a single wave has never been lost on me. No matter how powerful, how famous, how influential - one wave, physical or metaphorical, can wash it all away. 

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