Natyaangan has brought us in a virtual setting, assembled in a dance foyer, located somewhere in cyberspace. We offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha to help us work and grow with his blessings, so that we continue to experience the joy of dance in all its glory and splendour. In an act of daring, I...Read More
Author Archive
16th July is the date Kala Bharati was founded 39 years ago. Just spent Thursday, the 16th of July, doing exactly what Bans and I did every year, ever since 1981, which was to revisit moments, memories and mementos of our lives in alien soil with Kala Bharati, in as Bans would put it ‘ Ananda Bhava’. Our lives are dotted with these...Read More
I talked to Kyra Lober, my friend and associate with deep and strong roots in dance, about Kala Bharati’s latest initiative related to dance acts and activism. A few days later, I was deeply touched to receive an email with a review from Kyra Lober of her dance performance TAV in 1978, in which...Read More
(Courtesy of “The Grammarphobia Blog”) Q: I’m sick of hearing the verb “curate” used loosely, as in “I’m going to curate my next garage sale … closet cleanout … laundry sorting.” AAUGH! (Forgive me, Charlie Brown.) Please do what you can to set these “curators” straight. A: Let’s start with the noun “curate,” a word...Read More
Namaskar I have been off the radar from the Montreal dance scene for a while and this evening has been a wonderful way to reconnect with all of you. I am truly grateful to Deepa Nallapan, creative head of Param Nrithyalaya who has taken the initiative to organise Natyanjali , an Offering of Dance for...Read More
As part of the 375th anniversary celebrations of Montreal, I have set out to curate a series of discussions held at colloquiums Kala Bharati is having on Outside the Box Thinking on Dance. I am hoping this will enable us to come up with a born-in-Montreal perspective of the practice and presentation of local promoters...Read More
This paper was first presented at the “Dance and the Child International Conference in London (U.K.) in 1988 (daCi1988).
The author outlines the salient features of her experience over the first decade (1978 -1988) of teaching Bharata Natya in Montreal, Canada...Read More
I have been toying with the idea that the bantu greeting What do you dance is brilliant and merits being adopted by us dancers, all over the world . A celebration of dance right off the bat at any human contact acting as a koan or aporeia. Imagine how this greeting would change the whole...Read More
This book describes the creative process of a classical Bharata Natya repertoire created for children. A DVD is included showing the choreographies. It has been widely distributed and has received high praise for its innovative approach. Experts in India have acclaimed it as path breaking....Read More
There are moments in one’s life when destiny smiles in the face of adversity. One such moment came in my life when I had an accident in1969, which left me with a permanent injury and brutally cut me off from performing Bharata Natya. Some of my well-wishers helped me to overcome the initial shock and despair by encouraging, to the point of coaxing and goading me , to teaching Bharata Natya in Montreal. “What a formidable task to undertake” I thought at the time; but, as if by divine intervention, my gurus, U.S. Krishna Rao and U.K. Chandrabhaga Devi (Guruji and Amma to me) appeared on the horizon just when I needed them most, to provide guidance and inspiration and above all, to help regenerate my passion for dance....Read More