In Hindu philosophy Moksha (deliverance from the cycle of birth and death) is the ultimate aim of life for those evolved. In dance like Odissi, there’s even an item in end called Moksha. Means, the end. For those still interested in artha ( material world or things) or kaam ( life -force for procreation or […]Read More
In last column, I had focused on symbols in Indian culture. What is India’s one symbol that is pan Indian. It is Nataraja now. No wonder when the mandarins of ministry of culture thought what to put in front of spaceship called Bharat Mandapam they first thought of some sculpture. Then the idea of pancha […]Read More
Pune city is the cultural capital of Maharashtra, as the recently held Ganesh Utsav the original dream girl of Indian cinema illuminated the stage with her presence and descended as the holi river Ganga. The super stunning Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Padma Shri Hema Malini presented her larger than life dance ballet Ganga. The […]Read More
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a good public speaker and if there is any direct relation between dance and public speaking? When I met the super dynamic Saleha Yohann who is a former Airline Service Trainer, Public Relations expert, Pageant Communications & Public Speaking Coach, we had a heart-to-heart chat about […]Read More
If we dig into the history of certain dances, we will realise that traditionally there were some dances which were meant for women and some which were only meant for men. For centuries the rules were untouched and no one thought or even tried to ruffle the feathers which were fitted so well in the […]Read More
Culture is often defined by symbols. So Indus had that dancing girl from Mohenjodaro, which some later day historians claimed wasn’t even really Mohenjodaro or a dancing girl but a girl with hip problems! (Since it is bent at hip). France has Eiffel Tower. Italy has pasta and Leaning Tower of Pizza, err, Pisa. America – such […]Read More
The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in the Greek Mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This came to be called the golden touch or the Midas Touch. In the dance scene in India there is one lady who is blessed with the same magical Midas touch. Each dance […]Read More
When the sea of knowledgeable and eminent practitioners of the art get together under one roof, what does one expect? Either there are fireworks between them or an evening is turned into a pulsating cosmos. The evening curated by Kalashri Dr Lata Surendra was nothing short of that. The talks and the performances based on […]Read More
There is always a mixed reaction of people, when an Indian classical dance is compared to Western classical dance, the response gets even more heated up when an Indian classical dancer is compared to a Western classical dancer. I have been good friends with many Indian and Western dancers from all over the world and […]Read More
Gurukul we have heard of. A place where young ones went to learn. Today, a cool guru is the operative word! Seeing young India and them millennials at a Sunday morning function celeb a 75-year-old guru (though she looks 50 – proving once again dance keeps one young, fit and smiling – like this Guru Sucheta Chapekar […]Read More