Classical dance is a language that has the power to express your deepest emotions. When we learn a language from scratch, where do we begin? When you read, you begin with A-B-C; when you sing you begin with Do Re Mi ... The alphabet of dance consists of mudras or patterns formed with your hands. With four fingers and a thumb, the number of mudras we can form is extensive. Codified by the Natya Shastra, a treatise on dramaturgy, mudras form the base of Indian classical dance.What makes a mudra beautiful? What can we express with our hands? Who sets down these rules? How can I understand something I see? Expression through our hands - Hastaabhinaya. At "Abhinaya", our dance workshop at The Cultural Centre. … [Read more...]
Abhinaya: A Dance Workshop
What is abhinaya? Does it really just mean 'expression'?Etymologically, abhinaya comes from two words 'abhi' (towards) and 'niya' (leading). So, Abhinaya leads you, the audience towards something. And what is that something? Rasa - aesthetic pleasure. Considering that these ideas come from the Natya Shastra, the abhinaya aspect of dance is linked to theatre and drama. It involves the aspect of dance that deals with storytelling, expression and emotion.Come, experience the richness and depth of abhinaya with us at "Abhinaya: A Workshop on Indian Classical Dance" at The Cultural Centre later this month.Dates: 26th and 27th July, 2014 Time: 5 pm - 7 pm Fee: Rs. 1,500For more details, do contact me or call: 09764441478 … [Read more...]
The Midnight Fox
It is not that I have not been reading. As a matter of fact, I have been reading quite a bit. I read A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master and enjoyed it. I read three of Dick King-Smith's Sophie books. But nothing prompted me to write until this one - The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars.The Midnight Fox builds suspense so brilliantly that I had to keep taking time out to breathe a bit. I needed to know what happened next, but did not want to know.With old books, I am usually pretty sure that somehow or the other, there will be a happily-ever-after ending. With this one, each page made me chew my lip and wonder and hope. I almost did not finish reading it simply because I was so afraid.But I finished it and it filled me with a deep sense of grandeur.The Midnight Fox showed me the wonder of things that are wild. Fierce love that lives in the face of danger, hope that survives even during … [Read more...]
Workshop Coming Soon …
We are conducting a dance workshop (followed by a performance) soon ...I will share the details in the next few days! … [Read more...]
Not the Mona Lisa
Entry to the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of each month, and I landed in Paris on the first Sunday of June. Jet lag is a luxury that people who have time and money to spend in a foreign country can afford. I couldn’t.Whatever debate may surround the aesthetics of the pyramid of the Louvre, within, you have everything to choose from. For a few seconds, we stood there, letting history and culture seep into our blood.“So, where do you want to go?” My sister smiled at me.“Not the Egyptian zone, that’s for sure.”I could not decide, so we walked along, slowly getting the kind of head-rush that I have begun to associate with museums. As our heads filled to saturation-point, we began to wander a little aimlessly, continuing to look at things around us. We saw the crowd around the Mona Lisa.“Do you want to go?” my sister asked, a little doubtfully.I shook my head. “She looks … [Read more...]
Storytelling with Varsha – Tomorrow!
Here are some pictures from the past. See you tomorrow!Storytelling with Varsha Age-group: 5-8 years Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Registration Fee: Rs. 350 Date: 20th June, 2014 (Friday) Time: 6 pm to 7 pm … [Read more...]
Storytelling at Friends Library, Pune
When I conducted a reading workshop at Friends Library, many parents came to me and asked me to do something for younger children.Finally, here is a storytelling workshop for the littler ones.Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road, Pune Date: 20th June, 2014 (Friday) Time: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fee: Rs. 350 … [Read more...]
Storytelling Photographs
Here are a couple of photographs from my storytelling session at The Cultural Centre.Looking forward to my next workshop! … [Read more...]
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus, Atticus ... How I love you! Who says that you are not a good parent?To Kill a Mockingbird is moving, painful and joyful. It fills my heart with the goodness and stupidity of humanity.When I read a story like To Kill a Mockingbird, I feel the power of literature. Literature can echo in your head with phrases and pictures that make you want to close your eyes and relive each moment.A man, be he any colour of the rainbow, is equal in the eyes of law. I love that. I remember that one line from the first time I read it, when I was too young to treasure more bits and pieces. I love the idea of people being different colours of the rainbow. And even this imagined violet/green/red man is equal to the white man in court.I can see in my head the court scene, Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson. I can see Aunt Alexandra, who can behave like a lady even in the worst of … [Read more...]
Storytelling at The Cultural Centre, Pune
What better place to tell stories than in the silence of a place surrounded by nature?The Cultural Centre Pune is ideal.I had a truly enjoyable session with five children from three different countries. In keeping with the international spirit, we told stories from three different countries. And then, I had the fortune of listening to a fascinating story told by one of the children there - about a tiger and a wild boar. It is about the wild boar's unhappiness at not getting a return gift at the tiger's birthday party. So much does he complain and so generous is the tiger, that the wild boar ultimately gets a 'BIG' internet connection. In addition, his complaints earn him a lamp, a torch, a cooking pot, a pair of shoes and a man, each as large as the room we were in!Working with children opens the mind. I can only just imagine the wild boar sitting with his big internet … [Read more...]