I visited Chartres last about ten years ago. When I told my French family that, they were concerned. Would I like to go to the same place again? Should we […]
Travelling to France during the Strikes
Only yesterday I read about Paris transport being set to return to normal after a 45-day strike. 45 days. It’s a long time. For part of this time, we were […]
Back from Bali
Today, I finally finished writing my travelogue, which is over 50 pages long. I needed to get that done quickly before I forgot all the details! And now, I can […]
Performing in Varanasi
The last time I visited Varanasi, I was nearly run down by a charging bull. Not surprisingly, when the planning began for a dance trip to Varanasi, I was not […]
Why Performances are Fun
Anyone who has ever performed knows about the adrenalin rush, the energy, the feeling of having achieved something. But more than all of these, I think performances are fun because […]
Dashami Poojai
Each year, we have a poojai at dance class for Dashami. Now, at the Academy of Indian Dances, there are four teachers, including me. Mythili Mami is, of course, head; […]
Guru Mythili Raghavan
What makes Mythili Maami special? Why have so many of us been with her for two decades and longer? Why did we not leave the Academy of Indian Dances and set up […]
Urja – A Classical Dance Festival
Maharashtra Cultural Centre has invited the Academy of Indian Dances to perform for Urja, a classical dance festival. For this performance, we’ve taken an old theme, one that we presented […]
Our Performance Last Week
Many things went wrong. Too many things went wrong. Mahatma Phule Sanskrutik Bhavan informed us on the 5th of December that the mayor required the hall on the 18th, so […]
Performance at Tirupathi
As a child watching a cricket match live on television, I remember asking my grandfather, “How does the camera know where to look?” Two days ago, looking at five people sitting […]
Performing on 8 May!
I’ve lost count of the number of times people have asked me when we’re performing in Pune. Finally, here we go! The senior students of the Academy of Indian Dances […]
Our Performance on Sunday
Performing for three minutes is often more trouble than it’s worth … not this time, though. People often assume that a three-minute performance is no big deal. Let’s look at […]
Paying a Tribute – Sakal Times
Thank you, Sakal Times, for the article about our Kalakshetra performance!
Kalakshetra Performance – The New Indian Express
Yes, we really performed. Even though the picture does not show it, I was really there too.
Performing at Kalakshetra!
To say that we are honoured, privileged and humbled all at the same time is to say nothing at all. We are going to perform at Kalakshetra, the place where our […]
Paid Artists
I have been learning dance for 22 years. Yes, that is a lot. Often, people ask us whether this means that we have our own dance classes. No. That is […]
Jatayu Moksham
The Kalakshetra troupe performed in Pune for the first time last evening. Finally. When I watch them dance, I understand. I understand why Kalakshetra is such a reputed name in the dance […]
Arangetram – Chaitrali, Diaspina and Purvi
“How was the Arangetram? How did Chaitrali do?” my mother asked. I had one word in response, “Moving.” And it was moving for more reasons than one. When Chaitrali, despite her […]
Arangetram
The Academy of Indian Dances welcomes you to the Arangetram of Chaitrali, Diya and Purvi. Chaitrali is a special girl with a hearing disability despite which she has persevered and […]
Day One: Abhinaya
The day was full of surprises, with just two participants for our workshop. We had questions about whether we should cancel. We decided against it, and perhaps it was a […]