Women of Pride unravelled a lot of questions before proceeding to respond to them, at least in part . There was so much about the devadasis that I did not know. Often in books I read, the history of these temple dancers was cheerfully summed up in a couple of sentences. The devadasis were nityasumangali […]
Ideas and Institutions in Medieval India
Paperback ISBN 978-81-250-5174-9 Hard cover ISBN 978-81-250-5175-6 Author: Dr. Radhika Seshan (Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Pune) Publisher: Orient BlackSwan
Counterblast to Tobacco
While researching the history of the Stuarts, I discovered some delightful pieces of information. Elizabeth I did not trust tobacco – it made her sick. But she was also intrigued by it. Once, she bet Raleigh that he would be unable to tell her the weight of the smoke. Raleigh was, always, a performer. He […]
Experiences on Stage III
Performing in Chidambaram is an experience that any dancer would cherish. Mythologically, it is the place where Lord Shiva came and danced the Ananda Tandava, at the request of the sages. The golden temple of Chidambaram finds its way into many traditional songs, thanks to its splendour and history. When we danced there, one of […]
Raghurajpur
If you have a day in Puri, visit Raghurajpur. You can see the Konark temple in history textbooks; you can’t see the little craft village with all its passion and creativity. Raghurajpur is famous for painting on Tussar silk and for its palm-leaf engraving. Watching the process of engraving palm leaves was fascinating, as was noticing […]