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Varsha Seshan

Guru Mythili Raghavan

March 5, 2017 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

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 on our own like so many other dancers? The answer lies in a story that each one of us is only too willing to share. […]

Filed Under: Books, Dance, Writing Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, reading

Kothi Heritage, Jodhpur

November 25, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

You know how fancy, hoity-toity people tell you that when you go to Rajasthan, you absolutely must stay in a palace? “It’s part of the experience,” they say. And depending on the kind of person you are, you may nod politely and say mentally, ‘Ya, right’, or you may just shoot the suggestion down. We […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: India, Jodhpur, Kothi Heritage

People and Places, Jodhpur

November 24, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I think local cuisine is a big part of the travelling experience. At Hotel Prateek in Jodhpur, the menu card had a little note telling me what to visit and what to eat! And I love meeting new people when I travel; it’s all part of the experience! Walking down from Mehrangarh Fort, we met a couple standing outside […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: India, Jodhpur

Ghantaghar, Jodhpur

November 23, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A Ghantaghar, a huge clock tower, stands at the centre of the market at Jodhpur. In my mother’s time, there were camels around the Ghantaghar too, but now, I can barely imagine there being enough room for a goat, let alone a camel! The clock cost three lakhs way back in 1911. One lakh was paid for the […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Ghantaghar, India, Jodhpur

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

November 22, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Jodhpur – how welcoming you were to us! I know that Jodhpur, much more than Jaipur, is a place I’ll visit again! After my workshop at Central Academy, Pal, I heard stories about the Jodhpur Fort. I heard about how there are people who do not want to leave Jodhpur because they cannot live without their […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: India, Jodhpur, Mehrangarh Fort

Monkeys at Matheran

November 8, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The monkeys at Matheran are notorious. Everyone has a monkey story – here’s mine. I stepped out early in the morning, and was charmed. I love the freshness of mornings, and Matheran was exceptional. It was one of those times when I felt I simply had to share the morning withe everyone, so I went back […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: India, Matheran

Matheran – Day Two

November 7, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

At Matheran, all we really wanted to do is get away from all the people and explore. So, the day after our visit to the market, we decided to walk to ‘Nature of Panorama Point’. I, for one, could not stop smiling at the name. The moment we left the smell of people and horses behind, […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: India, Matheran

Matheran – Day One

November 5, 2016 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Everyone keeps talking about Matheran. All my life, I’ve heard about how beautiful it is. People keep telling me that there are no cars, only horses, and that it’s a breath of fresh air. This Diwali, I finally went to Matheran–and realised that everyone was right! In The Toy Train, I wrote about how the steam engine […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: India, Matheran

Kalakshetra Performance – The New Indian Express

June 23, 2015 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Yes, we really performed. Even though the picture does not show it, I was really there too.

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, Academy of Indian Dances, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, Kalakshetra, Mythili Raghavan, performance, programme

Jatayu Moksham

February 8, 2015 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

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 world. I am awed by the vision of Rukmini Devi, and her incredible imagination. I see dance as architecture, performance and storytelling. I am moved to laughter […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme, review

Leopard

January 17, 2015 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We did our research before we went to Nagzira. We knew there were barely any tigers, but we also knew that many, many tourists saw a leopard in Nagzira. Surely, in eleven safaris, we would see one too. The first, second, third, fourth (in Koka) and fifth safaris were over. We were restless. Much as we […]

Filed Under: Jungle, Travel Tagged With: forest, India, leopard, Nagzira, national park, sanctuary, wildlife

Starry, Starry Night

January 16, 2015 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

“There’s nothing in new Nagzira.” “Why don’t you go to Koka?” “It’s about 35 km from here.” “Anyway, Nagzira is closed on Thursdays.” “You could go to Koka on Thursday.” “Maybe you’ll see a sloth bear.” “Or bison.” We didn’t agree that there was nothing in new Nagzira. There were fewer animals; we did not […]

Filed Under: Jungle, Travel Tagged With: forest, gypsy, India, jeep, Koka, Nagzira, national park, safari, sanctuary, wildlife

Workshop Coming Soon …

June 29, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

We are conducting a dance workshop (followed by a performance) soon … I will share the details in the next few days!

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme, workshop

Women of Pride

April 9, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Books, Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, history, India, reading, review

Ram Navami

April 8, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Three years ago, we performed on a beautiful stage as part of the Kannada Sangha celebrations in Pune. I can’t quite believe that it was three years ago. Waiting to perform again!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme

Arangetram

April 7, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

Often, invitation cards say that ‘Arangetram’ means ‘ascending the stage’. Theoretically, all of us know that it is our first stage programme. Then why is it supposed to be so perfect? It is a beginning, an entrance. We often widen our eyes and raise our eyebrows at students who perform their Arangetram ‘too early’. At […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: Arangetram, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme

Baby Krishna

January 21, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Finally, here are a few photographs of the baby that everyone loved so much. It’s a doll, yes, a doll, made by my French mother. It’s not a real baby, no. We dressed it (her) as Baby Krishna for our performance in December – here are a few pictures!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, France, French, India, performance, programme

Seatbelt

August 25, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

During an exchange programme with a school in France, I noticed something I had never noticed before – rickshaws do not have doors! The first time I went in a rickshaw with my French correspondent, my eyes widened. How comfortable would she feel? Would she be afraid of a vehicle like this without doors? I […]

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: France, French, India, rickshaw

Independence Day

August 17, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I have a dear friend who is half-French, half-Brazilian. She’s been living in India for about five years now, and is a unique blend of several cultures. Here’s what she said about the 15th of August, 2013. How I feel during Independence Day…  So today is Independence Day and I went for Flag hoisting in […]

Filed Under: People Tagged With: India

Performing in Renage

July 1, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A very dear friend of my sister’s organised a performance for us at a chapel in Renage. That was when we learned what effective publicity is. Michèle, who, I should mention, is in her seventies, did absolutely everything to make people come for our performance. She, helped by two friends, went (literally) from pillar to […]

Filed Under: Dance, Travel Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, France, French, India, performance, programme

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