Leela Samson has officially taken over as the Chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and I will have an opportunity to work under her leadership from a vantage position as member of the Executive Council for the next four years. This is a uniquely historic situation where the SNA has two dancers in pivotal positions, Leela Samson and Jayant Kastuar, the secretary. With India and all things Indian becoming buzzwords around the world, Samson has her hands full with the increasing cultural babble in India and the rising confidence of the diaspora practitioners who have the backup of technical and academic coherence.

Closer to home, MS Subbalakshmi is being remembered around her birthday which falls on September 16. It was Lata Pada who commemorated this singing legend's anniversary many years ago with a festival called 'Kaatrinile Varum Geetam' in Canada and now Arvind Shankar, a 'rasika', has been conducting an annual event in Madurai since 2008. Rehearsing for an evening dedicated to MS has brought back many memories of this gracious lady and her support for my dancing while I was a teenager. It was upon MS's insistence that my sister Pritha and I were invited to open the prestigious Music Academy session's December season in 1970. That was the year I first met Dr. Sunil Kothari and that evening's performance contained Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattam for an audience that comprised of MS, her husband Sadasivam, Balasaraswati, Padma Subrahmanyam, Sudharani Raghupathy and many more luminaries of the cultural world. It was the first time I danced MS's famous composition "Ranga Pura Vihara," which is now the cornerstone for my favourite solo production, NEELAM. I was too young to understand the importance of that moment; that it had been many years since a dance performance had opened the annual December season at the Academy and that many years later, a scholar would point it out in far away Toronto. How cyclical life is and, if you hang around long enough, all things return to you.

A breakthrough is imminent at the hallowed ground for classical music and dance. While the Music Academy has had a major interior facelift, the attitudes of the organizing committee have not shifted much until very recently. Supported by many senior gurus, the Music Academy is seriously considering the inclusion of recorded music in dance performances in the near future. The rising wail of dancers held ransom by unprofessional and greedy dance musicians, especially in Tamilnadu, is becoming something of an urban legend. While almost every venue accepts quality recorded music, validation by the Academy will mark an important shift in cultural policy and encourage more collaborations with concert level singers and accompanists who will never sit on the stage for a dancer.

The silver jubilee of the International Dance Alliance was celebrated with such fanfare in Chennai last month and audiences were treated to many of the dance legends on stage over three consecutive days. Right now, the annual Natyarangam VAGGEYABHARATAM festival is filling the Narada Gana Sabha auditorium. The theme this year honours composer/musicians (vaageyakaras) and Alarmel Valli leads a stellar cast of dedicated dancers for the rest of this week in Chennai.

Dancers are increasingly being asked to contribute or speak at conferences about spirituality, health, wellness, fitness and even management. Corporate India has woken up to the creative gene and articulate performers are increasingly in demand for such occasions. While Bharatanatyam was at the centre of the political debate about recovering Indian identity during the freedom struggle, the classical arts are experiencing a resurgence in a very different way. It's about time!

I conclude with an interesting tidbit. Did you know that Narthaki is a place in Greece? Surprised? So was I when I discovered this fact.

Enjoy the month through dance, sweat, doubts and laughter.

Dr. Anita R Ratnam
Phd. Women's Studies
(yes... it is officially done!)

Varadarajaswamy temple, Kanchipuram Photo: Lalitha Venkat