Dear Ms. Bharadvaj
I read your brilliant article on
narthaki.com regarding the Kuchipudi convention in Cupertino, and wanted
to thank you for finally putting in writing what a number of us were feeling
that weekend.
I attended the convention with the
hopes of improving my academic knowledge of the art form. I did not fly
from New York to the Bay area for lofty speeches, nor to witness a world
record. My interest came about as I had learnt the art form as a child
through my teenage years. I'm currently finishing my doctorate in performance
studies, and have become increasingly interested in the theory, history
and practice of Kuchipudi. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I gained
more knowledge by placing myself in earshot of people such as Sunil Kothari,
Anuradha Jonnalagadda and great senior artistes, than the entire time I
was sat in the auditorium hearing about the achievements of Silicon Andhra.
Your article spoke many truths about
the convention, and I hope the organizers would take note of some of the
valid points you raise. Do you know if they have seen a copy of the article?
Perhaps the Dance Festival of India
in NYC this Fall may open the doors to us "youngsters" who have the hunger
to learn, but the ability to get access to this wealth of knowledge in
India seems otherwise difficult.
Kindest regards
Prithi Kanakamedala
(July 15, 2008)
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