
RRR's 'Naatu Naatu' wins Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards
Mar 2023
Anita says.....
In love's struggle
One withers, as the other blossoms
One is shaded, the other illuminated
One's a sheep, the other a shepherd
One's the feet, the other a towering head
One's a glutton as the other starves
One rides the winds as the other is trampled underfoot
One blossoms, the other fades
Geetanjali Shree, Booker Prize Winner RET SAMADHI (Hindi)
From the English translation TOMB OF SAND by Daisy Rockwell

March
opened with sadness. My guide, well-wisher and long distance mentor,
Guru Kanak Rele passed away. It was on the morning of February 22 that
she took her last breath. Ailing for several weeks, the end was
predicted. But nothing prepares us for the finality of the end. In this
instance, Kanakben departs with an amazing legacy of an institution,
pedagogy, performance, teaching and 50 continuous years of
dance-obsessed service!
She was a huge influence on my teenage life. My first memory was
sitting in the Madras Music Academy in the early 1970s and watching her
confidently explain each Mohiniattam item, standing before the
microphone, with hand gestures. Measured English and allowing the
sentences with the gesture vocabulary to reach the house full audience.
It was that evening that got me started on how to introduce my own dance
pieces.
Fast forward to 1979. New York City. Kanak Rele was on a
temporary visit as the wife of Yatin Rele, head of Bank of India.
Together we organised an evening of Mohiniattam at the Indian Consulate
and this time, it was me who introduced her to the audience of several
diplomatic dignitaries.
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Ramya Harishankar, artistic director of Arpana Dance Company, Irvine, CA, has been a member of Narthaki since 2006.
 In
my early years in the US, much before the internet and ready access to
the world, the Narthaki directory given to me by my mother served as a
link to the world of Indian dance. The portal has blossomed into a
unique one bringing together 'artists' from across the globe. This is
your legacy, Anita Ratnam, and kudos to the Narthaki team!
QUOTE
"Dance for yourself. If someone understands, good. If not, no matter."
- Louis Horst
BIRTHDAY WISHESPKG Nambiar (Koodiyattam): March 1
K Kalyanasundaram (BN): March 1
Bhabananda Barbayan (Sattriya): March 1
Sudharani Raghupathy (BN): March 21
Vidhya Subramanian (BN): March 24
Pattadakkal, Karnataka, 7th to 8th C
Photo: Seetha Ratnakar
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