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.