 
Your visions will become clear
only when you can look into your own heart
Who looks outside, dreams
Who looks inside, awakes
- Carl Jung, psychiatrist and psychotherapist
Aaaand... hello again!
Another month goes by. Another capture through my personal lens. Another
set of thoughts shared. As Time marches on and tastes shift and
change, it is a challenge to find that common ground that you, the
reader who can be - dancer, choreographer, guru, teacher, musician,
composer, costume designer, lighting director, Arts manager or anyone
who is interested or working in the performing arts sector can connect
to. Being a senior in the field, I realise that many of my views are
shaped by the long decades of learning, performing, producing, curating,
mentoring, speaking and writing about dance and society. I write and
speak as I see it.
Flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district
Arun Sankar/Getty Images
Against the backdrop of the devastating tragedy enveloping Nepal, I wish
to pause and reflect on the rage of the elements. Fires, floods,
typhoons and cyclones are no strangers to our planet and it becomes even
more urgent to pay attention to these cataclysmic events, especially
when they become fodder for dance themes.
This month, I will write about the three performances I watched at the
annual Chennai NATYARANGAM dance festival and the issues that emerged
from this event. For 28 years, the dance wing of the Narada Gana Sabha
has been curating and producing an annual event based on a particular
theme. 27 years ago, I was part of a Faith based festival called DHARMA
BHARATAM in which I was given the subject of Islam. Yes, you read that
correctly. My presentation was titled TARKAASH - the quiver. With music
by OS Arun (fabulous!) and lights by the late Mithran Devanesan
(gorgeous) and costumes from my personal wardrobe, the evening was made
especially meaningful with the presence of 100 young women from SIET
college, seated quietly, all robed in Burqas! Today, with changing times
and shrill identity soaked voices, it is inconceivable for a reprise of
that moment. .
Read more
or
Use the audio control at the top of the link page to listen to the editorial
anitaratnam.com
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Remembering Ebrahim Alkazi
- Dr Sunil Kothari
It was during the year 1954 that my late dear painter friend Bhupen
Khakhar and I were attending a series of lectures by Ebrahim Alkazi at
Bhulabhai Memorial Institute on Warden Road.
Yog Sunder: The dancer extraordinary
- Dr Utpal K Banerjee
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth in a royal family of Gujarat, he
was exposed early in life to the Spartan Gandhian principles....
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BIRTHDAY WISHES
Meera Sreenarayanan: Sept 29
Amrita Lahiri: Sept 30
Indira Kadambi: Sept 30
Arshiya Sethi: Oct 3
Madhavi Mudgal: Oct 4
Roja Kannan: Oct 6
Raja Reddy: Oct 6
Shama Bhate: Oct 6
Parwati Dutta: Oct 6
Kiran Subramanyam: Oct 8
Chitra Visweswaran: Oct 12
Veena Murthy Vijay: Oct 15
Shafeek Beekey: Oct 17
Purvadhanashree: Oct 18
Rathna Kumar: Oct 27
Ramya Sundaresan Kapadia: Oct 27
Hema Rajagopalan: Oct 28
Kaladharan: Oct 30
QUOTE
Everybody adapts dance
for the medium it is presented in. Cinema adapted it for the camera.
Today, people adapt it for social media. The form changes because the
frame changes.
- Shobana
('Bharatanatyam is unquestionably divine, but...: Actor-dancer Shobana,' by Suanshu Khurana, The Indian Express, Sept 6, 2026)
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