Appreciation 2023 "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!" - Ramya Harishankar "In the early eighties when dancers all over the world struggled to be connected to resources much needed, Narthaki appeared as a treasure in the form of a simple directory of artistes and support resource people. This was the only worldwide directory which was consistently updated by Anita and team. Today it has developed into the ONLY online portal for every kind of resource, news, reviews and notes from stalwarts and announcements of performances. Narthaki is a complete platform which satisfies every need of a dancer whether it be resources or visibility! Congratulations to Anita Ratnam and Team Narthaki for this unique gift to the dance world!" - Hema Rajagopalan "Narthaki is our Information patron! I still remember how difficult it was to source information like contacts, addresses, phone numbers related to dance before Narthaki happened, democratising the flow of information related to dance. What a monumental shift that was in the world of classical dance in India. To be featured in narthaki under 'In the Limelight' was a feather in itself! The Narthaki directory was the first thing I packed on dance tours. Over the last 3 decades, Narthaki has grown from strength to strength, and continues to be an essential part of our dance trajectory, bringing incisive insight to the wide spectrum of dance. Kudos to Anita Ratnam for her vision, and team Narthaki, for continuing to have our hearts forever." - Ananda Shankar Jayant "When NARTHAKI, the first national directory of Indian dance was released in 1992, the excitement was infectious; imagine, this pocket-sized handbook was going to be THE ready reckoner for the dance fraternity across the globe. It took the ever intrepid, imaginative Anita Ratnam to create and produce this vital resource which has now, in its online avatar, become a veritable, unstoppable expansion of ideas, writings, forums, guest columns... Through her writing, Anita advocates for open discourse, a critical look at issues of dance in society such as - dwindling audiences and apathy for dance, professionalism on the part of artistes and presenters, absence of private and government support for the arts, ill equipped theatres with unsafe stages and unacceptable toilet facilities... Subjects that should matter to each of us who care about our dance careers!! NARTHAKI is a champion for Indian dance. Support it. Pay your annual membership." - Lata Pada "Pioneer in the digital world even when 'digital' was not the in word. One of the finest repositories of Performing Arts network connecting artistes worldwide. Happy to be part of it since its inception. Thank you, Narthaki." - Priyadarshini Ghosh "She has been dancing for three decades now, making her way through dancers, musicians, critics and art lovers. Starting her journey on paper, she was quick to adapt onto the virtual platform. She has brought the art fraternity closer with her constant new choreographies, featuring new artists and fresh themes. She is ever ready to share with her audience, all that is in store, be it artist info, announcements, dance events, reviews, reports, art related articles, birthday dates and more. She has audience worldwide eagerly waiting to access the information that she has to share. With Anita Ratnam as her choreographer and ably supported by Lalitha, she is a dancer with a difference in the world of dance. She is NARTHAKI!" - Vyjayanthi Kashi "Over the years, Narthaki, the premier mouthpiece for Indian Dance, has been my go to when I am desperately looking for a booster to lift me up. It has been thoughtfully put together to satisfy anyone and everyone who has something to do with dance. Ever grateful to the team, Anita Ratnam the soul and spirit behind the dance letter, along with Lalitha Venkat, and others who bring out with remarkable proficiency, a transformational dance journal online every month in keeping with our times. Thank you for this invaluable service to the art of Dance and Indian dance, in particular. Wishing you continued growth and success." - Mamata Niyogi Nakra 'It's a political act to decide to be a performing artiste': Anita Ratnam - Arundhati Chakravarty In Delhi to mark 30 years of Narthaki - an online platform she created to connect the dance community - dancer, writer and arts entrepreneur Anita Ratnam talks about issues surrounding dance in India, the impact of the pandemic and challenges faced by performing artistes. 'I didn't choose dance, it chose me': Anita Ratnam - Judith Mariya Antony In a candid conversation with Patriot, Ratnam talks about her passion for dance, the development of India's largest phone directory of dancers - 'Narthaki', its growth, and the invention of her dance style Neo-Bharatam. Anita Ratnam celebrates World Dance Day with 30 years of NARTHAKI - SNS Contributing profoundly to her beloved domain of arts and performing arts Dr. Anita Ratnam has always been on the forefront to propagate, nurture and protect the art. Narthaki was a Bible for dancers, and was the first item we all packed on a dance tour….. Narthaki - A veritable Google for Indian dance that not just aggregated dance information, but also provided knowledge with it….. Narthaki has become an indispensable networking tool for the worldwide Indian dance community. - Ananda Shankar Jayant, ‘Directory of all things dance,’ The New Indian Express, July 1, 2017 Directory of all things dance - Ananda Shankar Jayant The dancer talks about Narthaki - a digital space created by maestro Anita Ratnam for the Indian classical dance industry. Accolades for Anita Ratnam Anita Ratnam's contribution through narthaki.com recognised... It's time to make way for the next generation, says Anita Ratnam - Rupa Srikanth, The Hindu, Oct 1, 2020 Ratnam founded www.narthaki.com, the celebrated Indian dance portal… - Sangeet Natak Akademi “NARTHAKI has been chosen for being the first of its kind digital platform, creating a unifying space for Indian dance practitioners, dance-educators, event organizers, critics, scholars, and aspiring young students, from around the globe, and for consistently providing a healthy forum for free and bold debates and dialoguing, without fear of censorship, about issues that concern dancers and the dance community. This Citation Award also offers special recognition to Anita Ratnam as Narthaki’s founder and managing editor both for creating and managing Narthaki, as well as for her other vital contributions to the dance field… Through this Citation Award, CNB also applauds Narthaki’s indefatigable editorial team, Lalitha Venkat (content editor) and Sumathi (webmaster) who, through their meticulous work, keep the dance world connected month after month. We wish NARTHAKI and its team the very best for its continued growth and service to the global Indian-dance community.” - Citation by Chinmaya Naada Bindu for Chinmaya Naada Bindu Puraskar (Feb 7, 2020) The Vishwa Kala Ratna award (2016) was conferred on Anita for her sterling contribution towards NARTHAKI.COM, a 19-year-old dance portal that has been chronicling, commenting and critiquing the many worlds of Indian dance practice, performance and presentation across the world. - AIYD 2020 (Australia India Youth Dialogue) Dancers need reviews; as an institution dance criticism is almost dead. Thanks to narthaki.com it is alive! - Dr. Sunil Kothari, critic & scholar, New Delhi Narthaki certainly is perhaps the only publication online that connects artists and connoisseurs globally! - Hema Rajagopalan, Natya Dance Theatre, Chicago You were always ahead of your time. When you started this portal, many of us didn't even have an email account!!! - Rajika Puri, Odissi dancer & presenter, NYC Narthaki: dance world's ultimate refuge. Where else do we find the vast array of dance related fare you have to offer! - Mamata Niyogi-Nakra, Kala Bharati, Montreal Narthaki.com is such an important site for Indian dance and we all diaspora folks really appreciate reading it. - Ketu H Katrak, dance scholar, Irvine, CA Narthaki is doing such a wonderful contribution to the performing arts world. Kudos to Anita Ratnam for her service and keen interest in bringing hearts together through art. Narthaki is the best link to the art world. - Shanta Dhananjayan, Bharatanatyam guru, Bharata Kalanjali, Chennai Narthaki has become beautiful and elaborately informative! Kudos for developing it so well. - G Venu, Koodiyattam artiste/guru & scholar, Irinjalakuda, Kerala Narthaki has been a pioneer in different aspects of art journalism and appreciate your efforts to bring out this newsletter and create a forum for discussion of our arts. - Sujatha Srinivasan, dance teacher, NJ We all are grateful to narthaki for this selfless service and uniting the whole dance world with such global reach. - Dr. Sunil Kothari, dance critic & scholar, Delhi What a gold mine of up-to-date dance news and comments. - Reginald Massey, scholar, UK We appreciate the tremendous work that you carry in promoting our Indian classical dance forms and artistes through your website narthaki.com. It has set a milestone in Indian dance history. - Dr. V Varadarajan, President, Brahan Natyanjali Foundation, Thanjavur Narthaki has made a huge contribution to Indian dance worldwide. The mapping exercise that you carried out along with founding the first and only exclusive site for Indian dance has made a difference to dancers everywhere. - Sanjeevini Dutta, Pulse magazine, UK Anita Ratnam and team are doing an immense service to the world of arts, esp dance, to keep Narthaki a space of objective thinking, creativity and growth for not only artistes, but also non-performing art lovers to learn from. - Veejay Sai, art critic, Delhi Congrats to Narthaki. You people are doing an excellent job. Finally I’ve found a resourceful site for Indian art. - Vimala Devi, Bharatanatyam dancer, Malaysia Narthaki has enhanced the dance-news and views circuit of info flow. Keep it up! - Ashish Khokar, ed of Attendance, dance annual of India, Bangalore Thank you for all the many valuable services that Narthaki offers to the international dance community. I am very appreciative of this unique service. - Jai Govinda, Mandala Arts & Culture, Canada I have enjoyed some really wonderful articles on your Narthaki website. Also I am delighted they are dated. Thank you very much for this resource. - Uttara Asha Coorlawala, writer/contemporary dancer, NY Narthaki web magazine seems to be a favourite site and source of information on matters of art and culture and referred not only by NRIs, but also other nationals interested in matters Indian. - The Dhananjayans, Bharata Kalanjali, Chennai Thank for the wonderful service that you have been offering the dance community around the globe. It is humbling to see how Narthaki has created space for various art forms, artistes, minor artistes, technicians, back stage artistes under one roof. - Anjali Nandan, Natyam Academy, IL Dear Narthaki, you are an inspiration for a whole new generation of dancers, one is PriyaLasya, a concept that is entirely owing its cause to narthaki. About the cultural warriors or creative intuitions, there has been motivation from your work. - PriyaLasya Team Stupendous achievements and kudos to you, Anita, and your team for relentlessly supporting and propagating the arts. - Kiran Subramanyam, Rasika Academy, Bangalore Narthaki is a great one stop guide and resource for dancers, connoisseurs and dance patrons. - Courtyard Dancers, PA Kudos on the phenomenal portal for arts & culture, especially Bharatanatyam. Have been an ardent visitor for some time now. - Jyothsna Krishnan, Belgium No doubt that the portal was and is a trend setter! - Lakshmi Ramaswamy, Mudralaya, Chennai Narthaki is a global dance networking platform and is rightly called ‘Bible’ of Indian dance. - Avinav Mukherjee, Kathak dancer, Delhi Narthaki was a big inspiration for me when I started to think seriously about pursuing dance as a career. - Sonali Mishra, Odissi dancer, Bhubaneswar |