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ANITA SAYS..... Jan 1, 2026 "I believe that a person who does not have respect for time and does not have a sense of timing can achieve little." - Pioneering space scientist Dr Vikram Sarabhai  And just like that! It is 2026! The Chinese year of the Horse. The sacred month of Margazhi or Margasirsha. The time of holidays, family gatherings, dance meetings and of transition when we watch another 12 months that has flashed past us and a brand new dozen appears, filled with the promise of an improved year ahead. 2025 has been a year of great fluctuations. Many of us in the performing arts have faced major life shuffles, dislocations, health challenges and many ruptures. But the year has also been important for personal development, career shifts and lifestyle readjustments. Global and geo political realities have impacted the arts and have reduced the flow of people and ideas. The rise and rise of digital technology has caught many of us by surprise and is presently overwhelming us with its astonishing complexity and sophistication. And yet, here I am. Writing this monthly column, now in its 16th year. That means that this is the 190th monthly edition that I am sharing with you. It has been and continues to be a privilege to express my views and opinions as another generation of dance emerges to claim space and attention for Indian dance. Whether Gen Z and the Millennials read my thoughts or not, these will remain as a document of observations and reflections of a dance passionista! What was my December like? A mix of everything, like life itself. Family, health issues, difficult but successful collaborations, inspiring talks, choreographing, performing and travelling. Meeting old friends in Chennai is always one of the highlights of this month. The annual Natya Kala Conference continued to draw a wide swathe of younger dancers who have converged onto the city to meet, network, listen and celebrate. The uncertainty of the US visa situation kept many away but the turnout at the conference was still impressive. Unsurprisingly, there were very few Chennai dancers who turned up for the conference sessions.  Nirupama & Rajendra With this edition, performers Nirupama and Rajendra conclude their two year turn as convenors. The next artiste to take on the mantle of responsibility is Urmila Sathyanarayanan for '26 and '27.  Urmila Sathyanarayanan Audiences for dance performances have not improved. In fact, they are certainly dipping and this should be a trend that Gen Z and the Millennials should take note of. With the exception of Shobana and Bijayini, most of the well-known dancers attracted only modest audiences. I watched 15 performances and came away with the following observations.
I like the bristling energy in parts of Chennai during this season. Meeting friends in restaurants and taking them sari shopping is always fun. I observe how time has not been kind to many senior artiste friends. Many have lost their life partners after 50 years of togetherness. A gentle shoulder squeeze, sharing morning coffee, informal conversations and laughter- these are the gifts that the December season offers me. With the absence of rains and the weather turning cooler than usual, it was a perfect time to wear our silks and even a light shawl in the mornings and evenings! I would like to talk about the performances that stayed with me long after the lights went black.  Divya Nayar I start with Divya Nayar's performance of BHAGAVATHY at the Serendipity Festival in Goa. Well staged and beautifully danced, Divya drew housefull crowds for both her shows and is establishing herself as a dancer to watch. The actual performance itself, while being compelling in its subject location within Kerala Goddess traditions, could have been aesthetically better without the over enthusiastic lighting design and the glaring projections. The audience loved the work and the spontaneous and prolonged applause spoke of their appreciation. Divya has the right combination of presence, technique, intelligence and a good knowledge of music.  Methil Devika In Chennai, I watched Methil Devika in a superb evening of Mohiniattam. From start to finish, she maintained the kinetic contours of the classical form while exploring challenging topics like Muthuswami Dikshitar's Nava Varna Kritis. In choreographic choices, stage exploration, music direction, research application and beautiful dancing, Devika conveyed an effortless mastery. Devika spoke to me after the show about how turning another milestone decade has given her the inner freedom to stop caring or worrying excessively about public opinion and the intense politics that Indian dance creates.  Vaibhav Arekar The same sentiment was echoed by Vaibhav Arekar in a podcast who also added that this was the ideal time to be a male dancer in India. The growing opportunities and invitations only showed the willingness of presenters to feature talented male dancers in their prime performance slots. Quite a change from a decade ago.  Abha (Photo: Haree Fotografie) Watching the trio of talented dancers - Parshwanath, Shruti and Aditya - perform their global hit ABHA after a decade reminded me of the well-known saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Inspired by mythologist Devdutt Patnaik's book on SITA, the first iterations of ABHA were replete with fresh ideas and excellent dancing. Watching it almost a decade later reminded me of how well comedy suits Parshwanath and how it is not necessary to thrust it into a work at every opportunity. The LAVA-KUSHA scene with their mother SITA was certainly a crowd pleaser but was overstated and over extended. The most improved dancer title of the season has to go to Shruti Gopal. Once firmly in Parshwanath's shadow, she is now the star dancer of the trio, her diminutive frame expanding to fill the Kalakshetra space with radiant confidence. Parshwanath opened the evening by invoking the hereditary community for their pivotal role in sustaining and inspiring generations of dancers and added a sentence to acknowledge the pioneering efforts of the one person within whose campus and auditorium he was performing in. Rukmini Devi Arundale! One hopes that Parshwanath understands that his global popularity comes with the responsibility of understanding and reading all aspects of Indian dance history. Not just what one echo chamber wishes to hear!  Bijayini Satpathy After many years, I watched Bijayini Satpathy in her new evening length work SHYAMA. Inspired totally from Jayadeva's "Geeta Govinda", Bijayini was at her physical best. Every bend, twist, turn, lunge, slide, arch and leap were executed to perfection. After a while, I forgot the content of her dance and was fascinated with the ease with which she explored every level from the floor to mid air with such effortless ease! Bijayini's housefull audience was very diverse - international and spanning generations - a definite nod to her solo superstar status. Each year I am reminded of how complete and magnificent Bharatanatyam is. The complexity of rhythms, the diversity of subjects, the genius of its composers, the depth and range of its lyrical riches - however chauvinistic I sound, Bharatanatyam, for all its growing challenges, is truly a complete form. In no other dance style have I seen an artiste hold her/his position in dynamic stillness and emote powerfully.  In the midst of all this "season" excitement, we at TEAM NARTHAKI released the second edition of the dance trivia book DID YOU KNOW? The first edition was published in 2015 from careful selections by our dance content manager Lalitha Venkat. Now, the second edition carries delightful tidbits of behind the scenes dance information. Did you know that Astad Deboo arrived on stage to the sound of sirens in an Ambassador car to perform 'LAKDI KA RAVAN'? Did you know that Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan was a great fan of Balasaraswati and once remarked backstage after her performance. "Bala, we both have small eyes. But how much we can convey with them!". This was followed by a hearty laugh. Did you know that known for composing crisp rhythmic patterns and cross rhythm sequences, his permutations and combinations were challenging and earned Guru T.S. Kadirvelu Pillai, the name 'complicated Kadirvelu.' Both editions of DID YOU KNOW - 2015 and 2025 - were designed and produced by Akhila Krishnamurthy and Team Alaap.  The beginning of each year reminds us of the tremendous loyalty that this portal holds with so many of you. One young dancer from Pune remarked, "We have grown up with NARTHAKI. We look forward to your writings and the many features and viewpoints that the portal carries." Quite frankly, this is the ONLY space that welcomes reviews and writings on dance from across India and the diaspora. We realise how important it is for young and emerging performers to have a review or a report for their own growth and career as space in legacy media and digital publications shrink for the performing arts. In 2025, we made some important decisions about managing our many platforms and trimming those that are not serving our brand well. As technology pushes us to keep up, the results are not always as nimble or quick as we would like. However, this is a time to acknowledge Lalitha Venkat, Sumathi and Raksha Patel who are our pillars for the portal. Also Subhasri Ravi, who manages the NARTHAKI STUDIO SERIES. Our many contributing writers who have covered events from many cities and of course, you the reader. Without your support we could not have arrived at this moment. Knowing the vulnerability of the digital space, NARTHAKI has ventured into offline events. Supporting, collaborating and presenting. 2026 will see more and more offline ventures with NARTHAKI support. While I continue to watch the waning of audience interest, the dwindling of aesthetics in dance, at least in Chennai, one rasika from Delhi remarked. "It is truly remarkable that a tradition started 90 years ago as a music conference has continued unbroken without a single paisa from Government support. That the annual Margazhi festival has continued unabated through the various vicissitudes of economics and politics is astonishing". Perhaps that is the perfect sentiment I should hold onto as a brand new year dawns.  Madras Music Academy As 2026 marks the 100th year of the Madras Music Academy, it is perhaps a good note to end my first message of the new year. Future forecasters are predicting that 2026 is going to bring with it high uncertainty. The economy is shifting, AI is moving very fast. Before we all make our resolutions and wishes, we should stop and think whether we should make resolutions at all. We may find ourselves shifting goal posts and changing them as the year unfolds. Despite every challenge, may we all continue to stay engaged and involved in the art form that has seized our spirit and may we find ways to infect our circle with the love of Dance. Happy New Year! Anita R Ratnam anitaratnam.com Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook     Responses * Your writing dances on the page. Like your dance it’s skillful, draws emotions out of the readers (not over emotes leaving the audience largely unmoved), graceful and beautiful. If one excels in ONE field, one has the correct attitude to excel in any/many fields. Ms Anita Ratnam is one of the very few great artistes who have enough confidence in herself and the great generosity of spirit to physically go to other people's concerts. She also very warmly and understandingly gives out spaces for others to practice in Madras. It is often with trepidation that I meet great artistes. Their personality has often NOTHING to do with their art. But in the case of Ms Anita Ratnam, BOTH merge to a wonder and organic whole. Shri Maha Kali and the Nataraja bless her amply. - Lakshmi Bayi Nalapat (Jan 3, 2026) * Dr. Anita Ratnam's analytical note of her observations, reports and reviews will go a long way and I wish every Naatya practitioner and connoisseur should read it for what it is worth. Both myself and Shanta whole heartedly appreciate the points penned and the beautiful and chaste English language with right and appropriate words used making no nonsense of any offensive kind. Writers and reviewers need to learn from Anita. No need to pay any more compliment to Narthaki and its inevitable editor Lalitha V, for being the only art supportive publication in the country with good space available to express and expose the true happenings in the field with no offence meant. Narthaki is a big boon to the performing artists. - V.P. Dhananjayan (Jan 1, 2026) Post your comments |
