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ANITA SAYS..... Sep 1, 2025 Trees don't hang around with the grass Although they all started from the same place Spend so much time for self improvement That you have no time to criticize others The magic you are looking for Is in the work you are avoiding If you are a friend of everybody You are an enemy to yourself There is no losing - only learning There is no failure - only opportunities There are no problems - only solutions THESE ARE SOME OF THE BEST SELF HELP QUOTES I GATHERED FOR THIS EDITION OF ANITA SAYS. I HOPE THEY RESONATE WITH YOU TOO.  It has been literally a few hours since I stepped off the stage with the 21st performance of NAACHIYAR NEXT, the fifth iteration of the stage production on the life of the teenage mystic poet ANDAL. The evening in Coimbatore was magical and the night for me was restless. Coimbatore is one of the favourite cities for me. Generational friendships, great food, timeless hospitality is a given when anyone visits. To see friends of 40, 50 years in the crowd - endless hugging, many teary eyed, loud laughter and chatter and posing for innumerable photographs. The feet are always tired after a show but the body hums with the vibrations and the applause. It is at moments like this that I remember what a gift it is to be a dancer. As I wipe off the makeup, remove my hair-do with the numerous pins, take a long hot shower, change into a comfortable cotton kaftan and put my feet in a bowl of warm water with rock salt and lemon, I think of my mother who fought so hard to give me (and my sister Pritha) the opportunity to dance when she was denied the chance by her strict father. I send a prayer of gratitude for her stubborn fortitude and to my father who endured years of censure from his elders for permitting his daughters to be on stage and the object of the male gaze. In their eyes, NOT to learn dance or music was like curtailing our chances to becoming the best versions of ourselves. How strange and wonderful life has been for my sister and me. Me on stage and she, now a full fledged successful corporate, watching from the front row with such pride and joy - tears flowing from her face at the final moment of ANDAL's "becoming" a Goddess. MELT & ANDAL  Melt Pune has been a destination for me on more than one occasion last month. The audiences are warm, musically sensitive and very proud of their heritage. With the Ganesh festival approaching, the streets were filled with idols of the elephant God and the favourite "modak" sweet was everywhere! I walked on some small bylanes, having saffron chai in the famous Irani cafe and Bun Maska at the historic Good Luck Cafe. Not to mention a special Karela Taco at the popular LOCO OTRO restaurant. The dancers who attended the MELT movement workshop were attentive and came from Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Contemporary dance backgrounds. Finding a common ground for everyone to move and interpret my prompts has been a 25 year discovery for me. At the end of 6 hours, the spontaneous choreography from each participant was admirable.  Naachiyar Next To see seniors like Sucheta Chapekar and Shama Bhate in the audience for the NAACHIYAR NEXT show was a special delight. Sucheta, a dynamic student of Guru Kittappa Pillai sent me a warm note describing the show as RANGA NRITYA - an experience filled with the colours and emotions of total theatre. The auditorium was filled with hundreds of young dancers but for me the meeting with seniors is a reminder of their pioneering presence and enduring passion for dance. As expected, ANDAL gripped the sold out show and the 5 minute standing ovation at the end was a testament to the ensemble's commitment and dedication to the work. After so many shows, I am still finding ways to tweak and nudge the dancers in more interesting directions. I have also found some corrections for myself, my spatial awareness and voice modulation. To have a successful show like NAACHIYAR NEXT is both a blessing and a road block. As demands and invitations for the show continue into 2026, I find that I need to peel myself away to ruminate and plan my new solo work that has been put in abeyance with this work and the continuing demand for A MILLION SITAS. However, as a friend told me, "Don't argue with success!" SIMRAN SPARKLES  Simran Sivakumar I have mentored and taught so many young dancers / artistes through 35 years. Among them is Simran Sivakumar. This successful dance innovator and social media phenomenon, first came to me for an audition in July 2018 when I was starting to choreograph NAACHIYAR NEXT. She stayed with 8 shows of the work and departed to chart her own path. Simran, now a student of Shijith and Parvathy, and founder of her own ANARTANA dance company, opened the Pune evening with a solo varnam in Bhairavi and displayed her precision and youthful talent for the appreciative audience. To watch this young woman blossom in front of my eyes has been of immense pride. Simran also directed one of the short films I made during the pandemic, ENCHANTED. I mention her path because she has followed her passion for dance and taken it into popular pathways to keep her inner flame alive. Her Ganapati dance reel has gone viral with dancers in Africa and Japan moving to her choreography. This is one example of how social media can make a dancer a global sensation. A TALE OF TWO SHRUTI-s  Shruthe Raammohan  With Sudharani Raghupathy & Chitra Visweswaran In August, I had the pleasure of working with two talented young women with the same name. SHRUTI. Both are Bharatanatyam dancers and both are Arts Managers as well. Shruthe Raammohan is co-founder of ARTKIN, a Chennai based arts space for talks, dance and music workshops and other cultural events. She performed for the NARTHAKI STUDIO SERIES last month and was blessed with a warm audience which included seniors like Sudharani Raghupathy and Chitra Visweswaran. Shruthe is a committed arts advocate who has witnessed the dismal state of dancers in Tamilnadu and is hoping to make a small change through her initiatives.  With Shruti Ranade Another SHRUTI - Ranade from Mumbai/Pune is a more experienced and outgoing young arts professional. Trained under Masoom Parmar (Alif Arts Consultancy) and other professionals in the field, Shruti handled my MELT movement workshop with great efficiency and also spoke in a podcast about the many gaps between an artiste managing their own career vs trusting an arts manager to do the same. The broad understanding or rather, the lack of understanding what an arts manager can do for the artiste is much beyond getting the next performance gig. We all know the many steps and actions to be taken before the actual moment of the curtain rising on stage. What my mother used to do for my generation has become far more complex and demanding today. Shruti Ranade is someone who is balancing being an important dancer in Vaibhav Arekar's Sankhya Dance Company as well as managing her new avatar as founder of VYOM ARTS MANAGEMENT. Kudos to these young women who are finding ways to stay engaged with dance both on and off the stage! As a performing artiste who learned so many other aspects of the "business" just by doing, I feel that having a trained manager who can liaise with the presenter, the space and the technical team is a win-win for all. I have arrived on many occasions at the venue and found my tech team in various shades of anger, frustration and despair. After sending the tech rider weeks ahead of time, the local presenter would have inevitably failed to share the details with the venue staff or made an ad hoc decision that we did not NEED so many lights. Inevitably, my team would be scrambling hours before the show to adjust with the equipment that is made available. Picking a fight or having an argument is counter productive and so we just continue to "manage" with the situation at hand. This constant "JUGAAD" (adjustment) gets tiring. These kinds of hiccups can be prevented if a sensitive arts manager keeps the lines of communication open from both sides. BOUND BY THE THREAD OF DANCE AND MUSIC August 15 was India's 79th Independence Day. ITC Sangeet Research Academy produced and released a beautiful film DESH EK RAAG 2 to celebrate the country's tradition of the Guru Sishya Parampara in classical dance and music. Featured in the short film were four classical dance forms. Kuchipudi (Ananda Shankar Jayant), Odissi (Sharmila Biswas), Kathak (Aditi Mangaldas) and Bharatanatyam (Rama Vaidyanathan). The fast editing did not do justice to the dance styles, but it was nevertheless heartening to see dance and music being featured as an important "soft power" statement instead of the over exposed and over hyped Bollywood. A SINGAPOREAN RAMAYANA The RAMAYANA continues to fascinate and embrace so many avatars and its relevance remains through time. When I watched several versions during my recent trip to Indonesia, two characters emerged distinctly - characters that are not explored in the Indian retellings of this epic. Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother and Trijatha, his niece. In the Javanese Ramayana, Trijatha stands up to her uncle's impatience and anger inside the Asoka Vatika grove. When Ravana threatens to hurt Sita for refusing to accept him, Trijatha stays his hand with force and argues forcefully. In India, we do not explore this character except that she was kind to Princess Sita during captivity and sought to soothe her suffering. Prince Kumbhakarna is portrayed as huge and eternally hungry or asleep. However, it was he who argued for the humane treatment of Hanuman who had come to Lanka as the emissary of Prince Rama. His monologue about royal courtesy to messengers, which Ravana ignores, is an example of true statesmanship.  Ramayana by Apsaras Arts (Photo courtesy: Apsaras Arts) So, when I received an invitation to watch a Singaporean edition of the RAMAYANA on the occasion of 60 years of friendship between India and Singapore, I did not hesitate. The event was presented by Singapore based Apsaras Arts in the aesthetically designed Bharata Kalakshetra auditorium. Apsaras Arts is the dance and music academy founded by Neila Sathyalingam, a former Kalakshetra alumni and a Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient. The performance included contemporary dancers from Singapore and a Javanese dancer as Trijatha. Guest artiste was Chennai Bharatanatyam diva Urmila Satyanarayana as Sita. I was most struck by the sequence featuring Jatayu, the giant eagle, who is mutilated while trying to prevent Sita's abduction. The dancers from ERA DANCE THEATRE were fluid and physically very expressive. Wefi Sofiana who played the role of Trijatha in traditional Javanese style was incandescent and graceful but not as spirited as the character I watched in Yogyakarta against the backdrop of the Prambanan temples. Kalakshetra's Jishnu Gopi as Hanuman was truly the star of the show with his agility and physicality speaking eloquently as Rama's fiercely obedient messenger. Mohanapriyan Thavarajah as Ravana was at his theatrical best in the style of RS Manohar, the famous Tamil stage actor of the 1960s. The swagger and bloated ego of the story's antagonist was in full play against the multi coloured projections.  Jishnu Gopi In all, this version of the Ramayana, though choppy and episodic, was like watching a combination of cinema and theatre. I recollected the very different patina of Rukmini Devi's versions that made us "lean forward and bear witness". Nearly 70 years after her iconic creations, Apsaras Arts' version asks us to "sit back and enjoy". DECREASING ATTENTION ACROSS MEDIA PLATFORMS Getting the attention of the media for a dance performance continues to be a huge task. Press releases can be planned and dispatched but the cultural columns have disappeared and some outlets expect dance reviews to be paid for just like food, fashion, cinema and sports. So those journalists who are genuinely interested in the work and thoughts of my generation need to be spoken to with care.  I am very grateful (and now also surprised) at the interest and attention to my life and art after so many decades in the field. For each interaction, I try to frame my thoughts and ideas afresh so there is not much overlap or repetition. Among the numerous interviews I do for print and digital platforms in recent weeks, there are two that made me dig deep. The popular podcast WOMEN EMERGING, produced and hosted by UK based Julia Middleton, forced me to rethink the role of a leader. With money, resources and power slowly but surely being transferred to women's hands over the next 20 years, it is time for the next generation to learn how to lead decisively but with empathy and inclusivity. For creative women in charge of teams that are made up of artistes and independent thinkers, leading needs to be always flexible and adaptable. The print interview with INDIA TODAY was a feature about my 6 decades in the dance world and the final question was about the role of an artiste today. So, what are the qualities that a dancer-artiste needs to stay "relevant"? While I could fall into the cliche trap, I realise that when these opportunities arise, I need to frame the answers to be hopeful yet pragmatic. Besides passion, creativity and discipline, a performing artiste needs resilience, an excellent work ethic, staying power to withstand the highs and lows of the profession, a willingness to multi task, the ability to be a team player, a diligent eye towards time management, willingness to learn and adapt, computer skills, an entrepreneurial mindset, curiosity and a willingness to accept feedback. Today's artiste needs to walk a lonely path, exploring themes and ideas that may not have the popular mandate, that may go against the swelling tide and that still require a voice. To be a cultural historian, critical observer and an emotional conduit. I could go on and on but this list is intimidating enough and I know that I am not able to tick all these boxes. However, we all persist, because dancers are the most determined, stubborn and resilient of all artistes. Short career spans and the enormous toll on the human body make us prime subjects for injury and emotional see-saws. Just to stay on the rails and show up every single day at rehearsal is enough of a challenge. So, continue to do whatever you all do. Persist, Persevere and Pursue... You have my applause and support. AND IN CLOSING...  A major dance conference INTERSECTIONS curated by Shriya Srinivasan and Joshua George, unfolds at HARVARD UNIVERSITY that explores the Indian diaspora and its important presence in the dance scene in North America. It's about time! I hope that many issues relating to dancers in their geographical contexts are discussed seriously. Copyright, teaching pedagogy and more. There are some tough and sticky questions that are being asked by some US students who have participated in the weekend Bharatanatyam workshops conducted by the visiting dancers from India. Questions about music rights, sharing videos of the process on social media without consent. There is a huge difference in privacy issues that the US takes very seriously and Indians take lightly. Today's students are not intimidated by the "diva" halo of us seniors. Social media has removed all those filters. Young dancers are speaking up and their peers are listening. News of a large MARGAZHI style festival in the Bay Area taking shape is coming to us. NRI- especially US based dancers are feeling more and more slighted and offended with the back handed treatment meted out to them by the Indian organisers and teachers. As the standards for classical music in the US have increased tremendously, with many excellent musicians, we can expect dance to follow very soon. Already I can see many US born and raised dance talent making great strides in their art and careers. The time for a USA MARGAZHI festival has arrived! (This is also perhaps timely given the tremendous pressure on international visas for visiting artistes that is bound to only increase in the near future!)  Chitrasena Dance Company In Colombo, Sri Lanka's CHITRASENA DANCE COMPANY celebrates a special LEGACY performance in September.  NYC was all set to sparkle with the AMBANI-LINCOLN CENTRE INDIA CELEBRATIONS. The grand stage spectacle CIVILISATION TO NATION was already sold out. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the entire weekend of Sep 12 to 14 has been cancelled and postponed to a future date. A huge disappointment to the hundreds of artistes and ticket holders who had made plans to travel to the Big Apple for this cultural celebration. Also in NYC, the annual ERASING BORDERS dance festival, produced by IAAC returns. I am happy to see contemporary dancer Preeti Vasudevan in the curation. There must be a greater push to curate North American talent and not depend solely on those travelling from India. While the US continues to be the most visible centre for classical dance and music, we are receiving more and more news from the UK, Australia, South Africa and South America. Of course, there is so much also taking place in Australia, UK and Europe. I am particularly delighted to see so many younger artistes approach their dance careers with sincerity and commitment. Sometimes, I feel the India based dancers take much for granted. In India, the festival season is in full swing. And with that comes unending dance and music events. I cannot keep track of the numerous events that are happening. Here I must be honest, there is not much creative exploration to be seen in Chennai. It seems that most of the excellent artistes who live here reserve their best OUTSIDE the city. A pity but that is a fact!  However, Swarnamalya Ganesh has come up with a delightful mix of history, satire and commentary in an evening called, THE CELESTIAL CONGRESS-a Madras Masala. A tongue in cheek observation of how colonial eyes observed the traditional dance arts. From what I heard, the show was very well received.  Anand Satchidanandan (Photo: Srinivasa Krishnan) Also in Chennai, the annual NATYARANGAM dance festival was held with the theme being ACHARYA BHARATAM - explorations of great gurus and savants. The audience's unanimous choice for the best presentation was Anand Satchidanandan who portrayed the great savant RAMANA MAHARISHI. The large Narada Gana Sabha hall was filled with dancers who thronged Anand after the show. Superb lighting (Keerti Kumar) accentuated the presentation but it is also his "day job" as the dance curator of NMACC in Mumbai that was a crowd magnet for the aspiring Chennai dance community. Other sages who were featured were Madhvacharya (Praveen Kumar), Ramanuja (KP Rakesh, Girish Madhu, Vidya Girish Madhu), Adi Sankara (Vidhun Kumar, Sibi Sudarsan, Uma Govind) among others. In its 27th year, this annual thematic dance festival attracts a very good crowd of rasikas.  In Goa, ITC presented MALHAR & THE SEA, a festival designed to combine luxury, music and the legendary Goa beaches. This year's event, hosted and presented by ITC GRAND GOA and supported by VOLVO automobiles, was a stunning success. Musicians being hosted at the 5 star property and presented with the best of technical support and attention is what performing deserves. KNMA- Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi is planning a major music festival in the gorgeous SUNDER NAGAR NURSERY with multi genre groups from across India. It is always good to see corporate entities like HCL and RELIANCE put their might behind the arts. The poverty mindset that afflicts most Indian performing arts (dance in particular) should not persist. And the list is endless. While there is no one stop centre to see all the events in your city, we hope that you take the time and have the willpower to stop scrolling, put aside your devices and go out to watch dance, music and theatre. Step out, brave the traffic and attend shows. To watch and observe is as important as learning. Listen to podcasts and if possible, take some time to read - poetry if possible. It opens a secret window to imagination and dreams! Until next time, Anita R Ratnam A full month of travel ahead. The body slows with time but the mind continues to race ahead! anitaratnam.com Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook     Post your comments |
