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 2026 |
| * Kumari Kamala introduced and popularised dance items that were unconventional then. One was the 'snake dance' with a decisive back-bend (a maneuver that made Jawaharlal Nehru to famously comment that Kamala apparently had no bones in her body). Her appeal transcended borders and soon Kamala became India's unofficial cultural ambassador during the Nehruvian era. India's first Prime Minister was an avowed admirer, often ensuring she performed for visiting state dignitaries. Her passport bore the stamps of a global superstar long before the term existed. She performed at the coronation festivities of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and dazzled US President Dwight D. Eisenhower during his visit to India. ('Kumari Kamala: The dancer who made Bharatanatyam respectable,' by K Balakumar, Swarajya, Nov 29, 2025) * The Abhinaya Darpanam begins with a shloka which is a salutation to Lord Shiva. This shloka describes the Sattvika Lord Shiva as the one whose body - angikam - is the universe, whose voice - vachikam - is all forms of language and whose ornaments are the moon and stars. At another level however, the description contains in distilled form the essence of the entire text; it is a symbolic representation of the 4 basic modes of expression or abhinaya essential to dance: Angika - of the body, Vachika - through speech, Aharya - through ornamentation, Sattvika - through the representation of pure feeling. ('Abhinaya Darpanam' by Sandhya Purecha, Nartanam, Oct - Dec 2019) |
