April 2024
ANITA SAYS.....
"TO A MAN WHO ONLY HAS A HAMMER
EVERYTHING HE ENCOUNTERS
LOOKS LIKE A NAIL"
- American psychologist Abraham Maslow
Hmmm- sums up how harsh and shrill the tone has been amongst some cultural and social circles.
Sitting in Chennai where the temperatures are rising every second, there
is much to talk about - and the two main events in the dance and music
world DID NOT reflect much positivity. MOST of the action was OFF STAGE...
and social media was the battle ground for much of the tussle of words,
egos, ideologies and theories.
What am I talking about?
I will get to that
But first... the good news... no, the GREAT NEWS!
Read on....
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Anita Says...by Dr. Anita R Ratnam
  
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TAKITATOM
The KERALA KALAMANDALAM DEEMED UNIVERSITY
has lifted gender restrictions to enroll for its Mohiniattam course.
According to a statement issued by the Registrar, Kalamandalam welcomes
admissions irrespective of gender from the next academic year. The
proposal was unanimously passed during an administrative meeting held on
March 27, 2024.
ILEANA CITARISTI has been awarded a grant from IGNCA
(Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts), New Delhi, for conducting
research on THE TANDAVA TRAILS IN ODISHA PERFORMING ARTS.
MASOOM PARMAR of Alif Arts Consultancy participated in the Regional
program by @asialinkarts at the @universityofmelbourne. For four
incredible days on the beautiful lutruwita lands, they connected and
built relationships with producers and festival directors across the
Asia Pacific region.
NIKC and Stem Dance Kampni presented the launch of NRTYA TARANGINI, a
book on Kuchipudi and Telugu Yakshagana traditions by Veena Murthy Vijay
on March 31, 2024 at Bangalore.
Dancer AMARNATH GHOSH, 34, who was shot at fatally on Feb 27 was just
two months shy of receiving his Master of Fine Arts from Washington
University in St Louis. Homicide detectives eventually identified and
apprehended Glenn Bailey, 46, in connection with the killing.
Investigators have not disclosed a possible motive for the crime. Bailey
remains jailed without bond.
SHARED BREATH, a film by SINHA DANSE, will be screened in Philadelphia
(PA, USA) on April 6, at the Opine Dance Film Festival, and then make
its European premiere in Stockholm (Sweden) for the ScreenDance
Festival, which will start on April 20, 2024.
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AWARDS
The Madras Music Academy will confer SANGITA KALANIDHI award on Carnatic
musician TM Krishna. Prof Parassala Ravi (V Raveendran Nair) and Geetha
Raja will be conferred with SANGITA KALA ACHARYA awards. S Narasimhan
and S Venkatesan, known as Thiruvaiyyaru Brothers, and violinist H K
Narasimhamurthy will receive TTV AWARD. MUSICOLOGIST AWARD goes to Dr.
Margaret Bastin. The music awards will be given on January 1, 2025
during the sadas.
Mohiniattam dancer Dr Neena Prasad will be conferred NRITYA KALANIDHI
Award at the inauguration of the Annual Dance Festival on January 3,
2025.
Former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and his daughter Deepa Venkat's
Swarna Bharat Trust honoured Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala with the LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD on March 8, 2024 at Nellore.
Dance therapist, dance educator and author TRIPURA KASHYAP received the
INTERNATIONAL LADY LEGEND AWARD in the field of Art from Saksham Society
on March 8, 2024.
On March 10, 2024 the Chembur Fine Arts Society awarded its FAS STREE
RATNA AWARD to Ananda Shankar Jayant, Darshana Jhaveri and Anupama
Hoskere in Mumbai.
Ratikant Mohapatra was awarded the SHATABDIRA KALAKAR AWARD by
Shatabdira Kalakar, a renowned theatre group from Bhubaneswar, on March
11, 2024.
Madhulita Mohapatra received the IIW SHE INSPIRES AWARD at London in the
UK Parliament on March 12, 2024. The event was organised by Inspiring
Indian Women (IIW) to celebrate International Women's Day. 
At the 105th birthday celebration of Guru Pankaj Charan Das by Guru
Pankaj Charan Odissi Research Foundation, the MAHARI AWARD was given to
Anita Sharma (Sattriya) on March 19, 2024 at Rabindra Mandap,
Bhubaneswar. The awardees on March 18 for their outstanding
contributions include Guru Simanchal Das (GAUNI SAMPRADA for Odissi
music & vocal), Guru Bagbhan Behera (MADELI SAMMAN for Odissi
mardal), Guru Niranjan Behera (BINAKARA SAMMAN for Odissi music &
composition), Ruparani Das Borah (NACHUNI SAMPRADA for classical dance).
Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Chatterjee received the insignia of
CHEVALIER DANS L'ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES (Knight of the Order of
Arts and Letters) at the French Embassy in New Delhi on March 26, 2024.
This award recognises her artistic achievements and contribution to
building cultural bridges between India and France through the
performing arts.
Manipur dance Guru Prof. Yaikhom Hemanta Kumar was awarded BEST
INNOVATIVE LECTURE AWARD (Academician) for the dance 'Krishna Abhisar of
Basanta Ras' at the 25th CEC-UGC Educational Film Festival award
ceremony in Indore on March 29, 2024. Award carries a citation, shawl
and Rs.50,000 cash.
On March 31, 2024 the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha conferred NATYA KALA
SARATHY on dancer Jayanthi Subramaniam at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai.
This year, the title of NRITHYA RATHNAKARA is being bestowed by
Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival upon SREKALA BHARATH in April 2024 for her
contribution in the field of classical dance.
Pravaas, produced by Akademi and choreographed by Vidya Patel, received
THE GREEN DANCE AWARD at One Dance UK Awards held on 10 February 2024 at
Coventry. This award celebrates work that uses dance as a tool to
spotlight and respond to environmental & climate issues.
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ATMA SHANTI
Dr.C. RADHAKRISHNA, last of the nattuvanars from traditional Naidu
families of Karnataka, who propagated the Kolar Sampradaya of Karnataka
Nritya Parampara (Mysore school of Bharatanatyam), passed away on 30th
March 2024 after a brief illness. He was 96 years old. He has left a
worthy legacy of his relentless work of 80 years to the field of
Bharatanatyam.
Traditional
Manipuri dance GURU SAGOLSHEM KIRTI SINGH expired on 6th March 2024 at
his residence. He joined Banasthali Vidyapith as Guru and Jawaharlal
Nehru Manipur Dance Academy as a visiting Guru. He became one of the
founder members and Asst. Guru of Progressive Artiste Laboratory. As a
dancer, he played many roles in dance drama productions of Progressive
Artiste Laboratory. As dance Guru, he mentored more than 30 students of
classical Manipuri dance in Manipur and Bangladesh. As Raasdhari, he
conducted numerous Raas Lilas organised by PAL, JNMDA, NGOs of
Bangladesh and the government of Manipur. He received the Manipur State
Kala Akademi Award in 2013.
Young Bharatanatyam (an alumnus of Kalakshetra) and Kuchipudi (disciple
of Guru Vempati Chinna Sathyam and Srimayi Venkat) dancer AMARNATH GHOSH
was shot multiple times on 27th February 2024, when he was said to be
taking an evening walk in St Louis where he was pursuing higher studies.
He was about 34.
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QUOTE
Mark Edmundson teaches literature at the University of Virginia and is
one of those who still lives by the humanist code. In his book "Why
Read?" he describes the potential charge embedded in a great work of
art: "Literature is, I believe, our best goad toward new beginnings, our
best chance for what we might call secular rebirth. However much
society at large despises imaginative writing, however much those
supposedly committed to preserve and spread literary art may demean it,
the fact remains that in literature there abide major hopes for human
renovation."
Wouldn't you love to take a course from that guy?
How does it work? How does culture do its thing? The shortest answer is
that culture teaches us how to see. "The greatest thing a human soul
ever does in this world is to SEE something, and tell what it saw in a
plain way," the Victorian art critic John Ruskin wrote. "Hundreds of
people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one
who can see."
('How to Save a Sad, Lonely, Angry and Mean Society' by David Brooks, The New York Times, Jan 25, 2024)
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
 Mayurbhanj Chhau
- Bharat Sharma
Within the battle-lines drawn around the geographical contours and
'ancientness' of dance 'styles' animating the performing arts scenario
in last several decades in India, one 'style' that has been on the
margins is Mayurbhanj Chhau.
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