ANITA SAYS.....
Happy birthday NARTHAKI. 25 years old!
How time has flown!
Who ever thought that this online infant, created and launched on April
14, 2000, would continue uninterrupted for a quarter of a century and
make the impact that it has!
Thousands and thousands from the global Indian dance eco system have
nurtured, cheered, applauded and welcomed our presence
online.
 
As I write this, it is still sinking in that a small spark in 1992
caught fire to birth two best selling phone books and finally - this
online web portal. I salute the small and dedicated team that has kept
the back end of this "passion project" of mine going, in spite of all
the pressures to give up and cave in.
As we congratulate ourselves in our Chennai headquarters, we also send
out a collective cheer to all of you who read my thoughts and scour the
site for news, interviews and information about dance across the globe.
Thank you, readers, members and subscribers. Your positive feedback has
been crucial for our sustained motivation.
March has been a gruelling month for my ensemble and particularly for
me. There were two shows to navigate, various venues to negotiate, and
multiple communication blips between the organisers and us. These days
the back end of a performance is getting more and more important. It is
not enough to just have a programme booking. As artistes, we are also
responsible for generating content for social media postings and to
maintain the excitement and momentum leading up to the main event.
Read on....
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Anita Says...by Dr. Anita R Ratnam
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TAKITATOM
KIRUTHIKA RATHANASWAMI, disciple of Jai Govinda, is the new artistic director of Mandala Arts and Culture, Vancouver.
"As the founder and Artistic Director of MANDALA ARTS AND CULTURE
for the past 25 years, I am very happy to officially announce that long
time graduate of the Jai Govinda Dance Academy, Kiruthika Rathanaswami,
will now be the new artistic director of Mandala. I am very happy that
Kiruthika has accepted this role of leadership, and I will continue to
give her and Mandala Arts and Culture my full support. Kiruthika has
been under my mentorship for the past 3 years to prepare her for this
position. The mandate of Mandala remains the same, and all the Bharata
Natyam classes will continue as usual. The announcement was officially
made at our last AGM on March 1, 2025," said JAI GOVINDA in his official announcement.
As a part of JAYACHANDRAN SURENDRAN's Ph.D. research, through which a
method was designed to teach form-neutral and style-neutral universal
dance fundamentals, a 'Dance Teaching Tool' was designed. After a
thorough scrutiny, this tool was granted Patency from the India Patent
Office. He had the support and guidance of his Research Supervisor Prof.
Vinoo Alluri, Asst. Professor, Cognitive Science Lab, IIIT, Hyderabad.
ABHAI has started a Southwest Chapter in Houston, TX. It was inaugurated at Rathna Kumar's Anjali Arts.
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SLIDE SHOW
MEANWHILE ELSEWHERE, a DARPANA production celebrated 75th anniversary of DARPANA, on March 20, 2025 at Natarani, AhmedabadPhotos: Vedant Anand
QUOTE
I deeply admire how the
new generation of artistes is making traditional art forms more
relatable and accessible to modern audiences. Cities like Bangalore,
Hyderabad and Pune are seeing a growing interest in traditional dance
and music, which is a positive sign for the future. The key to
sustaining this growth is consistency - if we continue to focus on our
dharma and karma - which, for us, is dance - there is no limit to where
we can go. We have already come a long way. No matter how much people
may drift or search for something new, they will always seek to
reconnect with their roots. And when they do, we will be here, ready to
share the richness of our tradition. The important thing is to keep
working, stay focused, and continue nurturing the arts, ensuring they
thrive for generations to come.
- Dr. Sandhya Purecha
('Dr. Sandhya Purecha: I am very positive about the future' - interview by Dr. M. Surya Prasad, Narthaki.com, March 19, 2025)
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AWARDS
Bharatanatyam dancer URMILA SATYANARAYANA is to receive the NRITYA KALANIDHI award from Madras Music Academy for 2025. MADAMBI SUBRAMANIA NAMBOODIRI will receive the TTK AWARD for Kathakali music.
DR. SANDHYA PURECHA, the President of the Central Sangeet Natak
Akademi, New Delhi, received the Honorary Doctorate of the Karnataka
State Dr. Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University, Mysuru,
on March 24, 2025 at Mysore.
Nalanda Dance Research Centre awarded the following during its Nalanda
Nrityotsava held between January 10 - 13, 2025 at Mumbai.
BHARATA MUNI AWARD: singer Dr Suresh Wadkar, Kathak dancer Sunayana Hazarilal.
KANAKA NARTANA PURASKAR:
Kathak dancer Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Bharatanatyam exponent Gayatri
Sriram, Manipuri exponent Latasana Devi, Odissi Guru Rabindra Atibudhi,
Sai Venkatesh (President of Karnataka Nritya Kala Parishath) and critic
Vijay Shanker.
NALANDA NRITYA NIPUNA AWARD: Bharatanatyam dancers Kavya Pujara
from Ahmedabad, Simran Cherayil from Mumbai, Kartik Manikandan from
Kerala, Varun Shivakumar from Chennai, and Anushkaa Ramanatan from
Mumbai. Kathak dancer Rutuja Nadkarni from Mumbai, Nayanika
Gangani from Haryana, S Vaidegi and Ananya Mohan Iyer, both from
Bangalore, Mohiniattam dancer Thomas Vo Van Tao, Odissi dancer Tamal
Das.
On Women's Day, 8 March 2025, Delhi Tamil Sangam honoured GEETA CHANDRAN with a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT TIARA, Medal, and Certificate.
Dancer SHANTHA RATII, director of Shantha Ratii Initiatives, Singapore, was honored by The Times of India with the TIMES POWER ICON award on March 10, 2025 at The Hyatt, Delhi, in the category of Art and culture.
Mulakanadu Maha Sangha presented the SRI THYAGARAJA RATHNA 2025 to music and dance critic Dr. M SURYA PRASAD on March 16, 2025 at Bangalore.
On March 17, 2025 dancer METHIL DEVIKA received the DRIVERS OF CHANGE AWARD, presented by India Today and the Mahindra & Mahindra group, at an event in Mumbai.
 On
March 17, 2025 at the 31st Guru Pankaj Utsav at Rabindra Mandap,
Bhubaneswar, the following awards were given by Guru Pankaj Charan
Odissi Research Foundation.
GAUNI SAMPRADA for DR. MITALI CHINARA (Odissi music and vocal)
MADELI SAMMAN for BUDDHANATH SWAIN (Odissi mardal)
BINAKARA SAMMAN for DR. DHIRAJ KUMAR MOHAPATRA (Odissi music and composition)
NACHUNI SAMPRADA for SRIPARNA BOSE (Odissi dance)
MAHARI AWARD for JANHABI BEHERA was given on March 19, 2025.
On March 23, 2025 at Gyan Manch, Kolkata, Chidakash Kalalay presented:
CHIDAKASH NATYAKALA CHUDAMANI SAMMAN: Nandini Ramani
CHIDAKASH NRITYAKALA CHUDAMANI SAMMAN: Mysore B Nagaraj
CHIDAKASH KALASHIROMANI SAMMAN: Ashimbandhu Bhattacharya
The KALAVEDI PURASKARA will be given to Guru PADMINI RAVI for her continued contribution to Bharatanatyam in Karnataka, on April 20, 2025 at MES Kishor Kendra, Bangalore.
For his invaluable and continued contribution, participation and dedication to Bhagavata Mela, N SRIKANTH NATARAJAN is to be honoured with SATRAJITI PURASKARAM on 23rd April 2025 at Annamayya Kala Vedhika, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, on the occasion of International Dance Day celebrations.
The recipients of Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana awards.
KALA RATHNA: Bhavajan Kumar
NRITHYA SEVA MANI: Vidya Sekhar
NRITHYA KALA SAGARAM: Dr. S Divyasena
NRITHYA RATNAKARA: Jayanthi Subramaniam
PT RAJENDRA GANGANI received the NISHAGANDHI PURASKARAM at Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, on February 14, 2025.
RAGHUNATH MANET received BEST FEATURE FILM AWARD at 11th NIFF (Nashik International Film Festival) for his Tala Sruti Films' Retour a Pondichery, on March 29, 2025.
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ATMA SHANTI
Eminent Bharatanatyam Guru KUTTALAM M. SELVAM,
son of Guru Muthuswamy Pillai, passed away on March 21, 2025. He was
75. Kuttalam M Selvam was born into a family of musicians and
nattuvanars in 1950 in Kuttalam in Tamil Nadu. He was the director of
Chevalier VS Muthuswamy Pillai Laya Natiya School in Chennai. Selvam was
also a Lecturer in Nattuvangam (Retd), Govt Music College, Adyar in
Chennai. When teaching, he created a unique repertoire for each student,
highlighting their abilities and talents.
Costume designer SNEHASHISH BHATTACHARYA of brand Darzee, passed away on March 10, 2025 at Kolkata. He was a favoured designer for the Sapphire Dance Company.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
An African spell
- Priti Mastakar
I had stepped into the performance hall and my eyes fell on a tremendously tall, athletic figure. 6' 2" I thought…
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