Considered by many as one of the finest and most influential artists of the 20th century. This choreographer, writer, dancer and revolutionary contributed, in no small part, to the shaping of and trajectory of – modern dance. Through her work and ethos she carved and continues to influence the psyche of the dancer and the manifestation of his soul through chosen-precise-movement. For me, Martha Graham … Continue reading Words and Movements of Martha Graham
Last year around this time I did 45 Days Art Stories for The Nirula Family Company. This year I thought I’d take inspiration from a field of personal practice where music, beat, song, rhythm, movement, expression and emotion all are incorporated to create a performance that all of us know as “Dance”. So these 45 days will be a Dance Countdown, grooving us over to … Continue reading RASA in the 21st Century
Delhi is a City that encourages transition, and one space within the City that has found itself re-inventing itself, based on the needs of its inhabitants is the area of Haus Khas. From a literal water-well, to a space of learning, to a creative hub. Haus Khas has had many versions. This is its centuries old journey compressed for easy consumption. Haus-Khas owes in equal … Continue reading Art Spaces in Delhi : Haus-Khas
This Chinese artist and his oil creations of self in commercial and collectible artworks that straddle the line between social commentary political criticism whilst simultaneously being creepy, confounding, confusing and comical I present to you an artist that is celebrated by alarmist Chinese galleria and Chinese art enthusiasts. Yu Minjun’s works are unfamiliar to the most educated of viewers. His character(s) create distance as well as a … Continue reading Saying au revoir to Chinese Art : the multiple smiles of Yu Minjun
Not technically a poem, but the mood and emotion this novella creates is powerful and on power with any and all great verse. This little gem is filled with quotable quotes, but for me the top two are : “Grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.” And “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with … Continue reading The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
One of my many favourite lines from this part philosophical, part prophecy, part exploration of cultures, religions and “then” contemporary society has to be “We think of the key, each in his prison thinking of the key, each confirms a prison.” As the poem meanders like a giant pregnant river, the knowledge explored and encased in its five sections : I. The Burial of the … Continue reading The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
My middle school principal would read from this every morning during assembly and for me the poem I connected with the most was and is: “Where the mind is without fear” Here is the poem: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where … Continue reading Gitanjali – A collection of poems by Ravindranath Tagore.
VRATHA – a Sanskrit word that is often used across India in various dialects and languages to signify ‘fasting’, means a ‘sacred vow’ in its truest translation. The Hindu in contemporary times, very much like their brothers and sisters from antiquity, offer a range of prayers, mantras, gifts and sacrifices to their Hindu Pantheon. With each day of the week ascribed to a specific God, … Continue reading Karva-Chauth
The 1960’s sees artists such as Rauscheneberg and Warhol react against the Greenbergian philosophy of “form must follow function” where the medium/material used by the artist must dictate the artwork created. They dismiss this notion and begin drawing inspiration from Duchamp and Surrealism. They are not alone in this breaking from “prescribed media for prescribed creations” within art philosophy. Across the Atlantic in the 60s … Continue reading The Photographic Image as Found-Object
D's Art Takes 