When we talk of Bharatanatyam and the course of its journey from east to west there is only one women and her discipline and delight in this form of classical Indian Dance that truly complete that story, and that is none other than Balasaraswati. Born to one of the last musical families of the South of India, Bala’s historical import in the modern … Continue reading A Dance story for 29th November 2014 : Balsaraswati
There has been a constant echo in my mind today of the choices we make with our body. What we put in, how we dress, how we choose to interact with the outside world and the bridges we create between our internal voices and the outside objects. In between all this plotting and planning, maneuvering and repression, it is true what Jean-Luc Godard once said, … Continue reading Dance like your soul is watching
In India your second-hand book-store is usually the local bookseller on the pavement. He/She who has paid off the beat cops and has set up shop from gathering books and magazines from local sources – such as – housewives who want to get rid of their husband’s racy novels (or their own Mills and Boon Romances). On the other side of said book “donator” are … Continue reading To Judge a Book by its Cover
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
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
Having its roots and ground for exploration in the spoken word tradition, rap to me is as much part of poetry as the poets explored in the previous posts. For me if I had to choose one single work that echoed this more than others, it would have to be “I Wonder if Heavens Got a Ghetto” by Tupac Shakur Here are the lyrics: I … Continue reading I Wonder if Heavens Got a Ghetto
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
This poem connects to every human, heart-beat and soul who has suffered prejudice, judgment and oppression. Here is the poem: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells … Continue reading And I Still Rise by Maya Angelou
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.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a poem I often revisit. The characters are never fully unravelled to my mind, which lends this poem a sense of being an unfinished story. Why? Most importantly for me, as it begins with the end, and as a reader I am always struck in wonder by the depth, detail and sense of loss within the tale! Here is … Continue reading Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
D's Art Takes 