As the moon rises on the last day of 2014, I sat at my desk with charcoal in hand and began to draw a form that the paper was hiding and the graphite was hunting. In the end – this tree emerged, in solace and strength, protected and lit by the moon. The leaves are the gifts nurtured and created, the Moon the guiding … Continue reading Moon Rise, End of the Year, And Welcoming 2015 !
Energy, Power, Myth, Movement and Magic, that is the Tandav-Shiva! Having explored Shiva as the all-auspicious one, today as part of the 45 Days of Dance Stories, I wish to talk of the Tandav. Originating from the Sanskrit verb “Tand”- which means “to restore balance”, this word is a symbol for Lord Shiva himself and all associated activities of destruction and regeneration connected to … Continue reading Glorifying Tandav-Shiva!
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
Is the Natya-Shastra a manifesto and tool for the contemporary artist ? According to me, it absolutely is – Yes! The Natya-Shastra, an approximately 2210 years old text with the main purpose, as I see it- is that this was and is a text that offers an infrastructure for the dissemination of creative knowledge. This infrastructure has been applied up to the … Continue reading The Natya-Shastra – Manifesto & Tool
In the City of Amir Khusro and Ghalib, where couplets are inscribed in the very air that you breathe, where odes have been written of unrequited love and the pain of separation from the Divine. It is in that city – Delhi – where the search for satiating one’s heart, mind, body and soul begins with verse and ends in verse. In the shadows … Continue reading Delhi – The City of Poets
Playing the part of ‘Alice’ in a Bharatnatyam adaptation of “Alice through the looking glass” is a treasured experience. It was a first hand viewing of how very little is lost in translation when ideas are presented through a creative medium. What intrigued me most at the age of eleven was how the audience was the missing piece of the equation. With them present, we … Continue reading Me the Curator
D's Art Takes 