Pandit Uday Shankar : An Introduction

Every time I watch stills or films capturing the late Pandit Uday Shankar dancing – I am transported, where dream and experience become one for the dancer within me. I am inspired, I am bereft that a great Guru and proponent of the art form is no longer with us, and I am grateful to the visionary who gave us his love letter to dance … Continue reading Pandit Uday Shankar : An Introduction

The Natya-Shastra – Manifesto & Tool

        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

Sanskrit and its importance in the Discussion

The intricacies of the Languge constructed by Pannini is as much a Science as the world of molecules of Chemistry, or, that of physical laws within the material Universe. Sanskrit is a cryptograph in many ways. Used as a tool to encrypt, Sanskrit has always been a vehicle for knowledge dissemination. Providing a framework that houses immense conceptual ideas that are – Complex ideas of experience … Continue reading Sanskrit and its importance in the Discussion

What is Contemporary Art?

Contemporary Art is understood by some as all art produced post World War II, whilst others define it as art produced “within our lifetime”, and then there is the tiny fact that Roger Fry and his contemporaries founded and established The Contemporary Art Society, London in 1910.  So, trying to define Contemporary-Art within a set time-line, to me, seems an extremely fallible methodology. So, how … Continue reading What is Contemporary Art?

ARTDubai : Will the real Art-Work please stand up!?

People covered by their religion, in a city covered by excess, where every street corner has a sheesha- bar and  a person speaking Hindi/Urdu – welcome to Dubai! My sole purpose in visiting Dubai was to look, find and purchase Art being presented and showcased at Art Dubai (http://www.artdubai.ae/). Standing tall like a scaled up version of a leggo city, Phantasmal – my name for … Continue reading ARTDubai : Will the real Art-Work please stand up!?