Among a couple of muses to Rabindranath Tagore, in the opinion of Ketaki Kusari Dyason, a perceptive translator of the poet, Victoria Ocampo was ‘the closest to him in stature.’ The natural beauty she was endowed with had the glow…

  A variety of interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays are being essayed on stage the world over during the year of celebrations of his dramatic genius unravelling mysteries of human behaviour particularly in relation to others.  ASTHA presented Atul Kumar’s Khwab-Sa, which…

Whatever scientists say, the moon will continue to have romantic associations and connotations.  A poet has ‘late night conversations with the moon’.  Another imagines the moon to be a balloon coming out from where ‘it’s always green and everyone’s in…

As text and, if competently done, as theatre, Mohan Rakesh’s Aadhe Adhoore (1969)has remained a rich source of reference for dramaturgy and theatre language. I recall that when the first theatre version of the play I saw (besides one in…

Why do some people worry about the future of classical dance?  If they go to Kadamb or any of its performances, they would find it pulsating with the passion for Kathak and a bunch of young teachers here, well-grounded in…

Drama in recent years at the all-Gujarat inter-collegiate One-act Competition being organised by Gujarat Samachar Trust and INT (Mumbai) for twenty-nine years has assumed social identity.  All the three plays on the opening day at its two-day Finals on Thursday…

Though Kathak dance and Carnatic music have been at the Saptak Music Festival for quite a few years now, it is in its 37th year that Bharatanatyam makes its maiden performance on its coveted stage. For its authenticity, who could…

Our classical dancers are articulate. ‘On this stage you have seen,’ Maulik Shah initially said at Saptak on Sunday, ‘two Kathak performances – one with gaharaiyaa-n in it, the other the tarvaraat of an emerging young Kathak dancer.‘ ‘We’ll try,’…

Rupanshi Kashyap’s Kathak being the very first recital on Thursday at Saptak, the Kadamb band of musicians chose particularly to present an Uthan for the audience to get warmed up for it. Rupanshi remained on stage, smiling in tune with…

Pt Birju Maharaj is perceived by dancers and dance lovers all over the country, irrespective of the form or gharana, as a colossus in classical dance.  At the Saptak Music Festival for many years, he has been along with a…

  ‘The show is already houseful Sir’. A response that surprised me pleasantly  because the students of Rangayan Theatre & Acting Workshop, who recently explored their acting skills from their masters, are having their debut show completely sold out. My…

Kumiben, as Kathak Guru Kumudini Lakhia is known to most of us, in her five-minute informal address to the audience at H.K.College Auditorium after Guru Vandana offered to her and other teachers at Kadamb by way of six dainty performances…

It was two in the afternoon and drizzling. The sky turned gray and everyone assembled under the shaded premises, called as a classroom. The lush green campus of MICA did help in uplifting the poetic side of the participants. Team…

Chekov Anton Chekhov is credited with an eye for observation – not just of what is seen but particularly of the psychology underlying it. On this count, all the neatly presented five playlets dramatizing his short stories in Ouroboros’ theatre…

Arpita Dhagat, as I know her, has a brain brimming over with creative ideas and tends to not settle for anything unchallenging. She had prestigious acting prizes before she went to NSD for Design and Theatre Techniques. On returning, she…

Image Credit: Book My Show Yes, Blame it on Yashraj gives viewers an experience of attending a gala wedding where money is lavishly spent and everyone related to the bride or the groom, whether closely or distantly, feels they are…

‘A hundred cook fires may be lit all at once!’ Bheem wished. Nakul wished their animals ‘will be warm in winter and cool in the summer!’ ‘Where kings can discuss statesmanship,’ was what Yudhishthir wished.  Arjun wished to see ‘a…