My Musings

Srimati RUKMINI DEVI,  was born in a Brahmin family of Madurai on this day Feb 29th in the year 1904, and today her 112th Birth anniversary is being celebrated all over. A woman of great beauty of thought and of mind. A woman of elegance, and a woman of great vision. A dancer par excellence, she was responsible for not just elevating the status of Bharatanatyam to its present level, but also in establishing the KALAKSHETRA FOUNDATION, an institution that teaches not just dance but all forms of art to this day. She married Dr GS ARUNDALE, a British theologian, in 1920 when she was just 16 years old. Her first public performance was in 1935, which was attended, amongst others, by Srinivasa Sastry, CP Ramaswami Iyer, and P Sivaswamy Iyer. KALAKSHETRA FOUNDATION was started by her in 1936. A huge and sprawling complex amid a thicket of trees in Thiruvanmiyur. It is a gem of an organisation, imparting the pure Indian ethos and culture. There is a road nearby the Foundation named a...

From 22nd February 2016 to 29th February, there was a six-part Dance Drama at Kalakshetra Foundation [Rukmini Arangam] daily from 6 PM to 9 PM. First day, it was SITA SWAYAMVARAM on 22nd - Vijaya went with Lalita and Kumar. 2nd day none of us went. 3rd day on 24th I went with Vijaya it was PATHUKA PATTABISHEKAM. On 25th, 26th, there were no programs. On 27th we didn't go to Kalakshetra but went to URUR Olcott Kuppam Festival at the Besantnagar beach (at the Kuppam). On 28th Sunday, we two went to watch the 5th part CHUDAMANI PRADANAM. On 29th Feb, it was the sixth and the final Part - MAHA PATTABISHEKAM. We reached the Arangam very early and so could get good seats. Today also it was a great program. We were wonder-struck at the enormous amount of work that has gone into this. Excellent. Rajappa 1-3-2016