Aishwarya Sahasrabudhe
Know Your Classical Dances: Kathakali’s rich repertoire and elaborate costuming make the dance-drama a spectacle to behold
Kathakali demands arduous physical and emotional feats from its artists and the costumes only add to the remarkable portrayals of the mythological characters that come alive on stage.
Know Your Classical Dances: Tracing Sattriya’s aesthetic legacies, from sattras or monasteries to the modern stage
Sattriya has now emerged as a significant body of art that makes relevant the universal ideas of infinite faith, its registers resonating across the globe with practitioners continuing to explore and expand the contours of its performance style
Know Your Classical Dances: How Bharatnatyam, rooted in temple dances of Devdasis, contributes to nation's sociopolitical climate
The trajectory of Bharatnatyam, as cultural evolution of a dance form and the political makings of a nation state, provides a fascinating glimpse.
Know Your Classical Dances: Discovering the devotional and romantic histories of temple dance Odissi
Complexities of passionate and romantic love intermingled with the elements of spirituality and liberation quickly came under attack during the British Raj, vilified for their seemingly lascivious and seductive leanings.
Know Your Classical Dances: Manipuri Raas Leela, and its exploration of love — both romantic and spiritual
Not only does the dance form set out to showcase Krishna in his various colours, but also explores the anxieties and predicaments of the gopis through its study of the nayika, or the heroine and her quest to unite with her prana sakha [soulmate].
Know Your Classical Dances: Locating Kuchipudi’s roots and transformations in traditions of dance-drama
In each recital, Kuchipudi has retained at its core the flavours of the sensual, romantic, and erotic shringara rasa that have shaped its oldest renditions.
Know Your Classical Dances: Mohiniyattam, once thrust into obscurity during British rule, revived in early 20th century
From being categorised as a dance of the vaishya or the prostitute to receiving recognition as a prolific art form and a codification into the realm of the ‘classical,’ Mohiniyattam has perhaps been one of the few dance styles to have undergone such humongous shifts through history.
Know Your Classical Dances: How Kathak has historically served as a medium of storytelling that cuts across classes
Throughout history, quite unlike most classical art forms, Kathak has seldom been performed as an offering to a deity, instead from its earliest stages, it has been a recital directed at an audience comprising its patrons as well as the common people.
In Marathi film Gulabjaam, a delectable journey of local cuisine explores the ties between food and memory
Somewhere in between perfecting the subtle flavours of the suralichi vadi and the generous sweetness of besan ladoos, the film also becomes a narrative of coming home and simultaneously moving on, all the while food being the common ingredient that ties the past to the present.
Love, drama and jalebis: How Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon? added a dash of romance to a TV serial
The enduring popularity of Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon? lies in how this very textbook romance in effect became the first “full blown love story” to appear on the small screen.
Ashtanayika of Indian classical dance: On the khandita, a woman who stands up to her unfaithful lover
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In the last essay, part 8, a look at the khandita.
Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the abhisarika, a woman who embarks on adventures to meet her beloved
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 7, a look at the abhisarika.
In Sukki Menon's success as a burlesque performer, lessons about the value the art form can add to women's lives
The word burlesque literally means "to poke fun at," Menon explains, making the dance both a performance as well as a parody.
Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the kalahantarita, who battles rage and guilt upon calling her beloved unfaithful
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 6, a look at the kalahantarita.
In Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad, a house unfazed like mine stands as silent witness to a family's frenzy
This ensemble movie directed by Satish Rajwade unfolds over the course of one day, in one bungalow, and reaffirms my belief that a house is more than just brick and mortar; rather a powerful setting where countless stories are unfolding all at once.
Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the swadhinapatika, a woman who is swept off her feet by her beloved
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 5, a look at the swadhinapatika.
Sidharth Singh on his novel, Fighter Cock, a satirical narrative of patriarchal power dynamics in a rustic hinterland
In a conversation with Firstpost, the author talks about growing up in an erstwhile rural princely state in Bihar, the hyper-masculine setting of his novel and how he reduces patriarchy to its crudest form by using cockfighting as a metaphor for the power play in the hinterland of Shikargarh.
Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the proshitapatika, a woman made anxious by her lover's duty-bound departure
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 4, a look at the proshitapatika.
Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the vasakasajja, a woman consumed by yearning
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 3, a look at the vasakasajja.
Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the virahotkanthita, a woman reminiscing over her separated lover
This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 2, a look at the virahotkanthita.