Archives

Photographic exhibition on Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale

In collaboration with India - The Sri Lanka Foundation and the Indian High Commission, Srilanka, the Centre for Contemporary Culture is proposing to hold a photographic exhibition on Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale, the doyen of Bharatnatyam Dance at the Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo from February 1 to 6. In Kandy it will be held from February 8 to 12, states a press release by the Cultural Centre.

The photographic exhibition includes the historical details on Bharatnatyam, Rukmini Devi and Kalakshetra - an organisation built by her to promote inter-disciplinary studies in dance, music, education and crafts. Smt. Rukmini Devi not only revived and refined the Sadir dance but also renamed it as Bharatnatyam and re-presented it with the mediations of modern lights, designer costumes and proscenium theatre.

She was instrumental in adding Bhakti elements to dance and marrying dance to Tamil literature. She introduced dance ballets (26 in all) which were hitherto unknown. Her Kalakshetra was both traditional and modern inasmuch as it was Gurukul teaching for dance and music while for other subjects, it was Montessori system of education. She was also a votary for combining art with education. Her declared objective was, "Education without fear and art without vulgarity". Her aesthetic vision was holistic to combine dance, music and crafts. In building her Kalakshetra, she drew upon the experiences of Rabindranath Tagore, who had also built a Pan-Asian University called Visva Bharati.

The exhibition consists of about 100 photographs taken by Conrad Woldring and Nachiappan in the 1950s. The mounted photographs are divided into five themes showing the evolution of Smt. Rukmini Devi and Kalakshetra. It is in the nature of a tribute to the memory of the doyen of Bharatnatyam in her centenary year (2003). In addition, the exhibition would include books, periodicals, panels, Kalakshetra sarees, dancing bells, etc.

The exhibition has already travelled from Chennai to New Delhi, Kolkata, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in 2002. It opens in Colombo and is scheduled to travel to Kandy and Jaffna in February 2003. In April, it is scheduled at Nehru Centre, London. In addition, it has been invited to Tokyo and Dhaka in 2003.

In addition to the photographic exhibition, there would also be a dance recital and presentation of Birds and the Banyan Tree, a rendition in the dance form explaining the history of Rukmini Devi and Kalakshetra. It is also proposed to have three Memorial Lectures on Rukmini Devi, Kalakshetra and Bharatnatyam at the British Council, Colombo and the University of Colombo.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager