” Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is Success “
This is what we believe in.
The inaugural issue of Drishti, a magazine on Art, Dance & Music was launched on 2nd November 2002 by Smt. Rani Satish, Minister of State for Kannada & Culture, in the august presence of U. S. Krishna Rao, Maya Rao, Vani Ganapathy and Deepali Pal (Regional Director, ICCR). Prominent musicians Shyamala G Bhave, R. K. Padmanabha, Ramachar, M. Prabhakar and artists from the dance field – Bhanumati, Oddist duo Uday Shetty & Sowmya Shetty, Madhu Natraj Heri, a host of young upcoming artists, guests and well wishers made the event even more memorable. Thanks for making Drishti, a reality. It has been two months since the release and we still feel it’s just a day gone by. Having got overwhelming response from both the artists and art lovers, not only from Bangalore but also throughout India and abroad, we feel highly motivated to do better. It was indeed an honour for us to present the first copy of Drishti to our Hon’ble Chief Minister, Sri. S. M. Krishna at his office. Drishti is a vision of my wife, Anuradha, whom many of you know as (Anuradha Gudigar) a Bharatanatyam dancer, a disciple of Smt. Nirupama Rajendra and Smt. Narmada. Her passion for the art and wanting to contribute in someway has indeed led her to initiate this bold step at this young age and I am sure you readers will support her in this endeavor. Bangalore is known to welcome and appreciate anything innovative and creative. Drishti aims in bridging the gap between art, artists & art lovers. Drishti will include “Danc-in Bangalore,” a column by art historian Ashish Kokhar profiling the history of dancers and dance in Bangalore, an interview with a Senior Guru, profile of a performing teacher and also a section on a young upcoming artist – “PHOcus”. Besides, it will also feature interviews and articles related to dance and music, reviews & round-ups of the events gone by in the last two months, “aagaman” a column focusing on forthcoming events, festivals etc. So much has happened this season and so much is planned for the coming months – this sea change is amazing. Our city has come alive with creativity and activities! While many dance events happened in the past two months, the most talked about was the Bharatanatyam Mahotsava organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi and running parallel to this event was a two day focus on male dancers by Poonambalam. This was followed by Nadam Festival and Samskriti Festival. On the music front, there was Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival , Ganjam’s Flights of Fantasy, Pandit Jasraj’s GVGY. To look forward to, we have the Kinkini Festival starting from 24th January 2003, Nrityagram’s “Vasanthahabba 2003” on 1st Feb, and the much talked about “Bangalore Arts Festival” – YES! it’s the same “Bangalore Habba” scheduled in May. As 2002 ended, we wish and celebrate those seniors who have had a long innings. Like Guru U.S.Krishna Rao who turned 90 on 30th Dec and Kathak doyenne Lata Poovaiah who also turned 90 on 30th Dec and Kathak doyenne Lata Poovaiah who also turned 90 on 1st Jan! Looking forward to all your letters and suggestions! Happy Reading.
May the New Year bring peace and happiness to all
T. M. Vikranth (Editor and Publisher)