Tsunami…Tsunami…Tsunami… hang on! Yes, we know that word (there, we didn’t use it again!) has been perhaps the most frequently used word, everywhere, in all languages, all over the world, in the past few months. As the T word is being brandied about as a reason for almost anything happening or not happening (remember 9/11?), we, at Drishti, too were wondering if we could use it as an excuse for the delay in bringing out this issue. We’re ducking! Don’t toss your copy of Drishti at us!!
On a serious note, Vasantahabba, the dance and music festival, held at Nrityagram on the first Saturday of February (spring) every year, bringing together thousands of art lovers and varied artists, was cancelled as a mark of mourning for the tsunami victims. We are sure it will be back next year, during spring with renewed energy.
Since the last issue, besides the couple of lakhs of tsunami victims, death claimed two legends, one from the world of music, M. S. Subbulakshmi, on December 11, 2004, and, the other from the world of dance, Prof. U.S. Krishna Rao, on March 6, 2005.
Though countless tributes have been paid to the sublime singing stalwart, we thought we should, in our own way, say a few lines as a mark of respect to her. And Prof. U. S. Krishna Rao was like a beacon light to the world of performing arts, especially in Bangalore. Drishti will carry a feature on him in the next issue.
A new section is being introduced in Drishti; excerpts from the Encyclopedia of Indian Iconography – Pratima Kosha by the great scholar, Prof. S. K. Ramachandra Rao. It should be of great interest and relevance to those interested in Indian iconography, dance choreographers, serious students of dance, dancers and dance scholars.
Every issue henceforth will also carry a Drishtikosh – the Drishti guide to dance and music terminology.
Continuing her series on Indian classical dances, Smt. Leela Ramanathan writes about Kathakali; the comprehensive article will run into two issues.
Updated directory: To help you find what you need more easily we have slightly restructured the directory. Its new name Drishti Art Resources describes better what we want it to be for you. The information published in the directory in this issue is as furnished by artists, individuals and organizations; please write to us about any changes in contact details.
May we gently remind subscribers to renew their subscriptions?
May we all have a gentle summer!
T. M. Vikranth & N. Narayan