Shringara in Classical Indian Dance

edited by Sharon Lowen 

Shringara, Sringara, Śṛṅgāra, Sringar (love) is the dominant rasa, or aesthetic flavor, that has been interpreted in literature, philosophy, the visual and performing arts. The concept of communicating unselfish, unconditional spiritual love through the metaphors of mundane human love is intrinsic to Indian aesthetic and philosophical traditions. The chapters of this book offer insights into both the shared and unique understanding and performance of shringara in various classical Indian dance traditions. ‘Nritya Kalanidhi’ Guru Lakshmi Vishwanathan kindly contributed an introductory overview of Śṛṅgāra in Nāṭya (communicative dance) to contextualize the focus then enlarged upon within specific genres. Performing artist /scholars of seven of India’s classical dance traditions share the history and development of interpreting Sringara in Bharatanayam, Kuchipudi, Vilasini Natyam, Mohiniattam, Sattriya, Kathak and Odissi, by respectively, Kamalini Dutt, Anuradha Jonnalagadda, Anupama Kylash, Bharati Shivaji, Anwesa Mahanta, Shovana Narayan and Editor Sharon Lowen. 

Speakers : Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Scholar, Cultural Activist, Guru & Choreographer; Sh. Kumar Tuhin, DG ICCR & Former Ambassador to Hungary; Dr. Shovana Narayan, Educationist, Choreographer, Kathak Guru and Vidushi Sharon Lowen, Performing Artist, Guru, Write &  Editor of the book

Chair : Dr. Karan Singh

Performance by :

Nitisha Nanda
Vishwanathan Mangaraj 

Ikebana demonstration by Mr. Luca Ramacciotti and Mr. Lucio Farinelli, Sogetsu Ikebana teachers from Italy and co-founders of the Concentus Study Group in Rome. Both Ramacciotti and Farinelli have created arrangements for large installations, and have featured in international publications, exhibitions and on several Italian national television broacasts

Introduction: Smt. Veena Dass, Director, Sogetsu School, New Delhi

(Collaboration: Sogetsu School, New Delhi; and Embassy of Japan)

Zoom meeting ID: 5815017181 
Passcode: Sogetsu
 

A celebration of Shakti, the creative Power of Mother Earth, the biodiversity of our Sacred Plants and Nourishment from our Sacred Foods

Organised in collaboration with Navdanya

11:00 to 18:00 in Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza
Exhibition: Sacred Plants and Sacred Foods

From 15:00 to 18:00 in C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Panel discussion on Sacred Plants and Sacred Foods
Panelists: Dr. Vandana Shiva, Dr. Nanditha Krishna, Pandurang Hegde, Prasanna, Maya Goburdhun, Dr. Madhu Khanna and Dr. Shukla Chattopadhyay

At 18:30
Ratnagarbha
 

Ode to Mother Earth who creates, nurtures and sustains
Bharatanatyam choreographed and presented by Rama Vaidyanathan

Introduction: Meera Khanna 

Thoughts to Music: Narayana Guru

Lesson from an experiment in Carnatic Music

Illustrated presentation by Shri S. Goplakrishnan

The presentation will try to echo the layers of insights while imagining an idea of transforming Sree Narayana Guru's philosophical poems into the Carnatic format as interpreted by T.M. Krishna. The process of selections from a repository of poems in Sanskrit, Malayalam and Tamil, the constant exchange of ideas between the musician and the team involved, the culmination at the concert stage, and the evolution of the songs thereafter. The presentation will include the speaker's own experiences in the process; a recorded interaction with T.M. Krishna on his engagement with philosophical texts vis-à-vis music; basic texts of Guru with their English translations and excerpts from the music concert. 

Shri S. Gopalakrishnan is a Delhi-based writer and broadcaster. He writes on music and culture. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for prose. 
 

H.E. André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, Ambassador of Brazil and Kanu Kartik Agrawal, architect and theorist, will discuss the role of modern architecture in the making of modern Brazil and India, nations with colonial legacies and global aspirations. The discussion will trace shared histories as well as divergent aspects of the evolution of modern designs in Brazil and India; the architecture culture in both countries that gave rise to a diversity of production. The discussion will also address the role of late colonial and modernist architecture in collective memory and the need for preservation will serve as a coda to the discussion

Chair: Prof. Amita Baviskar, Dean, Faculty and Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology and Anthropology, Ashoka University

Living in Truth: The Gandhian Paradigm

Discussion on the forthcoming book by Ramin Jahanbegloo

Speakers: Ramin Jahanbegloo and Pooja Sharma, co-authors of the book

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

Speaker: Dr. Ajai Sahni, Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management, South Asia Terrorism Portal, Khalistan Extremism Monitor and Editor, South Asia Intelligence Review

Chair: Cmde. C. Uday Bhaskar, Director, Society for Policy Studies

(Collaboration: Society for Policy Studies)
 

A Historical view of Vindhyan Rock Art and its Significance
Illustrated lecture by Dr. Ajay Pratap, Senior Professor and former Head of the Dept. of History, Banaras Hindu University

Chair: Shri B.M. Pande

The lecture introduces the idea of rock paintings being not simply archaeological but also historical source material. This, it is argued, is because rock paintings continued to be the main means of symbolic recording of things and events, well-after scripts and writing came in being. The main common purpose of painting on rocks from prehistory to history, seems to be ‘remembering’, ‘commemorating’ and ‘memorializing’. The painted spaces constitutes socially and cognitively charged material which by means of being contemporary to the times of their creation is open to historical interpretation. 

Concert

by IDR - Italian Doc Remix with Franceso Pellegrino (vocal); Marco Cappelli (classical guitar, electric guitar and mandolin); Roberto Schiano (trombone); and Jime Pugliese (drums and marimba)

Love Songs is a portfolio of love songs in Neapolitan language sung by tenor Francesco Pellegrino. All the songs, re-interpreted, are from the antique, classic and contemporary traditions of Naples

(Collaboration: Embassy of Italy)

An Evening of Poetry

With poets – Naval Shukla (Raipur); Meenakshi Misra (Gurugram); Ashutosh Dube (Indore); and Prabhat Milind (Jamalpur) who will read from their original work

Moderator: Ashok Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)