Author: Sukanya Rahman
Publisher: Rupa
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 158
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8129105942
Description
Written with rare honesty and humor about matters close to the heart, this is an insightful and fascinating look into the Indian dance scene from the 1920s on. More than 50 archival family photographs, dating from 1893, contribute to making the book a gem in the history of Indian dance.
Sukanya Rahman's grandmother, Ragini Devi, an American woman from Minneapolis, was convinced she had been a Hindu in a previous life and was reincarnated to devote her life to Indian dance. She helped rescue ancient India classical dance forms threatened with extinction under British rule in India, and was instrumental in the revival of Kathakali dance, now one of the more familiar India styles. Her mother, Indrani Rahman, continued this pioneering effort. She helped revive the long neglected Odissi dance and presented Indian classical dance throughout the world with her troupe of dancers and musicians.
Sukanya too carried on the family tradition by teaching and performing the Bharata Natyam, Odissi and Kuchipudi styles of Indian dance in the United States and other countries. In a historic performance in New York City, shortly before Ragini Devi dies, the three generations danced together, in what Ragini called "the climax of my life…seeing the pure tradition safeguarded by Indrani and Sukanya." Vastly amusing, can did and moving, 'Dancing in the Family' is the story of a totally unconventional family that is inseparably linked with the story of Indian dance from 1920s on.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Rehearsal
Esther Luella
Ragini Devi
Kite Strings
Veil of Illusion
On the Road
Spring Festival Dance
Panch Number
Indrani
Lower Circular Road
Miss India
Nani
The Dance of Shiva
Cultural Goodwill
Puri Pilgrimage
The Trunk with the Pink Roses
Le Club Solitair
A Family Affair
Curtain Call
Postscript