Rukmini Devi ArundaleRukmini Devi Arundale (née Sastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986) was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare. She was the first woman in Indian history to be nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.
Indian classical danceIndian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for different regionally specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindumusical theatre performance, the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra.
NrityaNritya (Sanskrit: नृत्य, IAST: nṛtya), also referred to as nritta, natana or natya, is "dance, act on the stage, act, gesticulate, play" in the Indian traditions.
Natya ShastraThe Nāṭya Shāstra (Sanskrit: नाट्य शास्त्र, IAST: Nāṭya Śāstra) is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata (Bharat Muni), and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. It is believed to be codified in the 2nd century BCE, the text consists of 36 chapters with a cumulative total of 6,000 verses describing performance arts.
Sangeet Natak AkademiSangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English), in New Delhi, is the national academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. HistoryIt was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and became functional the following year, with the appointment of its first chairman, Dr. P. V. Rajamannar.
GuruGuru ( Sanskrit: गुरु; IAST: guru) is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field.
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is the southernmost state of India. The tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population, it is the home of the Tamils, who speak the Tamil language, the state's official language and the first to be recognised as a classical language in India. Chennai is the state's largest city and capital.
HinduismHinduism () is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions (sampradayas) that are unified by adherence to Dharma, a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word Hindu originated as an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest surviving religion in the world, it is also described since the 19th century by the term Sanātana Dharma (lit. 'eternal dharma').
Thanjavur QuartetThanjavur Quartet were four brothers, Chinnayya, Ponnayya (1804-1864), Shivanand and Vadivelu, who lived during the early 19th century and contributed to the development of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. They excelled in the art of Bharatanatyam. The brothers were employed in the courts of the Maratha King at Thanjavur initially, and then moved to Travancore to the court of Swathi Thirunal.
ShaivismHindu tradition that worships ShivaShaivism (; Sanskrit: शैवसंप्रदायः, romanised: Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is an umbrella-term for a number of Hindu religious traditions, which worship Shiva as the supreme being. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Shaivites, numbering about 385 million people, across South Asia predominantly in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Sign languageLanguage that uses manual communication and body language to convey meaningSign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning rather than spoken words. They are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers, and are full-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon.CilappatikaramCilappatikāram (Tamil: சிலப்பதிகாரம்) (Tamil pronunciation: [ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm], lit. 'the Tale of an Anklet'), also referred to as Silappathikaram or Silappatikaram, is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely akaval (aciriyam) meter. The epic is a tragic love story of an ordinary couple, Kaṇṇaki and her husband Kōvalaṉ.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.