Sunday 10 February 2013

Roses & Thorns - Terrorism on Kathak

Ms Ratnam, with due respect to your efforts, I wish to bring to light the severe attempts to divert from the main issue related to Kathak. The national centre of Kathak dance, Kathak Kendra, was forced to move into an area in North Delhi where when the women associated with the institute go to learn, teach or work, are stalked, eve teased and sexually harassed. I personally saw this with my own eyes while I traveled from the Metro to the campus. As a public concerned citizen where security of women is a question I wish not to further dwell on something as the dupatta issue but a serious question of attempts to marginalize the dance by forcing the relocation of the center.
This decision to shift was not needed since a land was bought in the name of the Kathak Kendra in South Delhi in 1994, a building was constructed and a bhumi puja was performed by Kathak gurus. When the decision to shift the Kendra to this unsuitable location was taken the gurus requested to stall the decision; and a cultural advocacy group Kalavati wrote to secretary culture Jawahar Sircar and the present chairman SNA, an email in April 2011. This was circulated to many of us alerting the concerned authorities that security and unhygienic conditions is not conducive for the National Center of Kathak Dance, Kathak Kendra. However the chairperson wrote to the advocacy group that the new location will be an ashram and was ideal for the dance and members of the advocacy group should visit it (which they had already done). 



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