Bharatanatyam: Natya Vriksha’s new space sanctified by bhakti and natya
Guru Geeta Chandran What does a temple mean to a priest, a palace or a court to a king, a house and a kitchen to a housewife, an office or a shop to a working person? It felt the same as I stood outside the Chandrans’ home in Delhi’s Gulmohur Park, which houses their new Natya Vriksha studio, on 14 February. When we were kids, we were taught to touch the threshold of a temple, put your hand to your forehead and then proceed inside. A similar ritual would be appropriate for the studio as you entered. The new studio, which is housed in the Chandrans’ recently renovated basement, was inaugurated on 14 February. The entire place was done up with yellow marigold flowers, which was pleasurable to both the nose and the eyes. There were huge ceremonial brass lamps at strategic places with strings of flowers draped over them. All doors and pillars were covered with flowers. In the basement, besides the two sides of seating, there was a bare wall with a slight depression in it,...
