Rules of Desire
The notion that desire contradicts ethics either makes people wilt in terror or it transforms them into greedy little children slavering over all the delights a
Nirmala Nataraj
Journey to My Desire
My life, like those of most people I know, has been dappled with chance encounters, unpredictable twists and turns, and the kind of non-linear narrative that re
Afternoons at Mr. P’s
It’s been two years. There is a clean incision that cuts you off from that time, as if the person you were prior to the visit finally reached his expiration d
A Post-Modern Artist
The dancer is surprising her audience. Shoes sprouting all over her simple black outfit, she is a whimsical, straight talking, high-heel wearing, fashionista sp
From Stage to Stage
Indian classical dance has largely been restricted to the sphere of “cultural” events and localized ethnic pride. There’s no real vocabulary in our nation
Entry into the Sacred Temple
"250 rupees,” the man at the gate of the temple complex in Mahabalipuram tells us. In an angry, profane-sounding swoosh of Tamil, my aunt—an exotic, squawki
One Man, One Vision
Given the recent mainstreaming of all things South Asian—including the hip-hop-meets-Indian filmi beats of M.I.A., the canonization of Bollywood kitsch, and e
Inspiration Everywhere
Joti Singh, the 29-year-old San Francisco-based dancer, blends her Punjabi roots with her passion for West African dance, but she doesn’t like to describe her
