DANCING WITH THE GODS

This book is an ode to the mythological heritage of Bharatanatyam. The visual narrative captures the rich heritage of this temple dance and its original exponents, the Devadasis or ‘handmaidens of the deity’. Its repertoire of movements and moods bring alive the fascinating stories of Hindu gods and goddesses and their kaleidoscopic lives. In the following pages, the authors have traced the myths and legends that are cherished in our performing arts, to delight the culture-curious reader. And what is interesting is that in these stories, the reader will discover the inter-connectedness of ancient mythologies around the world. Perhaps such discoveries go a long way in validating the role that art plays in connecting civilizations. The book is designed to engage the reader without pedagogy or scholastic strictures, but with a lightness of touch, that entertains while it informs. Because the vision here is to weave information, anecdotes and trivia, together in the spirit of a popular cultural ranconteur. Replete with rare photographs curated from the Sohinimoksha World Dance and Communications archives, complemented by a lucid narrative that wraps facts in the language of romance and adventure, this book promises to be a collector’s item for those who value the legacy of India’s most celebrated dance form. For glimpses of some live performances by Sohini Roychowdhury, and her Sohinimoksha World Dance troupe, celebrating the music, dance, mythology of India and the World, go on-line to ‘Dancing With The God.... with Sohinimoksha World Dance’ at https://youtu.be/naR7p6SKiko

Dancing With The Gods’ is the brainchild of Monidipa Mukherjee and Sutapa Sengupta, partners at ‘Thursday’s Child,’ a creative thought-shop based out of Bangalore. ‘Thursday’s Child’ specializes in creating engaging content for clients across product categories, spanning both online and offline media. Monidipa, with a post graduate degree in Indian History, is a professional writer, former Creative Director of JWT, India, with nearly three decades of experience in brand campaigns. She is currently an independent creative consultant, blogger, food critic and a published author. Monidipa is passionate about heritage, travel, world mythology and vintage fashion. Sutapa, with a post graduate degree in Philosophy, is also a former Creative Director of MT, India. She is an independent creative consultant and artist of repute, with several successful art exhibitions to her credit.