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The site
Our site has its origins in a much humbler
version as Siri Rama's home page at http://~home.ust.hk/~seshrama/sirirama.shtml.
That site was launched in October 1996, those early magical days
of the Worldwide Web, in what seems like centuries ago in web-time.
As a physics and electronics major in college, Siri has always been
fascinated with the possibilities of the beneficial collaboration
between dance and technology. The web seemed to open new vistas
in taking our mission of dance education to the entire world.
 It
was exciting to get the first responses to our web-site in Hong
Kong, from places as far flung as Australia, China, Japan, the Philippines,
Singapore, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Russia, the UK, Canada
and the USA with an increasingly interesting set of queries and
comments - from specific make-up and costume design queries for
a Greek version of the Ramayana, and tips on dance practice from
a struggling Bharata Natyam student-afficionado in Russia, to a
desperate plea for help in finding a dance instructor in Birmingham
in the UK, or Brisbane in Australia, or to a summer school in India
where someone could further their training, the philosophical connections
between Indian dance and the conception of nirvana, the meaning
of Tandava, down to some very basic help with a sixth-grader's homework
assignment.
As the web has spread, and as have the number
of sites of Indian classical dance, we thought it would be great
to collect this information from across the web, and across the
world of Indian classical dance to present together in a one-stop
format, a sort of portal for Indian classical dance. This site is
primarily targeted at the Indian classical dance afficionado across
the world, but we hope we will also become a useful resource for
dancers, choreographers, dance organizers, dance scholars and any
one else interested in Indian classical dance. Our aim is to provide
a space on the web, where any one interested in the preservation
and promotion of Indian classical dance will find useful information,
and also feels welcome to contribute in any way they can think of
to keep this art form thriving.
 We
have many things planned for the future, but we also know that the
site's success depends on contributions from you, the visitor. We
invite you to participate in any way you can; we look forward to
submissions of information on dance events in your neighborhood,
dance festivals, articles, additions to our databases, suggestions
for new sections, etc. Please speak your mind on the world of Indian
classical dance on our message
board, or visit our guest
book to tell us what we can do to serve you better. We
may not be able to respond to every single message, but rest assured
that we will be reading every single posting.
The
Institute
Kanaka Sabha is also the name of the dance school
in Mumbai that was started by Siri Rama and Saroja Srinath in 1982
to encourage the learning and appreciation of dance.
The People
Nettuvanar/Editor : Dr.
Siri Rama
Events Editor: Shobitha Ravi
Senior Editorial Assistant: Sarikha Shetty
Editorial Assistants: Sujata Kotian, Vidhya Mani
 The
legend
Kanaka Sabha, or the Golden Hall, is the central
hall in the Cidambaram temple (in Tamil Nadu), dedicated to the
god Siva in his form as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. The sthala-purana
(or temple legend) is that this hall (also called Cit-sabha or Hema-sabha)
was gilded and was the site of the performance of the Ananda-Tandava
by the Lord of Dance himself.
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