Before attempting to create an awareness of the classical art of Bharatanatya to the younger generation, Rukmini Devi decided to learn the art herself, which she eventually mastered with the help of teachers of great stature. After establishing Kalakshetra, Chennai and building it up with the willing assistance of outstanding dancers and musicians, she began to concentrate on producing dance dramas, which allowed the flowering of her talents in group chroreography, dramatic presentation of well known stories from the epics and puranas of India in Bharatanatya and Kathakali styles. Her sense of beauty and aesthetics were also revealed in the designing of costumes, jewellery, stage decor and the selection of experts in each field to make every one of her twentyfive dance dramas from Kutrala Kuravanji to Ramayanam to more recent stories of Meera of Mewar and Tagore’s Shyama an expert production in the genre. This book portrays pictorially several scenes from these dance dramas along with an outline of the stories, besides scholarly analysis of the plays by experts. The book could be a worthy guide to aspiring choreographers.
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