Filling in the blanks - a new book on dance.
Kerala Natanam written by Kusum Gopalakrishnan and translated by Ram Gopal Sivadas and Apsara Ram Gopal was launched at an intimate evening at the High Commission of India on the 16 November 2008. This is the first publication by the Kshetra Academy, an independent private bharatanatyam academy run by Apsara Ram Gopal. The 196-page book filled with priceless photographs is a profound tribute to the late great master teacher Guru Gopinath and traces his life and his career over a span of 50 years from his roots as a young aspiring dancer to the great heights he eventually reached. The history of Guru Gopinath is one that bears importance to dance afficionados as his lineage has had a tremendous impact on the performance and teaching of bharatanatyam in Malaysia and Singapore. His shishya (student/disciple) was the late V.K. Sivadas who immigrated to Kuala Lumpur in the 50s, married Vatsala Sivadas nee Kurup and began the Vatsala Sivadas Dance Troupe in 1957. V.K. S