Dear Elsas,

If you're in Delhi, do join us for the ELSA Basant Bazaar at Dastkar on 16-17 February! We promise you a lovely weekend with riveting performances, activities for adults and children, and an array of stalls representing women-led enterprises- come with friends and family!

ELSA, in association with DGS Associates, has commenced a course on “Women related Laws” at LSR College from February 5, 2019, in an effort to spread legal awareness among the students.

In addition, a convenient legal resource for women will also be circulated for their awareness, providing an overview of laws encompassing 3 major areas, namely, (I) Women and Employment; (II) Crimes against Women and (III) Women and Family Law (Marriage, Divorce, Maintenance, Succession and Adoption).

The sessions are addressing each of the abovementioned spheres, with theory classes discussing the abovementioned laws and practical sessions, including moot court programs, court visits, debates and discussions, to enhance the understanding of the law. The sessions will be conducted by accomplished lawyers engaged in these fields.

Over 60 students from LSR have signed up for the course! Here's to continued awareness..many thanks to our very own Ameeta Duggal Verma and her partner Niti Sudhakar at DGS associates for their support in putting this drive together!

Classical Dance Appreciation
Eight enthusiastic ELSAs met last Saturday at the lovely home of Shafigeh Lal for a talk on Indian Classical Dance by Sahana Das, Odissi dancer, teacher and choreographer. Her talk encompassed Indian Classical Dance as a whole, with Odissi as a reference point. Her structured and informative talk lead us first through the historical background of dance from its origins in the temples and courts of India, the context of the Devadasis and Maharis (devadasis of Orissa), the courtesans of Nawabi Lucknow and the anti-Nautch Bill.

Listing for us the eight Classical Dance forms which are officially recognised as Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Satriya, Sahana spoke of the need for creating an audience, as there is a dip in dance patronage, lack of government funding, and difficulty in finding corporate sponsorships which creates challenges for younger dancers to seriously take up dance as a career choice. She then moved on to ‘What to expect from a Dance Performance’, and broke it up into a) Pure dance which is about Melody and Rhythm, and b) Abhinaya or the expression/narrative item which must convey the story or character to the audience. But as we perform for global audiences, no assumption can be made on prior knowledge.

Abhinaya uses hand gestures for literal representations, or by association or for depicting abstract concepts. She spoke about Asthapadis such as Geet Govind by Jayadev, using body language to convey narrative.

A totally fascinating and interactive session, which ended with us being treated to a high-tea put out by our gracious hostess.

Elsas in Mumbai met up to hear the amazing story of a remarkable social transformation happening in rural Bihar. The session was conducted by Padmashri Shri Jyoti Kumar Sinha – a retired IPS officer and Founder fo the Shoshit Seva Sangh (SSS) that is spearheading this change. Mr. Sinha is engaged in providing quality English education to the children of the Mahadalit 'Musahar' community of Bihar who have traditionally been on the fringes of society. (https://www.thebetterindia.com/170769/ips-hero-bihar-padma-shri-jyoti-sinha-musahar/)

The event was hosted at the cosy residence of Gayatri and Shanatanu Srivastava on Jan 31st. It was an inspiring evening with lots of learning for all the attendees. Mr. Sinha said, ‘My objective was not to educate some children. My objective was to bring about complete social transformation for the most backward and deprived community, the Musahars and education was a tool toward that end."

Mr. Sinha has many ELSA connections! His daughter Neha Sinha, who currently works with Netflix, is LSR batch of 2001.

Dear ELSAS,
Indeed, it was great catching up after so long. As always we did chat about everything under the sun...We welcomed new, young ELSAS- Divya, Neha, Shruti and Brinda.

We discussed plans for the future meetings. We now meet in the first week of March. Two events are in the pipeline- one is the Emirates Lit fest and the other is Women’s Day, falling on the 8th of March for which Brinda, our young lawyer, will organise an event.

We are now 51 in number in the GCC Chapter, yet no more than 10 attend are get togethers. Ladies, let's get more commitment from everyone!

POEMS IN STONE

Travelsa offered us an opportunity to visit the Unesco World Heritage Site Pattadakal, and contiguous Aihole and Badami temple complexes. The grandeur and artistry is breathtaking.

The sophistication and skill of master stonemasons who carved the cave temples out of solid living rock 1200 years ago, left us awestruck. It was hot, the terrain was uneven and steep…some of us used walking sticks for balance and support…and the temple art was worth every bit of it…sublime.

Dr. Chitra Madhavan, historian, created an immersive experience in Chalukyan art and history for us. Her passion for these poems in stone inspired us, over 3 days , to want to learn more about the history of these South Indian kingdoms and their art. Poignantly, she showed us the ubiquitous Ardhanareshwari images, the Hari hara images, stories from the epics, and we recognised our long tradition of inclusiveness.

The travel arrangements by Beyond Boundaries were comfortable and efficient.

On both evenings we chatted till the wee hours about every thing and anything... Like hostel without lights out and with good air-conditioning!!!

We also discovered a modern treasure trove of locally woven cotton saris! Looking forward to November in Hampi.

KUMBH

A preview of Linika Kumar's visit to Kumbh -

Kumbh is a fantastic experience for a day. The administration has done a wonderful job of temporary bridges, toilets, accommodation and cleanliness...both on ground and of the rivers. My most favourite experience was of the boat ride to Sangam and drive through of the Magh Mela side by night. For those gifted in the photography department, there is no better opportunity. The most aesthetic akhara is that of Swami Avdeshananda in sector 14. Then there are some strage ones like "pilot baba". There is a first time Kinnar akhara by the LGBTQ community which generated a lot of interest/ curiosity. Personally, I didn't find it interesting enough. By day 2 the noise ( loudspeakers) got to me and the excesses of U.P. khaan-paan.

Upcoming travELSA visit to Kumbh on 2-4 March led by Rashmi Misra

ELSA-UK in conversation with Patricia Rozario

OBE-Indian origin Opera Singer of high repute in UK- often appears at the BBC proms. Mumbai’s Royal Opera House, the only surviving opera house in India , hadn’t seen a performance in eight decades until 2017 when she sparked a revival in opera from exactly where it all began in India! You have to hear this story from her!! Patricia is currently a professor of vocal studies at the Royal College of Music, London.

Find out more in this unmissable Tete-e-tete when-what time-where: 7:30-9pm, 15th Feb, Taj St. James, London. Hope to meet many of you!!!!!

travELSA visit to Kumbh on 2-4 March led by Rashmi Misra

On behalf of the ELSA family we warmly welcome our new members