The birth centenary celebrations of Rukmini Devi Arundale, the founder of Kalakshetra begin on 1 March in Madras.
A museum dedicated to Rukmini Devi at the Kalakshetra campus was opened this morning by the former President of India, R. Venkatraman.
The Governor of Tamil Nadu, P.S. Ramamohan Rao releases the books on speeches and writings of Rukmini Devi and the centenary commemorative volume this evening.
The books will contain her theosophical lectures, parliamentary speeches and lectures on various topics relating to art and culture, education, animal welfare, vegetarianism...
Shakuntala Ramani, Chairperson of the Crafts Education and Research Centre, Kalakshetra, told KutcheriBuzz "The museum houses the various art objects collected by Rukmini Devi from various parts of the world. It includes paintings, sculptures, art objects and the sarees worn by Rukmini Devi among other precious collections. Some of the art objects were gifted to her by her elder brother Yagneswara Shastri while a huge collection was bequeathed to her by the Irish poet James H. Cousins, a theosophist and a friend of Arundale."
However, at present, the museum will not have the costumes or jewellery worn by Rukmini Devi. These may be included in the future.
A seminar on Rukmini Devi's Choreography, is scheduled to be held in the morning on 3 March. Here's the schedule of evening programmes from 1-5 March at the Kalakshetra campus:
1 Mar: Inauguration followed by excerpts from 'Choodamani Pradanam' by Kalakshetra artistes
2 Mar: 'Ramayana' by the Balinese troupe from Indonesia
3 Mar: 'Bhagavad Gita' by Padma Subrahmanyam
4 Mar: Hindusthani Vocal by Pt. Jasraj
5 Mar: 'Maha Pattabhishekam' by Kalakshetra artistes.
Contact: 044-24911169
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