Monday, October 15, 2001		Entertainment

India is a country of rich culture and cultural heritage. The Indian culture spell bounds not just Indians but people from all over the world. The rich Indian culture, including performing arts, has attracted the interest of persons from across the globe and even in the present materialistic world it is fast gaining popularity.

The Internet has also played a major role in taking the Indian performing arts to the mass level, which was otherwise not available. So, practically, the Internet is the complete medium for fun and entertainment and is not just limited to playing games and downloading songs. Those who are interested in classic entertainment like Indian dances and music will find the Internet as the largest source available for information related to Indian performing arts. There are thousands of sites available on the Internet related to Indian performing arts that can be easily searched by using the search engines. However, we have also found some good sites on Indian culture and performing arts. One such site is www.artindia.net/index1.html. On this site, you can find detailed information on various Indian classic dances like Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri and Mohiniattam and can also read articles and features related to various subjects on Indian performing arts and culture. You can also search sites on various Indian regional and folk dances. Like www.cs.uccs.edu/~kalita/assam/bihu/bihu.html is a detailed Website on the Bihu festival of Assam. On this site, you can find information on all aspects of this festival and also the links related to this festival available else where on the world wide web. Similarly there's another site www.indiaconnect.com /kathak/index.htm, dedicated to the elegant classical dance Kathakali. It also has a training centre at New Delhi for those who want to learn this form of Indian dance. —IV