Recently I received an e-mail from the Ministry of Culture. While its contents were not significant, the mode of how it reached me set off a buzz of optimism in me. Wow! The ministry had embraced e-mail! Finally! That was the big news to me.
Why do I make such a big deal of it? Let me place my thrill in perspective by providing some background.
Since in India we have not evolved a vibrant system of agents to support dance and dancers, most dance artiste have to moonlight as their own agents and have to contact organisations and cultural organisers themselves. This is different from the other arts; visual artists have a vibrant gallery system that supports them, and even musicians have evolved a system of sequenced performances where organisers contact them and rotate opportunities.