It is unlikely that you haven't heard of Natyacharya Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai, for he has been a major figure in the dance world since the 1940's. But it is equally unlikely that you'll have come across all the details about his family heritage and his career as a teacher that we are presenting in the mid-section of this issue (17-32). There'll be more in the next issue — including his fascinating observations on the contemporary dance situation—but I believe you'll not want to wait until then to read about what moulded Ramiah Pillai into the influential natyacharya that he became, and to learn what three of his principal disciples—Kamala, Kanaka and Hemamalini—have to say about him. Oh yes, we'll have a special on Kamala herself in the near future.

For dance enthusiasts, there's more in this issue, including : an article on Swati Tirunal's Music For Dance (33-34) ; a report on Sangeet Natak Akademi's Yuva Utsav that promotes outstanding dance as well as music talent (5-7); and a report on a seminar on the Old Tradition of Kathak Gurus held in Khairagarh, M.P., with complementary notes on Parampara by a Sruti staffer (11-12). There's also an interesting survey of newly choreographed dance themes extracted from the Editor's Notebook (13).

Parallel to these dance-related reports and notes in the News & Notes department are reports on music events in India and abroad. From San Francisco, we have another report for you, this time on a Festival of India event billed as 2000 Years of Indian Music (9). From Madras, we have a report on the Resurgence of Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi (14-15), a development for which credit is widely given to the activities of the Sruti Foundation and the articles in this magazine. An Interview with R. Chandrasekhariah complements this

report. An article in this issue which should be of particular interest to sabha officials every-where

is on Saraswathi, A Sabha With A Difference (35-36).

For those who have become addicted to reading S. Rajam's Music Appreciation Notes, he and his collaborating Sruti staff offer notes on Natabhairavi and Its Janya-s. (37-39). Anami's reports in The Whispering Gallery invariably offer news scoops.