PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD, November 15, 2006 — Noted Trinidadian Kathak dancer, Satnarine Balkaransingh, has received a Government of India Orientation Grant to research the changing “dynamics of some major festivals and rituals brought here by East Indian ancestors and their counterparts in India.” His journey will take him to Benares for research on Dussehra, Divali and Siva Ratri. Balkaransingh will proceed to Mathura Brindavan for Holi, South India, in particular French Pondicherry from where many people now living in Martinique and Guadeloupe originated. His last stops will be Goa and concluding in Lucknow.
According to Terrence de Souza, Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Co-operation, Balkaransingh’s grant provides an opportunity for experts in their own fields to go to India to do research on topics related to Trinidad and Tobago. Balkarainsgh studied the Kathak style dance under Guru Smt. Reba Vidyarthi and Kathak Guru Birju Maharaj on an Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship to pursue courses in music and dance, specializing in Indian dance. He and his wife, Mondira, founded the Nrityanjali Theatre, a non-profit organization for Indo-Caribbean arts and culture.