Contents

Preface

Conversations: Musicians

1. The Joy of Creation – Pandit Ravi Shankar

2. The Quest for Immortality – L. Subramaniam

3. The Culture Tree – Pandit Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin

4. Interpreting Greatness – Zubin Mehta

5. A Musical Pilgrimage – Amjad Ali Khan

The Cosmic and Me: Dancers

6. Beyond the Ego – Leela Samson

7. The Search for Oneself – Mrinalini Sarabhai

8. A Peep into the Unknown – Sonal Mansingh

Impressions: Painters/Sculptors

9. A Conscious Suffering – Amarnath Sehgal

10. The Artist’s Struggle – Anjolie Ela Menon

11. The Unquenchable Thirst – Arpana Caur

12. Stretching the Boundaries – Satish Gujral

13. The Hidden Form – K. S. Radhakrishnan

Expressions: Theatre/Films/Playwrights

14. The Critical Reality in Theatre – Habib Tanvir

15. The Accidental Filmmaker– Mrinal Sen

16. A Social Chronicler – Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Articulations: Writers/Poets

17. Writing in Conflict – Nadine Gordimer

18. Poet as Discoverer – Stephen Spender

19. The Voice of the People – Mahasweta Devi

20. The Profound Confession – U. R. Ananthamurthy

21. The Writer in Exile – Ved Mehta

22. Relighting the Sun – Gulzar

23. Opening the Window – Sitakant Mahapatra

24. Understanding the Wounds – Indira Goswami

Glossary