To pay homage to a great artist on a special occasion like the Birth Centenary is to pay back our debt for the services rendered by him to the art, to the country, to the nation. In the case of Uday Shankar, the homage is doubly significant. He not only created a place of honor for Indian dance abroad and was responsible for putting it on the world dance scenario, but also gave unequivocal confidence to colleagues at home to embark upon new experiments, thereby ushering in a New Age in Modern Indian Dance History as Anna Pavlova, Ruth St. Dennis and Diaghilev had done for their respective countries.

To pay homage to Uday Shankar means many more things : it is paying our respects to all those who helped him realize his own dreams and channelize his abilities and exhibit them : to Sir William Rothenstein who turned his attention to the wonderful Indian milieu; to Anna Pavlova who made him understand the importance of discipline; to Alice Boner who supported his dream of weaving together a company of Indian dancers and musicians; to Sol Hurok and Haren Ghosh, the American and Indian impresarios respectively; to a host of his own team mates Vishnudass Shirali, Timir Baran, Allauddin Khan, Kanaklata, Simkie, Zohra, Amala ; his brothers Rajendra...