In Puducherry and Auroville in S. India, the Tantidhatri International Women's Performing Arts Festival brings together performance works by women master practitioners from across the globe, March 11-15, under the artistic direction of Parvathy Baul.

‘Tanti’ in old Pali language is usually imagined as a ‘thread’ going beyond time and ‘Dhatri’ - the woman who holds it.  In performing arts language this ‘thread’ can have various meanings. The thread can be lineage, generations,  Master/pupil relationships, independent auto-didactic realities, the practice of workshops and training, traditional schooling in performing arts all over the world, the passing on of a craft through family connections or apprenticeship, or the absence of references. Tantidhatri brings together the performance works of women masters across the globe (both created from self-expression and sacred arts) ranging from Theatre, Music, Dance, to the Visual Arts, Ritual and Spirituality. The Tantidhatri Festival is an occasion to meet these women master practitioners, artists, intellectuals, writers and scholars from various backgrounds and lineages, as well as interacting with them through workshops and talks. This is a festival inspired by the Transit Festival created by actress and writer Ms. Julia Varley of the Odin Theatret Denmark, a founder member of the Magdalena project. The Festival Director is the musician and singer Parvathy Baul, who performs in the Baul tradition of Bengal. Check out the invited artists from India, Japan and various European countries and the performance schedule. Photo: Judith Staines | Parvathy Baul performing at Jaipur Literature Festival 2012