Jantar Mantar: New Delhi

Between 1724 and 1727, Jai Singh II, a regional king under the Mogul empire, constructed five astronomical observatories in his native territory of west central India. Passionately interested in mathematics and astronomy, Jai Singh adapted and added to the designs of earlier sight-based observatories to create an architecture for astronomical measurement that is unsurpassed. Jai Singh was influenced primarily by the Islamic school of astronomy, and had studied the work of the great astronomers of this tradition. Early Greek and Persian observatories contained elements that Jai Singh incorporated into his designs, but the instruments of the Jantar Mantar, as Jai Singh’s observatories have come to be known, are more complex, or at a much greater scale than any that had come before, and in certain instances, are completely unique in design and function. Of the observatories originally built at Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Ujjain, and Varanasi, all but the Mathura observatory still exist. The condition of the instruments varies, due to the ravages of weather and lack of maintenance over time, but the observatories at Jaipur and Ujjain have have had considerable restoration, and repairs have been made from time to time at each of the sites. 
Few more photographs of Jantar-Mantar can be seen at the following link: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/invertedimages/sets/72157631654300996/ 

Bharatanatyam: Choreographed by Saroja Vaidyanathan

Originating in Tamil Nadu, Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest and most popular dance forms of India. Originating in Tamil Nadu and obtained from the earlier Dasiattam – the dance of the devadasi – it was nurtured in the temples and courts of southern India. Subsequently, four brothers known as the Tanjore Quartet codified it as a performing art in the 19th century. Their musical compositions form the bulk of Bharatanatyam repertoire even today. The devadasis and nattuvanars, the male gurus, were the sole repository of Bharatanatyam until the early 20th century. During the British rule the dance fell into disrepute and was banned in the temples. The revival of the dance during the 1930s by pioneers, such as E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale, set the tone for Bharatanatyam as we know it today.One of India's prominent Bharatanatyam exponents, Saroja Vaidyanathan is acknowledged as an adept dancer, guru and choreographer and author. She started learning at age seven from the accomplished Guru Lalitha of Saraswati Gana Nilayam, Chennai. She is the third- generation disciple of the famous Guru Kattumannar Tanjavur Muthukumaran Pillai. She has received worldwide acclaim for her dance recitals and repertoire and been teaching Bharatanatyam for the past four decades in the ancient Guru-Shishya tradition. Her innovative choreography has not only yielded several enthralling ballets based on mythology and social themes, it has also attracted a lot of young talent to the dance form. Her institute, Ganesa Natyalaya, in New Delhi, boasts of students from both India and abroad. More photoraphs from the event may be viewed by clicking at the link provided below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/invertedimages/sets/72157631734642951/