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sisted that his exhibition must include the design of the chapel. On seeing the models of the chapel, the Communist poet Louis Aragon is said to have remarked to Matisse: "Very pretty, very gay in fact, when we take over we'll turn it into a dance hall."
Aragon obviously didn't know that there had been in fact a long tradition of a dance hall as part of the temple architecture in India. Rangamandapa, hall of celebrations and dance, is an integral part of the Vimalavasāhi and Lunavasāhi temples at Mount Abu, as it is of many other temples all across the country. The old tradition of dance performances in these halls is no more, but many a temple is now used as locale and background for dance festivals.
Natartja, Bronze, Chola, 11th century. Courtesy: National Museum, New Delhi
The use of dancing figures as an integral part of temple architecture, art and iconography has flourished for well over two thousand years in every region of the Indian subcontinent. These figures, however, are not always 'religious' in the sense of being part of a religious ritual or worship; some of them are in fact part of an earthly celebration, whether in a court or at a harvest. Until recently, the epigraphical and literary references in India have
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