Nataraja – the Lord of Dance

Two million years of human history. One million artefacts. Countless astonishing stories.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Discover the various meanings of the dancing Shiva concept and the hand gestures used in this representation.

Shiva in the form of Nataraja or the cosmic dancer, is one of India’s most iconic images. As a Hindu deity, the depiction of Nataraja is full of symbolism and deeper context. In this talk, Monisha Bharadwaj, an Indian historian and professionally trained Bharata Natyam dancer, will talk about the various meanings of the dancing Shiva concept and will lead you through a short workshop on the hand gestures that you see in this representation.Tickets are pay as you wish - suggested donation £8 (£5 for students and Friends of MAA). About the speakerChef Monisha Bharadwaj is an award winning author, food historian and a food writer based in London, UK.Monisha is a qualified chef from the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Mumbai. She started Cooking With Monisha, situated in West London, in 2004. Today it is a successful school that attracts not only the home cook but also professional chefs who wish to learn Chef Monisha’s brand of simple authentic Indian cooking. Cooking With Monisha won the Small and Medium Enterprise UK Award in 2025 with Monisha Bharadwaj being awarded ‘Recognised Culinary Educator of the Year 2025’Monisha also holds a BA in Indian History and in 2013, she was invited to be Guest Lecturer at SOAS, University of London, to give a series of talks on ‘The History of India through its Food’. She presents this talk reguarly for visiting American Universities to the UK.She has given talks in many settings, including Kew Gardens, the British Council, the Wellcome Collection, London.In 2020, her book ‘Indian in 7- recipes using 7 ingredients or fewer’ won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2020 for the Best Indian Cookbook in the World.Monisha has trained for 30 years in the Indian classical dance style of Bharata Natyam and has had an international dance career which included performing at the opening of the Nehru Gallery at the V&amp;A Museum, London in the presence of HM The Queen. She now sits on the Board of Srishti, one of the UK’s top Indian dance companies.She also sits on the Executive Committee of the Friends of MAA (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge). <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcookingwithmonisha.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7Crr678%40cam.ac.uk%7C776f11dc2cfd47215cbd08de3e4dfbc7%7C49a50445bdfa4b79ade3547b4f3986e9%7C1%7C0%7C639016701803640009%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PxcuiZTR2lEXFqR%2BBbNhimNhI4rgN355bu9t4u47TVc%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcookingwithmonisha.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7Crr678%40cam.ac.uk%7C776f11dc2cfd47215cbd08de3e4dfbc7%7C49a50445bdfa4b79ade3547b4f3986e9%7C1%7C0%7C639016701803640009%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PxcuiZTR2lEXFqR%2BBbNhimNhI4rgN355bu9t4u47TVc%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://cookingwithmonisha.com/</a> Important Information No audio or video recording is permitted of the workshops, without the clear permission of the Workshop leader and other participants. Terms and ConditionsBookings 1.1 Bookings are valid only for the specific event type, the number of people and the date and time slot (where applicable) on the ticket.1.2 Details of each event are provided prior to booking and the responsiblity of the person making the booking to check they undetstand any restrictions (e.g. age) and that all details they provide are accurate at the time of booking.1.3 If you can not make the event, please transfer your booking to another person who will attend and let MAA (admin@maa.cam.ac.uk) know the name of the person attending.1.4 Booking is confirmed by the Eventbrite confirmation email, not a physical ticket. Please have your ticket ready to show staff on arrival at MAA.1.5 Please send an email to admin@maa.cam.ac.uk with any access requirements as early as possible, and a minimum of 1 week prior to the event.Cancellation2.1 If a event is cancelled for any reason, you will be offered a full refund of the price of the ticket(s) relating to that event.2.2 Our liability to you in these circumstances is limited to refunding the price you paid for the cancelled ticket(s). We are not responsible to you to any greater extent and in particular is not liable to you for any other loss that you may incur as a consequence of the cancellation or closure (including, without limitation, financial loss such as travel or other expenses or any business-related costs such as loss of profit).During the event3.1 Whilst on-site please follow follow safety instructions from the staff at all times.3.2 Recording of concerts or talks is not permitted.3.3 Food and drink, apart from water, may not be consumed within the galleries of MAA.3.4 We reserve the right to refuse entry.Accessibility Please view details about accessibility on our website: <a href="https://maa.cam.ac.uk/visit/accessibility" title="https://maa.cam.ac.uk/visit/accessibility" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://maa.cam.ac.uk/visit/accessibility</a>

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Nataraja – the Lord of Dance

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