[Photograph of a bharatanatyam performer at a SANSAD event]

Photograph of an unidentified individual performing bharatanatyam at an event organized by the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD). The event was called The 50th Year: Looking Back; Looking Forward, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the independence of India from colonial rule.

Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style of India, is indigenous to the Tamil Nadu region and prevalent in southern India. Bharatanatyam serves the expression of Hindu religious themes and devotions. Bharatanatyam was originally performed exclusively by female temple dancers and was not brought to the stage for public performance until about 1930. A vital tradition of Bharatanatyam is a graduation performance, called Arangetram, in which graduates showcase their talents.

The South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD) is an organization of the South Asian diaspora based in British Columbia, Canada. It comprises people with origin in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The mission of SANSAD is to develop a secular democratic South Asian diaspora in Canada. SANSAD has grown out of a North American organization, called Non-Resident Indians for Secularism and Democracy (NRISAD) that was established in 1993. The Vancouver branch of the organization recognized through its practice that the concerns of NRISAD in regard to minorities and human rights were not specifically Indian but South Asian and had to be reformulated for the South Asian diaspora as a whole. This was realized with the formation of SANSAD in Vancouver in 2000.