Bisakha Sarker, with Joy Foxley assisting, worked at the Dulwich Picture Gallery with two different groups of elders entitled "Good Timers". The workshops took place on the afternoons of 21st and 22nd February 2012.

The workshops were inspired by visiting the Picture Gallery exhibition entitled "Ragamala Paintings from India".

Participants of Good Times: Art for Older People at Dulwich Picture Gallery partook in a unique opportunity to engage both body and spirit in relaxing movement inspired by Dulwich Picture Gallery’s current exhibition Ragamala Paintings from India: Poetry, Passion, Song. The workshop commenced with a guided tour of the exhibition to learn about the history of the paintings before being led through a series of gentle movements to create a beautiful dance.
One participant commented: ‘A most enjoyable and rewarding afternoon. Everybody (non-dancers included) joined in and discovered their hidden talent for movement.’ Participants left inspired by the spiritual nature of Indian dance and surprised by their remarkable talent and grace. These workshops are a great opportunity for Good Times participants to try something new and gain the health and wellbeing benefits of combining creative art and gentle physical exercise.

Good Times: Art for Older People is Dulwich Picture Gallery’s trail-blazing programme especially for isolated older people. It has received numerous awards by addressing the needs of inner-city older people; combating loneliness and inertia through creative arts.

Ragamala paintings interpreted through Tagore's songs

Bisakha delivered a lecture at the Tagore celebration at Bolton Hindu temple on 14th July 2012 with live dance performance. In this she explained how she used Tagore's songs to interpret paintings from the Ragamala collection at Dulwich Galleryas described in the workshop above. See extracts of the lecture here.