In the sudden death of Dinanath Pathy on Monday 29th August 2016, Odisha
has lost one of its committed cultural figures, and one who wore
several hats connected with visual and performing arts. A
contemporary painter, scholar and art historian who authored several
books, he was also a publisher of quality art journals with special
accent on dance, like Angarag. Dinanath worked in several
capacities for many art institutions. He was Curator Art and
Crafts at the Odisha State Museum, Principal of the B.K. College of Art
and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, Secretary of the National Academy of Art, New
Delhi, and lately he had been working as Director of the Alice Boner
Institute at Varanasi. His fine mind with an art awareness stemming from
painstaking research into art History and Art Ethnology connected with
Odisha, encompassed subjects pertaining to all art forms.
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Rarely, one hears of dreaming dance or dancer’s dream or a dream dance production. Normally, in the dance world of India, mediocrity prevails and nightmares
is what is the leitmotif - of survival, succeeding, even seduction by
routine of awards and tours, honours and glories, institutional grants
and grouses against govt. patronage systems. Dance comes last,
especially in metro India. So, what of smart cities? (polite word for
non-metros but no less important, tier two cities). Like Pune,
inaugurated by the PM as the first one such one, just last month.
Pune is different. Self-sufficient, insular and bindaas. Unemotional.
Practical. Almost unmindful of the rest of the world. But dreaming and
making dreams come true. I ask senior Kathakaar Shama Bhate, now guru,
also daughter-in-law of the late much loved Guru Rohini Bhate, what made
her do that complicated production on Mahabharata last year, which
involved six to seven star dancers drawn from different forms and states
and countries. Ramli Ibrahim from Malaysia did minimal Orissi; Vaibhav
Arekar from Mumbai showcased excellent Bharatanatyam; Gopika Varma from
Chennai illustrated the beauty and charm of Mohiniattam and Vyjayanthi
Kashi from Karnataka did filmy, over the top Kuchipudi. Add local
talents of Kathak, Shama Bhate’s own Nad-Roop group, from which Ameera
Patankar and Avani showed merit. To get dates of these stars of styles
from all over for next show itself is herculean, so how does such a big
production, recover costs? She answered simply: “We had one show after
the premier in Pune and may have one in Bangalore. But it was my dream to do such a production so I did it!” Simple and straightforward answer, deep and meaningful, just like her.
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Secretly, I was a great fan of my mum and secretly think my passion and
artistic DNA must have come from her. She was a housewife par-excellence. She was a great cook; a great cake-maker (the house in which I am presently staying was built from the sale of her cakes and kuihs
- Malay traditional sweet-cakes); a natural horticulturalist who tended
our exceptionally lush begonia and orchid garden (whatever she planted,
grew); and last but not least it was she who cultivated my love and
compassion for animals.
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Performing artists are always focused on ensuring their best performance
every time, all the time. This often entails long hours of practice and
compromised sleep patterns. A good night’s sleep is essential for a
good day and a brief reality check on your sleep wellness would go a
long way.
• Do you feel your sleep is adequate?
• Do you wake up feeling fresh?
• Do you feel fatigued or sleepy during the day?
• Is your sleep pattern fragmented? (i.e do you wake up several times at night?)
• Are you told that you snore?
If you answered yes to any of the above it would be best to discuss your issues with a specialist.
How much sleep is good enough?
Medical research confirms that average sleep time in early 1900s was
approximately 8-9 hours, in mid 20th century around 7-7.5 hours and
reduced to only 6-6.5 hours in the 21st century!
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Aarya Nande opened her recital with traditional Mangalacharan set to
raga Mangal Gurjari and Lalita, to tala ektali and jati. The
invocation dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Narasimha had the
hallmark of Guru Deba Prasad Das’s usage of Sabdaswarapata. This
tradition of Sabdaswarapata, like the Kavits in Kathak, lend an aural
texture with epithets and mnemonic syllables. The divinity addressed is
visualized in its benign and ferocious forms. Aarya succeeded in
creating that impact.
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Over the last few years yet another trend in the art of Bharatanatyam
has emerged, to add to the growing list of (disturbing) trends - THE
MENTOR.
Quite a few youngish dancers announce at the outset of their
performances, "With respects to my gurus AND my mentor." When this
happened at a recent performance, the lady in the seat next to me (in
thick Tamizh English accent) asked: “Who is mental?”
Me: “Not mental, madam! Mentor!”
Lady: “Now what is this mentor?"
Me: "Someone you go to after the guru."
Lady: "Appadiya? There is a level after the guru?"
Me: “Yes, the gurus are level 3, followed by level 4, famous dancers.”
A mentor? What does that entail, and how is it different from the Bharatanatyam guru?
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In India, classical dance forms survive not only because the
governmental agencies like Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Council for
Cultural Relations (ICCR), Festivals of India abroad, organized by
Ministry of Culture, Government of India, support classical dance and
music but also by various efforts made by small institutions in
different states of India. One would realize that if there is a
horizontal growth of classical dance and music, the arts owe it to such
efforts on part of such institutions and individuals.
I have been visiting Bangalore to attend festivals organized by few
institutions among which for past four years I have appreciated the work
of a couple, Madhulita Mohapatra and her husband Imran, who have for
past seven years been arranging Naman Odissi dance festival, through
their Nrityantar Odissi dance institution, raising funds on their own,
without any sponsorship from other quarters. Madhulita is a qualified
Cost Accountant and has M.Com and Management degrees to her credit.
However, classical Odissi dance being her passion, she moved with her
husband to Bangalore some ten years ago and started teaching Odissi to
young children in a Government school. Then she established Nrityantar
Odissi centre teaching young dancers besides children and within a brief
span of three years, won admiration for her teaching
abilities.
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Arriving in Paris after almost a decade, I was looking forward to
meeting friends with whom I had spent lot of time during my former
visits. The constants were Milena Salvini of Centre Mandapa, Savitry
Nair and her husband Shivalingappa, and painter Velu Viswanadhan.
Savitry and I go a long way as she hailed from Kalakshetra and we knew
each other from early 60s. She has been in Paris for more than 40
years. She has played an important role by giving lec-dems,
teaching, both classical Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music and working
closely with France’s legendary choreographer Maurice Bejart. She was
instrumental in creating awareness about classical dance and music and
Indian culture in France and Europe.
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Dhepa Dhol, made from the trunk of mango tree, is a cylindrical drum of
1.5 mtr length. It takes 6 to 7 days to prepare the instrument. For
better preservation, “Matia tel” (oil) is used while making this dhol.
This dhol has a narrow left end which is called “Taali”. It is
interesting that both ends of the dhol is covered with leather made from
the skin of Khassi goat. The right end which is said to be “Kup” is
double layered and has a small hole on the outer layer. With the help of
“Pani Khuwa Khila” (the hole on the outer layer) water is poured into
the small hole between the layers so as to get a thud sound. A unique
sound is created when the Kup end of the drum is beaten with the "Bojuwa
baah" (playing stick made with bamboo) . The instrument is so known as
dhepa dhol due to the unique sound produced.
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It is precisely because the story of Rajasthani Saint poetess Meera is
so close to the heart of most Indians that visualizing any aspect of it
through performing art poses more challenges in avoiding a sense of déjÃ
vu and there is always the problem of keeping free from falling into
mushy sentimentality or being tempted to veer towards ornate stage
décor, which in trying to catch the royal trappings of Meera's
aristocratic lineage, could dwarf and lose the saintly side
totally. Which is why one applauds the stark simplicity of ‘Meera - the
soul divine’ as conceived and choreographed by Chitra Visweswaran for
her students of the repertory of Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts,
as part of the fund raising effort for ‘Aim for Seva,’ the movement
launched in 2000 by late Swami Dayanand Saraswati - thinker,
philosopher, teacher and one of the tireless social workers ceaselessly
striving to better the lot of India's deprived children.
‘Meera - the soul divine’ premiered at Chennai’s Music Academy
auditorium on July 30, 2016, held the packed auditorium spellbound.
Doing away with all stage trappings, Chitra Visweswaran opted for
starkly bare performance space, wherein an idol of Krishna and a white
line drawing of a temple etched on the black back curtain were the only
properties, leaving the whole story to be told by the dancers’
performances alone. The treatment steered clear of a historical
narration, putting the emphasis instead on the spiritual journey
of a royal princess of Rajasthan, who defying the time worn
conventions of royalty and society dared to follow the call of her heart
engaging in a life long search to become one with her desired– Krishna.
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#REFLECT REBOOT REFRESH
Returning
to the rehearsal space after a full year's hiatus has been a milestone.
A healthier body, a calmer mind and a spirit revived by months of
watching, reflecting, reading, walking, sailing, trekking and dining in
far away cities, small towns and villages has rebooted my body and soul.
I needed to take this break after 26 years of non-stop creating,
performing, producing, speaking, convening, curating and mentoring. (In
saying this, I realize that the time between age 5 and 21 that was spent
in the dance class and a thriving performance career until age 21 is
not being included in this discussion. I am only counting the years
since my return from the USA in 1990). What if I said that NOT DANCING
for 12 months has made me fitter, healthier and more energetic than
ever! Don't raise those eyebrows!
The time was spent analyzing
my body and limbs - internal and external, immersing myself in yoga
intensives and other cross training programmes, long periods of total
silence and a 24/7 health regime that was very difficult to sustain with
the constant pressure of daily dancing.
It was a RELIEF not to
worry about putting on makeup, managing the pressures of producing and
performing simultaneously and instead, concentrating on observing and
assessing the world I had chosen to inhabit. Even writing this monthly
column required a conscious tug back into the issues and events that
unfolded in the dance world.
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