Dance is centre stage once again. Thanks to the concerted efforts of a few. Topping that list or making it are a few who kept the flame going in Karo-Na Kaal. My terminology for Corona/ Covid Times. Just keep the candle lit with news, views and tidbits. This portal for one. It has kept us informed who did what or even died, in the last few months. Not just dancers but musicians too. I lost three dear dosts of 40 years standing: doyen of Delhi Chand gharana Ustad Iqbal; editor-author Alka Raghuvanshi, and doctor to many K.K. Agarwal, he of the TV fame, with stethoscope on his shoulder. These were known names so got a mention elsewhere too but what of thousands, nay lakhs, who lost out to this deadly virus? In our lifetime, this is the worst ever phase, for those of us who saw and survived wars with China and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. This portal made space for most artistes. It even told us who won an award or a title. An impresario from Delhi calls to ask, "Season is starting, hall is getting bookings, where to advertise, which is best dance portal of all?" And without hesitation I say "Narthaki." Reason: not because I've written for it for 20 years now but because none others have had consistent standard fare or basic substance. Add credibility. For 20+ years, Narthaki has carried on, just like the dance yearbook attenDance (attendance-india.com). 2 decades is an eon, an era. Especially in this age of nano seconds. Some die-hard dancers, gurus and institutions too carried on tirelessly in the worst of times we have seen and been through. For many teachers, online classes stopped as parents said their kids suffered from internet fatigue studying online for regular school. How did dancers manage in these times? Individuals may have helped their favourites but did anyone come to their rescue officially on a national platform?
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Well understood senerio today ,also written in a nice manner so as to combine the whole art situation today ,at the same time kudos to so many persons who continue continued so much work during this pandemic times .Online programs were outnumbered to the maximum extent , just a feeling of existence with dance & music created a strength within us & ofcourse teaching online was fun in the beginning ,then it became a need of the hour ,hoping things go well for all .Ashish ji always makes the read actual for us . Ofcourse Narthaki has been doing a great service for so long We plan our Nrithya Utsava 2021 at Sevasadan , Bangalore awarding Nrithya Prabha title to Guru Vyjanthi Kashi ,Prateeksha Kashi & Sanjay Shantaram .
ReplyDeleteWell understood senerio today ,also written in a nice manner so as to combine the whole art situation today ,at the same time kudos to so many persons who continue continued so much work during this pandemic times .Online programs were outnumbered to the maximum extent , just a feeling of existence with dance & music created a strength within us & ofcourse teaching online was fun in the beginning ,then it became a need of the hour ,hoping things go well for all .Ashish ji always makes the read actual for us . Ofcourse Narthaki has been doing a great service for so long We plan our Nrithya Utsava 2021 at Sevasadan , Bangalore on Sep 5th 2021 awarding Nrithya Prabha title to Guru Vyjanthi Kashi ,Prateeksha Kashi & Sanjay Shantaram .
ReplyDeleteThis is the Harsh reality of Karo-Na Kaal,
ReplyDeletePeople are doing n numbers of thing to promote themselves but the way you mentioned about stamina of the dancers is very true.. some are tech-illiterate, which is another challenge to face. I have seen many online concerts rarely people have patience to see the performance starting from 1dt second to last minute else many of them just exit the room for their work. By which i personally do not favour this online presentation of such a beautiful arts we have been learning for decades and decades.
Short cut is the prime key of todays world. Cut copy paste and become fame is the only agenda.
Realness of the work is completely vanished.
I am too young to add anything here but by reading this i actually realized the surrounding i am living with.
Keep sharing such articulation of your observations in real world. We all need it badly.
Congratulations Ashish ji on housing the priceless collection spanning our rich culture tradition and heritage since over a century. Your sustained and meticulous efforts with so much endurance toil, despite challenges finally is available to artists and general public, for research, learning or even appreciation. It’s easier to go to Mars nowadays. It’s a real Olympic feat uou have accomplished.
ReplyDeleteअच्छा समेटा और बढ़िया लिखा है आशीष भाई 🙂
ReplyDeleteमंडला, मध्य प्रदेश
Rightly said government will do nothing much.
ReplyDelete(Unless some one from Adani or Ambani is interested). Kisans are agitating on their doors but they are not interested to address their problems created by govt. Itself.
Your articles give do much insight for non-dancers like me.👌
You have misunderstood my statement! I said WHY should govt.spoon feed?It has done enough. When only under 3%Indians pay taxes (and there are many rich farmers too, who ought to be taxed) why EXPECT govt.to do endless spoon feeding for all? Agitations etc are part of democratic process.
ReplyDeleteDear Ashish,
ReplyDeleteJust finished reading your article. So depressingly truthful. It is precious to have someone like you being able to figure today’s scene and also bring us back to what it used to be. It is like doing a « grand écart » between times. I feel I have been so lucky to be witness and part of « what it used to be ». Reading your words make me feel nostalgic.
Thank you Ashishji for mentioning www.natawari.org. We are excited to share this new resource with the dance community.
ReplyDeleteIn her launch message, Sunayanaji emphasized the importance of developing as solo dancers through riyaz, learning vocal and tabla and studying the shastras.
Natawari plans to support our committed students in these efforts over the long term (and will do so without relying on government funding as you wisely counsel!).
Regards,
Malay
Very well summarised Ashish ji,
ReplyDeleteThe concern for classical dance form is lost. It is not much valued today by Young India.
It is because people are no more in sync with their cultural roots.
A foreign language and not Sanskrit at school, Harry Potter and no more stories taken out of the huge collection of Indian Literature,short mime and cameo shows and not the paces of a 45 minute classical dance recital... The examples are far too many.
We are turning a blind eye because nothing in us makes us guilty about abandoning our culture. In fact we are going all hog in the opposite direction.
Look at the schools. They have alligned themselves to European and American styles of teaching which will take the young Indian atudents even further away from their culture.
The solution is to bring in REALISATION.
First in the minds of those in authority and then it shall percolate to the masses.
How?
All I can say as of now is that it will have to be done at a herculean scale. Let the cultural experts also become logistic experts for a solution.
Rakesh Ratti Kapoor
rakeshrattikapoor9@gmail.com