Interview - S. Rajeswari: A satisfying journey in music - Hema Iyer Ramani

 “Two roads diverged in a wood , and I-

 I took the one less travelled by,

And, that has made all the difference.”
- Robert Frost

The story of musician S. Rajeswari who was conferred with the M.S. Subbulakshmi Award by Tamizh Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram  earlier this year, is one such story where she had to make her choices when she came to the fork in the road.

She talks about her journey and her chance encounter with a dance legend, Kumari Kamala, which brought in a new facet to her singing and soon, she carved a niche for herself, and came to be applauded for her contribution to dance music. She soon was the voice behind several prima-donnas of her time.

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Teach India - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

 

'Each one teach one' ran a popular slogan, some years ago. As we approach Teacher's Day (5 Sept, so named in India because when the scholar President of India Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a fine teacher himself, was asked how his birthday ought to be celebrated, he said he is what he was because of his teachers. Honour them; make it Teachers Day and celebrate all teachers), I fondly remember many of our teachers, who actually made us what we are today.

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Unmute - 'Unmute. Help': A Performers Guide to speaking up about Rights and Responsibilities of artists and Arts leaders - Dr. Arshiya Sethi

On 11th August this year, a group of three people committed to the arts took a step that had never been taken before, though there was a palpable need for it. The group of three were Kolkata based Somabha Bandopadhyay, lawyer, dancer and activist working with transgender populations, Kolkata and Bangalore based Paramita Saha, dancer and Arts entrepreneur, and me, Dr. Arshiya Sethi, Delhi based independent dance scholar, "Artivist" (Arts and activism) and columnist of the arts.

Between us we represented three organisations, Sruti Performing Troupe which was set up by Somabha's mother, Manipuri dancer and Dance Professor Sruti Bandopadhyay, Artsforward, co-founded by Paramita, that designs strategic encounters between Artists and Business communities and Kri Foundation that works on Arts, Activism and Knowledge creation and which was set up by me 18 years ago. We also represent three generations.

But we are not ageists and so worked collaboratively, drawing on each other's specific capacities and strengths, to set up together, in the commons, a website called Unmute.help, an Artistes' guide to serve as an online, open access resource centre on Arts and the Law.

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Profile - Guru Gopinath-An epic personality - VP Dhananjayan

In my childhood, I grew up watching Guru Gopinath's Navarasa pictures in Mathrubhumi weekly and every now and then got inspired to imitate his exquisite facial expressions, least expecting that I would become a performing artiste at that time. Providence brought me to Kalakshetra in 1953, and ever since, I started watching him at close quarters performing at various venues in Madras whenever there were cultural delegations from foreign countries, where Kalakshetra was also a participant. I was really excited watching him at close quarters and tried to imbibe his histrionic excellence.

My Kathakali Guru Chandu Panikkar was a great admirer of Guru Gopinath and used to comment that "the god given face of this man surpasses divinity of god himself." Listening to such comments from a legendary Kathakali Asan himself, we children took to heart Asan Gopinath as our 'manaseeka guru'.

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Profile - Gloria Mandelik - Celebrated ballerina turns glorious eighty (A bridge between Madrid & Madras) - José Luis Greco

Embracing Classical Ballet, Spanish and Indian Dance, the unusual and eclectic nature of Gloria Mandelik's career has been the subject of interesting controversies since its beginnings. The depth of her knowledge of the dance language of these three cultures can be appreciated by seeing the heights she has attained in her long career.

Born into a family immersed in the international film industry, Ms. Mandelik (1941) attended her first ballet class at the age of four. Soon afterwards she moved from the U.S. to her father's birthplace, France, where she was admitted to the Ballet Academy of the Opera of Monte Carlo. Between the ages of 8 and 12, under the tutelage of her mentor, Gérard Mulys (ballet master of the Operas of Nice and Paris), she studied and performed at the Opera of Nice. For the next three years she furthered her ballet studies with David Lichine in Los Angeles, returning to Paris to complete her scholastic studies and continue with ballet, drama and painting classes.

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Obit/Tribute - Vedantam Ramachandra Vara Prasad - Vijay Shanker

Veteran Kuchipudi exponent, mentor and choreographer, Vedantam Ramachandra Vara Prasad, left for his heavenly abode on 6th August 2021 in Hyderabad. A resident of Chennai, he was shifted to Hyderabad due to medical issues by his nephew and was in ICU for about a week and expired due to multi-organ failure. He was a bachelor and is survived by his two brothers in Canada and USA. He was 64. His immense contribution towards the enrichment and propagation of Kuchipudi spans more than three decades.

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The Immanent and Immaculate One - The Eastern Eye: Column by Dr.Utpal K Banerjee

Satyam Shivam Sundaram was a thematic Kuchipudi solo performance, presented online, by Dilip Diwakar, a Kuchipudi artist from Chennai and the senior disciple of Guru Sailaja. The theme of the presentation was a holistic appreciation of Shiva, as stated in the introduction: "Understanding that eternal reality which causes the Satchitananda. The Linga Purana states, 'the non-characterized is the root of characterized'. This characterized is endowed with the senses, which are of five -- color, smell, taste, sound and touch, and is called as Prakriti or Pradhāna or Shakti. On the contrary, that which is devoid of everything is the non-characterized, called the Purusha or Shiva, which is the substratum to the Prakriti. From this union comes the intellectual identical self, Atman/Brahman, the inside/outside. In turn, this trifurcates as 'truth, consciousness, bliss', 'Sat, Chit, Ananda', leading to Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, the sublime nature of Lord Shiva." After such a profound introduction, one approaches the performed narrative with some trepidation, expecting a comprehensive enunciation of various manifestations of Shiva as visualized in sculptures through the ages, as very briefly mentioned above. In an over-70-minute presentation, one is occasionally left wondering whether he got a thorough initiation from his choreographer and mentor into this prerequisite. And one does wonder as to which Shiva iconic form allows him to don a thoroughly feminine makeup: complete with garish red lipstick, elaborate eye decorations and even using copious alta (red lac-dye) under both feet, to re-imagine the austere masculine countenance of Shiva!

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Interview - Curating / organizing a dance festival - physical and digital: Part 2 - Shveta Arora

 VIDHA LAL

A weekly series for just Kathak
During this pandemic, everybody was trying to show their creativity, some even by cooking and cleaning, and classical dancers started putting their own videos shot in their homes, just like that. Most videos were sad—they featured melancholy poetry etc. Then I realized that slowly, people had started online festivals where they were not offering anything to dancers, but dancers were making sincere efforts, like wearing full costumes and make-up, putting up curtains, presenting a good performance any way they could. Time is money, and they spent entire days putting in this effort, despite no remuneration. This made me feel very sad. We didn't know how long we were going to be in this situation. If we are going to be like this for quite some time, like another year, I don't think the message should go out that artistes are free. This is our bread and butter. Senior artistes were not doing much of this, but the younger generation was putting a lot of content on social media for free, which I felt was dangerous. Ultimately, why would anyone pay to see such artistes (if they readily put up free new content)? Some of my content is on YouTube, so if you want to watch for free, watch YouTube. Why do you want me to come and dance 'live' for free?

USHA RK
I did my first interview with Usha RK, an arts consultant, who has worked with both veteran and young artistes and performers for over three decades, promoting and propagating classical arts. Her interesting thematic presentations have been widely appreciated, of which I have watched Devi Kshetram, Divya Pushpam, Navarasa Nayaka and many more. Many of them have been reported on my blog.

Do you go about curating an event according to a distinct concept?
I don't put together performances which have already been performed elsewhere. Often, a curator will simply choose the location and the dancer, and the artist will perform what they have already rehearsed and performed before. For my programme, they cannot do an already prepared piece. I develop the concept and give them a piece to work on. Sometimes, you get some thoughts and you begin to wonder how the concept will translate on stage. So I would like to use the word 'conceptualization' instead of curation.

I started working on conceptual programmes way back in 2006. I wanted to carve a niche doing something unusual. I took the compositions of Bhadrachala Ramadasu and I had 7 male dancers do it and it became very popular. It was the story of the poet, but told through his songs. The seven dancers portrayed the whole story of his life. Similarly, I realized that many characters from our mythology do not get too much space in the imagination, in that they are not the front runners in the story, but are vital, like Draupadi, Karna, Surpanakha, Ravana etc. So we took these characters for Patra Parichay and introduced them. For instance, Ravana is never the subject of a whole program, but in the program, we introduced him as a great hero, a Shiva bhakta and musician. We explored all the aspects of a character. So we called the series Patra Parichay. In Delhi, we did Ahalya, Surpanakha, Karna and Draupadi. It was very popular in Bengaluru and I did many more there. These were very successful and the dancers wanted more such chances.

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Interview - Curating / organizing a dance festival - physical and digital: Part 1 - Shveta Arora

 In my series of interviews on the building blocks of a classical dance performance, I begin before the dancer is on stage, emoting through her expressions and giving a presentation of her sadhna in her technique; even before the choreographer has prepared or steps or the musician has set the music. The process begins when a person sitting in the comfort of his/ her living room is thinking of curating a series, an event to mark an occasion or a festival. He or she then develops a concept and goes about assessing dancers accordingly, books a venue or platform, perhaps chooses the literary compositions and the music, and last but not least, arranges for sponsors and funds for the event. It is an arduous task, planning everything from scratch. And usually, the curators of classical arts events do it less for remuneration and more for their love of the arts. They are satisfied if their hard work pays off and the artists get a platform and the right kind of audience.

And then suddenly, there is a pandemic, the first in a hundred years, and humanity goes into a near-total lockdown. All events are cancelled overnight, auditoriums closed, and the arts swallowed up by the gloom of disease and anxiety. But this passion for the arts is a wriggly little caterpillar. The moment it wriggles out of its cocoon, it starts to spread its wings, and there goes the monarch butterfly in glorious flight. And you see the dancer again, maybe not in her full makeup, maybe not in her elaborate aharyam, but with her beautiful eyes displaying all the expressions, her feet tapping and her technique captured in the eye of a camera instead of in front of an audience. And she is everywhere: on your laptop, on your mobile, on your TV, dancing on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. And the curator is still sitting in the comfort of their home, this time, not by choice, but still doing whatever it takes to carry on curating.

I spoke to four curators with slightly different trajectories: Dr. Usha RK, whose curated events I have watched many times on stage and a repeat of one on Shaale again during the pandemic; Dr. Anita Ratnam, whose multiple Boxed series (the latest one responding to the new lockdowns), Andal's Garden, Devi Diaries and others, have been among the highlights of the online dance presentations during the pandemic; Geeta Chandran, whose curation of the annual Natya Vriksha World Dance Day festival I have always admired; and Vidha Lal, who forayed into curation only during the pandemic with her successful Sankalp series of weekly Kathak performances.

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Profile - Chandrabhaga Devi: Truly a Shakti of Maha Maya - Jyothi Raghuram

August 11 is the birth centenary of UK Chandrabhaga Devi, the earliest woman proponent of Bharatanatyam in Karnataka. A commendable, pioneering leap, if one goes back to the early Forties. Her bold, giant step opened the floodgates for dance to be pursued by young girls from respectable families. One pays obeisance to this quiet and dignified Guru, whose steely resolve to step into the dance world was foundational for some of the finest dancers to emerge from Karnataka.

She fell in love with the flamboyant U S Krishna Rao, an academic and passionate dancer, and tied the knot to become the first dance couple in the State. The glamour quotient of classical dance,  particularly Bharatanatyam with its rich costuming and familiarity in the South, remains a status and culture symbol; some dance classes resemble the functioning of corporate houses, churning out dancers in batches. Classical dance is a celebrated art to pursue, looked upon with admiration, with promising career opportunities. What a distance it has traversed from the devadasi days to present times!

Reason enough to deify Chandrabhaga Devi.

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Article - Nava Karanaani: A new series of nritta movements crystallized - V.P. Dhananjayan

 

The present adavu system we employ in Bharatanatyam is totally different from the original Naatyasastra Karanas, except for a few postures which resemble a few of the karanas of Bharata’s Naatyasastra.
 
I want to document the changes over the centuries from what is contained in the  Naatyasastra, thereby creating a record of the karanas that are currently in use. This will be helpful to people graduating from various schools and institutions as it will bridge the gap between the theory in the Naatyasastra and the current practice of Bharatanatyam.

The Naatyasastra is the most important text of dramaturgy that Bhaarat has ever produced. Written by Sage Bharatha (between 500 BC to 300 AD), it serves as a comprehensive guide, extensively covering all aspects of theatre. Though the title literally means ‘Science of Theatre,’ the Naatyasastra contains fundamental facts about all our art forms. In 6,000 Samskritam slokas under 36 chapters, Naatyasastra covers all aspects of theatre and other art forms, beginning with origin of theatre, acting, costuming, make-up, properties, dance, music, poetic composition, play construction, grammar, audiences, rituals, and the architecture of theatre.

There has been no concerted effort to update this treatise with the changes and evolution of the arts over the past several centuries. While scholars and artistes have made commentaries and translated the text into other languages, no one has extended the theories contained in the Naatyasastra to include the insights of later generations.

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Dance at dawn - The Eastern Eye: Column by Dr.Utpal K Banerjee

'Bandish' is a pan-Indian lexicon for the text of classical music or the libretto of a specific song. Interestingly, it resonates with the Bengali word 'Bandi', meaning 'the one in bondage', and makes one immediately hum Kazi Nazrul Islam's inspiring hymn: Iron gates of captive jail / Break them down, let freedom prevail...The yearlong pandemic lockdown prevailed with dark, dreary nights with everything going bleak and virtual and their apparent recession just at the moment glows with some hope, to be welcomed by open-armed physical bonhomie - could this lull permit a brief song-and-dance workout? The reverberations do hark back to the 1950s' Hollywood romantic blockbuster, Singin' in the Rain, with Gene Kelly's joyous steps and aerial leaps filling the screen in a perfect Music Hall routine amidst pouring downpours.

Bandish Arts, a recent non-profit organization set up for artists' welfare and assured payment for performance (to replace "pay and perform" mentality) founded by Swati Athmanathan - a Chennai based disciple of Guru CV Chandrasekhar and Santanu Roy, a Kolkata based disciple of Samrat Dutta --promoted, during the brief respite in lockdown some elements of performing arts on, first, online platform and covered 100 episodes of performances and interactive sessions in the entire globe and later opening up in the physical form. Later, it curated Bandish Arts - Season2 for Kolkata Chapter on March 12 at 'Rangkarmee Usha Ganguly Manch,' a studio theatre created in the memory of Usha Ganguly, the doyen of Hindi theatre in Kolkata, whom the Bharatanatyam dance world had gifted to the metropolis and whom the city lost during the pandemic.

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Obit/Tribute - A tribute to Kalyani Menon - VP Dhananjayan

Kalyani Menon passed away on August 2, 2021 aged 80. We will always remember the great soul, a very loving personality and cherish fond memories of her.

We have a number of beautiful singers in the classical, semi-classical and playback fields of music. But very few excel with a devotional fervour tonal quality like M.S. Amma, T.M. Soundarajan, K.J. Yesudas, P.Leela to mention a few. Especially in Kerala, P. Leela's devotional songs reverberated in all temples. After her devotional singing, Kalyani Menon's voice was heard everywhere with that kind of devotional quality.

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Anita says...August 2021

 

Dancers are athletes of the spirit.
- Martha Graham, American modern dance icon

And so, we have arrived at month #18 of our confined existence. April 2020 to August 2021.

Do not believe the stories that the world has opened up and that people are running around the beaches without masks. It may be happening in the USA where rules rarely seem to matter when it comes to personal liberty, but everyone is steeling themselves for the Delta or Lambda variant and the Third Wave.

Many eyes turned away from dance platforms to watch the stunning opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. And, of course to cheer the brave efforts of Manipuri weight lifter Mirabai Chanu who scored India's first silver medal. How many more honours will come our way is not the only question. Besides cricket, does our country actually care about any other sport?

Dance gurus are exhilarated as so many of their students have shone brilliantly in their school final exams. What a double delight to have a good dance student who also excels in academics! The turning point arrives when girls turn 18, and leave for brighter financial horizons! The only hope is that the experience of 10 years in a dance environment has sensitized them as individuals and future rasikas.

So, this editorial is about the lesser revealed and not so glamorous work that some dance advocates are immersed in. While thousands are rehearsing, filming, posting videos of themselves in warm up sessions and weight training, I am sidestepping this nonstop barrage of videos to write about what caught my eye and mind space.

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