Each year, we have a poojai at dance class for Dashami. Now, at the Academy of Indian Dances, there are four teachers, including me. Mythili Mami is, of course, head; that goes without saying.On Dashami, a little girl crept up to the corner where we were standing."I want to speak to Ma'am," she whispered to my teacher.None of us knew how to respond to that - even the children call Mythili Mami 'big teacher'. She's the first "Ma'am", who makes the decisions. But clearly, this little girl did not want to speak to her."What happened?" Mami asked. "No, I want to speak to ma'am," repeated the girl. Much amused, Mythili Mami let her come to us."I have to call my mother!" said the little girl. "Okay ... Why?" She glanced back at Mythili Mami and turned back to us. Like most of the others, she was dressed up that day, with kajal, earrings and a pearl necklace. "I … [Read more...]
Guru Mythili Raghavan
What makes Mythili Maami special? Why have so many of us been with her for two decades and longer? Why did we not leave the Academy of Indian Dances and set up on our own like so many other dancers?The answer lies in a story that each one of us is only too willing to share.My teacher has her stories too - of learning to dance and sing, of being chosen to say the prayers at school, of sitting on a train and hugging her bag all the way to Patna from Chennai ... She has stories about Kalakshetra and stories about Australia. She talks to us about her experiences with teachers like Gowri Pati, Pushpa Teacher and Jaya Teacher. Stories must find their way into a book some day - and this one took root when my father said that we must all write it. We took our time, but released it for Maami's 70th birthday. It's here, and I can't quite believe … [Read more...]
Urja – A Classical Dance Festival
Maharashtra Cultural Centre has invited the Academy of Indian Dances to perform for Urja, a classical dance festival. For this performance, we've taken an old theme, one that we presented in 2012, Naaritva: Exploring Womanhood. The performance explores the journey of a woman through traditional pieces, both classical and folk.We begin with girlhood, associated with fun and play. Young girls performing a kolattam will represent this stage of life.What is growing up without friendship and bonding? And when there's exciting gossip to share, friendship becomes even more spicy! The journey of a woman would be incomplete without friendship!And then comes love, the beautiful shringara rasa. The intimacy of young love goes with playfulness, teasing, love and longing.Next, we depict motherhood, exploring the special bond between a mother and her child.Perhaps the … [Read more...]
Our Performance Last Week
Many things went wrong. Too many things went wrong.Mahatma Phule Sanskrutik Bhavan informed us on the 5th of December that the mayor required the hall on the 18th, so all performances scheduled for that day had been cancelled. And yes, our performance was scheduled for the 18th. 59 children were to perform. We had musicians coming in from Mumbai.And just like that, our world fell apart.Unlike at halls like Tilak Smarak Mandir, rehearsals are charged at the full rate too. We had a rehearsal booked for the 8th of December - and had paid Rs 17,250 for it already. And if we cancelled, we stood to lose 15%, at the very least."What dates are available?" we asked. "8 in the morning on the 17th." We found out - our vocalist was unavailable. "What else?" we asked. "8 in the morning on the 11th." And we agreed.Take a moment to think about this: a performance at 8 in … [Read more...]
Performance at Tirupathi
As a child watching a cricket match live on television, I remember asking my grandfather, "How does the camera know where to look?" Two days ago, looking at five people sitting together and ensuring that our performance was screened live all over the world, I remembered my question and smiled.Performing in Tirupathi was an experience that I could never have imagined. All artistes dream of full houses, yes. At Tirupathi, it was impossible to count how many people were sitting there and watching us perform. Streams and streams of people kept joining the crowd, sitting on the steps and watching us dance.During Rama Namama Krishna Namama, when Krishna showed Arjuna his Vishwaroopam, the whole audience was with us. It was a powerful sensation - over a thousand people connected by a single emotion, a sense of wonder and exaltation. My hair stood on end as I stood in the wings and … [Read more...]
Kalakshetra 2015
One year ago, three of us had the privilege of dancing at Kalakshetra in front of my teacher's teachers. I can't believe that a year has passed since that wonderful day that was so filled with emotion.We were scared, but our teacher was terrified - she had to play the nattuvangam on the same stage that her teachers had played. What would they say about her? What would they say about her students? Her choreography? Would they criticise her? Would they criticise us? Would they be upset?And the three of us ... Were we capable? Would we let our beloved teacher down? Would we let our families down? They had all come for us - just for us! This was not a 300-rupee concert ticket. It was a ticket to Chennai and back, plus everything else.And not just our family - our friends, incredible people, had come to watch us. They did not live in Chennai and just drop in. We had friends … [Read more...]
Performing on 8 May!
I’ve lost count of the number of times people have asked me when we’re performing in Pune. Finally, here we go!The senior students of the Academy of Indian Dances bring to you a traditional Bharatanatyam programme, featuring a range of pieces that explore nritta, nritya and natya. Beginning with an invocatory dance, we move on to a pure nritta composition, raagamaalikai jatiswaram.The longest and most elaborate piece compares the lives of Rama and Krishna, exploring the abhinaya aspect of Bharatanatyam to the fullest. The devotee wonders which of the two gods to worship. Krishna was born in a dark prison in the middle of the night; Rama was born in the grandeur of a palace, amidst great joy! As a child, Krishna gave moksha to two gandharvas. The pure-hearted Rama granted salvation to Ahalya. Krishna snatched Rukmini away from her brother and married her; Rama broke Shiva's … [Read more...]
Our Performance on Sunday
Performing for three minutes is often more trouble than it's worth ... not this time, though.People often assume that a three-minute performance is no big deal. Let's look at it this way, though. Leaving aside the time we take to choreograph, learn, coordinate and practise, we could just look at the day we perform. On Sunday, we performed at Empress Garden for Basant Utsav. The programme started at 9 in the morning.Wind back the clock. You need to factor in make-up, hair, costume and travel. We met at 6 to start. We got ready, made our way to Empress Garden, hung around until we performed ... And before we knew it, we were off stage again.But it was worth it simply because Empress Garden is such a lovely place to perform! Surrounded by trees, leaves crunching under our feet, a grey hornbill above us ...We were dressed and ready, well in time to take many, many … [Read more...]
Paying a Tribute – Sakal Times
Thank you, Sakal Times, for the article about our Kalakshetra performance! … [Read more...]
Kalakshetra Performance – The New Indian Express
Yes, we really performed. Even though the picture does not show it, I was really there too. … [Read more...]