Today, I finally finished writing my travelogue, which is over 50 pages long. I needed to get that done quickly before I forgot all the details! And now, I can leisurely write my blog, bit by bit, with one exciting detail after another.We were a group of ten dancers, and we were put up at Alam Puri, a resort that lives up to its name. 'Alam' means 'nature' or 'natural', and 'puri' is a castle. Alam Puri was really like a castle in the midst of nature!Yet, I would say that that's true of almost everything we saw in Bali - royalty and nature. The smallest little door in the middle of nowhere is ornately carved. And all around it is greenery that takes your breath away.I'll begin my series of travel articles with an offering, and the story behind it. Do you see the cigarette in the picture? We heard two stories about why the cigarette is there.Story 1 - When you make … [Read more...]
Performing in Varanasi
The last time I visited Varanasi, I was nearly run down by a charging bull. Not surprisingly, when the planning began for a dance trip to Varanasi, I was not overly excited. Varanasi, for me, was a place where religion was elaborately performed, as if every day was a festival. I was also utterly put off by a sign outside Kashi Vishwanath temple that said that non-Hindus were to remain outside. They could go see the temple from a nearby library. I was there with two French guests - how could I ask them to stay outside? It seemed more than a little unwelcoming, in a country that is famed for its hospitality.But this time was different. This time, Varanasi welcomed us in ways I would not have thought possible.Visiting BHU was a whole new experience. The campus is absolutely charming and feels steeped in history and culture. Yet, the campus was all very well - how would … [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...]
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...]