Day 1: I wondered whether I would get anything out of the workshop conducted by the Dhananjayans. I wondered whether it was all worth it. We were learning a piece that was getting totally jumbled in my head. There were too many episodes and at the end of the day, I could not even remember the music.Day 2: I knew it was worth it. I understood why Dhananjayan Anna and Shanta Akka have played Rama and Sita so often. Anna's gentle humour, Akka's quiet poise. I remembered when I went with my teacher to their place while Akka was taking class. I could barely take my eyes off her. 68 now, and still so beautiful. In her own words, Anna is the architect and she is the engineer. I watched her teaching. I realised how similar she is to my teacher and I realised once again how blessed I am.Day 3: A performance at Tilak Smarak Mandir. Of course there were parts I did not enjoy. It's part of the … [Read more...]
‘Shiva’
Last evening's performance at Bal Shikshan was a visual treat. Of course there were things I did not like. I did not like the opening piece or the concluding peace. I found them most peculiar. Yet, there is something about the perfection of classical dance well performed that cannot be compared to anything else.Vaibhav Arekar and his troupe performed a beautiful collection of dances - united by the theme of Shiv. There were some pieces I'd watched before. There's one that brings tears to my eyes every time - the story of an untouchable devotee of Shiva who wants a glimpse of the shivalingam inside the temple.Spurned by the higher castes, Nandan hides, crouches, apologetic about his very existence. When higher caste women see him, they recoil in disgust. He cringes, almost trying to become invisible. Yet, when everyone else finishes the prescribed rituals and has gone, Nandan goes … [Read more...]
Our Special Chief Guest – Amjad Ali Khan
It was compulsory for teachers to attend the inauguration of MIT's Vishwashanti Sangeet Academy. But my day was made when I saw Ustad Amjad Ali Khan ascend the stairs. With his characteristic humility, he acknowledged all those waiting on the sides, unlike many others who obliviously walked by. Unembarrassed by his outdated chivalry, he remained standing for as long as his wife was standing. He spoke briefly, boring none with long-winded, irrelevant speeches.I felt like a school-girl meeting a film-star when I saw him up close. My colleagues made fun of me, and I enjoyed that too - like a school-girl again. There he stood, dignified, poised, smiling. He didn't even play. He sat beside his wife and listened to long speeches in Marathi, not even in the limelight - because Lata Mangeshkar was in the limelight.There has to be something special about a man who, even without the instrument … [Read more...]
Experiences on Stage – V
I remember one time when a friend and I were asked to perform at an inauguration ceremony. I was so proud of myself for having asked for all the details - stage dimensions, availability of a sound system, green rooms, mirrors ... There was a time when I took all of that for granted. Experience taught me to ask questions without caring if the questions sounded stupid and pointless.I had all the details well in time to start choreographing. Covering stage space is an important part of dance, so we worked things out accordingly.We got there and saw all the arrangements that had been made. There was a long table covered with a white table-cloth on the stage. There were glasses of water on the table and chairs behind the table.Again at the risk of sounding inane, I asked, "The table will be moved, right?""No, it's nailed to the stage."I wondered if he was joking. But no, … [Read more...]
Experiences on Stage IV
Every time my sister Nisha and I performed in France, we had far less time to practise than usual. The last two performances were easier - we practised long distance on Skype before meeting and practising. Before that, it was individual, separate efforts, followed by coordination once I reached France.I remember the time we performed at Aix-en-Provence. We practised, of course we did. But there's some amount of choreography that changes every time we perform. Even when we perform the same piece with another dancer, we do not perform it in exactly the same way. We keep the other performer in mind, if nothing else.For this particular performance, as a duet, there were several things that we did in a kind of mirror-formation. I did the right side, while she did the left. I never practised the left side; she never practised right.And then, somehow, we got disoriented on stage.We … [Read more...]
Gulaal – a festival of expression
Day one of Indian Rhythm and Arts Association's Gulaal was wonderful. We went essentially for Alarmel Valli's performance, but were blown away by the second part of the evening - Nandita Das's Between the Lines.Valli, in keeping with the season, performed two pieces on spring and concluded with a Nritta Lahiri. The upper part of her body was magnificent. Her adherence to the symmetry of Bharatanatyam with the precision of each movement was fabulous, as far as her torso went. What I truly enjoyed was the subtlety of her expression. Many great dancers today seem to me to be moving away from the Natyadharmi towards the Lokadharmi, making a perfectly beautiful dance distasteful to me. Valli's portrayal of the ten rasas was beautifully done, with a gentle but distinguishable flow from one rasa to the next. Her shringara did not cross the limit (my idea of the limit) even once! Yet, her … [Read more...]
Experiences on Stage III
Performing in Chidambaram is an experience that any dancer would cherish. Mythologically, it is the place where Lord Shiva came and danced the Ananda Tandava, at the request of the sages. The golden temple of Chidambaram finds its way into many traditional songs, thanks to its splendour and history.When we danced there, one of the pieces we performed was, once again, the much-loved Draupadi Vastra Haran. As usual, I was Dusshasan; this time, my teacher was Shakuni. We were on stage, in the middle of the drama when the music suddenly skipped back. Dancers on stage must never show nervousness, we knew that. The problem was that we had no idea how far back the music had skipped.That's when the real drama began. Duryodhan turns to Dusshasan and asks in dance parlance, "Where are we? What part of the music is this?"Dusshasan calmly replies, "We have a lot of … [Read more...]
Performed today!
Nothing is the same without our teacher, but we did what we could anyway.The good news: We carried off Pinnal Kolattam well - no mistakes, thank God for that! Even with our teacher not there, no one's hair fell, nothing terribly embarrassing happened, thank God for that too! Changes were hurried, but were carried out as well as we could, each girl as independent as she could be.The strange news is that the interval was far longer than we planned, for the most bizarre reason ever - no one was able to draw open the curtain! What got us stressed was the fact that we were sure the audience thought we were taking ages to change, but that was not true! The button to operate the curtains didn't work, and we couldn't draw them open manually! For twenty minutes, people ran up and down, trying to figure out what to do, even calling up the person who installed the curtains. Finally, the … [Read more...]
Performing Tomorrow!
As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of St. Mira's College for Girls, the Academy of Indian Dances will be putting up a programme of Bharatanatyam and folk dances on Tuesday, the 22nd of January, 2013. We begin with a traditional Ganesh Vandana - an invocation to the elephant-headed god. After that, we travel from state to state, giving our audience glimpses of different folk dances, traditional costumes and cultures - West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Nagaland. As a tribute to St. Mira, in whose college we will be performing, we will also perform a Mira bhajan in the Bhagavatamela (dance drama) style.Performing in the absence of our guru is a challenge indeed, and we hope to do her credit!Programme: Ganesh Vandana Bengali folk dance Malayala kummi Marathi folk dance Kuratti kummi Pinnal Kolattam Mira bhajan Dandiya Garba Naga tribal … [Read more...]