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A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance
Volume : XV, No. 1
January-March, 2015
Sahrdaya Arts Trust
Hyderabad
RNI No. APENG2001/04294
Nartanam, founded by Kuchipudi Kala
Kendra, Mumbai, now owned and
published by Sahrdaya Arts Trust,
Hyderabad, is a quarterly which provides
a forum for scholarly dialogue on a
broad range of topics concerning Indian
Founders
G. M. Sarma
M. Nagabhushana Sarma
Chief Editor
Madhavi Puranam
dance. Its concerns are theoretical as
well as performative. Textual studies,
dance criticism, intellectual and
interpretative history of Indian dance
traditions are its focus. It publishes
performance reviews and covers all
major events in the field of dance in
India and notes and comments on dance
studies and performances abroad.
Advisory Board
Avinash Pasricha (Former Photo Editor, SPAN)
C.V. Chandrasekhar (Padma Bhushan)
Kiran Seth (Padma Shri; Founder, SPIC MACAY)
K. K. Gopalakrishnan (Performing Arts Critic)
The opinions expressed in the articles and the
Leela Venkataraman (SNA Awardee)
reviews are the writers’ own and do not reflect
Pappu Venugopala Rao (Former Associate D G,
American Institute; Secretary, Music Academy)
the opinions of the editorial committee.
Guest Editor
Kedar Mishra
Guest Photo Editor
Arabinda Mohapatra
Cover & Design
Shakeel Ahmed
Reginald Massey (FRSA & Freeman of London)
Sunil Kothari (Padma Shri & SNA Awardee)
Research Associates
Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Scholar, Kuchipudi dancer)
Kedar Mishra ( Poet, Scholar, Critic)
Mallika Kandali (Sattriya dancer, Scholar)
Cover: Sahi Jata of Puri
Photos Courtesy:
Cover Photo & all others photos in this issue: Arabinda Mohapatra
Sahi Jata & Chandan Jata: Sarat Mama (Puri), Danda Nata rituals: Bhabani Das, Pasumukha Nrutya,
Radha Prem Leela, Kali Medha: Odisha Tourism
Annual Subscription:
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SAHRDAYA ARTS TRUST, and sent to the address below.
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Printed and published by Madhavi Puranam on behalf of Sahrdaya Arts Trust, Hyderabad
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Editor: Madhavi Puranam
4
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NARTANAM
Volume : XV, No. 1
January-March, 2015
CONTENTS
Editorial/ 7
Letters to the Editor / 10
FOLK DANCES OF ODISHA
Telling the Tales of Ever Flowing Time
KEDAR MISHRA / 19
CHHAU DANCE
A Picture of Vigour and Grace
ILEANA CITARISTI / 25
GOTIPUA
The Boy Dancers of Odisha
SUNIL KOTHARI / 33
SABDASWARAPATA
The Verve of Dance
SUNIL KOTHARI / 46
PRAHLAD NATAK
A Confluence of Vivacious Colour
SURESH BALBANTARAY / 50
SAHI JATA OF PURI
A Unique Folk Theatre
SUNIL KUMAR RATH & PABITRA MOHAN DASH / 53
GHUMURA
A Rhythm of Courage
MAHENDRA KUMAR MISHRA / 68
PALA
The Dance of Poetry
SURESH BALBANTARAY/ 87
DASKATHIA
A Song of Life and Liberty
SURESH BALBANTARAY/ 91
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5
FOLK DANCE OF SOUTH ODISHA
A Panorama of Magic
MANMATH KUMAR SATPATHY/ 96
FOLK DANCES OF WESTERN ODISHA
Dances of Love and Life
MOHIT KUMAR SWAIN / 119
DANDA NATA
Unison of Poise and Vitality
SANJEEV KUMAR NAYAK / 143
PASUMUKHA NRITYA
Celebrating the Animal Spirit
DEEPSHA RATH/ 162
BHARAT LEELA
A Play of Romance
SURESH BALBANTARAY / 166
PAIKA
A Dance of Power and Courage
ILEANA CITARISTI / 176
CHAITI GHODA DANCE
The Spirit of Comedy
SURESH BALABANTARAY/ 181
THE PUPPET ART OF ODISHA
Narratives of Human Diversities
GAURANGA CHARAN DASH / 183
THE CONTRIBUTORS / 192
PERFORMANCE REVIEWS
Kathak Mahotsava 2015
LEELA VENKATARAMAN / 193
Delhi Diary
LEELA VENKATARAMAN / 198
6
NARTANAM
EDITORIAL
The first issue of Nartanam of this new year is a first for our banner in more
ways than one. It is our first special issue on folk forms, a first issue with colour
plates, and a first to have been backed by the vision of a bureaucrat, accused in a
variety of ways for heaping attention on the performing Arts of Odisha. Ashok
Kumar Tripathy, a dynamic Indian Administrative Services officer of Odisha, with a
rare cultural sensibility, empathy, and vision steered at least half a dozen performing
arts festivals in Odisha including the Konark and the Dhauli, to become the most
prominent festivals of the country. Tripathy roped in the best of the state’s artists
and pooled in their sensitivities to curate these festivals.
As Secretary, Odisha Tourism and Culture, Tripathy’s far reaching strategy of
ensuring that the visiting media was exposed to every cultural nuance and form of
Odisha when they were covering these festivals brought in criticism that the media
was lavished with unnecessary attention. The local press resented the national press
being sought after. But for the inclusion of Nartanam as a media guest covering
Odisha festivals, we would not have gained ready access to the regional scholars,
photographers, libraries, archives, artists, and art forms of Odisha. It has helped us
put together the content of this issue written by the best of the regional scholars of
Odisha at such favourable and competitive production costs that no publishing house
or government can envisage.
Nartanam is bringing this issue with 50 colour plates to showcase the vibrant
folk colours though we cannot afford the high costs of colour printing. Kedar Mishra
and Arabinda Mahapatra, team members of Nartanam from Odisha, have worked
tirelessly to make the issue a reality and are the guest and photo editors, respectively,
of this issue. We are grateful to Arabinda Mohapatra for providing most pictures of
this special issue and Sarat Mama (Puri), Bhabani Das and Odisha Tourism for
providing a few, readily, at a short notice.
The returns for the money spent on various counts under culture cannot always
be tangibly evaluated. Culture demands a work style which is not bureaucratic in
nature. In a country where the culture budgets are far lower than most other countries
we are also clueless and apathetic to administering/managing culture. It’s time that
Indian society, especially the arts community, takes some time off their individual
trials and tribulations, and reflects on what ails our Ministry of Culture (MoC).
We raise here a few issues along with the ones highlighted by a High Powered
Committee (HPC) set up by the MoC, through an Office Memorandum (No.8/69/
2013-Akademis) dated the 15th January, 2014 to examine the issues related to the
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7
mandate, composition etc. of the cultural organizations viz. National School of Drama
(NSD), Centre for Cultural Resources &Training (CCRT), Lalit Kala Akademi,
Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA),
Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA) and Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs)
etc. and to suggest measures to monitor their performance.
The most pertinent question is whether the MoC is equipped to deal with its
mandate of administering culture? Can the MoC which deals with matters of intellect,
aesthetics, and creativity, be run the way most other Ministries are run? Does it
have the expertise and manpower to deal with its mandate? Even the simplest of its
duties are not discharged efficiently. To mention a few:
-
Funds are released by the Ministry quite late to the institutions under the MoC;
in several cases the second or last instalment is released during March and
hence the Akademies are in a rush to spend it before 31st March. This affects
the quality of the programmes organized at very short notice.
-
If one goes to the website of the MoC, the link leads to 21 schemes of the
Ministry and the latest minutes as well. It shows that several meetings have
yet to be convened for the financial year 2014 -15, and grants have yet to be
disbursed.
Here are the observations on three significant schemes which affect the maximum
number of artists:
1. The pensions meant to benefit the old and often suffering artists are pending
disbursal. In fact, the concerned committee meetings have not been held after
December 2013. The irony is that the pension amount for an aged artist is about
Rs.3500-4000; not even the cost of a five star dinner for a VIP.
2. The Salary Grant Scheme enables a cultural organisation/institution to support
its artists by paying a small monthly sum to sustain them. During the last financial
year, funds were released on the last working days of March and early April
2014. This financial year the meetings have not been held so far.
3. Junior/Senior Fellowships have not been awarded since 2012-13.
The following are points to be noted from among the many raised by the HPC.
-
The allocation for Culture has ranged from 0.12% in 2009-10 to 0.13% in 201415. If we add the budgets for the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting
and Sports, we reach the grand level of 0.68% of the total Government budget in
2009-10, which has declined to 0.38% in 2014-15. These figures are abysmal.
8
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-
The Resolutions setting up the Akademis are a broad statement of intent. But a
renewal of their focus is required. In modern management terms, a vision
statement followed by a mission statement would be useful to bring clarity to the
role of each Akademi in today’s context.
-
An Akademi is intended for academic work. In the three Akademis, research is
intended to be an important area of activity. But The Lalit Kala Akademi does
no research, the Sangeet Natak Akademi only a little, and the Sahitya Akademi,
despite the presence of Universities in the General Council, does not do much
research work.
-
The recommendations of three previous Reports, which have gone into the
functioning of various institutions of the MoC, especially the three Akademis, do
not appear to have been implemented with diligence. The three committees were:
Bhabha Committee: set up by Order dated 3 March, 1964; report submitted on
22 October, 1964; Khosla Committee: set up by Resolution dated 19 February,1970;
report submitted on 31July 1972; Haksar Committee: set up by Resolution dated 24
March, 1988; report submitted in July 1990.
The mandate, structure, and the working of the MoC and its institutions must be
reworked and implemented with renewed vigour. It is time that all our savvy artists
and intellectuals who have sat on various committees and failed to make a dent on
the stagnant MoC and its institutions and the ones who will form the new committees
pull up their socks to contribute to nation building. We at Nartanam, do our bit, by
voicing our concerns.
To conclude, I draw attention to a point to ponder. How cultured are we even as
we articulate our fiery concerns to the point of being aggressive cultural activists?
On a recent trip to Kerala, an experience that struck me was the meeting with a
renowned Kalaripayattu guru. An introduction to his Kalari, its history and a few
demonstrations notwithstanding what caught my attention was the understated fine
fibre of culture and the finest aesthetics of an artist in his manner and word, even as
he displayed his skill with fierce Kalari moves. Today when aggression is the
mainstay of being articulate and powerful - be it a politician, sportsperson, or an
artist - moral fibre seeped in culture is a rare novelty and more so with culture taking
the back seat in the overall blueprint for the nation. Such a suicidal blueprint must be
scrapped. Not next year, not next month. But now.
Madhavi Puranam
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9
Letters to Editor
Dear Editor
The piece on dance criticism sent by me to Nartanam which was published in
pages 142-143 of Nartanam Vol XIV No. 3 borrows passages from Alistair
Macaulay’s interview which can be accessed on the following link:
http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_10/aug10/interview_alastair_macaulay.htm
I regret that I failed to mention the same when I sent the piece to Nartanam
which led to its publication as my own writing. I apologize for this faux pas and will
make sure such errors are not repeated.
Sincerely
Veejay Sai
The Editorial Board takes strong exception to this error. It is requested
that writers contributing to Nartanam avoid such omissions or commissions.
- Editor
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We thank the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New
Delhi, for its partial financial assistance for
the publication of this journal.
Publishers, Nartanam
10
NARTANAM
The Contributors
1.
Deepsha Rath is a young and upcoming poet of promise, a journalist and a
chronicler of cultural events. She writes for the New Indian Express.
2.
Dr. Gauranga Charan Dash is a renowned poet, fiction writer, a revered
scholar, and a puppeteer himself. He teaches at Revenshaw University.
3.
Dr. Ileana Citaristi is a renowned Odissi and Chhau dancer, choreographer,
scholar and institution builder. By birth an Italian, she has made Odisha her
home for the last couple of decades. A recipient of Padmashri, she is a wellknown author.
4.
Kedar Mishra is a well-known poet, scholar, critic, and editor.
5.
Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra is an authority in the field of Odisha folk-lore
and is a scholar of high repute. He has authored a number of books on Odisha
folk art and literature.
6.
Manmath Kumar Satpathy is a renowned playwright, art historian, and scholar.
He is a former secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.
7.
Mohit Kumar Swain is a respected dance professor and art historian. He is a
faculty member in the folk dance department of Sambalpur Univerisity.
8.
Pabitra Mohan Dash is a well known poet, critic, and translator. He writes
extensively on Odia literature and culture.
9.
Sanjeev Kumar Nayak is a well known scholar, critic, and art historian. He
writes extensively on western Odisha.
10. Sunil Kumar Rath is a renowned scholar and fiction writer. He writes
extensively on the Jagannath cult.
11. Dr. Sunil Kothari is one of the finest art historians, critic, and chronicler of
Indian dance traditions. He has edited and authored books on almost all classical
dance forms of India. He is a recipient of Padmashri and the Sangeet Natak
Akademi Award.
12. Late Suresh Balabantaray is a revered art historian, fiction writer, scholar,
translator, and collector of art objects. He has compiled many books on folk
dances and Yogini cult of Odisha.
192 NARTANAM
PERFORMANCE
REVIEWS
Kathak Mahotsava 2015
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
A festival regarded as a platform for showcasing the best of Kathak in the
international arena, Kathak Kendra’s annual Kathak Mahotsava, dedicated to recently
departed legends Maya Rao, Sitara Devi, Chitresh Das, and Kapila Raj, seemed to
be more insular, acquiring an in-house character, perhaps compelled by dwindling
funds. From formalities like the director alone being called upon to honour artists
with bouquets (notwithstanding senior gurus and contributors to Kathak history present
in the audience) to the minimal foreign participation, one felt this narrowing down of
scale–untried junior Kendra students too
finding space in the performance schedule.
Urmila Nagar’s solo presentation
beginning with an involved Saraswati
Vandana proved that tala proficiency such
as hers, with the whole recital comprising
nritta improvisations, could only stem from
complete mastery in both classical music
and dance. The slightest shift of body weight
and ground contact created infinite tonal
variety in rhythm, the quick changing
accents, with the upaj variations in a
“Dhumkita gadigina dha” making music out
of rhythm. It was ‘Parivar Parampara’ in
flow with the dancer’s two sons providing
on par interactive accompaniment, on the
tabla by Vishal Nagar and Padhanth by
Ujjwal Nagar.
Urmila Nagar
NARTANAM 193
Leela Venkataraman
The other commendable soloist,
notwithstanding added inches round the
waist, was Abhay Shankar Misra, whose
teental nritta, after a bristling invocation
“Shakti pravara Shiva hara Gangadhara”
visualising aspects of Shiva, presented
unusual improvisations in the “ta tai that”
sequence and a rare composition of
Narayan Prasad “Gendukhelat Krishna”.
Trained under late Pandey Maharaj,
Urmila Nagar, and Pandit Birju Maharaj,
the dancer commendably, stuck to the time
slot (a discipline instilled from living and
teaching in London for so long), rare
amongst established dancers who tend to
consider over stepping their time limit an
entitlement.
What ails Ram Mohan? Excessive
unrelated talk and overlong tabla and
Abhay Shankar Misra
Pakhawaj solo interventions, with minimal
dance, point to diminishing stamina. And requesting that Kathak Kendra give him a
solo two hour slot, when even half-an-hour proved a challenge with the nritta he
chose to present having glitches–gimmicks like knitting a narrative into a nritta
bandish back fired. “Mohe chedo na” in Basant Hindol, was presented in baithak
style. Pity that a really talented dancer’s identity lies shrouded under layers of imitating
others!
The duet comprising Gurgaon’s Jayashree Acharya and Barun Banerjee fell short
of living up to the former’s reputation for laya. Shiva Stuti starting with Barun’s
back to the audience against Acharya’s frontal stance, with the rhythmic sequences
carrying through the Shiva symbolism, was tame. Ashtamangal tala sequences till
the assertive tihai, lacked conviction, with Banerjee’s proficiency not going beyond
tutored nritta. The abhinaya for “Hori” was too staid, the joyous ebullience more
felt in singer Sabina. M. Islam’s rendition than in the dance.
Malti Shyam in her conceptualisation of ‘Nartak’ did a laudable job, devising a
Kathak narrative suiting junior dancers of varying proficiency levels with one, two,
and three years training. Incorporating all the Kathak intra forms from that, tihai,
gat, paran and a concluding two line tarana, with Ganesh homage as the starting
point, the accompanying lyrical music in the pentatonic scale scored and sung by
194 NARTANAM
Kathak Mahotsava 2015
Disciples of Malti Shyam
Brijesh Mishra’s “Pratham naman” provided the right take-off point and ambience.
And using the lone male dancer as the Krishna amongst the Gopis, poetry, movement,
dancer’s mind, and spirit were all entwined in an exercise–aesthetic, simple, and
integrated. Tasteful costumes allowed unhindered movement.
“Chaiti ke Rang” inspired by Bade Raamdas’ Chaiti composition was Krishna
Mohan Mishra’s choice for a group presentation by his students. Starting with Pandit
Shambhu Maharaj’s Doha “Radha dekhe Krishna ko”, the sringar sentiment explored
for a group certainly posed inherent challenges in interpreting sentiments like “Raat
ham dekhi Sapanwa” given a structured dance visualisation, the spirited nritta
punctuations also diluting poetic intensity. Creating space for solo individual
interpretations of the poetry would perhaps have enhanced the internalised exploring,
evoking strongly the sringar throb.
Rajendra Gangani’s Vivartan where dance inspired by poetry set to music in a
multiplicity of ragas like Durga and Darbari Kanada, aimed at experiencing the
inner resonance of the entire Universe called ‘Naad’–was not overtly perceivable
in the danced group presentation of students, despite sequences with fine formations
with the female dancers creating rhythm patterns wielding cymbals, creating intricate
tala patterns, very well executed. But the rhythmically enthusiastic male dancers,
fell short in aesthetic ang. Costumes needed better designing.
Nrithya Bharati Pune, presented Guru Rohini Bhate’s work “Yatha Kal Yatha
Akash”. Rohini Bhate’s intellectual approach, never exhibitionistic, was unique in
conveying concepts like the expanse and tranquillity of Akash, or abstract Time.
NARTANAM 195
Leela Venkataraman
Nrithya Bharati Pune
With her feel for music and dance rhythm, her readiness to explore new concepts,
never sacrificed strict tenets of classical Kathak grammar. Tarang in Raga Saraswati
had evocative rhythmic joy where natural life rhythms, transform into interesting
tala combinations within teental.
Jaikishan Maharaj
in Poorvaraag
settled for a dance
drama type of
treatment–the
theme on nostalgic
memories of old
love, with fleeting
life
moments
leaving indelible
memories,
harnessing his own
talent for poetry,
music, and dance.
Disciples of Jaikishan Maharaj
Although anchored to a hackneyed topic, the work with a finished group of students
moving with sure grace, revealed artistic restraint in the props, costume designing,
and music, woven with a variety of instruments, plus skilled lighting artistry in the
stealth and shadow movement sequences.
196 NARTANAM
Kathak Mahotsava 2015
Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography
Maya Rao’s Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, presenting “Links and
Echoes” recaptured in a brilliant retelling the flowing feel of old history, integrating
musical inspirations of Dhrupad, Taraana, Thumri, Khayal, and Ghazal–the dance
motifs inspired by saints and poets from the Bhakti movement as also Sufism–layered
with interwoven martial art sequences and final contemporary touches. The recorded
Dhrupad and Taraana music incorporating Chaturang was divine. Amir Khusru’s
romantic poetry set to Kedar raga, saw artistically conceptualised love in despair,
wherein the poetry about the loved one who, Turki or Hindu, seems embodied in
God’s Dasa roopa, visualised in fleeting, subtle suggestions of Dasavatar. The
contemporary vibes came with Maya’s daughter Madhu Natraj in Janmallikarjuna’s
love poetry pleading for a glimpse of the loved one, in whose search the protagonist
has lost one’s self. The recorded music with the backdrop of soft padhant was
hauntingly beautiful.
Bringing down the curtain for this four day event, of which the first day was
missed, was Vasvati Mishra with her students at Dhwani who in collaboration with
Parvathy Baul, projected through the music and dance that eternal outside search
for the loved one who has to be realised within. The dramatic moving start on a
dark stage, saw lit up Baul poised on a high step on one side, as if suspended in
space, singing with the Ektara (symbolising oneness). The strong clear voice, “Kichu
dine Mone Mone…” the music in Shahana, in Bhairavi, in Piloo with the time cycle
of 14 (7 + 7), the dance movement and rhythm with luminous sticks in hand were all
riveting though in the first half one felt no connection between the Baul presentation
and the dance. In the second half the abstract something commonly binding two art
forms certainly came through.
Photos Courtesy: Kathak Kendra, New Delhi
NARTANAM 197
Delhi Diary
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
The central event of a crowded 2015 cultural calendar for February was an
International Conference on “Indian Diaspora and Cultural Heritage – Past, Present
and Future” mounted by the ICCR. It is the panoramic research by the new ICCR
President Prof. Lokesh Chandra that resulted in the Tibetan–Sanskrit Dictionary,
the first comprehensive lexicographical effort to understand Tibetan literature and
culture; and his three volume “Materials for a history of Tibetan literature” along
with his “New Tibetan Mongol Pantheon”, not to speak of his deep study of Buddhism
and aspects of the iconographic art of trans-Himalayan Asia as far as the Siberian
and Volga regions, mark him as a scholar particularly sensitive to cultural interchanges
in the South-East Asian region. Hardly surprising that immediately on taking over as
the President of the ICCR, his first event under the ICCR banner should be an
International Conference on the Indian Diaspora.
Held at the IIC auditorium, the meet was a unique opportunity to find out the
truth of the hackneyed statement that while it was easy to get the Indian out of
India, it was well nigh impossible to get India out of him. Informative papers on
“Cultural Retention and Rekindled Indian-ness” made for interesting proceedings
despite a small gathering each day. The dance aspect was underlined by some of
the delegates. Mira Kaushik spoke about the evolution of Indian dance in the U.K.
She firmly asserted that the hard work of the last 30 odd years in particular had
resulted in now making Indian performing arts part of the British creative DNA.
While “the first chapter began in London’s Adelphi Theatre in 1838, with Indian
dance being performed by a religious group”, professional Indian dance began with
the historic meeting of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova with Uday Shankar in 1923.
The National Akademi in U.K. being founded in 1979 by Tara Rajkumar along with
a group of Indian artists residing in London was a significant step. Pakistani dancer
Nahid Siddiqui, also one of the residents, made her creative ability felt in Kathak.
To-day acclaimed dancers like Shobana Jeyasing and Akram Khan are acknowledged
names in the U.K. Mira Kaushik mentioned how innovative dance programmes held
in unusual venues (usually public spaces) plus the ever expanding awareness of
India’s business potential and migration of young educated Indians into the U.K.
helped change the atmosphere, for far from the arrival of the Maharajah and exotica,
these trends exposed the people to the evolved creative potential of Indians. Kaushik’s
work for the Akademi has led to large scale site specific productions such as “Coming
of Age”, “Escapade” at Southbank Centre, “Waterscapes” at Somerset House,
198 NARTANAM
Delhi Diary
“Song of the City” in the Southwark vault, Maaya in Westminster during Olympics,
and many more.
Coming to the origin of the nomenclature “South Asian Dance” under which
Indian dance is categorised, the explanation came from a senior foreign service
participant; since Pakistan’s cultural history began only in 1947 with its creation, to
keep the parity between nations in this area, the term South Asian Dance was coined,
encompassing all the countries in this region.
Indians who travelled to Trinidad and Tobago from 1845 onwards, now form 41
percent of the population. If the Hindus still recite their Ram Charit Manas, Hanuman
Chalisa, SantTulsidas, Surdas, and, render their Thumri and Chaiti or Biraha and
Sohar sung at post-natal functions and wedding ceremonies, the followers of Islam
find their oneness in the Quran. Vishnu Bisram spoke of the Indian cultural retention
in Guyana, and by extension in Surinam and Trinidad, and other Caribbean areas. In
Mauritius, the small island to the west of Madagascar, Indian music became a way
of familiarising with and learning the Indian language, for young Indians. Apart from
the “Haldi Chadhav” ceremony and the Ramayan Mandalis, new reconfigurations
and reconstructions of vernacular and textual traditions from India were formed.
For instance, in Mauritius, it is not Rama but Hanuman whose statue is found in
front of each house. The Indians who went as indentured labour (coolies) now have
a proud identity of their own. The Bhojpuri culture and “Pehle Hardiya” (applying
turmeric on the bridegroom and bride) is still practised as Anele Bhagwat speaking
of Trinidad mentioned, speaking of Vedic rituals and 16 sets of upacharas still
observed, but of course with changes. Pheroze Nowrojee significantly drew attention
to the point that while influences of the parent country one hails from may be retained
in some measure (conserving the intangible as he called it) new influences from the
region of domicile were bound to add to a new social identity–different and specific,
giving “sharper edges to our presence than acknowledged”. The Indian diaspora
had “evolved from colonialism, which was all about humiliation to a people, to a
people with self-respect now”. The more successful we are, the more we have
changed. Events like Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas have also changed the way Indians
look at themselves.
Sunil Kothari spoke of Indian dance in the United States and screening video
snippets he maintained that the training of a Bharatanatyam or a Kathak dancer in
the US was as good as what was available in India, and that in terms of performance
finish and bold innovation, the Diaspora dance productions secured high marks.
Emphasising a very important aspect, LataPada who is settled in Montreal where
she runs a highly successful institution of Bharatanatyam “Sampradaya Dance
NARTANAM 199
Leela Venkataraman
Creations”, spoke of how
through tremendous effort down
the years, artists like her who
are members of several
important decision making
organisations in art, had
managed to change the
Canadian attitude to Indian
dance. They had succeeded in
educating Canadians about
Indian dance which cannot be
judged by western prescriptions
of what dance should be. Indian
LataPada
dances had their own identity
and one had to understand this. Now Indian dance performances attract audiences
of Indian and Canadian origin. Indian artists now share the advantages of scholarships,
of training facilities that western Ballet has. Pada considers this change of mind-set
the greatest achievement of the Indian dance artists.
Ramayana Mela
What better illustration can one have as an example of the spread of ideas from
India to different parts of Asia, than the innumerable art representations of the
Ramayana in countries outside India! Very fittingly after the seminar came the
International Ramayana Mela- 2015, mounted at the FICCI auditorium showing
how this epic has become embedded in the consciousness and confluence of several
societies. From China to Cambodia to the Caribbean, from the performance forms
to wooden puppets and what have you, the Ramayana has found its expression in
myriad forms. A dance-drama from Prambanan Ballet (Indonesia), Ramleela from
Trinidad and Tobago, Reamleak and Chubleak, The Sons of Seda (Sita) from
Cambodia, Asok Vanam by Bhasker’s Art Academy from Singapore, The Timeless
Ramayana byTanjai Kamala of Indira Bharatanatya Vidyalaya from Malaysia, The
Khon Ramakien showing Sita’s abduction from Thailand and the Sita Swayamvaram
in Kathakali by Kalamandalam from India, were featured. While too many
simultaneous events cut-out daily viewing for some of us, I found the sound apparatus
hanging down from the waist of each actor, and exchanges like Guha entreating
Rama “Hamareghar Padhariye”, with Rama replying in English “Oh I would love to
come” quite entertaining in its own way. But what poor audiences for these rare
presentations! Cannot our Delhi people do better than this for foreign troupes who
have come from neighbouring countries?
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Coming to dance performances, Delhi as usual had its share of Kathak projections.
Duet Attractions in Kathak
“Rag Virag Educational and Cultural Society” founded in 2002 by Shiela
Siddhankar, poetess and sitar maestro; in what has become its annual presentation
of the Duet Kathak Dance festival conceived by its General Secretary Punita Sharma,
has been sponsoring dancing pairs from the Kathak constituency–some well-known
and others less familiar. The established Vidha Lal and Abhimanyu Lal husbandwife pair, apart from the wizardry of their nritta command (both trained under
Geetanjali Lal), make a well-matched pair with their fetching stage presence, welltailored complimentary costumes, albeit bordering on the flashy, adding a visual zing
to the performance.Vidha Lal’s compulsive personality with its very open
communicative skills and Abhimanyu Lal’s more restrained presence are a foil to
each other. The mind blowing virtuosic skills particularly in the variously executed
“chakkars” in bandishes rendered at top speed by Vidha Lal and the arithmetical
combinations and tonal differences brought out by Abhimanyu Lal’s agile foot work,
made the performance special.
Quite different in tone was the second half of the evening, comprising a presentation
by Shovana Narayan and her disciple Mrinalini. Inspired by Tagore’s Khapchadda
(nonsensical verses), and based on Motilal Nandi, a humorous work centred on
adult illiteracy woven round a particularly dull ignoramus, unable to even string two
words together, the choreographer created a quietly light-hearted work on a serious
subject, visualising a totally uninformed adult, being gently coaxed into some form of
opening up of the mind, through a game of riddles for which answers were to be
provided. Narayan harnessed little dohas couched in Amir Khusru’s poetic language–
the sequences of the posing of the question and the answer provided, making for the
narrative interpretative passages (far-fetched answers of the student provided
humour), linked through typical Kathak nritta ingredients– thereby bringing into one
integrated frame the intra-forms from thata to tatkar interspersed with passages of
simple abhinaya. While Narayan was the uninformed heroine, student Mrinalini
exhibiting neat technique and quiet expressional abilities became the teacher trying
to draw out an unwilling learner who, exasperated by her own lack of mental
receptivity, confines paper and pencil into the swirling Ganga waters. With the riddles
built round concepts like “haar, diya, badal, dhaaga (thread), eent (brick), and kainchi
(scissors);” the first syllables adding up to the phrase “Hardik Badhaee”. Applause,
less lusty than would be for pure dance excitement but appreciative nevertheless,
followed for the unique idea.
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Benares gharana’s Mula Afsar Khan, also with a post diploma in Kathak from
the Kathak Kendra teamed up with Samiksha Sharma Arun, a student of Guru
Kundan Lal Sangeet Academy at Gwalior. Here was a case of finished artists doing
nritta compositions accompanied by Yogesh Gangani on tabla and Kishore Gangani
on Pakhawaj. What one missed was impeccable clarity of rhythmic syllables. There
was muffled sound and while individual amad sequences and bandishes, rhythmic
accents and bols strung to symbolise “Latthuuchhalna” were unique, there was too
much loud percussion and one vainly looked for pin-pointed and distinctive quality of
syllables. The Surdas composition bringing out Krishna eternally residing in Radha’s
consciousness, called for more internalised abhinaya. And Mula Afsar Khan as
Krishna just freezing at the back was simplistic. As a matter of fact any representation
of Krishna while interpreting the poetry should have come through Radha’s abhinaya
rather than his physical appearance.
The last pair of Deepak Maharaj and Tribhuwan Maharaj was a typical instance
of ‘gharanedhar’ representation–two dancers of the Birju Maharaj family combining
in an example of catapulting to a senior level, the junior dancer Tribhuwan Maharaj,
son of Maharajji’s older son Jaikishen Maharaj, by pairing him in a performance
with his uncle (Birju Maharaj’s younger son) of established fame, Deepak Maharaj.
Vasantotsava 2015
Kathak in the capital had its maximum visibility in the opulent golden jubilee
celebrations of Kalashram’s Vasantotsava. This institution, the ambitious dreamchild
of the maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, having just emerged out of the court case
involving its site in Gulmohar Park where the institution will be housed, observed its
17th Vasantotsava–mounted at the Kamani under the generous sponsorship of the
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the theme this year being ‘Spirituality in Dance and Music’–
repeating what is a sine quo non of our arts.
The festival this year became a homage to several recently departed music and
dance (Kathak) legends–Sitara Devi, Maya Rao, U. Srinivas (Carnatic music),
Chitresh Das (Kathak guru who had settled in the United States), and Rakesh
Prasanna (dynamic flute and sarod player). At the Kamani, the auspicious beginning
amidst a large audience, was the conferring of the Achhan Maharaj award instituted
by Kalashram on one of the guru’s “gandabandh” students, also one of the greatest
contributors to the arts scene and its administration in post Independent India– namely
Dr. KapilaVatsyayan. In an emotional chocked voice Vatsyayan spoke of what she
had imbibed from her great guru and remembered how she was instrumental in
bringing the very young Birju (just after the premature passing away of Achhan
Maharaj) to Delhi–a move altering the history of Kathak and its presence in the
capital.
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Packed with famous names of dancers and musicians, the three day programme
was a big draw, the packed Kamani bursting at the seams. With simultaneous
programmes of dance and music crying for attention at the Habitat and the FICCI,
one had to pick and choose programmes to watch in each of the centres. The Madhavi
Mudgal or Alarmel Valli duet which set the programme ball rolling at the Vasantotsava,
had its best moments in Samanvaya where along with the musical genres, both
dancers came together in a Bharatanatyam or Odissi presentation. The music
composed by Madhup Mudgal with inputs by Prema Ramamurthy and Lalgudi Ganesh
provided a wonderful base for the dance, where the two forms complimented each
other–Valli’s supremely graceful geometry of triangles, straight lines and diagonals
in movement, interacting with the precision of Mudgal’s three bend Tribhanga lyricism.
The perfect coordination was above all a meeting of minds, flowing, and without
jerks. The rest of the dance was with the two solos which, while well done, held few
surprises. Mudgal’s solo homage to Prithvi, the bountiful sustainer of life and nature
based on a verse from the Atharva Veda, flowed into a Pallavi composition by Mudgal,
the intricate rhythm permutations in the choreography made to fit into the musical
line suiting Mudgal’s laya command beautifully. Valli’s solo interpretation of
Annamacharya’s “Yedupayamuninnucherutaku” (what is the way of reaching you,
my Lord), the devotee expressing his deep desire to see and touch that which has no
form, in the pure bhakti mode was followed by the sensuous celebration of desire of
the young nayika in the padam (attributed to the Tanjore quartette by some, and to
Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar by some others) “Chanaroee Mohamusahimpagalenu” (I
cannot bear this longing and desire). Having to hop to another auditorium for another
show, one missed Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharya’s production centred round the
character of Swami Vivekananda in “Hey Purushottama”, followed by Rajendra
Gangani’s Meera Bhajan “mormukutparvaarijaun” in line with the bhakti theme of
the festival. Afternoon performances featured Isabelle Anna, a disciple of
Pt. Jaikishen Maharaj presenting Kathak Anjali, followed by a Mohan Veena recital
by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Also featured was “Naman” (offering at the feet of the
Guru) by young Anuj and Kauntika from Lucknow. The next day’s afternoon session
concluded with a rich Sitar recital by Krishna Mohan Bhatt representing the MaiharSenia gharana of Ustad Allauddin Khan. An international figure, his music combines
the Khayal gayaki and in vocal compositions with Dhrupad tantrakari instrumental
techniques.
A festival highlight drawing lusty applause was “Rama Mantra” by Nirupama
and Rajendra from Bangalore. Devised in the Harikatha format-with Shathavadhani’s
and Dr. R.Ganesh’s research work and text comprising Yogabhoga Dasasaahitya in
Kannada, Sanskrit slokas, devotional songs in several languages, brief dialogues
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Leela Venkataraman
Nirupama - Rajendra
and monologues in Hindi, all strung into electrifying music of extraordinary tonal
range by Praveen D. Rao, the production had a dream take-off point for the dance
choreographers. And the dancers lived up-to the challenge, the sequences of a
highway robber like Rathanakar being transferred into the great Valmiki, the poet
who composed the Ramayana, the sensitively devised Shabarimoksham (entani ne
varnintu Shabari) narrative with involved Nirupama getting into the skin of the role,
and the episode of the Guha-Rama interaction. Finally was Rama’s triumph over
Ravana and entry into Ayodhya. The lip-synch of the actors was so perfectly aligned
with the recorded version and the totally absorbed characterisations were a delight,
and Rajendra as the Harikatha specialist excelled himself, the perfect stage
understanding between this husband-wife team with the absorbed rendition brought
tears to the eyes of the viewer on more than one occasion. In a generally emotionally
charged performance, examples of passages from the Purandaradasa composition
“Bega Bandaanamma, Deva Bandaanamma, Devaradevashikhamanibandaanamma”,
and the PurandaraVithala chanting and the “Shree Rama Rama Rameti...” verse
from Vishnu sahasranamam were all hauntingly evocative– the music whether in a
fleeting Mohanam or a Hamsadhwani or a Bhairavi, carrying deep conviction in
bhav and melody. Madan Gopal Singh’s Sufi music on the last day had to be missed.
Try as one would, all one managed was taking in a good bit of Hariprasad Chaurasia’s
mellifluous flute. On the final day, one arrived at the Kamani in time to see “Ananta”
which was an attempt to invoke the philosophy of the Baul. Clad in orange and
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yellow, the dancers under the choreographic direction of Maitreyi Pahari performed
with a sense of abandon. The best of the production was the agility of the Chhau
trained Nikhil who as the Baul made an effortless dancer.
Vanashree Rao’s Kuchipudi solo had its strong point in the power of the dancer’s
abhinaya, which in the interpretation of Kashmiri poetry of Lalleswari, in praise of
Shiva, with the Markandeya episode woven in was followed by the scene from the
Kurukshetra war when Karna so wronged in life, meets with his end. The dancer
displayed the ability to shed any consciousness of her female identity taking on male
roles, with deep conviction.
Present day Kuchipudi by
female performers overdoes
the lasya aspect and Rao’s
performance was very
different. The music with two
singers K.Venkateshwaran and
Dr.Vasudevan, R. Kesavan on
the mridangam, and Rajat
Prasanna and Suhai Yusuf
Khan on the flute and sarangi
respectively, under Guru Jaya
Rama Rao’s conducting did a
fine job.
Vanashree Rao
Photo Courtesy: Avinash Pasricha
The late hour made it difficult
to stay and watch Maharajji’s own composition “Khoj” which, along with junior
students had veterans trained by Maharajji like Krishna Mohan, Ram Mohan, and
Deepak Maharaj. The music at the start (one saw for about four minutes) sounded
unbalanced, the two voices male and female not properly coordinated, and the female
voice sounding off key.
Rajan-Sajan Mishra’s vocal recital marked the concluding notes for an action
packed festival which included interaction sequences, with puzzles and questions to
be answered by the audience. The images left behind were many–the beautifully
done up Kamani lobby with Kathak dancers’ photographs, the flower decorations,
the rangoli, the camera men, a busy Saswati running in and out presiding over events,
viewers exchanging notes in the backyard of the Kamani where tea and snacks
were laid out–altogether a lavish event. Bharatanatyam too had its representations.
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Leela Venkataraman
North-South Exchange with Kathak-Bharatanatyam Jugalbandi
When two dance forms are engaged in an interaction, the challenge lies in aesthetic
combining of the two forms in simultaneity, arriving at matching movements without
taking away from the grammar and identity of each form. Jyotsna Shourie’s Dance
Society led by her choreographic direction, presented a Kathak-Bharatanatyam
Jugalbandi at the Chinmaya auditorium, the participating duo being the proficient
Kathak dancer Rashmi Uppal (a post graduate diploma holder and fellow from the
Kathak Kendra, with a long stint of working as one of the dancers of the Aditi
Mangaldas Company) and the Bharatanatyam trained Nandita Kalaan Mehra a
disciple of Jyotsna Shourie. The programme was put together with care. The starting
Ardhanareeswara bringing out the contrasting but complementing Shiva-Parvati in
one entity was based on the musical framework erected by Sudha Raghuraman
who used chosen verses from the Ardhanari stotram set to different ragas. The
main drawback was that while the contrarian qualities of Shiva and Parvati were
brought out in the dance with enthusiasm, with Mehra as Shiva and Uppal as Parvati,
the main concept of all this being encompassed in one identity never came out, with
the two dancers dancing alternately in solo sequences away from each other. It was
Shiva and Parvati but not Ardhanari. Involved the dancers certainly were, despite
the rhythmic element as punctuation between interpretative passages, requiring more
polish–for teermanams and nattuvangam fell short of exactitude, the pin-pointed
arithmetic of rhythmic phrases and tala found wanting. One cannot add or subtract
rhythmic syllables adjusting rhythmic compositions meant for one tala pattern and
adjust them to fit into another tala pattern–in this case Adi talam which was of eight
beats. However when Uppal performed with the lehra (the 16 matra teen taal being
double the 8 matra Adi talam) she showed clarity of footwork.
The expressional emphasis wisely had the dancers performing in solo form, which
offers the right interpretative freedom. Using the vigour of Dhamartaal for expressing
the “jwalajalanke” of the khandita, Uppal sought to bring out the anger and jealousy
of the jilted woman, through nritta or pure dance. Eschewing a composed thumri or
lyric, the unorthodox method in typical Mangaldas fashion saw the Nayika soliloquising
in the seated position, though Uppal must develop her own style of expression, and
not become an imitation of Mangaldas.
Nandita Kalaan took up the interpretation of Arjuna’s dilemma when facing the
massive opposing Kaurava army comprising relatives, friends, and revered elders
making him shy away from fighting–for no throne is worth this kind of killing of near
and dear ones. Raghuram sang the lines from the Bhagavat Gita with great feeling.
Kalaan is expressive, though in abhinaya one needs to do the “vaakyartha” plain
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Delhi Diary
gestural translation of the poetic words first before moving on to its elaboration
through derived meanings. The sthayi or dominant central mood of the theme has to
be kept in mind, while embellishing it with other transitory moods woven round it.
When the dancer was showing Krishna, in the Bhagavat Gita verses, after revealing
his cosmic form declaring that to save the Universe from the crushing evil forces
and re-establishing the power of good, he would manifest again and again,
R.Kesavan’s authoritative mridangam should have been less loud, to keep from
Raghuram’s singing words being totally drowned.
Balamurali’s Thayaraga tillana set to Chaturasra ekam, is a demanding item to
sing and to dance. But one must comment on the talavadya sequence knit into this,
which seemed to make percussion playing more a violence on the mridangam, tabla
and pakhawaj than a musical rhythmic interlude. The kind of decibel levels with ear
shattering sound, taking away entirely from all rhythmic aesthetics, has become a
curse today. Many in the audience sat with their ears plugged with fingers trying to
lessen the ear-splitting noise. What is this quality amongst a large section of classical
percussionists, that overtaken by a competitive urge to triumph over all the fellow
performers, they forget that rhythm cannot assault the senses? Pity! And more
surprising was the standing ovation after such blasting of ear drums! Apparently, we
live in times when such loudness is appreciated. Our percussion instruments are so
strong and musical in tone that artists playing them do not need to forget aesthetics.
The other Bharatanatyam projection was at the Andhra auditorium, the lone dance
programme during the annual Music festival mounted by Sree Shanmukhananda
Sabha at this venue, by Sharanya Chandran, daughter and disciple of Gita Chandran
(tutored in her younger days under late Guru Dakshinamurthy too). It is proof of the
kind of multi-tasking which youngsters of the present excel at that Sharanya
Chandran, with a degree from London School of Economics and a full-time
professional bureaucrat working in a crucial government department dealing with
development, should pursue Bharatanatyam with such zeal–her passion including
mastery over “nattuvangam” under the mother. A neat dancer, in the centrepiece
“Navaragamalika Dandayudhapani Varnam”, her interpretation of the nayika
expressing deep love for her Ishtadevata one felt, remained at the level of being
pleasant not attaining any intensity and urgency in the sringar exposition. This critic
has seen her do better, and one felt that there was some fatigue after a full day’s
work, which did not allow the dancer to surpass herself, despite Raghuraman’s bhav
soaked singing. Even the tillana, a Lalgudi Jayaraman composition in Rageshri seemed
low in the power of assertive execution. Two points stood out for me in this recital.
One was the outstanding “nattuvangam” and cymbal playing of Geeta Chandran–
rare amongst dancers turned gurus of the day, and the other is Chandrasekhar’s
NARTANAM 207
Leela Venkataraman
soft touch on the mridangam without
almost assaulting it–as has become
the
habit
amongst
some
percussionists today. Rhythm never
lost its music in exactitude and oneupmanship. Raghuraman’s flute had
all the known melody.
Rushing from the Kamani to the
Habitat Stein auditorium to watch
Patra
Parichaya
in
the
Bharatanatyam mode, conceived by
R.K. Usha and sponsored by the India
Habitat Centre, one was in time to
see atleast 15 minutes of
“Soorpanakha” presented by young
Dakshina Vaidyanathan, daughter
and disciple of Rama Vaidyanathan
and Saroja Vaidyanathan. Far from
the demon’s character as usually
portrayed, Soorphanaka in this
Sharanya Chandran
version of the Ramayana (text and
research by Divyananda Jha and S. Vasudevan) engineers events leading to her
disfigurement so as to provoke Ravana’s abduction of Sita, which finally would
result in a Rama-Ravana battle with Ravana being killed as perfect atonement for
Ravana’s killing of the husband Dushtabuddhi she deeply loved. Reminiscing on the
golden days of happy childhood with brother Ravana and later of love shared with
her husband, Soorphanaka smells humans in her forest and accosts Rama,
Lakshmana, and Sita. Sensing that Rama is the only opponent who can vanquish
Ravana in battle, Soorpanakha (the one with the sharp nails) plots the entire course
of action, and begins to advance towards the princes to declare desire for them.
With music by S. Vasudevan who is revealing great flair for innovative productions,
Arun Kumar on mridangam, and Rama Vaidyanathan whose choreographic inputs
must have strengthened the work, doing the “nattuvangam”, Dakshina’s strong
dancing brought out the character with maturity.
The second character was that of Karna from the Mahabharata and the poignancy
of this character came through in full in the interpretation by Bharatanatyam dancer
Satyanarayana Raju of Bangalore. Whoever did the research into texts did a fantastic
job. Karna enters doing the Surya namaskar as his story begins with the young
208 NARTANAM
Delhi Diary
maiden princess Kunti being blessed by the Sun God with a son, whom she decides
to let float away in a basket in the rivers, to escape societal censure as an unmarried
mother. Found and brought up by a low caste childless charioteer, Karna, a real
prince was fated to lead life as a ‘Soota Putra’(low caste), “Radheyudu Soothakula”.
Rebuffed by Dronacharya the teacher of martial skills, who refused to accept a
lowly born as his disciple, Karna in the manner of Ekalavya mastered archery and
other skills. The high poetic quality of the sahitya and the evocative music of
D.H.Srivatsa provided the base for Satyanarayana’s highly sensitive abhinaya.
Duryodhana seeing his skill in archery befriends Karna and gifting him the Kingdom
of Anga makes him a ruler, thereby earning for life the loyalty of Karna; Karna
addresses him as “Mahanubhavu Duryodhana”. The music in ragas like Hindolam,
Athana, Kamboji, Kanada, Kalyani, Charukesi, Karaharapriya, Begade, Bowli, and
many more seemed so fitting to each mood. And how intelligently the dancer with a
slight limp caught the feel of Shakuni, the crafty uncle! There were many quotable
lines in the text as when Karna asks his mother who comes to meet him before the
Kurukshetra war as to what made her rob a son of a mother’s love and he sarcastically
remarks “Adhirata’s (the charioteer) son salutes you”, he addresses Krishna as
“Kapatanataka Sootradhari neevu” (You are the prime instigator of this crafty theatre)
and in the end when with chariot wheels stuck in mud, he sees Arjuna being urged
by Krishna to aim his arrows at his opponent, Karna’s declaration (having lost the
protective coat of Kundala and Kavacha to the disguised Indra as brahmin) that he
be left to the calm expectations of life and death, are all moments which moved one
to tears. And full marks for the abhinaya of Satyanarayana.
Remapping the Body
“Hear the movement and see the music,” is what Compagnie Linga announced
in its work which brings dance movement and science together in a unique way.
Imagine measurement devices with sounds created using gyroscopes,
accelerometers, and other technologies used as adjuncts to the body, creating a new
resonance and showing the human body and movement in a new light. It is an
attempt at exploring the complexity of our relationship with technology. To quote
from the literature distributed “Where we fear the never ending flow of data that
might ultimately overwhelm the bodies, the dancers transmute these flows subduing
and resisting them.” Thus by re-appropriating them, they succeed in showing the
body in a new avatar which gives it a new resonance transforming performance
space. With this sound system developed in association with Christophe Calpini, the
dancers discover a new relationship with their bodies, augmented by the “Possibility
of making sound which enables them to experience moments” of intense sensuality.
So with bodies still replete with human emotions and interactions, exploring further
NARTANAM 209
Leela Venkataraman
through new alliances with technology provides a re-mapping of the body. It was a
strange experience at Stein auditorium watching a group of performers in this
experiment and for one steeped in responding to Indian art, the reactions were
confusing.
Nearer home, at the IIC, Kri Foundation featured artist Mamata Niyogi Nakra
from Canada in a session called “Fundamentally yours–The Adavus” where
Ergonomic training for dance was discussed with the Bharatanatyam alphabet of
adavus as an example. Niyogi’s interest in what she called the Physics of Dance fell
in line with what Kri Foundation has been interested in–viz. preserving archival
material plus Body of Dance, helping the dancer to maximise on what this instrument
of the human being is capable of, while guarding it from injury. Ballet dancer from
Montreal Sauf de Solei gave her expert advice on how from sthanaka to hasta,
hasta kshetra and chari, to tone the pelvic muscles and to deepen the “core” as
she called it so that the strain on the knees is minimised, was very important. Like a
feline leap and soft landing, it is body balance and core stability which are needed
for the dancer. Dance was not organic and natural movement. So how one negotiated
it was very important. With Arshiya Sethi as moderator guiding the discussions, it
was a very informative evening. Again it is a scientific look at the body and for those
who were present, the wisdom in the evening’s proceedings will make a difference.
File Photos: From the Facebook pages of the dancers
210 NARTANAM
Delhi Diary
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You may consider making a donation of Rs 2 lakhs and become our esteemed
sponsor of an issue which will be duly acknowledged in our pages.
Payment for the subscriptions, advertisements and donations may be done through
Cheque/DD, in favour of “Sahrdaya Arts Trust”, payable at Hyderabad, and
may be sent by post to the address below.
Registered Office
Sahrdaya Arts Trust, 508, Dwarakamai Apartments, Srinagar Colony Post,
Hyderabad- 500073, Phone: 9989314829
Email: [email protected], [email protected],
website: www.nartanam.in
Or
By remitting the amount to our bank account through NEFT transfer.
Our Bank Details are:
Allahabad Bank Maruti Nagar Branch, Hyderabad, India
Bank Account No. 50057891601
Beneficiary name- Sahrdaya Arts Trust
IFSC code ALLA0210732
MICR code 500010005
214 NARTANAM
STATEMENT OF OWNERSIllP AND OTHER
PARTICULARS ABOUT NARTANAM
Form IV (See Rule 8)
1.
Place of Publication
:
Hyderabad
2.
Periodity of Publication
:
Quarterly
3.
Printer’s Name
:
Madhavi Puranam
4.
Whether Citizen of India
:
YES
5.
Address
:
H.No. 8-3-988/10/D,
508, Dwarakamai Apartments,
Yellareddy Guda, Srinagar Colony Post,
Hyderabad- 500073,
Phone: 9989314829
6.
Publisher’s Name
:
Madhavi Puranam
7.
Whether Citizen of India
:
YES
8.
Address
:
H.No. 8-3-988/10/D,
508, Dwarakamai Apartments,
Yellareddy Guda, Srinagar Colony Post,
Hyderabad- 500073,
Phone: 9989314829
9.
Editor’s Name
:
Madhavi Puranam
10. Whether Citizen of India
:
YES
11. Address
:
H.No. 8-3-988/10/D,
508, Dwarakamai Apartments,
Yellareddy Guda, Srinagar Colony Post,
Hyderabad- 500073,
Phone: 9989314829
12. Name and Address of
Individuals who own the
News Paper
:
Sahrdaya Arts Trust
H.No. 8-3-988/10/D,
508, Dwarakamai Apartments,
Yellareddy Guda, Srinagar Colony Post,
Hyderabad- 500073,
Phone: 9989314829
I, Madhavi Puranam, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the
best of my knowledge and belief.
Date: 31.03.2015
(Sd/- )
Madhavi Puranam
NARTANAM 215