Wednesday 12 November 2014

Rama Katha - a splendid evening of Bharatanatyam - Singapore - 2014

Rama Katha - a splendid evening of Bharatanatyam
- Suresha




Children suffer for no fault of theirs when their parent(s) are convicted. While law punishes the criminal, the family is stigmatized. The innocent children are left to fend for themselves and forced to lead a life of shame and neglect. SOCARE IND is a unique NGO with focus on rehabilitating the Children of lifetime convicts in Indian Prisons.

In aid of SOCARE IND, Aakash Ganga - The Foundation for Indian Fine Arts in association with Xcel2Pinnacle Pte Ltd and Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) presented Rama Katha –“Rama Katha - The Story of Rama”, a Bharatanatyam production by an acclaimed Bharatanatyam exponent Narthaka Nipuna Sathyanarayana Raju on 24th Oct 2014 at PGP Hall, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Singapore.

The programme commenced with Sathyanarayana Raju making a sedate entry for Melukovayya, a Krithi by Saint Poet Tyagaraja.  The artiste then took the audience through a lively journey through the various characters of Ramayana. The artiste chose to focus on individual characters rather than on different episodes of the Ramayana.   Sathyanarayana Raju excelled in all his characterizations, and shifted from Kausalya to Rama, from Sita to Manthara, from Guha to Hanuman with great ease and ingenuity.   Sathyanarayana Raju truly represented all the wonderful aspects of the solo Bharata Natyam tradition, with effective nritta and emotive abhinaya at appropriate junctures paying attention to small nuances.
Usha R.K. who has conceptualized the program must be commended for her wonderful creative efforts.  The team of musicians from India, Vidwan DS Srivatsa (vocal), Ms. Shakuntala Prabhath (Nattuvangam), Vidwan Lingaraju (Mridangam), Vidwan Raghunandan (Flute) were excellent with their musical support for the Bharata Natyam recital.  Songs were chosen from different composers and some of them such as Pattabhishekha Vellalo were especially composed for this program by D.S. Srivatsa.  Ragas such as Bowli, Kapi, Anandabhairavi and many others were chosen suitably to enhance the appropriate sthayi bhavas and rasotpatti of the incidents and roles being portrayed.   The effective use of lighting by Surya Narayana, another acclaimed dancer himself enhanced the performance of the event. Mrs. Paramita Tripathi, Deputy High Commissioner of India in Singapore was the guest of honour for this event. The event concluded with a unique style of vote of thanks in the form of dance, by presented by Guru Ms. Maalika Girish Panikker, founding director of Aakash Ganga.
Mrs. Sandhya, a leading event manager in Bengaluru, India & Mr. G.T. Mani the well-known compere from Singapore hosted the show. The audience responded with enthusiasm and applause to many favorite songs such as Yaaro Ivar yaaro, Thumaka Chalata Ramachandra, Bhajaman Rama Charan Sukhdayi and Allinodalu Rama. The soul-stirring abhinaya for some of the characters of Ramayana – Dasharatha and Rama’s devotees Guha and Shabari as well as hunch backed maid of Kaikaiyi touched the hearts of the audience, who gave a spontaneous standing ovation.  This evening of Bharata Natyam proved why Ramayana will always continue to be a favorite among artistes and audiences.
Mr. Venkatanathan, Socare Ind’s secretary who attended the event was touched and overwhelmed by the philanthropic gesture of the organizers and audience alike.



About the Artist:

Sathyanarayana Raju is one of the leading male dancers of India and has carved a niche for himself in the field of classical dance. Endowed with a pleasing personality and impressive stage presence and having been trained under Sangeet Naatak Academy awardee, the late Guru Narmada of Shakuntala Nrityalaya, Sathya has won accolades, both from the press and public alike. He is an 'A' TOP artist of Doordarshan, India. Sathyanarayana Raju has been the recipient of many prestigious awards including ‘Kempegowda Award’ by the Government of Karnataka in 2013 and the very recent ‘Narthaka Nipuna Award’ by the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABAI) in 2014. He has extensively performed within India and abroad. This is the 8th performance of Rama Katha in India & abroad.


suresha bhatta, rama katha, satyanarayana raju, bharatanatyam, singapore, aakash ganga, nov2014, (C), review, contributor, do not copy, copyrights acknowledged

Saturday 20 September 2014

Instinct and Questions form the basis for change and evolution- Bharatanatyam Dancer Savitha Sastry


Here is a very valuable advise, but first I need to thank Savitha Sastry ji for sharing her experience with us. She came across a young girl who wanted to know why Bharatanatyam (as she felt) is not as exciting to her peers as say western dance. Savitha explains how in fact Bharatanatyam is exciting.. A complete answer. Perhaps the same question that this young girl posed to her mom is with all classical dancers...

I liked the way Savitha addressed the question.. read about how she addressed the query in her own words


I had an interesting conversation with a mother and her preteen daughter in Mumbai last evening after my show. The preteen is preparing to present a small Bharathanatyam piece in a group ensemble at her school. However, she questioned her mom about her piece (traditional Bharathanatyam) not being as exciting as the other presentations (more Western) to her peers. 

   The mother assured her that while on the surface, Bharathanatyam might not "excite", it leaves a deeper impression. My question is - does it? If it did, would the child's observation of her peers be unjustified? My advice to the preteen was - don't ever let go of that question or of Bharathanatyam, but make Bharathanatyam exciting, so your peers sit up. They jointly said - we now know how to do that after watching Yudh. 

   My way may not be the answer for everyone, but your instincts and questions form the basis for change and evolution. Never ignore them and allow complacence in the name of "tradition" to supersede these instincts. Please feel free to share questions with me on this forum, when they arise..


savitha sastry, bharatanatyam, yudh, sep2014, papers, (C), do not copy, copyrights acknowledged

Sunday 3 August 2014

"Dance of Bliss" And "The Space Between The Notes"





I requested Heather Lewis to provide insights about her, her dance and yes, about her books on the subject of Indian Classical Dance. I am grateful to her as she graciously accepted and promptly provided the information. Her introduction is provided in the later part. She is indeed a culture ambassador for India and South Africa :)

Here she speaks- 

 "Currently I am writing a book called 'The Space Between the Notes (about 150 pages) based on my study of the Natya Sastra (in translation - but referring to more than one recension) and a main aim is to encourage dancers, especially in South Africa, to engage with this amazingly detailed text. 

  To do this I am using modern language and a more user friendly approach. The chapters include a personality assessment of Bharata Muni and a modern-style review of Natya Sastra. There is a particular chapter on what Bharata really said about dance, because dance is discussed and described throughout the Natya Sastra, not just in the single chapter that most books refer to. In the process I found Bharata's poem on Madraka Dance which I had not previously seen published in English. 

  The book includes a chapter on Bharata's ladies and a chapter titled "An hour with Bharata Muni" in which we look at the probable development of the current dance styles. I have tried to link the information with the temple sculptures that I have been able to access. The final chapter will most likely be called: "The Beauties and the Dancer: religion, history, politics and economics". 

 About My First Book:  My first book "Dance of Bliss" (250 pages in length!) on dance is possibly more conventional and was published in 2012 and called 'Dance of Bliss -the sacred dance of India, a journey of discovery'. In this first book  I link my personal story with dance and it is written for the dancer, the teacher and for those people who know little about Indian classical dance. 

 It has a section on the history of dance in South Africa and the difficulties of establishing dance from another culture under the apartheid system of the former government. All the styles are discussed in this first book (which has lots of photographs) as well as a detailed look at the history of the dancer and the demise of the devadasi. For my first book I was able to gain much research material in Chennai when I visited.

 "Dance of Bliss" was published in 2012. It was reviewed by Guru Manesh Maharaj who trained for seven years in India and this is a review from Sutra Magazine.


 About Heather Lewis: I had my first class in Bharata Natyam at the age of 33 ( and had seen no classical Indian dancing other than a short film clip at the age of 12 ).. I had no idea what was involved. I gave up my post-graduate studies to learn and was among the first six students in Cape Town to perform arangetram. I was 39 at the time. I studied at Vardhini Indian Arts Academy under Guru Savitri Ganger Naidoo who had studied in Chennai under Guru Indra Rajan. When I was sixty years old I went to India and had classes for a month under the auspices of Master Dhananjayan of Bharata Kalanjali. I continued to dance and also study Odissi. 

Her Passion for Indian Classical Dance:

All I can say is that at the age of 12 years I saw a little Indian classical dance on film and I just knew I had to learn it. And, of course, there was no teacher in Cape Town, so I had to wait 25 years for my guru Savitri Ganger Naidoo to come back fully trained from Chennai where she studied under Guru Indra Rajan. I did not mind waiting 25 years as I knew I would learn in the end. My grandfather spent nine years in India, foot soldier in the British Army before World War One, and he loved India and told me so many stories when I was very tiny and that is where my interest in India began and then later the dance.

Her thoughtfulness:
I am also adding here her valuable views about Odissi that she offered for one of my notes about Odissi-  Here it goes- 

 "Not sure this is relevant to this discussion but I needed to share with someone: having danced Bharata Natyam for thirty years and then in my old age studying the basics of Odissi... all I can say is that the two styles evoke something completely different within, they tap a different energy level, a different essence that resides in the human spirit and the emotions. I feel very regal when I dance Bharata Natyam; and I feel very powerful as a person, an individual (as a woman), when I dance Odissi... but this is, of course, purely a personal reaction to two great 'gifts' of dance to the dancer. I hope Odissi never alters too much (I do realise it was 'rediscovered' in the last century and had to be reconstructed with the help of temple sculptures), but I would not like to see too much alteration for the sake of making it more contemporary, more popular. For me it will always remain a spiritual art form".


heather lewis, south africa, books, papers, (C), do not copy, copyrights acknowledged

Monday 23 June 2014

Agnijyotsna - Draupadi- Natya Parampara Utsav- A Report- 2014

DRAUPADI – ‘AGNIJYOTSNA’

Bangalore city one of the most sought after destinations in the southern part of the country for various reasons is quite on its way to becoming, if not already, a city of classical art too what with many a Festivals of repute, rich content, fabulous performances marking the annual calendar consistently the past few years.

 One such endeavour from the Kuchipudi Parampara Foundation, Bangalore was Natya Paramapara Utsav 2014 which was organised at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore a locale right in the heart of the city.

The two day Utsav meticulously designed gave the art lovers an opportunity to see good performances of Kuchipudi art form which would be ethced in their memory for a very long time, particularly the premiere of ‘AGNIJYOTSNA’ – ‘The Epic Queen ‘Draupadi’.

It is really amazing that how ‘Mahabharatha’ which has been so prolifically portrayed in various mode and channels  right through the ages still holds the audience in awe and wonderstruck with its relevance even in the contemporary times with the larger than life characters of the Epic. The emotions, predicaments, the ironic twist of fate, the folly of human efforts, Divine guidance, and among all the interpretations of various authors continue to influence the exploring minds of individuals for centuries now. 

SHRI NALLAN CHAKRAVARTHULA JAGANNATHA ACHARYULU

The composer of Draupadi – ‘AGNIJYOTSNA’, Shri Nallan Chakravarthula Jagannatha Acharyulu’s rich lyrics with high literary values touched the heart of the matter and lucidly brought out the true character of Draupadi, her sensitivity, dignity, forbearance and above all the purpose of her role in the great epic.

The appealing idea of AGNIJYOTSNA to bring out the depth of the essence of the character in a simple but in entirety required deft handling of the subject. In this regard, Shri N C Jagannatha Acharyulu acknowledges that to elucidate the character of Draupadi, his interpretion are in the same lines to that of Tikkana, Yerra Pragada, Nanaiah and of course the original primary author Rishi Vyasa’s approach to the epic.

The Pravesa daruvu saw the introduction of the personality right from her youth and brought out the mental status of a princess waiting for her Swamyavara and the impending start of the next stage of her life.

Draupadi’s destiny to have five husbands dating back to events pertaining  to three of her earlier janma or births was delicately enumerated in one song by the composer probably an eye opener to many in the audience who can reel out the statistics of a cricketer or that of a film star but unaware of the collosal giant of a personality who are part of our epics. How the character of Draupadi in the epic was not accidental but the net effect of her own samaskaras of earlier births did pass on the philosophical message subtly ‘One reaps what one sows’.

Draupadi as a consort of the Pandavas was not found wanting, but her  love for Arjuna, who wins her by competing in disguise in the swamyavara is a well known fact. Her special emotional attachment to Arjuna, being the first man in her life was very delicately brought out in yet another song when she keeps her dignified composure accepting Arjuna’s choice of marrying Subhadra adding depth to the character. Also the fact that among all the wives of the Pandavas, Draupadi’s extra calibre, special qualities made her earn the premier position among them showcased the all round acceptance of her extraordinary nature.

Along with the Pandavas when Draupadi too is bestowed with an opportunity to reach the doors of the heaven as a mortal being, her love for  Arjuna leads to withholding of her ascendancy on the way in Swargaroga paravam, which as the story shows that only King Dharamaja reaches the destination with his dog which is none other than Dharmadevada.

Further the lyrics should be given full credit for bringing out the Kshatriya Dharma distinctly in a few places like how a Kshatriya is obliged to accept any challenge thrown at him and accordingly Yudhishtra plays the game of dice. After all the subsequent events led to the ignominy of Draupadi, King Dhritarashtra offers her three boons and here too the lyrics brought out the Kshatriya Dharma, where in Draupadi only requests for two boons – Release of Dharmaraja and all the Pandavas to be allowed to have the possession of their weapons – Draupadi, as a Queen, could have easily asked for the entire kingdom as the third boon but Kshatriya Dharma prevented her from seeking so, since it has to be earned and won.

The exhasutive description of events that led to the epic spelt out through excellent lyrics and composed to mellifluous music, and added to the fact that the protagonist herself had to establish the situation and portray the resultant emotions, did severely test the choreography skills of Guru Vempati Ravi Shankar.

VEMPATI RAVI SHANKAR 

That Vempati Ravi Shankar comes out with flying colours with his customary aesthetic choreography doing full justice to both the lyrcis and the music and further added a remarkable midas touch to the character, Draupadi –‘AGNIJYOTSNA’ thereby making it complete. It speaks volumes of his skills, understanding of the subject along with the content and import of the composer and delivering in its final shape for one and all to savour for a long time to come.

Vempati Ravi’s choreography enabled the audience to easily relate and visulaise the various other unseen characters of the epic in the dance and turn of events that lead to the situation being portrayed by the protagonist while bringing out the emotional aspects in full purport and intensity for better understanding and appreciation.

Vempati Ravi’s aesthetic choreography did have the trademark Vempati’s grammar structure and fluid moments easily transporting one to the original scene of enactment of the epic like a time machine would do.

It is a well known fact that ladies are not allowed to visit the Yudha bhoomi nor the cremation site, but aptly using the Logadharmi and Natyadharmi aspects Vempati Ravi did bring out out the anguish and pain of the character losing all her children on stage and finally lamenting whether the inevitable revengeful war waged was really worth it at all.

SRI NALLAN CHAKRAVATHULA BUCHAIAH ACHARYULU


Sri Nallan Chakravathula Buchaiah Acharyulu’s, a violin artist, music composition to the wornderful lyrcis was literally music to the ears so to say. He very whole heartedly acknowledges the rich content of the lyrics enabled him to compose such higher standard of music. He has carefully ensured that the ragas are not repeated and the usage of ragas was unique and supplemented the lyrical content to derive the necessary emotions, rasa and bhava easily at each stage of the performance.

Sri N C Buchaiah Acharyulu, further adds that generally lyrical poems do on their own have a natural laya rhythm, and right usage of the  same by Shri Nallan Chakravarthula Jagannatha Acharyulu made his task of selecting the ragas much easier as it fell in place very perfectly to go with the situation and the character portrayed.

In Pravesa Daruvu, he used Raga Malika followed with Khamboji, Mohanam, Nridhara Madhayam, Deva gandhari, Bhegada, Hindola, Hamsanandi, Kalyani etc to bring out the essence of the character in various situations that was portrayed.

Only value addtion which one can think of with regard to music was that, since the protagonist was herself a Princess, Queen, an incognito lady, a mother showcasing varied emotions, thought process, deliberations, etc., rendering of the songs by a  Female singer would have been more apt and probably welcome more wholeheartedly.

DEEPA SASHINDRAN


Portrayal of such a character does require a mature and an understanding artist who needs to not only keep within the boundaries but also yet effectively  complete the picture that the lyrics, music and choreography have so meticulously brought to life for the viewing pleasure of the audience.

For some one who has come out of a long hiatus, Deepa Sashindran, senior most disciple of Guru Manju Bhargavi, took up the challenge of both producing and enacting Draupadi and almost performed it to perfection with aplomb. Her maturity, dedication to excel and understanding the need to match to the rich standards set by the lyricist, music composer and the choregrapher did enable her to live upto the expecations of the audience. An commendable effort right through by Deepa Sashindran kept the performance touch the hearts of the audience through the character portrayed.

One gentle reminder to the artists of the city of Bangalore, when it comes to at least Programs, Festivals organised pertaining to the art form followed by them, it would be both courteous and great opportunity to encourage and augment the  learning process respectively by attending the same and making their presence felt along with their students if any. After all there are no better substitutes or opportunities available when it comes to adding to the learning curve of the students by attending Festivals of calibre dished out such as the Natya Parampara Utsav 2014 by the Kuchipudi Parampara Foundation, Bangalore. Hope the cue would be taken in the right spirit and transpired to action by the artists, while time is only the answer, for those who were witness to the premiere of DRAUPADI – ‘AGNIJYOTSNA’, it was after all a treat which they would remember and vouch that the play itself would become more popular and withstand the test of time!

 SUDHA SRIDHAR 
email:sudhasridhar@hotmail.com

agnijyotsna, vempati ravi shankar, nallan chakravathula buchaiah acharyulu, deepa sashindran, report, sudha sridhar, june2014, (C), do not copy, copyrights acknowledged, kuchipudi parampara, natya parampara, may2014,NALLAN CHAKRAVARTHULA JAGANNATHA ACHARYULU, contributor, bangalore