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 Founders published by Sahrdaya Arts Trust, G. M. Sarma Hyderabad, is a quarterly which provides M. Nagabhushana Sarma a forum for scholarly dialogue on a broad range of topics concerning Indian Chief Editor dance. Its concerns are theoretical as Madhavi Puranam well as performative. Textual studies, dance criticism, intellectual and Advisory Board interpretative history of Indian dance traditions are its focus. It publishes Avinash Pasricha (Former Photo Editor, SPAN) performance reviews and covers all C.V. Chandrasekhar (Padma Bhushan) major events in the field of dance in (Padma Shri; Founder, SPIC MACAY) India and notes and comments on dance studies and performances abroad. 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, the opinions of the editorial committee. American Institute; Secretary, Music Academy) Guest Editor Reginald Massey (FRSA & Freeman of London) Kedar Mishra (Padma Shri & SNA Awardee) Guest Photo Editor Arabinda Mohapatra Research Associates Cover & Design Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Scholar, Kuchipudi dancer) Shakeel Ahmed 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), rituals: Bhabani Das, Pasumukha Nrutya, Radha Prem Leela, Kali Medha: Tourism

Annual Subscription: ` ` Past issues can be obtained from our office In India: Individual: 1000 Institutional: 2000 ` Overseas: Individual: US $ 60 Institutional: US $ 80 @ 250/- per copy for individuals @ ` 500/- per copy for instiutions (All Inclusive of postage) Note: Students in India can avail of 25% discount on (Exclusive of postage ) individual subscriptions) All editorial enquiries and manuscripts should be addressed to the Chief Editor, Subscriptions may be made by Cheque or DD payable at Hyderabad drawn in favour of SAHRDAYA ARTS TRUST, and sent to the address below. Sahrdaya Arts Trust, 508, Dwarakamai Apartments, Srinagar Colony Post, Hyderabad- 500073 Email: [email protected], [email protected], Phone: 9989314829 website: www.nartanam.in

Printed and published by Madhavi Puranam on behalf of Sahrdaya Arts Trust, Hyderabad and printed at Karshak Art Printers, 40-APHB, Vidyanagar, Hyderabad - 44. (Ph: 27618261) and published at Hyderabad. Editor: Madhavi Puranam 4 NARTANAM 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 / 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

NARTANAM 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. 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

NARTANAM 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 2014- 15. 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 NARTANAM - 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

NARTANAM 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 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 well- known 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, , 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

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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 ? 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 ’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.

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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 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 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 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

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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?

200 NARTANAM Delhi Diary

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 husband- wife pair, apart from the wizardry of their nritta command (both trained under Geetanjali Lal), make a well-matched pair with their fetching stage presence, well- tailored 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 or 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 “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 . 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 Maihar- Senia 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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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 The late hour made it difficult Photo Courtesy: Avinash Pasricha 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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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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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 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 – rare amongst dancers turned gurus of the day, and the other is Chandrasekhar’s

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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 one- upmanship. 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 . 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

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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

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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

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