22 Established 1961 Sunday, April 14, 2019 Lifestyle Features

By Sajeev K Peter documentary was an attempt at ‘unlocking this She said dancers like Kamala Lakshman had secret code’. choreographed the same song ‘Adupambe.’ “To hrough a masterful synthesis of music, move- “We can see this manifest in Chinese, Egyptian, me, those pieces appeared more like acrobatics. Tment and mysticism, Indian classical dancer or Greek civilizations. Even our medical symbol So, I took some of the hitherto unknown stanzas Dr Methil Devika, explores the compelling the Rhode of Asclepius is associated with ser- from the poem. Its lyrics had deeper layers of allure of the serpent in her pioneering documen- pent”, she pointed out. meanings and I wanted to tap the soul of these tary short film ‘Sarpatatwam’ or the ‘Serpent Interestingly, ‘Sarpatatwam’ or the Serpent lyrics. And Mohiniyattam being my place of Wisdom’. The unfurling serpent glides through Wisdom was premiered at the Valley Plaza Theatre research, I knew it was the most suitable art form mysterious spaces to transport its audience into in Los Angeles in September 2018 and was voted owing to its meditative quality. I knew it was the the depths of the primordial. Devika, through the into the contention list for the Oscars making it the art form through which I could tap into the art form of Mohiniyattam, seeks to interpret the first Indian classical dance based documentary essence of the lyrics,” Dr Devika said. universal serpent philosophy propounded by an short film to hit the contention list. Elaborating further on the metaphysical con- 11th century seer physician Pambatty (snake- In an exclusive interview with the Kuwait nection, she said, “In human life, one evolves or charmer) Siddhar. During a recent visit to Kuwait Times, Dr Devika said she is using dance as a transcends, either philosophically or physically, medium to outline the concept of serpent wis- sometimes emotionally or spiritually. It covers all dom. “Here, the visual is me, it is my dance. those layers just like a snake sheds its skin on a Through this dance, in a very passive way, I seek periodic basis. That is the underlying philosophy. to open out visuals in the minds of the audience. Here I bring in the Kundalini aspect of yoga to For instance, today morning I received several explain the concept,” she added. messages from people who watched the docu- Talking about the rationale behind documenting mentary said they could not sleep last night. So, the work, she said, “I thought of archiving my “Dance is a part of our intangible heritage. A still from the dance docu- the visuals begin when the documentary ends. works as a series. Incidentally, ‘Sarpatatwam’ was Unfortunately, it is seen as mere entertainment mentary ‘Sarpatatwam’ That, precisely, is the whole connection it has the first of the series,” she explained. today. When I use it as a medium to preserve other with people,” she elaborated. Initially, Dr Devika wanted to put the documen- aspects of our heritage, other philosophies and our According to Dr Devika, the documentary is tary on the Youtube channel. “But when I finished knowledge system, then the effect becomes mani- not particularly disturbing, but rather is thought- the work, people like Adoor Gopalakrishnan fold. That’s why I am sure this documentary has provoking. “I spent several sleepless nights during advised me against uploading it on the Youtube. stood out and it is the first of its kind in live per- the making of the documentary. In a way, whatever He told me if I did it, it would go off on a tangent. formance filming,” she said. unrest I had during the making of it, I transfer it to That is how it was premiered in Los Angeles. It Dr Devika appeared in a 2015 theatre adapta- the audience. So, I am glad if people had at least became the first Indian classical dance to get vot- tion of the play ‘Naaga’ with her actor-husband Dr Methil Devika one sleepless night and it only means there was ed into the contention list of the Oscars. Even the Mukesh and his sister Sandhya Rajendan which some sort of communication,” she quipped. very growth of the documentary was serpentine,” was directed by theatre director Suveeran. Later to attend the annual dance event of Upasana, Dr A classical danseuse par excellence, Dr Devika she chuckled. in 2017, she made her film debut in ‘Humans of Devika screened ‘Sarpatatwam’ in front of a select uses Mohiniyattam as her medium. Making a Dr Devika has a master’s degree in Performing Someone.’ audience comprising dancers, dance students and breakthrough here, she seeks to liberate Arts from the Rabindra Bharati University with a first Asked why she is not pursuing a film career, she media persons. Following the screening, she held Mohiniyattam from its conventional confines, lend- rank and gold medal. She completed her PhD in said, “I am not against movies. It is just that none an interactive session with the audience and spoke ing it a more contemporary appeal without dilut- Mohiniyattam from Bharathidasan University as well. of the scripts excite me, very honestly speaking. In about why serpents are both feared and revered in ing its classical purity. “In fact, the phenomenal success of this work is cinema, dance is still a motif of entertainment and many cultures. “I wanted to be true to the content. That was prompting me to do more works. In a larger beauty.” In various civilizations, not in India alone, for my purpose. I think I am most comfortable with sphere, the popularity or the significance of this centuries, the serpent motif has always had reli- dance in general and it comes naturally to me. work has become very pertinent in the sense that gious connotations. However, contesting this claim, Because I have the ability to adapt styles very it is also a part of preserving our civilization,” she Devika argues that it is a ‘secret code’ and her fast,” she explained. explained.

Ariana Grande, reigning teen pop idol with a defiant edge

ubblegum pop coquette on the outside, saucy mas- embracing tropes of women catering to male pleasure. In this file photo British musician Mick Jagger of The Rolling ter of celebrity on the inside, there is perhaps no “In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement and Stones performs during a concert at The Velodrome Stadium B current star better at re-fashioning her own trials when women are trying (and succeeding) at rising above in Marseille as part of their ‘No Filter’ tour. — AFP into larger-than-life success than Ariana Grande. While our worth being tethered to our sexuality, this is the last suffering a highly publicized burst of personal and pro- thing we need,” wrote Erin Parker for the pop culture Satisfaction: fessional upheaval-the deadly 2017 Manchester bombing magazine Nylon. Rolling at one of her concerts, the suicide of her ex-boyfriend Jacqueline Warwick, a scholar of music and gender rapper Mac Miller, the demise of her whirlwind engage- studies at Canada’s Dalhousie University, agreed that Stones Jagger posts ment to comedian Pete Davidson-Grande has proven Grande’s feminist bent can “feel a little hollow,” saying poised in the face of tragedy and a deft manipulator of the star is “playing into these very conventional ways of first pic since surgery her own image, all while catapulting to global stardom. looking at women’s bodies-and that seems certainly very Grande’s adept use of social media to slam her well worn.” But Warwick said Grande also “is articulating egendary Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has naysayers, drum up support from her “Arianator” fans desire and speaking very frankly and candidly about her Lposted his first photograph since reportedly undergo- and flirt with the gossip machine has created the percep- sexual pleasure-that’s certainly refreshing and possibly ing heart valve replacement surgery in New York, tion that only she is in the driver’s seat. After a resound- empowering.” “It’s not easy for young women artists to showing him standing casually before trees in bloom. “A ing year of hits that saw industry tracker Billboard name be taken seriously and be successful in a pop medium walk in the park!” the 75-year-old singer said on Twitter the 25-year-old teen idol its 2018 woman of the year, In this file photo US singer Ariana Grande attends Billboard’s without doing the things that she’s doing,” the academic and Instagram Thursday, alongside a photo in which is Grande is set to headline a number of major festivals as 13th Annual Women In Music event at Pier 36 in New York told AFP. seen clad in black sneakers and with his hands in his jean part of her global tour, including this weekend’s influen- City. — AFP pockets. The post prompted thousands of fans including tial Coachella lineup. Maintain the buzz fellow rockers Lenny Kravitz and Jools Holland to send She’s just the fourth solo woman to headline the pre- impressive four-octave range to deliver saccharine lyrics. In recent days Grande-often celebrated for support- their good wishes. mier festival in the California desert-and the youngest But in recent years the superstar has co-opted that ing LGBT rights-was also accused of “queerbaiting,” “Yeah man!” Kravitz wrote on Instagram. The flamboy- artist ever to nab the coveted spot. The feat comes after traditional ingenue image, adding a heavy dose of sex teasing gay fans by suggesting in her new collaboration ant Stones founder’s post came one week after he said he Grande shattered a number of US chart records and appeal and a biting demand for control. In 2015 she track “Monopoly” that she is bisexual. “I think she’s cer- was “feeling much better now and on the mend” following released two albums in six months, feeding the streaming issued a feminist manifesto attacking the public appetite tainly figured out that people are interested in her sex what industry tracker Billboard said was a successful mini- beast with earworms while carving out her own version for news on her personal life and those of other women. life-that it’s not a bad thing to keep people interested by mally invasive procedure. The transcatheter aortic valve of the modern female pop star. And while last year’s “Sweetener” album-released in the dropping hints,” Warwick said. Creating such buzz main- replacement allowed the artist to avoid major surgery that midst of Grande’s turmoil-felt like an optimistic catharsis, tains a steady base keen for Grande’s next bop, which would open his chest. Doctors accessed the heart valve of Feminist manifesto her rapid follow-up “Thank U, Next” saw the star baring she’s taken to releasing whenever inspiration strikes. the British rocker through the femoral artery in his thigh, A Floridian by birth, the petite Italian-American but owning her vulnerabilities, declaring this the year of She has voiced irritation with the commodified pack- Billboard said, meaning he needs rest to ensure there is no Grande moved to New York as a teen for a spot on Ariana. aging of pop stars, championing the free release model severe bleeding. Broadway before finding fame on US kids network more associated with hip hop artists. “My dream has After the band that formed in 1962 announced the tour Nickelodeon. She forayed into pop music shortly there- Sexual empowerment always been to ... put out music in the way that a rapper postponement of 17 shows in the US and Canada, Jagger after, releasing her debut studio album to commercial Yet Grande’s celebration of feminine power while does,” Grande told Billboard recently. “It’s just like, ‘Bruh, tweeted that he was “devastated” and would “be working success in 2013. A fan of miniskirts rarely seen without simultaneously flaunting her sexuality and pinning her art I just want to ... talk to my fans and sing and write music very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can.” Jagger, her signature ponytail snaking down past her hips, to her tumultuous love life has drawn criticism that she is and drop it the way these boys do.’” — AFP who has eight children, five grandchildren and a great- Grande had all the makings of a teen pop droid-batting propping up the very double standards she seeks to granddaughter, has maintained his energetic stage per- her eyelashes and pouting her lips while wielding her destroy. Her hit “God is a Woman,” hailed as a coming- formances well into his 70s. — AFP of-age empowerment anthem, was also derided as

turn in 2008, when they allegedly gave a shout-out to Tucanes frontman Mario Quintero said festival organ- their mainstream acceptance back to their native country. two notorious drug traffickers during a concert. izers had invited the band because of a viral social media “How great that Los Tucanes are playing Coachella- Banned at home, That did not please Tijuana’s hardline police chief at challenge involving its 1995 song “La Chona.” The “La which just happens to be very close to the promised land, the time, Julian Leyzaola, who had outlawed public dis- Chona Challenge” is the Mexican version of the “In My Tijuana,” said Mexican writer Elmer Mendoza, a pioneer Mexican narco anthem plays of “narcoculture” as part of a crackdown on organ- Feelings Challenge,” in which people shoot videos of of the genre known as “narcoliterature.” — AFP ized crime. He banned the group from the city. And even themselves as they attempt to get out of a moving car, though Leyzaola is no longer police chief, Los Tucanes dance to the song and then climb back in the vehicle- group plays Coachella say the local authorities have not allowed them to play with often comical, sometimes disastrous results. there since. “Technology has definitely helped get our music out to espite their name, Los Tucanes de Tijuana-one of But Coachella has invited them to play the opening day the world, even though we are censored in some places,” Mexico’s most famous narco-ballad bands-cannot of one of the trendiest music festivals on Earth, headlined Quintero told AFP. Dperform in Tijuana. The northern border city this year by superstars Ariana Grande and Childish banned them in 2008 over their glorification of drug traf- Gambino. “The narcocorrido, which used to be shrouded ‘Promised land’ fickers. But on Friday, they are playing one of the world’s in the violent secrecy of drug traffickers, is now being Los Tucanes rose to fame-or infamy, some would say- biggest stages-the Coachella music festival, a short drive consumed at Coachella,” said Oswaldo Zavala, author of a with narcocorridos dedicated to the likes of “El Chapo” across the border in the southern California desert. Los book on narcoculture. “Don’t be surprised to see hipsters and fellow kingpin Ramon Arellano Felix, one of the lead- Tucanes (The Toucans) are among the best-known bands rocking up in drug trafficker costumes,” he told AFP. ers of the Tijuana cartel in the 1980s. Now based in of Mexico’s norteno, or northern, music style-an accor- California, they dream of playing again one day in the dion- and guitar-laden genre whose aesthetic is heavy on ‘La Chona Challenge’ city that gave them their name. “I’d like to know what the cowboy hats and giant belt buckles. Los Tucanes have more than 15 million record sales reason is for banning us. I think it’s unconstitutional. But They are also masters of a hugely popular but highly and a Latin Grammy under their belts. But Coachella we obey orders, and we’re not looking for a fight,” said controversial sub-genre, the “narcocorrido”-songs that marks a new level of acceptance for a band that has long Quintero. celebrate the exploits of Mexico’s drug traffickers. Los complained of being censored on Mexican radio stations, The year they were banned, 2008, was the height of a Tucanes, whose members actually hail from the north- said Zavala. “Coachella is the embodiment of hipster con- cartel turf war that left Tijuana soaked in blood. “In those western state of Sinaloa-home to the drug cartel founded sumerism. It represents not only the legitimation of their days, the police did that kind of thing (banning narcocul- by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman-named themselves for music, but its intersection with the markers of power, ture), without a doubt,” Zavala said. But “it’s unbelievable In this file photo Los Tucanes de Tijuana pose with the tro- Tijuana because they played their first concert there, in race and class at the highest level of American consumer that the ban has continued into 2019,” he added. Los phy for Best Norteno Album during the 13th Annual Latin 1987. But their love affair with the border city took a bad culture,” he said. Tucanes are hoping that after Coachella, they can extend Grammy show in Las Vegas, Nevada. — AFP