Boston Dheem

By Karishma B. Desai

With Indian classical dance seeming to lose its appeal amongst mainstream generations on a global scale, there has been a rather recent and revolutionary movement to revive the dance style in the most unexpected of places – US university campuses. College campuses all over the US are emerging with competitive classical Indian dance teams that typically focus on Bharatanatyam, yet fuse elements from all Classical Indian dance styles.

One such team that pioneered the first inter-collegiate classical Indian dance competition in the US East Coast – named Laasya – with the help of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Natya, was Boston University Dheem in 2010. Since then, other annually-held competitions and showcases have evolved as a way for college-based teams to meet and help preserve fading traditions. Today, BU Dheem continues to attend competitions and even produces its own semi-annual dance concerts. At University of Maryland-College Park’s 2013 competition, BU Dheem placed second for its piece portraying the story of the Narasimha avatar and Prahlada’s unassuming devotion. 

Much like the spirit of Boston, the ladies of BU Dheem are always up for a challenge. They decided to take a completely different direction by portraying the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box during their recent annual fall show titled Mahila. Pandora’s Box is the story that helps explain how the world’s troubles started from a damsel named Pandora who opened a box full of “evils”, disobeying commands given otherwise from Zeus (the Greek King of Gods).

While the very attempt to portray such a dark yet realistic theme carries high risk, BU Dheem captain Samantha Venkatesh said this about the team’s unique storyline: “Our main goal in enacting this piece in particular was to bridge the gap between the east and the west by depicting the universality of emotions. The emotions associated with the story could still be understood and appreciated through Indian classical dance.” More than just desiring to portray such an abhinaya-intensive piece with a refreshing twist, Venkatesh elaborated that she wanted “audience members to glean the moral of the story, an ubiquitous human sentiment – that even in the darkest of times, hope would always act as a beacon of light.” 

However, while teams like BU Dheem are multiplying in areas outside of the East Coast and continue to adapt with contemporary themes there is still a noticeable and detrimental difference between the appreciation of classical Indian dance teams versus and enthusiasm for fusion and Bollywood-based teams. While the team keeps close relationships with its fusion Indian dance team counterparts on BU’s campus, its members admit that it is harder, in turn, to receive the same sort of support from the general student body on campus. BU Dheem President Aisha Rawji reasoned, “Indian classical dance is really rare and has more meaning behind it. So it is harder for people to really understand what we’re doing.”

Nevertheless, NRIs have to be willing to embrace their authentic cultural roots and value India’s rich artistic history, apart from Bollywood movies and chai lattes. BU Dheem wants all of India’s various facets to be promoted whether it be Bollywood, Bhangra, or Bharatanatyam, but most important, wants to be that voice for classical Indian dance, so that NRIs can know the true roots of our culture and create awareness among other communities.

As I have been a fresh transplant from Raleigh, North Carolina, myself, joining the team not only was a way for me to meet other students studying in Boston, but helped me connect with fellow dancers passionate about Bharatanatyam. Even for the Boston locals on BU Dheem, dancing with the classical Indian-based team is a way to also form that special bond from rigorous rehearsals to performing under the stage lights. Agreeing with my own sentiments, Emily Ghosh, a returning teammate cited that she liked “being in a community of other Indian girls with the same interest and love of dance while educating the public about the beauty of Indian classical dance.” Fellow newcomer, Pooja Kalapurakkel added, “Working on a team helps you to understand that people are not that different from each other – as dancers, we all want to perform well, and as Indian classical dancers, we want to become the characters that we are playing.”

While Boston is renowned as a hub for the arts, especially that of the prestigious Boston Ballet, it seems teams such as BU Dheem are putting Boston on the map for Bharatanatyam as well. BU Dheem includes Aisha Rawji, Samantha Venkatesh, Emily Ghosh, Shruthi Rengarajan, Karishma Desai, and Pooja Kalapurakkel and hopes to grow and generate interest, as well as increase awareness. Those who know dancers or dance connoisseurs in the Boston-area, are invited to spread the word and to “like” the team’s Facebook page. Like the resonant sound of their dancing bells, these Bharatnatyam-dancing belles are not fading out anytime soon and hope to revive the classical grace of the art form, all while promoting contemporary-based issues and stories to audiences all over America.

KARISHMA B. DESAI

(A newly auditioned member of BU Dheem who takes graduate classes in Scientific Journalism)

A dance odyssey at a gurukul

By Violaine Bhawana

It is wonderful to meet people who see the best in you and want you to achieve it. They believe in you when you yourself don’t. In order to help access the best in us, we need someone demanding, uncompromising and compassionate. I guess that is what a guru means to me. And that is exactly what I found in our teacher Ramaa Bharadvaj.

What led me to her was an interesting announcement on the web about a week-long dance intensive with the theme ‘Abhinaya & Improvisation’. It was to be held from 15 to 21 December 2013 at Chinmaya Naada Bindu (CNB), an arts ashram/gurukul in Kolwan village near Pune in India.

My journey began on a Sunday morning in December. “We are supposed to meet for tea before heading for the temple” – that is all the information I managed to get from my roommate who could not speak English but who was kind enough to wait for me to arrive in the middle of the night.

Morning dawned and it was cold. After many years in Chennai’s impossible mixture of heat, humidity and pollution, the crisp mountain air, wide-open spaces and the abundant greenery at the ashram had a purifying effect on me. I met our teacher whom we aptly named Ramaa Amma, and the other members of the dance group who were to become a wonderful team of co-explorers in the journey ahead. Our group of ten consisted of dancers from the U.S.A., Tamil Nadu (Chennai), Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra, Mumbai and New Delhi.

We trekked up the hill to the splendid Ganesa temple, to offer prayers for the auspicious start of a week that was fittingly qualified as “intense”. Under the guidance of our expert teacher we were about to embark on a colourful exploration of new dimensions in dance, movement and meditation.

The whole group jelled really well and I was relieved that my French-alien-ness did not come in the way. Whether a foreigner can do justice to an Indian art form is a question that unfailingly pops up. At the gurukul the reaction I got was support and not suspicion. From the kitchen staff to the administrators, teachers and fellow students, I time and again saw only dedicated people, friendly, helpful and supportive.

Learning is fun

‘Learning is fun’ is what the Natya Sastra says, and one of the first things that Ramaa pointed out to us. The modern concept of ‘edutainment’ has ancient roots and that is probably one of the things that impressed me the most: learning is the ultimate fun! The impromptu dance steps performed in the dining hall and the reaction they triggered was one of the many illustrations. After watching the video discourses of Swami Chinmayananda and Swami Tejomayananda, and the non-stop laughter they generated in the audience, I realised that laughing is almost the most powerful tool in the learning and creative process. Our teacher Ramaa’s classes too followed suit. I found that diving into something as obscure as the Vedas or the traditional art forms can be fun.

It was seven hours of dancing a day! Each class commenced with prayers and slokas, and somewhere in the background, there was always music to inspire us, thanks to the music students. Every moment was precious in Ramaa’s classes. She constantly reminded us not to take anything she said for granted but to always experiment for ourselves, because only what is validated by personal experience can eventually make sense. She urged us not to fake or be apologetic about ourselves, and if there was something we disagreed with or could not understand, to speak up loud and clear. She advised us never to be satisfied with the comfort zone of our muscle memory but to reach beyond movements and expressions that have become mechanical instead of seeming natural. She asked us to use the body in a very different way, be more aware, more in control and at the same time more free. Expression is not limited to gesturing. How articulate we are with words will reflect in other mediums of communication – emotions, movements, even silence. Thus we learnt the art of developing what she called “micro-dialogues”. There were so many interesting explorative exercises for us to experience.

Ramaa involved us in the creative process, showing us how a choreographer’s mind works. We were asked to comment on the performances of our classmates with positive feedback (yes, criticism can be positive). The creation of the dance to the Tamil song (a padam about tender love) was, from beginning to end, a collaborative effort. At no point in time were we told to copy and paste what we were taught. And understanding what is relevant from what is not (viveka) was one of the many challenges that she threw at us.

Ramaa told us many things about the physical body connected to the ground, the emotional body connected to the heart, and the spiritual body connected to the head and above. She gave us insights into the dynamics of energy, the intricacies of rhythm, Sanskrit texts, Tamil lyrics and much more. What she proposed was a multi-dimensional exploration of dance that is not limited to dance alone, and to my knowledge (and unfortunately, I can say I have come through a long list of dance teachers in Chennai) a unique experience in the field of Bharatanatyam. For all the participants it was a life-transforming experience, way beyond the scope of learning dance.

In addition to dancing, we revelled in music meditation mornings, watched screenings of other dancers, video documented our own experiences on abhinaya, danced in the waters at the private lake, performed Arudra Darsanam worship to Nataraja in class and attended guest lectures and concerts. We enjoyed a live performance by our teachers, lit by candles and filled with reverence for the artists who have made their art a tool to reach divine dimensions. Indeed, a world away from the ego-trip of stage performers looking for name and fame. A rarity, to say the least. The best environment, some of the best teachers: clearly, the focus was on quality. I believe being creative is what brings us closer to the Creator and this experience did much to awaken our creative selves.

It was humbling and inspiring to meet my teacher Ramaa Bharadvaj, the staff of Chinmaya Naada Bindu, and my classmates. Chinmaya Naada Bindu is dedicated to fostering classical music and dance forms of India through education, research and performance. Established as a project of the Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, it is inspired by the vision to propagate India’s Vedic heritage through the performing arts. CNB regularly conducts residential workshops and intensives in Hindustani vocal, flute and Bharatanatyam, in addition to presenting an annual performing arts festival.

The week I spent at the gurukul was an odyssey, and a landmark in a learning process that has no end but offers an endless exploration, new dimensions that are ours for the taking. Words fail me, but the blessings I received from this experience will live in me for a long time.

Violaine Bhawana hails from France but has made Chennai her home since 2009, learning Bharatanatyam, Carnatic vocal music, Yoga and Sanskrit. She is a dance teacher volunteering with slum children through Speed Trust Chennai.

Raga Dhana silver jubilee in Udupi

By Aravinda Hebbar

South Canara, in the west coast of Karnataka is a land of Yakshagana. Classical music did not flourish here the number of Carnatic music performers on AIR Mangalore in 1988-89 was barely a dozen. Udupi perhaps boasted only a couple of Carnatic musicians, while of Hindustani musicians, there were none!. We were importing artistes from above the Western Ghats. The remuneration and the travelling expenses would swell to a grand sum and few organizers could invite and look after such artistes. The people here had no folk art except Yakshagana. They were busy in banking, or agriculture or fetching good marks in examinations so that they could earn a good fortune. Classical artistes, if at all they existed, flew away over the Ghats, learnt, and without competing with anybody found solace to their souls and found comfort elsewhere. They did not dare to settle in their hometown, as it never catered to their interests. Hundreds of years passed by in this manner. There were no teachers who would dash to field a student ‘upstream’! The west coast of Karnataka was a veritable ‘wasteland’for classical music.

Raga Dhana identified this ‘genetic syndrome’ and started working on it with all genuine efforts in 1989. It started with a pigmy scheme called Griha Sangeetha. It invited those who aspired to render music on the stage, with or without a mike. It started to rear such talents by giving them opportunities and reviewing their performances through local newspapers like Udayavani, with blow-ups of the musicians. A. Ishwarayya, then Editor-in-chief of the magazine section of that paper came forward to do this squirrel-seva to artistes. The executive committee members of Raga Dhana toiled to promote art in the right direction. The Griha Sangeetha stage spread confidence among our local artistes. They started listening to the concerts of other artistes, with the objective of improving. But the improvement was not easy. There was no shortcut, no substitute for hard work. How to do hard work? Who would guide them? Music training camps, lec-dems, and workshops that Raga Dhana and other organizations arranged in different parts of the districts of our west coast, by renowned senior vidwans, from beyond the Ghats enabled them to learn our music, through intense ‘sadhaka’. A few opted to go to Bangalore, or Chennai or Trivandrum in search of gurus who would impart genuine training. Electronic gadgets and equipment accelerated the growth in our music. Most of the artists came home and started training their younger cousins.

After 25 years of Raga Dhana we witness talented musicians from the two districts of Mangalore and Udupi showing promise of carrying forward our music in a competitive milieu. Though Raga Dhana may have to struggle very hard to sustain this newly achieved enterprise in this district, it hopes to achieve this with the continuous cooperation of music lovers and ardent listeners.

Raga Dhana has put in genuine efforts to improve the quality of our music. In an atmosphere of reality shows, noise pollution and fusion music, Raga Dhana struggles hard to build pure practitioners of traditional music unsullied by such distractions. It has not been easy.

Raga Dhana has conducted more than 2000 concerts over the years. It has arranged a number of Griha sangeeths, workshops, lec-dems, and Trinity festivals. It has been bringing out Ragadhanashree, a monthly journal in Kannada since 2008, and conducting Kathana Kutoohala a programme of storytelling by musicians about their life in music. It has not approached a non-music loving member of the corporate world for funding its programmes. It is an organization of the music lovers, by music lovers, for music lovers. Only music lovers sponsor the concerts or other programmes. This has induced intimacy, total involvement and supreme love to listen or practice pure music. It doesn’t compromise with the quality of pure music, as only the genuine rasikas are invited or counselled to sponsor such programmes.

The Silver Jubilee festival of Raga Dhana held between 1 and 9 February 2014 was a testimony of the good work done all these years. The late nonagenarian RK Srikantan who inaugurated the festival rendered a brilliant Kambhoji to the accompaniment of HK Venkatram (violin) and Anoor Ananthakrishna Sarma (mridangam). Prarthana Sai Narasimhan with Poorna (v) and J Vaidhyanathan (m) was as confident in Nayaki as in Mohanam. Srivalsan Menon, with his mellifluous voice, rendered an expansive Sankarabharanam with Mysore V Srikanth (v) and Tumkur Ravishankar (m). Jayanti Kumaresh’s was a serene rendition of a Dharmavati ragam-tanam-pallavi. She was accompanied by Arjun Kumar (m) and Trichy Krishna (Ghatam). Vijay Siva’s ‘Bala Gopala’ and ‘Nannu brovu Lalita’ bore the stamp of the traditional DKP-DKJ bani which etched the clear rendering of every raga he chose. RK Shriramkumar and Manoj Siva added lustre to the concert. Pattabhiram Pandit and Raghunandan Panshikar gave a jugalbandi with Mattur Srinidhi (v) and HS Sudhindra (m) and Sriram Hasabnis (harmonium) and Gurumurti Vaidya (tabla). The Carnatic side suffered from an overload of kanakku and Pantuvarali being rendered just like Pooria Dhanashree. Panshikarji sang a good Bhupali, however. Shashank Subramanyam was at home with soulful presentations of Latangi and ragam-tanam-pallavi in Vagadisvari with brilliant accompaniment by BU Ganeshprasad (v) and Parupalli Phalguna (m). The Malladi Brothers with Akkarai Subhalakshmi (v) and Laxminarayanraju (m) and Udupi Sridhar (g) were at their best. Their scintillating Mukhari (Muripume) and Hamir Kalyani (Venkatasaila) were dipped in bhakti and their scholarly treatment of ragas reverberated. Maharajapuram Ramachandran reminded the listeners of his father as he chose to sing the same menu—including Nattai, Kalyani, Vanaspati, Arabhi, and Saranga Murugane. He rendered the kritis hurriedly in the AIR format. The Ranjani-Gayatri duo gave a spotless rendering of every kriti they handled. Their scholarly Ranjani ragam-tanam-pallavi was satisfying in its fullness. Young Vittal Rangan on the violin was very adept in every bit he played. Arunprakash was composed as ever lending a transporting felicity to everything rendered by the duo.

The festival featured a Hindustani recital too on 2nd Feb., by Ustad Faiz Khan-Bharath Hegade-Gurumurty Vaidya. The ragas Multani and Gavati in his reverberating voice were very absorbing. His rendering of Dasa Keertanas was very meditative and carried a telling effect of what the Dasas communicated in their lyrics.

A notable concert in the Utsav was the featuring of an extraordinary talent of a tiny duo of Udupi who were nick named the Latangi sisters by the audience, though they are not sisters. Samanvi and Archana, respectively 6th & 8th Standard students, reminded us of Ranjani Hebbar with their soulful rendering of Bhuvanesvariya (Mohana Kalyani), Kaddanuvariki (Todi), Sada enna hridayadalli (Brindavanasaranga) and Jo Jo Srikrishna (Kurinji). Equally competent was Gargi of Udupi (B.Sc. student) who with her mellifluous voice sang a memorable Sankarabharanam. An hour and half video show- Maardani-marked a heart-warming tribute to Ranjani Hebbar. An ensemble choir on raga Marva directed by Ustad Rafiq Khan, was a result of rigorous training imparted to a set of school children, was worth watching. A dance recital directed by Nandini Eshwar of Mysore featured at the end of the festival demanded more attention for making it successful.

The guests of honour in the valedictory were V. Ramnarayan, editor-in-chief of Sruti magazine, and Dr. Gowri Ramnarayan, veteran journalist and playwright. They paid tributes to the evocative music of Ranjani Hebbar and commented on the current state of Carnatic music. Captain Dr. Ganesh Karnik, an MLC with a difference, has a tender heart for pure classical music, which was evident in his speech. A. Ishwarayya, the president of Raga Dhana, Sri V. Aravinda Hebbar, Secretary, and K Sadashiva Rao, Treasurer, were on the stage painting a lucid picture of the rugged path Raga Dhana has traversed through these 25 years.

The relaxing effect of a four-hour concert

By TT Narendran

One of the trappings of the modern age has been the undue pressure on an individual’s time; even the relaxation we seek has to be bound by the clock. Old-timers go nostalgic over the Sunday concerts of yesteryear that commenced at 4-15 or 4-25 p.m. (for a well-known superstitious reason) and spanned four hours, presenting Carnatic music in all its grandeur; they loathe the capsule form of the present day.

Sarvani Sangeetha Sabha’s venture to organize an old-style four-hour concert on a Sunday (26 February), when even driving through the roads of Chennai gives you a feeling of visranti, was laudable. Organizers would normally have to worry both about sustaining the interest of the audience and the stamina of the performing artist to last such a duration.

Neither of the fears surfaced at a recent concert by young Rithvik Raja, who was able to retain the moderate turnout at the Tattvaloka auditorium in Chennai. An artist who has managed to bring forth the promise he showed a year ago, Rithvik has matured remarkably as a vocalist in recent times. He used this occasion to render a few of the grand compositions of the Trinity with aplomb. The concert had a simple beginning with the Adi tala varnam(Chalamela) in Natakurinji. Thereafter, he kept a small element of surprise within the conventional format of a concert. Todi (Rajuvedala, Tyagaraja) was the first raga to be essayed with swaras embellishing the charana line Kaveridheeramuna. A short alapana of Sri prefaced Tyagaraja’s pancharatna kriti, Endaromahanubhavulu. His grasp of the raga was evident in the manner in which he placed the gandhara, steering clear of other allied ragas in this region of the octave. His voice glowed in the bass register and the kriti was rendered with the intended effect of the composer to the sensitive percussion accompaniment of J Vaidhyanathan (mridangam), Anirudh Athreya (khanjira) and G Chandrasekhara Sarma (ghatam). They took turns to play for the different charanas and steered clear of drowning the voice amidst a rhythmic ensemble.

Gowla was chosen for elaboration and Dikshitar’s Tyagarajapalayasumam was rendered at a pace that created the mood for peace, serenity and relaxation. Rithvik was comfortable in elaborating the raga that is not commonly chosen for this mode of improvisation. The niraval embellishment showcased his vidwat and the trademark of his guru TM Krishna’s earlier genre of concert-music. Aligning with the “pace and spin” formula of concert music, he sang Mariveredikku (Shanmukhapriya, Patnam Subramania Iyer) at a brisk pace and embellished it with swaras. He went on to sing an alapana of Yadukulakambhoji which appears to be a favourite raga of his and rendered Syama Sastry’s swarajati (Kamakshi), emulating his guru and doing him proud, too. The baton passed on to the percussion wing for the tani avartanam, which continued in the same sombre mood, yet managing to tie down most of the break-seekers to their seats!

When Rithvik resumed after the session for percussion, his voice began to sound better than before providing a lot of saukhyam when he sang Intasaukhyamanine (Kapi, Tyagaraja). A quick Bhogeendrasayinam (Kuntalavarali, Swati Tirunal) preceded the Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi in Poorvikalyani. The professionally competent execution of this centrepiece with the repetition of the pallavi in various speeds and gaits and some pleasing ragamalika swaras could simply not capture the magic created by the evocative music in the first half of the concert. 

The last phase had a portion of the dhyanasloka that precedes the Vishnu Sahasranamam. Rithvik’s aesthetic sense was evident in the ragas he chose for the viruttam. He concluded with a song in Jaunpuri (Sapasyat Kausalya) and a less-heard mangalam. Nagai Sriram provided good support on the violin. He has good control over the bow and over laya. While these are assets for an accompanying violinist, there did appear a difference in the styles and in the approaches to elaboration of ragas between the vocalist and the violinist.

To the credit of the artists, it must be said that none of them showed any sign of fatigue, nor did they let the audience feel so. It was an enjoyable experience, a luxury that may not be possible during the mad rush of the season or on a working day.

Considering that Carnatic music is largely an entertainment for the geriatric population to go by the general audience in concerts, will it be a good idea to have a break after two hours or is such an interval still taboo for our rasikas and musicians?

Vyjayantimala honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

By Sruti

Veteran Bharatanatyam exponent and famous actor Vyjayantimala Bali was conferred the 4th Guru Gandadhar Pradhan Lifetime Achievement Award on the concluding evening of the 29th annual Konark Dance and Music Festival 2014. The award, instituted in memory of late Odissi exponent and guru Gangadhar Pradhan by Konark Natya Mandap, carries a plaque, a citation, a shawl and a cash of one lakh rupees. The memento is a stylised image of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan (founder of the Konark festival). Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the King of Puri, presented the award to Vyjayantimala Bali. Ashok Kumar Tripathy, IAS, DG-Training Coordination, also felicitated the eminent awardee. Vyjayantimala spoke in Odia, Hindi and English and floored the crowd of connoisseurs, tourists and local villagers.

Odissi Guru Gangadhar Pradhan launched the festival in 1986. Over the years, the Konark festival has gained a unique identity by featuring eminent artists of national and international repute belonging to classical, folk and tribal genres. The enchanting stage of the Natyashala at the Konark Sun Temple, and the natural ambience of cashew and casuarinas trees add a natural touch to the architectural marvel. The festival is held every year from 19th to 23rd February.

The award is presented every year to an artist of national and international repute who has played the role of a cultural ambassador for Indian classical and traditional arts. The awardees are chosen not only for their dedication and achievement, but also for their active participation and contribution in propagating and uplifting the art.