Its Covid here, its Covid there, its Covid-19 everywhere! It
has had its impact on every sphere and will continue to do so in the future
too, to the extent that people are now talking about BC and AC—‘Before Covid’
and ‘After Covid” eras! Hence the spotlight in this issue is on Covid and the
arts; USbased noted musician and composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran has attempted
to analyse arts in the post-Covid scenario. Will arts as we know, ever be the same
again?
On television and print media, we are bombarded with facts
and figures about the pandemic from morning till night, which can be quite
depressing. We have also presented a few statistics for you, but they are
heartening figures about the Covid relief work undertaken by some prominent
organisations in the arts fraternity. Three cheers to all the artists who are
contributing in some way or the other to help others in need. On the one hand,
music, dance, painting and other creative activity can be a soothing balm and
calm the mind in a positive way. But what about performing artists for whom
these could be the source of stress? Read what T. Nandakumar has to say about
it in our ‘Wellness’section.
In our ‘News & Notes’ segment we have two reports— one
of a regular festival held live in Patiala on a grand scale before the pandemic
struck, and the second is a roundup of online events interestingly and
intelligently put together by Apsaras Arts from Singapore during the worldwide
Covid lockdown. In the coming months we will likely have more and more reviews
of music, dance and theatre events streamed online via Zoom, Instagram,
Facebook and other platforms. Let us too keep in step with the times! In fact,
in this issue we have a first person account from Rama Kousalya, a traditional,
septuagenarian musicologist who cast aside her apprehensions about social media
and learnt the ropes to successfully coordinate and conduct online the jayantis
of Tyagaraja and Syama Sastry from far flung Tillaisthanam! Certainly an
inspiration for all of us to gear up and become tech-savvy soon as this will probably
be the “new normal” in the near future.
We do have our regular profiles of personalities. This time,
Sruti contributor Anjana Anand, who is also a Bharatanatyam dancer
and teacher, has interviewed two senior dancers who have blazed a trail abroad—
Malaysia based Ramli Ibrahim and US-based Hema Rajagopalan. Ramli is a classic
example of a multifaceted artist who has transcended barriers through his art; he
has been decorated with top honours in Malaysia and India. Bharatanatyam exponent
and teacher Hema Rajagopalan, who turns 70 in a few months, has been one of the
pioneers in propagating the dance form in the diaspora.
For classical music lovers there is a moving account of how
Neyyatinkara Vasudevan rose from humble beginnings, through hard work and
perseverance, to become one of the leading musicians and teachers from Kerala
to make waves in the Chennai Carnatic music scene and around the world. There are
also two analytical articles on the Varnam; one attempts to explore the
unpublished varnas of Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar. In the second article,
senior Bharatanatyam exponent and scholar Nandini Ramani provides insights into
the structure of a traditional pada varnam.
Our varied content this month surely offers interesting fare
for you to spend time on a positive note.
S. JANAKI
