In search of eternal

Those who know me inside out, always suffer from the contradiction I present- Of living life loudly and holding death close to my heart. My poetry and my thoughts are often marked by this obsession for death. Yet, for most of my golden circle, I don't appear to be the one.



Everytime the mirror
lifts its eyes
I see an imprint of
the memory
left aside by a conquistador
...

And I
embrace the shadows
it reflects

The memories and the body
become one...

Meaning in Movement

The recent performance by the 15 member Armenian dance troupe from Nane Show Ballet, at Kamani Audiotirum recently was a sight to marvel at with an eclectic mix of dance traditions- ballet and tap dance blended with Armenian dance- that left the audiences spellbound. (The evening was in keeping with the 15 th Independence celebrations of Armenia and was jointly organized by the ICCR and the Armenian Embassy). However, in same breath, this writer also felt that perhaps the bodies organizing such events should now seriously look into enquiring about the history and tradition of the art forms, they introduce to the Indian audience since what one saw was great dance but sans any information on what it was all about or how it was uniquely Armenian ( when it had distinctive Euro-Arabic stamp on it. And this when the country is a part of Indo-Euro civilization)
Notwithstanding the fact that attempts are made by ICCR to regularly scout and promote newer art forms of different countries in India, there has to be an equally strong effort by the concerned program directors to ensure that proper handouts giving a brief on the historic and contemporary standing of these art forms are also distributed among the audience. That will enable the viewers to contextualise the performance and enjoy it all the more.
Going by the information gathered on the internet, the sequences performed by Nane dance company ( with the young dancer not more than six or seven years old) were dominated by Nazani ( also known as graceful dance- recognized for its swaying movements of hands, necks and legs.) The other Armenian dances include- Kochari, Berd (meaning Fortess or wall, which happens to be the most typical Armenian dance form ) and Suserow Par (Sword Dance). Nazani, which was the flavour of the evening ( which was interspersed with delightful tap dancing by young performers), is a dance form that owes its identity to Ararat valley- beautiful, sensuous and poetic. Similarly, Nazani stands out for - femininity, grace and lyrical beauty.
Extremely graceful and vivacious, the young Armenian women's performance ( On a recorded music- which had an array of songs and intrumental sequences- which one believed had Armenian zurna (wind instrument), dhol (drum), tar, saz, kanon (string instrument) and duduk) had marked movements inspired from belly dancing of West Asia. And dance and dancers have certainly traversed a long path to be recognized as ambassadors of the country, which has had one of the most ancient civilizations and which lost nearly 1.5 million people to genocide around the first world war, orchestrated by Ottaman Turks. That single event metamorphosed the Armenian dance tradition, since it soon became a tool to heal the wounded souls across the world. And so, the usually rugged and masculine dance form, ( as practiced in Berd, which was born while fighting the Turks) became over shadowed by Nazani. Moreover, As Laura Shanon, who created a new dance form Shoror ( inspired from Nazani) while writing on Armenian dance, in Dance Demon says, "Shoror', means `to sway', and linguistically it means to `oror', `to rock or cradle'. The subtle swaying of the hands, tracing the infinity symbol in the space in front of the heart, is a gesture of cradling new life…" . The fact that there is no codification of these dance forms, the current practitioners are able to mould the dance forms around their cultural motifs.
Given the above, it was understandable to see the female dominated dance troupe.As Gayane Abrahamyan, in her article "Meaning in Movement: The Armenian dance has tradition but welcomes interpretation" writes, "According to ethnographer Arusiak Sahakyan, in earlier times a traditional Armenian woman never danced with her face open and never raised her hands higher than her ears."
Times changed and so did Armenian dance!

Blending of Passion and Wisdom

" My heart is on fire,
In my madness I roam the desert
The flames of my passion
devour the wind and the sky"
- Jalalludin Rumi
"You will find freedom, truth, beauty, love, which are one and the same, only when you no longer seek them..Can mind exist without the movement of search?"
- J. Krishnamurti
Of the numerous quotes that greeted the audience in the aesthetically designed brochure of Aditi Mangaldas' brave and innovative production, Uncharted Seas ( presented by the Natya Ballet Centre at Kamani Auditorium recently) , the above two encapsulated the parallel points of departure, for the dancer and her Drishtikon dance foundation ( which comprises of a couple of talented dancers who carry the capacity to hold solo recitals) . More often, Aditi's understanding of Kathak borders on intensity than nuance. And her journey in the last two decades, from the moment of emotions to the moments of silence, from the moments of silence to the flashes of celebration and at present the near perfect blending of passion and wisdom, perhaps corroborates that.
Uncharted seas, swung between high tides and low tides but the moments of excellence were stored when the waters were placid. The production, in the long run, should stand out for the sensitivity towards visual aesthetics ( in lighter vein, even the musicians wore coordinated clothes!) and grandeur on one end and the ability of the dancer-choreographer to keep in check the flight of movement on the other. The beginnings and the endings of almost all the pieces ( and of the production in its totality) had a certain graph, which had a high mid point at which the physicality of Kathak dominated the abhinaya aspect, with the later half submitting itself to bhava. In a way the production worked at two levels- one at macro level, since there were no break ups and announcements through the production and two, at micro level, since though, various episodes were strung together, each had its own narrative to fall back on.
Aditi and her dancers' strength, throughout the production lay in ensuring that after displaying the virtuosity of nritya aspect, they could afford to pull the movement back, shove it to the background and reveal the essence of the piece through abhinaya. More so, in the last minutes of some sequences when the music, the sound of feet and bells, the alacrity of the hands and the intensity of the eyes, inevitably lost stream before the stillness of it all-when the eyes saw the world around, following the hands, when the splendour of the costumes- red, yellow, golden , paled before the hand held flickering flames, when the dance soaked body stood devoid of much movement, allowing the lyrics to take over and direct the choreography.

The solo-dance sequences of Aditi had an unusual pace to them and while at some places, it impacted the clarity of movement, the magic worked because of the motifs of silence that followed, sometimes unexpectedly and sometimes predictably. One could say, the aggression of dance and the joy of dance separated the fast and the slow paced sequences. And it was her talent in creating a natural link between the two, that worked at artistic and philosophic level.
Our entire journey of life surrenders to endless search for that one moment of magic, which could be anything. However, it is only when the journey inward begins that the true story is written, spoken and danced. Uncharted Seas, for this writer, couldn't be summed up in a better way.
Uncharted Seas were traversed with the help of vocal compositions of Shubha Mudgal and Anesh Pradhan. The on stage support on vocal, sarangi and harmonium by Samiullah Khan; Tabla by Yogesh Gangani, Pakhawaj by Mahaveer Gangani, was very notable. The students of Drishtikon dance foundation who performed Uncharted Seas with Aditi were, Rohit Lal, Gauri Diwakar, Rashmi Uppal, Afsar Jafar Mulla, Anindita Acharjee and Rachna Yadav.
Another Kathak recital, which, however went a bit unnoticed, was that of Prerana Deshpande and her disciples at India International Centre. Prerana, who has been a student of Dr. Rohini Bhate, scored high on two points. First, the amazing versatility she brought to her choreography, and second, the remarkable ease with which she and her students performed to the recorded music without diluting Kathak's spontaneity which is a must to make a recital successful. Be it her sensitive portrayal of the nayika in her home ( with the meaning of home personified by her body), in Kajraee Thumri or her young and petite, talented daughter Ishwari Deshpande's madhya laya teen taal, the dancer-Guru's performance had an unmistakable Bhate stamp. The use of space and the imagination to carve a Kathak choreography in diagonals and zigzag formations (and not as much in circles,squares and straight lines) was indeed commendable. Bhairavi based on the composition "Rhythmspace" by Pt. Vikram Ghosh was a memorable piece for the sheer joy with which the Guru and the students ( Prachi Natu, Ankita Ingale and Anuja Joshi) performed it.
However, one couldn't help but wonder if the Guru was promoting her talented daughter a bit unprofessionally, with her name in the handout preceded only by that of her mother and an exclusive chance to perform solo sequence in the recital, even though she is ten years old and much younger to the students who accompanied Prerana.
Last but not the least, a quick word on the festival of foreign artistes residing in India, organised by ICCR at Kamani Auditorium. Of the two performances witnessed by this writer, Isabelle Anna's Kathak recital ( disciple of Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj) could give a cause of worry to home grown breed of dancers. Isabelle has grace and charm, a commanding stage presence and though she may need to still work on her foot work, she has an innate spontaneity of a veteran. Her ability to hold the audience, understand the use of space, and emote rather maturely the feelings of Kandita nayika in thumri, "Kayo ko mere ghar ayo" more than made up for a slightly weaker jugalbandi that followed the number.
Though, it was a week dominated by Kathak, one was lucky to witness the Odissi recital of Masako Ono, the talented and dedicated Japanese (who is following the footsteps Bharatanatyam dancer Izumi Sato, another known Japanese face in Indian dance circuit) dancer on the inaugural day of the ICCR festival. Odissi being a dance form rich in lasya is usually said to be a tough dance form for foreigners because of the angular body positions and movements, with its typical tribhanga positions.Though Masako does not have natural advantage of having a body suited for the dance form, her unassuming grace and unrestrained vigour, in parts, especially during Shiva Panchakriti Mantra made her recital an interesting visual experience. Not to forget, her convincing interpretation of a Haiku through movement.Even though, the acoustics were in bad shape on the first day and there was a faux pas at the time of inauguration, the festival did define India- At home in the world!

The Body and Karma

Paint the city of my Karma
for the hours hold out
the leftover sand dunes.
...
I return to the sun
and the moon
let my body shy away from them
let yours
cover
mine....

The Leaf

Standing under the shadow of a leaf,
I swirl around the wind
like Sufi dervish.
...
The charade betrays
and wind turns into
a lamentation song.
Between the palms, I allow the leaf to breathe...

( I was created alike, plucked from a muted tree)

Pic © www.dennisflood.com

A sight, less ordinary...

"Show me the meaning of being lonely…" Perhaps, this hit number from once popular boy band, Backstreet Boys, also sums up the crucial moment in Ramayana, when Lord Ram, had to take a call between being a king and a husband. It also reflects Sita's ultimate sacrifice when she journeys back into Earth's womb. Regardless of the political correctness of Ram's decision, squarely debated by devotees and feminists, it is the act of renunciation, from both ends, that holds fort at the end of the day. Ram and Sita- very human, very un-Godlike (and melodramatic for some!), acting out within the confines of patriarchy.

That is exactly how Ram and Sita emerged from the richly conceived world of Puppeteer Anurupa Roy and architect-animator Vishal K Dar's collaborative effort, "…about Ram" (based on 7 th Century AD Sanskrit Poet and Dramatist, Bhavabhuti's Ramayana).

The production was decidedly ambitious and innovative in its vision and though in parts, animation tended to out do puppetry, the stand-alone moments of introspection (Ram's remorse in the beginning on the sea shore) , action ( Hanuman's ravaging of Ravana's
Ashok vatika) and renunciation ( Ram and Sita's decision), were the most well executed sequences, where puppets made it all the more human, more believable.
For a rasika, to engage himself/herself with three streams of viuals- Puppeteers, Puppets and Animation- and then to collate three to fully comprehend their inter-dependence and inter-relationship is not an easy task. What do you look at and when, and what can you afford to miss? Mercifully, there was enough breathing space and Anurupa bravely attempted to even out the dilemma through her mature direction. Ram's war on Lanka went the animation way, where as Ashok Vatika was stolen by the puppet!

The production was complex (and one believes it was not deliberate) with puppeteers becoming life size puppets. Then, there were dance- elements of Mayurbhanj Chhau and Kathakali- bringing in the dramatic element. The four disciplines of dance, puppetry, theatre and animation, were therefore fused together to create Ram and Sita and their share of demons. The puppets, moistened with emotions, invested by the manipulators, narrated their own story. The animation, sprung to life, drenched in saffron and technology and art, birthed a battleground. And amongst all this, the internal world of Ram and Sita manifested through puppets where as the external world of war came alive on screen.The ekaharya tradition of dance was dexterously followed, with Ram becoming Hanuman, perhaps also as a reference to the myriad emotions that inhabit one individual.

But there were a few feathers that ruffled against the current. The sequences involving the shadow puppets and the episode depicting Hanuman setting Lanka on fire, were marred by lack of coordination (with a tail-less Hanuman!) and consequently, trivialised the uniqueness of shadow puppetry ( which is a dying art and needs pro-active approach).

However, the effort, the vision behind, and the canvas of, "…about Ram" raises the bar of innovation in puppetry. The aesthetic stage design and impressive dance sequences embellished the production. Not to forget, the highly humorous episode involving Hanuman at Ashoka Vatika. While the puppet and life size Hanuman were ravaging the Vatika, the icing on cake for this writer and others sitting around in the audience- was a question put by a child to his mom, "Mummy, Where is Hanuman?"

O! Karma

I watch the autumn shades
trickle down
a prayer filled with water
O! Karma
No voice left unheard
a sage bears the marks of earth
a prayer filled with sand
O! Karma
I float under the water, above the sand
the mirage sprinkles death
O! Karma
my sins have a long way to go…

All for the love of Mozart!

"The taste of death is upon my lips...I feel something, that is not of this earth"

Attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, these last words stand in sharp contrast nearly 215 years later, as Vienna aches its heels to celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of one of Europe’s most endearing composers of Classical Music. With 30 million Euros to boot, the celebrations which kickstarted last January, are in full groove.

A guilt pang surfaces occasionally as you talk to locals here. The general refrain is -“Mozart was ours and Vienna is because of him, yet he died poor and penniless, buried anonymously”. Young men masquerading as Mozart invite you to a ballet theatre, convincing you that it is the best deal of the day, “All for the love for Mozart.”

The man whose work includes more than six hundred compositions of chamber, symphonic, piano, operatic and choral music has emerged as the next door neighbour in 2006 with his personal and professional life, becoming a part of public narrative life like never before.

The calculations and celebrations are strategic as well. With European Union, dwarfing identities and France dominating cultural diplomacy in the region, it was a matter of time, that other countries ended the French Soliloquy. And Mozart’s 250th birth anniversary was just what Austria wanted. Though, Mozart was born in Salzburg, he spent last decade of his life, largely in Vienna (with the city now taking it upon itself to create an enigma out of the profilic composer).

And the results so far, (the official word that is) have been inspiring. Be it the increase in tourist inflow, or the greater exchange between Austrians and Viennese ( Vienna is banking heavily on its countrymen to join in the celebration of Mozart) or the sheer number of youngsters who have taken to the Mozartian myth and legend, the development and boost given to the study of Mozart’s life and the attempts to churn out a Viennese identity out of a world artiste, the work undertaken by a number of organisations led by Wiener Mozartjahr 2006 (one of the apex bodies, created and comissioned to propose,plan and execute such projects apart from the staging of opearas, music concerts, ballet and theatre performances) has proven that culture, when packaged well, is the best bet to market your country and its commercial spirit.

As one looks at the massive installations in the downtown area, it becomes clear that artistes, architects, landscape and graphic designers, have worked in tandem in covering the city with the Mozartian “cap”. A walk towards the St. Stephen’ cathedral, which stands five minutes away from Mozart’s last known residence in Vienna, at 5 Domgasse, (fully renovated and converted into a museum detailing the artiste’s time) points to the bewildering realities of modern day life. Between many ant cafes and popular tag stores, young artistes can be seen singing, or playing a piano, a violin or a flute. And all of it, not without a license. But encircled by an energetic and generous crowd. While these artistes earn their bread, they also strongly project to the travellers like this writer, the true spirit of Mozart- that of spontaneous and intuitive creativity.

And though Vienna indulges in Mozart with an element of romance, his unhappy childhood, unimaginable success during adolescent years and his active involvement with Freemasonry movement ( responsible for American and French revolutions) during the later years of his life, have understanably made his life and times, a part of modern day artistic discourse. The shades of his personality have mirrored the shades of Vienna’s popularity as the centre of western classical music and post-modern electronic music.

The fact that world’s best DJs hail from Vienna and Austria, testifies to this ever changing face of music capital. Kruder and Donfmeister, Christian Fennesz, Electric Indigo, Patrick Pulsinger and DJ DSL are some of the names that have popularised down beat, experimental electronic, techno and hip-hop and have kept the focus on Vienna, in their own ways, long after Mozart has gone.

In fact, at the office of Peter Rantasa, the Executive Director of World Culture Forum (which is having its next global meet in India in Jan 2008) and the Director of Music Information Centre Austria, there is a flurry of activity, as the next big event of Wien Mozartjhar 2006, gets underway in two week’s time.

MODERNISTMOZART 2006, a festival for electronic music and beyond, is being billed as a parallel to Mozart’s childhood. The festival comes with a tag line- It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. Situating itself between the infancy and childhood memories of the electronic music industry which in 1990s, in Vienna, had much to accomplish (and which went through a series of self-deprecating instances and doubts in later years before emerging as the masthead for world’s electronic music industry) and the image of Mozart, the child prodigy who had to bear with an over ambitious and over bearing father, the festival looks at music, as an instrument of happiness and unfulfilled dreams. Mozart’s only companion during his childhood was his music and looking back, at all that he lost because of it, would have been challenging for the composer. The interface between with child and art, MODERNISTMOZART is therefore a unique attempt with some well known Austrian faces from different genres coming together to create art for Mozart’s sake!
Backed by a 100,000 euro grant, the festival promises few firsts. As Helge Hinteregger, one of the minds behind the festival reveals, one of the highlights of the festival is going to be ice records. A collaboration between Claudia Marzendorfer and Nik Hummer, “ Viel Larm um Nichts” is based on an adventurous idea of creating ice sculptures of music records. Hinteregger explains, “The silicon imprints of music records are taken and then the containers (having the shape of music records) are filled with coloured water to a high freezing point.” Nearly two dozen such ice records have been created and they will be allowed to melt away as they will play, on the premiere night, depicting that all the music will melt away. Just as Mozart’s childhood melted away and ours too.
As Peter Marboe, the artistic director of Wiener Mozartjahr 2006, spoke at the beginning of the celebrations, “Perhaps the best birthday gift for this amazing man is to invite a gathering of artists from around the world to come together in Vienna and pick up where he left off…Some artists will be speaking from places where their peoples are living through genocide and civil war and their aftermaths, where the need is to somehow turn the page of history, and where acts of mercy, imagination, and negotiation are the only hope. The fires in the suburbs of Paris make it very clear that there can be no illusions about a First World and a Third World --- there is one planet, and we are all sharing it..”
As the week rounds up, Vienna’s Mozart overwhelms.The artiste stands a little further apart from the social activist, who is still further apart from an unhappy kid, and who is still further away from the relentless father, who had to turn to borrowing money to sustain his wife and kids. And Vienna embraces Mozart in all his forms, with a great degree of humility and pride. Their Mozart. World’s Mozart. At another event, the city’s attendance at the Rathaus, Vienna City Hall, in thousands to attend the eight week Festival of Opera Music Films, under the Moon light, every night, packs a note, that our culture, too needs our Mozarts to come out of the closets. For once let culture and not politics of culture, do the talking.Amen.