Question of freedom..

Few years back i watched this amazing play called “Ambedkar aur Gandhi”. It is a Hindi play directed by Arvind Gaur and performed by the highly talented theatre group “ASMITA”. Much has been written about this play. The play is not free from controversy. The director claims that every word in the script is recorded in history. However some critics doubt it.

Nevertheless, i watched this play again at “Sriram Theater”, New Delhi last week. It has a very powerful script. The play was so intense that by the time the play was over, though this was the second time i was watching this play, i had goose bumps on my skin.

I have already written about this play. I will not repeat it now. But like last time, i had a chance to talk to the director after the play.

Arvind Gaur is a very humble man. Short man of about five and a half feet, Arvind is full of energy and is totally dedicated to his work. He believes in theatre as a mode of social change. His Theater “Asmita” consists of more than 50 people.

The play that they were performing is on Socio-political history. “Ambedkar aur Gandhi” is a play on the delicate relationship between Gandhi and Ambedkar set in the backdrop of second round table conference on the issue of separate electorate for the schedule castes. As such, the most powerful character in the play is that of Dr Ambedkar. Performed by the brilliant young artist Bajrang Bali Singh, his role as Ambedkar can move any audience.

Arvind Gaur.

But Arvind and Asmita group have their share of problems in staging this play. They have to give an affidavit before every performance that there would not be any violence after the play. Not only in Delhi, but anywhere in india, the group runs into the bureaucracy before their performance. Arvind says, such highly talented and dedicated artists have to bend at the mercy of the line of bureaucracy right from the beat policeman till the DCP before every performance.

True, the play is controversial. It is very very critical of Gandhi. In my opinion, the play shows Gandhi more hypocritical than he was (perhaps). In more than one instance in the play, Ambedkar makes sarcastic remarks of Gandhi being a  “Mahathma”.

But at the end of the day, it is a piece of literature. It is art. The theater group has put the source of the script in public. Every dialogue, they claim, is recorded in history.

Afterall, the play is about the great man who drafted our constitution. Ambedkar stood for equality and freedom of speech.  This play was banned in Gujrat for many years. To perform this play anywhere in india, the group has to take permission from the police. Not only that, they have to give an affidavit.  Is this not restriction of “Freedom of Speech” ?

In our society, politicians can make dangerous hate speeches but a common man with rich social and cultural values cannot easily perform a historical play.

I will sign off by quoting a few lines of Dr Ambedkar (in constituent assembly) ;

“ On 26 January, 1950 we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics, we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle on one man one value.. ”

PS : Posting this from the “Bangalore Rajadhani Express” somewhere in Andhra Pradesh.

Veturi Prabhakara Sastry (Rao)

Talapaka Annamacharya is a well known composer. He is sung in almost all Carnatic classical concerts. He was a saint and scholar who lived 600 years ago (May 9, 1408 – February 23, 1503). 

Below is a story of Sri Annamacharya which was narrated by Prince of Travancore Rama Varma in a concert. I have tried to reproduce the story here in verbatim.

Veturi Prabhakara Rao

Annamacharya lived in Tirupathi and was a great devotee of Lord Venkateshwara. He and Purandaradasa lived in the same time around 600 years ago. His compositions were popular all over south india at that time but later they disappeared. 
In 1940s there was a gentleman living in Tirupathi who was a great devotee of lord Venkateshwara called Veturi Prabhakara Rao (Sastry). As he was doing pradakshina of Venkateshwara temple in Tirupathi, there was a statue of Annamacharya. Each time he passed the statue, he would feel a strange feeling, he could never explain what it was. But he noticed that he felt that strange feeling when he passed that particular point (Annamacharya's statue).  
He was a gigantic person. He went and touched the statue of Annamacharya and it was moving. So he removed that and found one very small hole (This is in 1940s). Though he was a big man, he managed to squeeze inside and there was a room with hundreds and hundreds of copper plates with lyrics of Annamacharya songs engraved on them. 

The first ten pieces from these copper plates were handed over to Padhma Vibhushana Dr Magalampalli Balamurali Krishna and the first song he tuned was "Narayanathe Namo Namo" in the raga Behag. 

It is said that this song was discovered in 1940s but the amazing thing is that in Trivandrum Navaratri Mandapam, Everyday before the concert at 6 O clock, there is a singing of Thodaya Mangalam by many musicians and they sing Narayanathe namo namo. They have been singing this for hundreds of years. It is in a different raga. Though only Swathi krithis are sung at the Navarathri Mandapam, this composition is officially credited to Annamacharya. 

Kudiyattam

Kapila Venu.. 

At more than 2000 years old, Kudiyattam , the Sanskrit theater from Kerala is the oldest form of theater in the world. It has a highly stylized and complex theater language replete with elaborate traditional hand gestures and facial expressions. In 2001, UNESCO declared Kudiyattam as "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity" 

Kudiyattam is performed mainly by the descendants of the chakyar community. There are really a very few performers of this highly nuanced theater form. In an exemplary move to propagate the art, it is now being thought to any student keen on learning it. 

My first acquaintance with kudiyattam was at Rangashankara theater festival 2010. The theme of that year's festival was classical forms of theater. It featured Katahkali, theyam theyam, Kudiyattam, our own yakshagana apart from classical forms of theater from Maharashtra , Manipur and Assam. I attended almost all the performances. But what impressed me most was Kudiyattam. Ever since, i have been attending the kudiyattam performances in Bangalore. I also got a chance to interact with a kudiyattam guru Dr Margi Madhu last year in Bangalore. I also plan to visit the kudiyattam school in Cochin run by Dr Margi Madhu. 

Normally, mythological stories are enacted in the Kudiyattam form in some temples of Kerala. Performances run for over 12 hours. 

Mizhavu Drum 

The performance starts from the traditional sounding of the  Mizhavu drum. (The Mizhavu drum is treated like a Brahmin boy. It goes through all the Brahmanical samskaras like Namakarana, Annaprashana, Upanayana and finally Shava Samskara when the drum cracks). 
The magical sound of this copper drum brings in a kind of vibration in the auditorium. The drum beats are an integral part of performance and continues throughout the performance. The drum and the drummer are equally if not more important than the kudiyattam performers. 

Only classical and mythological stories are performed in Kudiyattam. However, Dr Margi madhu has experimented by performing Shakesphere's Mcbeth (for which,as he confessed, he received considerable flak).

No artificial lighting is used in the performance. Only an oil lamp is used for lighting for the entire performance. 

One of the beauties of Kudiyattam is its elaborate costumes and exemplary length of performance. The make up time for a lead Kudiyattam performers will be about 6 hours.  The performance can go up to 12 hours at a stretch. It is hard to imagine an artist with such heavy robes and make up performing for 12 hours. 

Dr Margi Madhu's Kudiyattam demonstration 

Other niche of this art is the performance itself. The performance is replete with elaborate hand and eye gestures. It is a very captivating display of the performer's theatrical talent. The synchronization with the drum beat must be very accurate. 

The energy and vibration in the performance can only be experienced. No words can do justice to the energy levels of the performer. 

Anyone interested in performing arts must see atleast one performance of Kudiyattam. Since it is highly nuanced and very rich in cultural content, it is not performed often. Thanks to some art patrons in Bangalore, i was lucky to see a few performances by the gurus of Kudiyattam. 

I am very eager to visit the kudiyattam school in Cochin. I am looking forward for the culturally enriching trip later this year. 

Gandhi Bandha (ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಂದ)

Play: Gandhi Bandha (ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಂದ)
Language: Kannada
Duration: ~90 minutes
Genre: Drama
Rating:  Must watch.
Troup: Ranga Mantapa
PW: Dr H.Nagaveni
Director: Smt Champa Shetty.

Dr H.Nagaveni 

Gandhi bandha is a book by Dr H.Nagaveni that narrates the social situation in 1920-1939 when Mahatma Gandhi's movement on untoucability was at its peak. The massively researched novel is about the social customs between the villages of Kulai and Hosabettu in the coastal town of Mangalore. 

The novel was published about 18 years back. The novel revolves around many delicate and orthodox (read dogmatic) interactions between many castes in the the village of pre- independent India. 

The novel received considerable flak from the caste groups particularly the Vishwakarma (Gold smiths)  community when the novel was introduced as a text book in the Mangalore university few years back. 

An abridged and shortened version of the novel is made into a brilliant play by the Ranga Mantapa troupe. I was lucky to see the brilliant performance yesterday at Rangashankara. 

I must have watched many many plays in many theaters in Bangalore. I have seen people giving standing ovations (Mostly to comic plays). But nothing like the one for "Gandhi Bandha". It was an intense play with a few comical anecdotes. Every one in the theater stood up for the brilliant play and brilliant direction (By Champa Shetty). 

It is a play set in coastal karanataka in the backdrop of the Mahatma's salt sathyagraha, about a powerful brahmin family's young widowed daughter. The interaction of the family with the members of the village and the delicate social message from the 'unseen' Gandhi makes a powerful script. The awesome performance called for a standing applause. 

The main protagonist of the play is Draupadi, a young widowed daughter of a powerful orthodox brahmin, Hebbar. Drawing wisdom from shastras ,scriptures and Hindu customs, the Hebbars will be treating Draupadi with utter ridicule. Reduced to hopelessness, Draupadi will be leading a disgustingly restricted life. 

Soon she meets Adrama, a muslim bullock cart driver from the same village. Both fall intensely in love with each other. But they fear social reactions. Hebbars dogmatic beliefs reduces Draupadi to further haplessness and ridicule. But the couple decide to bite the bullet drawing courage and wisdom from Mahatma's teachings. 

Thanks to Gandhi's influence which will be creating waves in the socio-religious fabric of India, barring the Hebbars and the Muslim clergy,  the village by and large accepts the marriage between Adrama and Draupadi. But Draupadi's happy days will be short lived. She will lose her husband at the peak of the civil disobedience movement in a police lathi charge . She will be expecting at the time of her husband's death. 

Still unseen, Gandhi's influence would have gripped the village. Villagemen and women will rally behind Draupadi. Having lived most of her teens as an outcast and with a second marriage with a muslim short lived, Daraupadi still finds sympathy and courage in the village. She continues her stay in the village with her son both actively taking part in Ghandi's freedom and socio-religious struggle. 

The best part of the script and direction is that the figure of Gandhi will never appear directly. Gandhi's presence is shown in the behaviour and decisions of the people of the village. Gandhi's critics are soon brought into the page by his followers; again by the latter's behaviour via-a-vis Draupadi. 

Champa shetty brings in the local customs and ceremonies of coastal tulu speaking Karnataka into the narrative ;Kampala and Bhoothakola to depict the milieu and the interaction of the social classes during these ceremonies. 

The play very vividly depicts the socio-cultural setting of a typical hierarchical society. The play has many other characters like the Hebbar's servants, the Bhoota, the village merchant, the drum players and so on. The nuances of the strong orthodox brahmin's attitude towards his villagemen (and woman) is very sensitively depicted. The dogmatic socio-religious customs is very critically put forth. The marriage woe between a Hindu and a Muslim moves the audience beyond words.  

It is a must watch for anyone interested in theater, art, history, sociology or just pure entertainment. 

ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ಪರಿಸರ ಲೋಕ (Tejaswi Parisara Loka)

Play: Tejaswi Parisara Loka(ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ಪರಿಸರ ಲೋಕ )

Language: Kannada
Duration: ~90 minutes
Genre: Drama
Rating: Watchable for only serious theater enthusiasts. 
Troup: Ranga Vismaya
Director: Sri Rao Jadhav

"ತೇಜಸ್ವಿಯವರ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯೇ ಪರಿಸರ. ಪರಿಸರವೆಂದರೆ ಮರ-ಗಿಡ , ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಗುಡ್ಡ , ಪ್ರಾಣಿ ಪಕ್ಷಿ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಅದರೊಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇರುವ ಅಖಂಡವಾದ  ಜಗತ್ತು , ಅದರೊಳಗಿನ ಮನುಷ್ಯರು. ಅವರ ಆಲೋಚನ ಕ್ರಮಗಳು" .

Most of Poornachadra tejaswi's works are around the theme of Nature. Nature, according to tejaswi is not only trees, anilmals and birds but also the vast universe, the countless people and myriad ways of thinking of people. 

This was the theme of the play i watched yesterday at Rangashankara. The play was based on works of sri poorna chandra tejaswi and was about his interactions with nature (People) 

Pooarna Chandra tejaswi is a well known literery figure in Karnataka. Though he is the son of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, Tejaswi carved out a niche for himself very early in his literary career. 

Poorna chabdra tejaswi, like his father kuvempu was a nature lover and keen observer of forest life. Like his father, much of his writings are influenced by the lush green, enchanting dense forests of western India. 

Apart from being a writer, poorna chandra tejaswi was a farmer, photographer and an ornithologist. 

This was my third play of Tejaswi. Earlier i had watched Jugari cross and Mayamruga. Both the plays are based on sri Tejaswi's works. 

It is not very easy to understand the plays written by Poorna chandra tejaswi,Particularly for people like me who haven't read any serious literature let alone reading the works of kannada literary giants like Tejaswi. 

Anyway, though i did not understand much of Jugaari cross (Javagal srinath and sri Vidyabhushan swamiji also wathed this play with me) and Mayamruga, i took a chance with "Tejaswi parisara loka" yesterday. The play was directed by Rao Jadhav and had him as the main protagonist. He played the role of sri Tejaswi. 

Like Dr Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, Poorna chandra tejaswi had wide interests in life. Like Bendre , tejaswi enjoyed conversations with people and made a lot of friends. This play was an enactment of  tejaswi's interactions  with few interesting people.  

The play introduces "Ball boy Kalappa", son of a framer in Mudigere who will be working as Ball boy at a club in Bombay. Kalappa cannot find "Fruit and milk" in the village. The play moves on to introduce "ಗಾರೆ ಸೀನಪ್ಪ " ("Gaare seenappa"), the local mason who would be fleecing the villagers. Then comes Mara and Bora, the sevants in the house of Tejaswi. Mara is an old man who believes in superstition. He will be working as a watch man at Tejaswi's farm and would have sub-contracted the job of keeping a watch on the farm to the local demi-god. Bora is the pueon at Tejaswi's house and would be troubling tejaswi with his own stupid ways of doing things. 

Play moves on to introduce Godley, a writer (supervisor) at the neighbouring farm. Godley , a christian by name would have become the writer after being a Barber, a road sub-contractor and a tiller driver. The conversation between Tejaswi and Godley is an humorous stretch of play. Godley fears at shooting at the monkey since he believes that monkeys are Hindu Gods. Godley tries very hard to capture the monkeys and leave them in the deep jungles. In the process he gets caught in the monkey trap and would spend a few days in the jungle without food and water.  The play also introduces few other characters in the middle. 

The play is about how Sri Tejaswi saw people and how he analysed people and how he enjoyed the conversation with myriad people whom he came across.

It is easy for people to ignore others who think a little out of the box or who think and act differently. It takes a very broad mind and very rational thinking to appreciate the thinking of others. This play gives a very vivid picture of how Tejaswi could appreciate others and how he saw every way of thinking as a part of the beautiful creation called "Nature" . 

The play is eminently watchable for those interested in Knowing about Poorna chandra Tejaswi. Its a must match from an academic perspective. However, those looking for pure entertainment in the conventional sense of the term are advised to stay away. 

Gangaavatarana (ಗಂಗಾವತರಣ )

Play:Gangaavatarana (ಗಂಗಾವತರಣ )
Language: Kannada
Duration: ~95 minutes
Genre: Dance Drama
Rating: Must Watch
Troup: Ranga souraba
Director: Dr Rajendra Karanth. 

"ಬೇಂದ್ರೆಯ ತ್ಯಾಗ ಅರದಿಲ್ಲವನು ಬೇಂದ್ರೆಯ ರಾಗ ಅರೆಯುವನೆ?", One cannot understand Bendre's works if he cannot understand Bendre's Sacrifices. This was one of the concluding remarks of the play "Gangaavatarana" which i saw a few days back at Rangashankara.  This aptly applies to me since i am trying to articulate an exceptional dance drama about the life, works and thoughts of Varakavi Dr Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre.


It is not easy to understand the works of Dr Bendre let alone writing about it. However , i am making a humble attempt of writing about a masterpiece of art that i saw.  Its not easy to articulate art particularly for a person like me who has no experience in writing or art. However it is an attempt. 

The play was weaved around the life, works and thoughts of Gnanapeeta award winner  Varakavi Dr. Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre (1896-1981). The main protagonist of the play was Ganesh murthy, a scholar who is obsessed with the idea of Dr Bendre. The play starts with his own unhappiness about his PhD thesis which will be on Dr Bendre. He withdraws his thesis much to the dislike of his wife. (Who would be in anticipation of few thousand extra salary that the phD would have fetched him).   

Ganesh Murthy will be fighting two battles at at a time. One within himself for the quest for the divinity which Dr Bendre possessed which made Dr Bendre produce his master works and the other on the domestic side, where he will be constantly bombarded with domestic chores.  Ganesh murthy's wife and her nephew will be behind Ganesh murthy to leave his obsession about Dr Bendre and write songs and serials for the audience of the day and time. (The "Amma Loose a" category)  

To aid his former quest, an abstract character is introduced into the play. Dr Rajendra karanth who plays the role of the soul (Athma) of the play (of Dr Bendre). The conversation between Dr Karanth (soul) and Ganesh murthy takes the audience into a captivating lovely narration about certain facets of Dr Bendre's life. The character of Dr Bendre is introduced here.  From here, the play splits into two threads. 

On one side, the soul will be watching Ganesh murthy struggling to convince his wife and other people in his family about his quest for knowledge and changes required in the society. He would be making futile attempts with the music directors to adopt his lyrics for their films. His family life keeps degrading to the point of frustration. 


On the other side, The soul would be conversing with Ganesh murthy on the need for a greater attainment, on the search for the true motivation which was behind Dr Bendre. Brilliant anecdotes from the life of Dr Bendre are enacted here. Notable among them are Dr Bendre's grief on the death of his child, his conversation with the astrologer, his conversation with the cobbler etc. It goes on to draw a vivid picture of Dr Bendre's personality.  In one conversation, Dr Bendre asks a beggar "ಏನಪ್ಪಾ ಎರಡು ದಿನದಿಂದ ಕಾಣಲಿಲ್ಲ?" (Where were you from the last two days?). He gives him his quota of money for the next three days and tells him "ನಾಡಿದ್ದು ಬಾ ಮತ್ತೆ"(come again day after tomorrow). That was Dr Bendre's affection for people. In  another similar incident, he pays a cobbler his full day's earning and asks him to get an umbrella instead of sitting in the hot sun. That was Bendre's concern for the people. 


Back home, Ganesh's murthy's domestic trouble continues and he finds himself in a contradiction between family and his quest for Dr Bendre. Ganesh murthy's obsession with Dr Bendre drives his family to frustration so much so that his wife destroys his mammoth work on Dr Bendre.  


On the other hand Ganesh murthy's son gets hospitalized and dies while Ganesh murthy will be nursing his pains of losing his years of hard work. The soul tells him that its impossible for Ganesh murthy to produce another such work again.  


"To make the impossible possible was "Gangaavtarana"". Another philosophical dialogue builds up between the soul and Ganesh murthy on the latter's Gangaavatarana. 
At the time of Bhageertaha, one Bhageeratha and one gange (ಗಂಗೆ)  was enough to cleanse the world. But now world has become so dirty with anger,hatred, corruption, pollution, mis-trust, selfishness and bad politics that we need numerous bhageerathas and many Ganges to cleanse the world. 


The play ends with Ganesh Murthy's renewed determination and his next journey away from domestic chores and relationships in quest for Dr Bendre's literary spirit followed by the lovely song of Dr Bendre "ಇಳಿದು ಬಾ ತಾಯೇ" (Come down oh the sacred mother, come down and bless us....... )


[Listen to a small audio piece on the life of Dr Bendre here]

Why only Kolaveri Kolaveri Di?

Le mama,  "Kolaveri Kolaveri di" super mama. Sounds weird, but has turned out to be a popular hangout usage among many people. Kolaveri, meaning murderous rage, is now popular in many parts of the country, thanks to the peppy song 'Why this kolaveri di?' from upcoming Tamil flick '3'. (Kolaveri Kolaveri ).

The song is written and sung by Dhanush, Son-in-law of superstar Rajanikanth. The song after all is a collection of colloquial words and slang rendered in a rhythm to a beat which is kind of striking chord with the masses. 

If popular literature is all about arranging unconnected colloquial words and slang in a weird sequence so that the masses catch a single word to hum around, then kannada songs of recent times scores much over Kolaveri Kolaveri. 

Bizzare lyrics, sometimes even vulgar lyrics are quite common in Kannada cinema these days. Like kolaveri, we have numerous songs which have virtually (or literally) zero literary value. They are just a few lines of local slang. 

Though not in the same context, close competition to Kloaveri in kannada is  "Chambeshwara" (""ಚಂಬೇಶ್ವರ") written by Yograj Bhat and sung by Punith Rajkumar (Son of legendary actor and singer Padhmabhushana Dr Rajkumar). The song makes no sense and has no essence of literature. It is just a song inserted in the stupid movie for the heck of it. The song has no message and is just a sequence of colloquial words arranged for a beat. But the song was a phenomenon hit. I watched the movie on the day of release in a packed multiplex hall. The crowd whistled to glory once this song started (The movie was so stupid that all the over enthusiastic crowd regretted their whistle) 

Typical example of bizzare and awful lyrics is the song "Amma loose a? " from the kannada movie Dhool (Listen to it here). I do not know the lyricist but whoever he is,  is a causality  with  creativity.  The words are idiotic, sentences are unconnected and there is absolutely no sense in the song. But this was the most popular song in this year's Street Ganesha festival (ಬೀದಿ ಗಣೇಶ. Local artists made merry with this song at all roadside orchestra during this year's Ganesha festival). 

I will be doing unpardonable injustice to Kannada literature if i miss out "Soap hakolo, mi ujkolo" from the movie Junglee. The bizzare lyrics is just a testimony to the fact that popular literature has stooped to such a low level in the state/language which has got eight jnanapeeta awards. 

The list can go on like "Thaglakonde " and "kuri kolina" (ತಗ್ಲಾಕೊಂಡೆ , ಕುರಿ ಕೋಳಿನ) from Shivrajkumar's Jogaiah. Both songs are awful. 


Most kannada songs these days have very low or no literary value. They are seldom completely Kannada. They will either be Hindi or English mix.  Most songs will be a set of awful words rendered to a popular beat. 


It is disheartening that kannada film songs which were at one time, not so long ago, were composed by likes of Hamsalekha, Jayanth kaikini, Monomurthy and host of other literary geniuses is losing its value and charm. Who can forget Hamsalekha's "Devaru hoseda premada Kanava " from the movie muttinahara (ಮುತ್ತಿನಹಾರ).  prema loka, Nanjundi Kalyana, Amruthavarhini, Mungaru male etc are landmark films in the context of kannada film songs. Kannada film industry was the only regional cinema industry which could easily adopt compositions of Popular saints like Purandara dasa and Kanaka dasa into popular cinema. They are perhaps the only industry which could easily adopt poetry from the stalwarts of kannada literature into popular cinema. Goplakrishna Adiga's "yava mohana murali kareyitu" from the movie "America America", Adiga's "Aluva kadalolu theli baruthide nageya haayi dhoni" (ಅಳುವ ಕಡಲೊಳು ತೇಲಿ ಬರುತಿದೆ ನಗೆಯ ಹಾಯಿ ದೋಣಿ) from the movie matadaana and a host of kuvempu songs serve as examples.  Over the course of time , somewhere somehow kannada film industry lost the creativity in song compositions and also started giving up the practice of adoption from popular poetry. 


Anyway back to Kolaveri, i think Kannada camp is not behind in making this kind of compositions. The examples at the start of this essay are tough compositions to the genius of Superstar Rajani's Son-in-law. 


Kannada films and Kannada film songs do not reach the Indian audience. For historical reasons and for a much much better position of Tamil music and Tamil cinema vis-a-vis kannada cinema in the Pan India context, the diffusion and acceptance of Tamil music is faster and deeper. Also the Tamil music and Film cater to a far wider diaspora (Malaysia, Singapore and other eastern countries). Whereas Kannada cinema does not enjoy such a diaspora. But i am sure that the genius of "Chambeshwara" and "Soap hakolo" can one day overtake Kolaveri !!!. 

[PS: This article was published in the the weekendleader (www.theweekendleader.com). It drew considerable flak from both Kannada and Tamil cinema fans both claiming that they can make worse lyrics.]

Art Appreciation Course

After my tour of the chettinad and Madurai last week where i was exposed to a certain form of Chettiar art, i took a more formal "Art appreciation" course in the weekend (21,22 and 23). The course was a part of the annual theater festival at Rangashankara .

Last year me and my cousin Pavan Rao wanted to attend a similar course but due to some travel commitments we could not make it. So this year we made sure that we keep ourselves free to take this three day course. As a matter of fact we were one of the first to enroll for the course. 

The course was designed and curated by the well known art critic Sadanand menon. Sadanand menon was earlier with Economic times as their senior journalist and Art editor. After 1995 he has taken up many positions in India and abroad in the fields of art journalism, art critic etc and has served on certain commissions and committees under department of culture, Government of India. 

The three day programme was well attended by students, journalists, senior bureaucrats, senior artists, corporate employees, art lovers and laymen like me. Well known theater personality Padhma shri Arundathi nag was present  on all the three days. It was an opportunity for many people like me to have a critical discussions with Mrs Nag on various topics covering art, art appreciation, art forms, framework of art etc. She was more than happy to spend time with people like me who have no great eye for nuanced art forms and art elements.

The programme was conducted at Aurobindo complex J.P.Nagar. The programme was divided into six sessions spanning over three days. We also watched a play every evening on these days and discussed the play with the directors and actors at the end of the play.  

I will briefly try to highlight the six sessions. I must put a disclaimer here that i have no experience in art or theater. I am just a fan of theater and ever since Rangashankara has come to J.P.Nagar, i been a great fan of it and i have been following certain theater activities. As such my poor writing cannot do any justice to the kind of art forms and theater performances that i witnessed. 

Session 1: Session on frameworks for critical engagments with arts with Sadanand Menon : This session was like an introduction to Art and was kind of a perspective on Art appreciation. Dr Menon took us on a political journey of art development in independent India. He explained the fine conflict of politics and art and what has the former to do with latter. Dr Menon spent some time in introducing national school of drama (NSD), the great dramatist Kanailal and his political theater. Then he introduced us to certain movements in the Art history of india. He particularly spoke about Indian People’s theatre association (IPTA). Later he introduced us to Sri udayshankar and his form of art . The session was concluded by a discussion on various politico-cultural questions. 

Session 2: Session on Dhrupad [Hindustani Classical] with Ramakant Gundecha : Dhrupad is a form of classical music practiced in certain parts of cental and North India. Dhrupad is the oldest form of Hindustani classical music. Dr Ramakanth Gundecha is one of the most popular singers in this form of Hindustani classical vocal. Dr Ramakant went on explianing the fine points of swara, shruthi and raaga associated with this form of singing. Frankly i did not understand anything. But one interesting observation was that harmonium is not used in this form of Hindustani vocal. Unlike Khayaal and other forms of Hindustani music where harmonium is an integral part, in Dhrupad, harmonium is not used and sarangi is used as an accompanying instrument. More about Dr Ramakant Gundecha and Dhrupad is available here.

Session 3: Session with Sunil Kothari on contemporary Indian dance : Padma Shri Dr Sunil Kothari is a Gujarati by birth and a charted accountant by profession. But he took great interest in dance and took to writing about Dance as a full time career. He is today an authority on the subject of contemporary dance and dance forms. He is also a trained Bharathnatyam dancer. To his credit he has 12 books and many papers. 

His talk was mainly on the dance forms practiced by legends like Kumudini Lakhya and Dr Chandralekha. His talk also touched upon the social milieu in which these dance forms originated and flourished. He focused on the issue of contemporary dance and transition from traditional to contemporary dance. The session concluded by a pretty engaging discussion on creating and transcending notionary paradigms like "Traditional" and "contemporary" .

Session 4: Session with Margi Madhu on classical Sanskrit Theater [Koodiyattam] : This was the most captivating session in the whole course. The speaker and demonstrator was Dr Margi Madhu. His session was on a traditional form of Sanskrit theater called "KUDIYATTAM" . A scholar, a practitioner and a teacher of Kudiyattam, Dr madhu did complete justice for the three hours allotted to him. Unlike other speakers, Dr Madhu performed ceratain important features of Kudiyattam accompanied by the the traditional Mizhavu  drum. Kudiyattam is an extremely nuanced form of theater. At more than 2000 years old, the Sanskrit theater form from Kerala is the oldest known form of theater. It has highly stylized and complex theater language replete with elaborate traditional hand gestures and facial expressions. UNESCO has declared Kudiyattam as " Masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity" .

Dr Madhu divided the session very well. After introduction to the form of art, he went on to explain the subdivisions and demonstrated the finer details of it. He rendered a few dialogues just to explain how fine and how nuanced is the form of expression and rendering. 

He demonstrated various objects in the kudiyattam form like dancing peacock, lion, rabbit, train etc. Each of his performance was followed by a standing ovation by the observers who were just perplexed and speechless. He explained the Mudras and very succinctly demonstarted each one with a context. 

His penultimate performance was the "Navaras" or the emotions. By far this was the best performance that i have seen on Navarasas. I just cannot believe how quickly one can change his emotion and do it so well. 

Dr Margi Madhu concluded the session with an amazing 15 minute performance. The 15 minute experience was just a different world experience  beyond words. 

I was so moved by his performance that i have taken his address and phone number and will be traveling to Cochin later in the year to see a full night performance.  

Session 5: Session with Maya Krishna Rao on contemporary theater and comedy : Maya krishna rao is a slightly different theater personality. As she puts it , she gives only "High risk" performances. Known very well for solo performances, she has traveled a wide horizon from extremely serious solo plays involving props to sexual comedy to cabaret. She has carved a great niche for herself in the theater space.Her niche is a "certain uncertainty". Though most of what she spoke was above my head, i found her practice of theater very interesting. 

Session 6: Session with Balan Nambiar on modern art & sculpture : Balan Nambiar is a world renowned steel sculptor and is best known for his steel sculpture for Texas instruments where he sculpted the concept of DSP (digital signal processing) in a steel sculpture. 

He is also a great art historian and one who has documented 148 forms of Theyam (A traditional art performance in kerala). 

He started his career by writing, documenting and photographing theyam. Later moved on to canvas painting, stone sculpture and finally to steel sculpture. A true genius, Dr Nambiar is also sitting member of many commissions on art and culture under ministry of culture, government of India.

The three day session was concluded by a discussion on the proceedings of   the three days and certain questions that it raised. Personally for me, though most of the things were above my head,i atleast got to know that such great scholars  are involved in such rich and nuanced art forms in this great country. Henceforth, i am sure i can look at any piece of visual or performing art with a little greater and broader detail. 


I will not be able to articulate the exact experience of the three days nor will i be able to articulate how that experience is going to help me but i am sure that i will be able to connect the dot someday somewhere.