The Artiste and the Wishing Tree

There is much talk of cloning. Not in the bio-medical circles but in the arts! For the uninitiated, there have been several closed door discussions on how awe for certain performers translates into imitation and grows into mimicking and further into adopting every mannerism of the performer. One could argue against such talk by stating that students of music and dance are bound to be influenced by the way of performance of their teachers and mentors. After all, the influence of a Guru on student is natural. One is bound to pick up subtleties of performance from teachers by virtue of simply being in close proximity and under the constant exposure to their way of performance. But fingers do not point at this organic process that happens over a long period of time. Fingers point at the unexplained need to mimic those who are successful; be it teachers, mentors or others. Fingers point at the lack of wanting to develop a unique identity- a quality that is very important in the Arts! For...

Be it in the field of science, mathematics, language, sport or art, children with capabilities that far supersede those of their peers have often piqued the interest of academia and lay public. To put such prodigious talent on the same level as other children their age may seem ridiculous to those who believe that exceptional talent must be celebrated. An exceptional singer, say, who at the age of 4 can differentiate and even sing in several different ragas; a gifted dancer, say, who can perform complex patterns of pure dance with awe-inspiring ease; a gifted artist probably, who can within minutes create dimensional imagery that many adults would struggle with. The intent of this article is not to delve into the psychological aspects of prodigies, the nature of talent, intelligence etc. The intent here is to look at the larger environment in which these geniuses live. What are the factors that help them thrive? What are the factors that can potentially kill their enthusiasm? What is ...

The Identity of an artiste develops over a period of time- a time frame that involves learning and assimilating the art, understanding the social context, recognising personal preference and setting future goals. Renowned artistes are those who have created a certain artistic trademark around themselves after much thought, experimentation, execution and reviews. This trademark style could exist within their body language perhaps, the inflections in tone maybe or even in their distinct approach to poetry (whether in song or in dance). Their art crystallizes over a time frame that is not a mere 5 or 10 years. Much longer, much longer! So if it takes decades to see a maturation of art within you, what then are the factors that keep a young artiste motivated to pursue it for that long a time? More importantly, considering the professional context in which many artistes pursue music and dance today, what is it that makes an artiste sustain their career for decades? Fitness: Of Body and...

While in the previous edition, we discussed the evolution of technology within the classical dance space, in this issue I take you through the world of classical music. Once again, the evolution of the performance space with advent of technology is hard to be overlooked. Less than 2 decades ago, we relied on minimal mics and stage equipment for a music concert. Today, the number, range and functionality of stage equipment and accessories are mind boggling. Outside the performance arena, the world of sound recording seems to be one of the most sophisticated- not just in terms of hi-end equipment, merchandise or software; but in the variety of the opportunities it offers to creativity. Those who have listened to the likes of GNB sans microphone will revel in the clarity of voice and the 'throw' he seemed to generate and woefully pity singers today who insist on extra 'echo', 'reverb' or worry over the lack of feedback! It prodded me into asking some rather l...

Imagine that you are driving down the labyrinth of state highways- without GPS; and sign boards in languages you cannot follow. At every juncture you wonder if you are on the correct road, if you took the correct turn at the previous round-about, which way to turn now, should you step out of this highway and travel into the village nearby maybe?! Add to this the fact that you have no clue what your destination is! It seems ridiculous? May be not! If you are a young artiste, the roads of your artistic career or journey could be as daunting.Very few artistes have the intuition and knowledge to foresee the decades that lie ahead of them. So for the majority, choices are made on instinct, advice and inspiration. Instinct comes from within, advice from near and dear ones, inspiration from those who have been touched by fame and success. You place your trust in those who can guide you- your parents, Guru, mentor- these are the people you reach out to when in need. On the other hand, art...

The proposition of uniting technology and art on stage has been on my mind and in my writing in the past few months. Today, I take you into the world of research. With Kabali mania holding Bangalore's traffic to ransom on Friday, I trekked a good 2 and half hours, hopping from cab to bus to metro rail to auto, to a rather interesting talk. Dr. Partha Pratim Das and Tanvi mallick are strangers to the world of Bharatanatyam by their own admission. But their work in the field of automated analysis of dance at IIT Kharagpur is something that could become integral to the world of dance in future. Here is my brief understanding of their work. Dr. Das and Tanvi are creating an automated analysis device that can recognise adavu patterns and associated sollu. All movements and audio associated with adavu movements have been recorded into the device database. A video recording of a dancer dancing a particular adavu can be captured,analysed and recognised by the device with about 90% ...

What do Art and Technology have in common? They have both arisen from the minds of creative geniuses. Neither is predictable, and they both evolve with every passing moment. How are they different? The bane of technology in our lives is often discussed as the evil that has overtaken human relationship, while art has and will continue to remain as the medium of nurturing and reflecting on human relationship. Irrespective of whether Technology and Art are distinct or similar, the influences they have on each other are manifold, as is evidenced all around us. So when one pauses to think of the bridge between technology and art, we are bound to find ourselves on a see-saw between what we have gained and what we have lost in our pursuit of marrying the two. Since the discussion on their interplay has several tangents to it, let us focus here on the evolution of technological influence on classical dance and the sea of change that has occurred in the way technology has come to support ...

RESEARCH is a systematic investigation of material and sources in order to establish facts and arrive at conclusions. If the definition holds good for any research, how does one extrapolate this definition in the field of arts? Considering the numerous factors that influence and are influenced by the arts, research in the arts would encompass all these: dance and music history, economic-political structures, ethnographic factors, socio-cultural norms, technique, body language, religion, gender and so on. In India, particularly in classical music and dance, the idea of research has two facets. One is the theoretical aspect and another the practical or performance-centric aspect. Cross-disciplinary areas between the two also exist. From the number of scholarship title holders in recent times, one may be led to believe that research in arts- theory or otherwise, is a recent phenomenon. It takes only a little deliberation to clarify to ourselves that research in fact has always existed- s...

Consider this common scenario in urban tech-savvy Bengaluru. "A 6-year old, fascinated by the glamour of Bharatanatyam, pleads with her parents to enroll her into classes. The uninitiated parents recollect seeing a huge hoarding of a dance institute near their workplace. Inquiries over the next weekend suggest that it may be a great thing for their child after all. All they have to do is select between 10 month/2-year/3-year crash courses at the end of which a Rangapravesha is promised. The parents are thrilled to bits. They can now tell all their friends and relatives that their daughter is going to be performing in no more than a year! Once the 'Rangapravesha' is done, their daughter can move over to other hobbies, they presume!" Whether you nod your head in sheer disbelief or in unenthusiastic acceptance, this is one of the recent disasters to hit the world of performing arts. Much has also been spoken about parents unfortunately perceiving the Rangapravesha as ...

Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan has touched the lives of several artistes. At the time that I sit to compile this humble tribute to the doyen of Abhinaya, it almost seems redundant to make statements about her expertise, her work, her methodology of teaching and her persona. Several beautiful, heart-felt tributes have been written in the days following her demise- by her students, colleagues and the extended artiste fraternity. I wondered if there were any words left to describe her. The intangible nature of dance is such that it can never be completely encapsulated in records of audio, video or texts, but it's essence does live on through the lineage of fabulous artistes that are left behind. It is obvious that Kalanidhi Maami's art will continue to thrive in the art of her disciples. It is in their work that we will continue to see the work of the maestro and her teaching. It is in their work that the disciples themselves will cherish their teacher for the rest of their life- ...

Art magazines are the intellectual lifeline of an artiste. Considering the large expanse of the world of art, articulation is of utmost importance for several reasons. As an artiste, I would like to approach an art magazine with the same enthusiasm with which I approached the monthly issue of National Geographic as a teenager, often tussling with my grandfather on who would read first. I draw this parallel because I believe that art magazines must sustain interest in readers across the entire spectrum of age, gender and cultural belief. The written word can beautifully complement the abstract nature of music and dance. Performances are ephemeral- the moments created in a live performance are only for the performer and audience. Sitting a thousand miles away, I may be able to imagine those moments if I read a commentary or critique of the performance. Previews and reviews of performances currently do occupy prime space of art magazines but objective critiques are rare. But that is in...

Ravana, proud as ever, failed to lift the Shiva Dhanush. A very young Rama, humility and simplicity personified, strung the bow, it snapped and he won the hand of Sita.  It is a story everyone knows. What amazed me at a recent temple performance was the fact that when Rama strung the bow, the entire audience went into a jubilant applause- something that doesn't happen in an auditorium of knowledgeable elite artistes or connoisseurs. With all due respect to the 'knowledgeable elite artistes or connoisseurs' I mention above; it was heart-warmingly amusing that such a 'simple' depiction could enthuse a crowd of 100 people. I have been thinking about it and I wondered if maybe we sometimes complicate every story we hear beyond requirement? Or may be we evolve from the simple to the more complex stories for the proscenium? Or maybe the layman has had such little exposure to art that he finds excitement even in the simplest tales? Should we then be having more suc...

The Guru-Sishya Parampara was the norm of teaching-learning and Living in Bharatha Varsha of a 'long-ago' era.  The foundation of such an ideology was the intimate relationship between Teacher and Student, a method of imbibing knowledge not only through studying written texts or through oral rendition, but also an empathetic understanding of one's environment and society. It was replaced by western ideologies and concepts of education. While the study of science, language and mathematics became regimented within a system of graded school and college lessons; the Arts, for reasons unknown!, was largely kept out of mainstream education. With every passing decade, we grew further and further conditioned into a regimen of rote learning and very little creative thinking. So for the sake of the Arts, was it probably a boon in disguise that it remained alienated from other subjects of academia? Cocooned as it was within the Guru-Sishya Parampara, the Arts continued to grow, unh...

“Art is sufficient for a lifetime but a lifetime isn’t enough for art”. Artistes who have spent many decades dedicated to the study and performance of music or dance humbly claim that there is so much more to learn in their lifetime, that the ocean of art only gets bigger and deeper, that no matter how much knowledge they garner, they can’t possibly have perfected it all. Some of these musicians and dancers of repute have journeyed into more than one territory or genre. Hindustani musicians have learnt Carnatic; Jazz has found its way into the hearts of Carnatic musicians; Bharatanatyam dancers have learnt Odissi; Kathakali artistes have been adopted by Bharatanatyam and so on. The enigma of Indian classical music and dance lies in the fact that every form of music and dance is so unique and yet shares so much in common with the other genres. Differences and similarities range from subtle to vividly distinct ones. While some artistes chose to pursue both or all genres that they...