Ravana's pride
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 such recitals for him so that he can begin to appreciate not just the simple tales but also the more layered ones? Maybe he can one day understand the subtleties of a sanchari?
As I write down these thoughts I realise how snooty I sound. I have subconsciously classified myself into 'elite artiste' and the lay man into 'simpleton'. In a snap I realise that in my so-called layman audience, there is no critic looking for technical perfection; there are no colleagues evaluating my execution; there are no people looking for 'something new' or 'mind-blowing'. They are a group of people sitting on the stone floor who have come to simply ENJOY the art that I am sharing. As an artiste, it doesn't get more gratifying than that- that your art has reached the hearts of your audience.
And yet, we yearn applause from the critics, colleagues and elitists alone while the layman's applause is incidental. In our journey of building careers as artistes, it is of course vital that we gain the acknowledgement and applause from veterans, critics, colleagues et al. It would be foolish to dismiss their importance in our lives. One can also not dismiss the importance of new thinking, new work.
But take a moment to lay down the pride you have gathered in the proscenium.
At the temple, the audience may not know your name, but will completely identify with your art. They do not care about the awards and fellowships you have won; but you will rarely be able to replicate the joy in their applause. Do we truly have the equanimity to accept their words with the same sincerity as that of a critic's? Time to think.
Shivaratri has filled dance in the temples of not just Chidambaram- Tanjore-Kumbakonam but also temples across other towns and cities. To take art to the layman will be our biggest gain in the decades to come. May we reach out to several more people in the temples, on the banks of rivers, on the beaches and in city squares- not just on Shivaratri but on all other days of the year. This will be a project with assured gratification in returns. Tell stories- simple or complex. The moment you have left your pride behind, you will realise that the layman is in fact a connoisseur!
It is weird that I mention Ravana on Shivaratri. He was a devout Shaivite, a strategic ruler of his people. But popular myths talk of his infamous pride. Pride that met its end at the hands of humility.
It is a story everyone knows.
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 such recitals for him so that he can begin to appreciate not just the simple tales but also the more layered ones? Maybe he can one day understand the subtleties of a sanchari?
As I write down these thoughts I realise how snooty I sound. I have subconsciously classified myself into 'elite artiste' and the lay man into 'simpleton'. In a snap I realise that in my so-called layman audience, there is no critic looking for technical perfection; there are no colleagues evaluating my execution; there are no people looking for 'something new' or 'mind-blowing'. They are a group of people sitting on the stone floor who have come to simply ENJOY the art that I am sharing. As an artiste, it doesn't get more gratifying than that- that your art has reached the hearts of your audience.
And yet, we yearn applause from the critics, colleagues and elitists alone while the layman's applause is incidental. In our journey of building careers as artistes, it is of course vital that we gain the acknowledgement and applause from veterans, critics, colleagues et al. It would be foolish to dismiss their importance in our lives. One can also not dismiss the importance of new thinking, new work.
But take a moment to lay down the pride you have gathered in the proscenium.
At the temple, the audience may not know your name, but will completely identify with your art. They do not care about the awards and fellowships you have won; but you will rarely be able to replicate the joy in their applause. Do we truly have the equanimity to accept their words with the same sincerity as that of a critic's? Time to think.
Shivaratri has filled dance in the temples of not just Chidambaram- Tanjore-Kumbakonam but also temples across other towns and cities. To take art to the layman will be our biggest gain in the decades to come. May we reach out to several more people in the temples, on the banks of rivers, on the beaches and in city squares- not just on Shivaratri but on all other days of the year. This will be a project with assured gratification in returns. Tell stories- simple or complex. The moment you have left your pride behind, you will realise that the layman is in fact a connoisseur!
It is weird that I mention Ravana on Shivaratri. He was a devout Shaivite, a strategic ruler of his people. But popular myths talk of his infamous pride. Pride that met its end at the hands of humility.
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