LAST WEEK....

Priya Sakhi

It has been a while since I addressed you. The past week has been crazy-- the best part of it being spent at Anusha's wedding celebrations.

Anusha is Sudha Aunty's student-- she came when she was little. She was the cutest little chubby girl, who has now blossomed into a tall, slim pretty young woman. The striking feature of Anusha is her wonderful heart... She is passionate about dance, music. Here was a bride who took time to talk to everybody, make them comfortable....

Here is wishing Anusha and Varun a wonderful life.

Talking of Anusha is how she shed extra kilograms with great determination and focus. Hats off.

Of course I have to talk of weighty issues-- and natya.

I have found many say emphatically that a dancer `HAS' to be slim. `She has no business to be on stage'.
(So what if she is immensly talented). People snigger at artistes who are on the heavier side. Laugh behind their backs. Only slim dancers have star statuses. They can prance on stage, combine lithe martial movements, strike passionate poses at the most sombre moment.  Use stage craft like  dull lighting at an intense Abhinaya moment. Touche. 

 To them, what are adavu-s ? Tat tei ta ha? tei ha tei hi? 

 (Ah !Priya Sakhi I must tell you about the Kuditha Mettu Adavu-- it is most abused in and outside the world of Bharatanatyam. Have you seen them in Bollywood numbers? There is that lift of the shoulders, whether the heel lifts or not)!

Then we talk of the soul of a dancer that is absent now. Of the varying preferences in the spectators. Poet Kalidasa says, `Loke binna ruchihi'-- there are people who have different tastes. So that is why I wonder how does one  review a work of art? Personal preferences will definitely creep in?   How does the critic review the art-- what appeals to him/her or is there a common benchmark?

 Sakhi, so it was interesting to read about two reviews of two choreographic pieces in The Hindu, last Friday.  One work I did not relate to.  The other I thought was brilliant. But while the former got a rave review,  for the latter, the credit  that the work deserved was glaring in it's absence. 

I am an outspoken person. But bear with my mystery Sakhi. One day, I will have the guts to come out and say the names openly. Till then let me be a coward, with spurts of `hot air' moments.

The first impression that a dancer makes , the entry, is very important.  That is what Sudha Aunty told us.That is when physical attributes, costume, make up  matter. But after that the art takes over. 

 But then different things work for different people. For me a wonderful margam works well. A good thematic presentation  interests me. A visit into past absorbs me for I feel history is very important . But at the same time, I love experimentations, the honest ones.  

Love a jathi with all the sharkal-s, tat tei taha and kudhitha mettu-s without shoulder lifts.

Love the `thol thalli' momnets in jati-s. Love that `usi' in a small intricate jati. Love the saachi glance in the padam. Love the rhythmic tillana and the quiet slokam, that puts me in a reflective mood. I do see the physical attributes of a dancer/s for a short while, yeah she is wearing a lovely necklace... the `zebra lines' in the costume irritates me... but very often it is the work itself that excites me. Music, the singing, the musicality of the dancer is what I look for. 

But hey who am I?  Am I the not so slim dancer trying to shed her extra pounds. I am the outspoken one, they  say.  But, hey, do my opinions matter?

Yes! to Me and You,  in MY space. Sakhi Praana....