Drupad Yavanika June 2022

About the Cover:

Yavanika Editorial Team: Dr. Ashish Pillai, Director, Drupad Dance Academy, Indore. Purva Pande, Director, Vibhavari Nrityashala, Indore.

Mrs. Geetha Pillai, Secretary, Drupad Society for Arts and Holistic Development, Indore.

Akansha Dixit, student, Drupad Dance Academy, Indore.

Front 1: A click from pre Basant Panchami celebration at Drupad Dance Academy.

Front 2: A click of Drupad team at Krishnapura Chatri, a heritage monument in Indore (M.P.).

Back: A pre-performance click of Academy student's Mothers at AIDA International, Udaipur.

FromtheEditor's Desk

Dance is the penultimate mode of worship. It is very aptly said "Devo Bhutva Devam Yajet" be the God to worship God. Bharatha beautifully put his treaties on dance music and drama in Natyashastra which led to great many works which eloquently shaped our artistic culture. His predecessors discussed , criticized , rebuild restructured those treatise. We are a generation who is empowered with power of media. We have access to literally everything around the world. It's time that we explore, read and study the world around us. Relive our tradition reinvent, take it to world like never before.

Let's reimagine the works of our legendary scholars but for that one has to look deep into their works.

The sole purpose of this magazine was to connect with the current generation. As a mouth piece Drupad Yavanika hopes to instill the urge to continue in the field of dance. With the same motto to keep it going, this issue has more to offer than the previous edition. More exploratory articles, more of the voice of current generation of dancers, ideas and information from annals of history all have been tried to included. It's important and very valid to have a bridge between today, tomorrow and yesterday.

Dance has become a part of the society once again as we all realized the benefits of dance and the thought that dance has to be a way of life. But in this transcendental period both Renaissance and Reformation of our traditional art form including dance has to be worked upon. There is indeed an urgency for it , and it has to be realized. It is a matter of awareness that we need to get going and actively involved in creating attraction towards traditional aesthetic and works. Interest generation has to be the primary goal.

During the journey of this magazine taking shape, I came across the thought that we are dancers and we write thoughts through our dance; we are not writers. I was indeed surprised. Isn't literature an important part of dance . Can writing and written literature be separated from dance. If dancers fail to write what they created , if they cannot write, what they think, if they find it tedious to share their thoughts and opinion won't it be a great tragedy? What will we the currents dancers or rather artist leave behind for the future generations to go through. It might be impossible to be a Bharat, Nandikeshwara or many other scholar who left indelible mark on art history and we could recreate, innovate, regenerate, re-work on what they left for us. We as artist should give a thought on this..

Let's give a thought towards writing about what we want to create, what we have created, what we have understood about what was given to us! Let's start by contributing few minutes a day to take up paper and pen to write.

Wishing all our readers best for the beautiful times ahead through our contribution towards our art.

Regards

Dr. Ashish Pillai

PaniditBirjuMaharaj

1938-2022

Birju Maharaj was born on 4th February 1938. Maharaj Ji as he was fondly called, was a noted poet, singer, composer, dancer and choreographer. He was born in a family of famous dancers which included Achchan Maharj ji and Shambhu Maharaj Ji. In modern dance world he is synonymous to Kathak Dance. He was born in Varanasi, his father Jagannath Maharaj was a famous court dancer in the princely state of Raigad. At the age of 9 he lost his father who was his role model. He started his dance journey from then on under his uncle's Shambhu Maharaj ji. At the age of 13 years he started teaching at Sangeet Bharti, New Delhi and later at Kathak Kendra. He opened his own dance institute Kalashram in 1988. Birju Maharaj ji won various awards and Honours. He received Padma Vibhushan from Indian government in 1986; he also was awarded with Sangeet Natak Academy Award and Kalidas Samman in 2002. He is also the recipient of he received the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar. He alsowonNationalFilmAwardforbestphotographyandFilmfareAwardsalso.

Birju Maharaj ji died at the age of 83 due to cardiac arrest on 16 January 2022

hewasbornbyoneandallandhewillalwaysbemissed

"Nadanamamani" Dr Janaki Rangarajan represents the future of Bharatanatyam dancers Since the age of 4, Janaki has been passionate about communicating through dance As a result of her self-motivation, passion, and dedication to Bharatanatyam, she has created an undeniably unique dance style. Dance lovers around the world have hailed her for her unique approach to Bharatanatyam. Janaki believes in maintaining the integrity of tradition and explores her creativity without compromising the classicism of the dance.

Janaki is the co-founder of Kalashraya, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting Indian classical art.

She travelled around the globe taking her productions which were loved enormously by massess and critics.

She started learning at the tender age of 4 under the tutelage of Smt Madhavi Chandrasekhar in Trichy.

After that She trained under Dr. Padma Subramanium for over 15 years She did her arangetram in the year 1993.

She is a well versed in carnatic music She trained unde the tutelage of Smt. Kamala Viswanathan in voacl and veena

Later she underwent advance training in vocal with Sri D K Nagarajan, younger brother of Smt D K Pattamal and Sri D K Jayaraman.

She is recipient of numerous awardsandaccoladesincluding: Naanamamani, Nritya shiromani , SIngar mani, straus Fellowship for choreography 2010 Metro DC Awardamongmanyothers.

She one of the most loved and popularbharatanatyamdanseuseof thecurrentgeneration.

HER ROLE MODEL HER ROLE MODEL HER ROLE MODEL

Professionally- Not one but a few- Artist that have a clear voice with in depth research and integrity in their work.. socially conscious Art that is well thought of inspires me.. personally, the only role model that is close to my soul is my பா (my grandmother)

MOST INSPIRING MOST INSPIRING MOST INSPIRING MOMENT MOMENT MOMENT

ADVICE TO ADVICE TO ADVICE TO YOUNSTERS YOUNSTERS YOUNSTERS

Don’t expect quick results- Surrender to Art completely and work hard. Your talent is nothing without hard work. Learn constantly and empower yourself in all aspects of the art form. Let the Art lead you organically!

SAD MEMORY SAD MEMORY SAD MEMORY FROM DANCE FROM DANCE FROM DANCE JJOURNEY JOURNEY OURNEY

Many but the one etched in my mind is the exhilarated feeling that I experienced as a very young girl watching the greats from the last row of Krishna Gana Sabha - I saw not just BN and those moving images still inspire me as I understand myself

Nothing sad- Even so, it was a learning experience.

YOUR MASSAGE TO RASIKAS YOUR MASSAGE TO RASIKAS YOUR MASSAGE TO RASIKAS

Genuine appreciation, knowledge based feedback and not just support by attending but attend by buying tickets to help the Art community thrive!

Kud dance is performed during nights in honor of gods ‘Lok Devtas’ as a thanks giving ritual. Dance by young and old alike. Special Musical instruments like Chhaina, Drums, Narsingha and flute are used in this dance. It is generally performed in centre of mountains in and around Jammu during rainy season. People from nearby villages join the local farmers in the celebrations. Everyone is in their best attire and dance through thenightandcelebrateinafestivespirit.

DUMHALDANCE

Dumhal` dance is a famous dance wherein Dancers are dressed up sporting colourful coloured gowns and conical caps studded with beads and appearance definitely beautiful. It is completed with the aid of using handiest adult males of Wattal at some point of unique occasion. This dance could be very special from all of the dances completed that's completed on set places and the set occasions..There is a unique ritual way wherein dancers should dance and abanner is dig into the floor and dance typically takes to the air with institution of guys dancing round this banner. Dancers sing in a melodious voice in refrain and they're joined with the aid of using drum beats in between.

ROUFDANCE

This dance style is practiced on festive occasions such as Eid and Ramzan. Performed by a group of women facing each other, the most striking feature of this dance style is the dancer's footwork. This is commonly pronounced "ruf" in villages and "row" in towns. It is performedattheonsetofSpring.

BHANDPATHER

Bhand Pather is a theatrical dance. it includes both play and dance making it captivating for the audience. It projects the normal lives, traditions and evils prevailing inthesociety.

HAFIZADANCE

It is a dance that is performed at weddings and is a form of Kashmiri traditional dance. There is a special instrument used in this dance known as Santoor that contains almost hundred strings and is played with thehelpofsticks.

BACHHANAGMA

Bachha Nagma is performed at cultural gatherings or special functions perfomed only by Boys or men dressed as boys. Perfomed in group of 6 to 7 members with one of the dancers leading as singer andothersjoininaschorus.

Remona Evette

one among the winners of Rashtriya Baal

Puraskar 2022

I am Ramona Evette Pereira from Mangalore Karnataka I am 16 years old and currently Studying at Paduva PU College Nandur. I have received many awards in the field of dance. I have also created three records through my dance which are mentioned in India Book of Record, Golden Book of World Record, London and Bharat Book of World Record I have performed in 16 states of India. I started my dance journey when I was three years old and from past 13 years I am been trained under Guru Dr. Sri Vidya Muralidhar. I have received many awards across the country and have also received government awards from our State Government of Karnataka like, Jilla Rajyotsava award in 2017, Bal Gaurav Puraskar in 2021. I also received Pradhanmantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 20 22 from our honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and also I got a chance to Virtually interact with our honorable Prime Minister I have been practicing many dance forms which is Classical Bharatanatyam semi classical contemporary hip-hop etc. I have been using several props in my dance, like, dancing on glass pieces, dancing on glass tumbler, dancing on copper plate, dancing on mud pot, dancing using magic tricks, balancing on wooden roll, using Hula Hoop, holding Deepa and Flame pot on head, dancing on Iron nails, dancing using skate shoes, balancing pot etc.

Tell us about your Ranga Pravesha/ Arangetram:

The most valuable moment of my life was when my Guru told me that i am going to do ranga pravesham, though at that time I was not quite sure what was rangapravesam. Mam taught me about it and did a lot of hard work. She took my classes from morning 5 till midnight to 1 o'clock. I did continuous, restless practice . My guru composed many songs during those times in between one of our musician became unwell we had a hard time finding a new one. In Rang PraveshI performed nearly 8 items. It was very hard and there was very less time to prepare. My guru inspired to manage everything along with dance with patience Dance in a short period of time has taught me so much and made me a adept at handling difficult situations. My rangapravesha was successfully completed on October 26 2019.

How do you feel receiving Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

I came to know about my selection to receive this award around three days before the day it was to be given. I had not received any official communication regarding the same we had received a call regarding it we were a bit apprehensive. It was after receiving the official letter of confirmation that everything started to become real for us and we, that is me and my family were over the moon We were shocked then we called the officials and got to understand everything. I was also very happy that any one the awardee may get a chance to speak to Prime Minister sir. among so many deserving awardees it was very less of a chance that i would be chosen for the interaction. by God's Grace and luck I did get the opportunity to speak to Prime minister sir. i was informed 15 minutes before the ceremony that Prime Minister sir would be interacting with me from the southern region as I have good command over Hindi. I was very happy at the same time I was very nervous too It was a golden opportunity for me.

I was chosen for this award in the field of Bharatanatyam and innovating it by using variety of props Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji asked me that how did I juggle between dance and education. I told him that i started dancing at the age of 3 onwards and family had been my biggest support. right from waking me up early in the morning and to taking to my classes. They motivated me to work hard. he also mentioned that I took so many risks in dance by using so many different and dangerous props in Dance

UKULELE: THEHAWAIIANINSTRUMENT

The ukulele is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin. It has four nylon strings. The volume of the instrument varies with size & construction. Ukuleles are of four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. Its place of origin is Hawaii. It was invented in the 1900s. It was developed in the 19th century in Hawaii (introduced by the Portuguese). 6 facts you didn’t know about the Ukulele:

The Ukulele is a descendant of an instrument called machete which is brought by Portuguese sailors visiting Hawaii.

Early ukulele strings were made up of cat or sheep gut. Most ukulele strings nowadays are made of nylon.

We all know that ukulele means ‘jumping flea’ in Hawaii. The Kingdom of Hawaii, translated the ukulele as ‘gift from afar’.

George Harrison of the Beatles is an avid ukulele fan. Before he passed away, he collected hundreds of ukuleles and he loved giving them away to friends.

In the 1920s, ukulele became an icon of the decade in the United States when it reached millions in sales.

Rock legend Jimi Hendrix was swayed into music by an unlikely source….an old and battered one –string ukulele.

नयऔररोजगार

अखलशपटल

भारतमसमारोहबनानयकएपरनहहोतह,चाहवहशादसमारोहहो,कोईयोहारयाकोईवशष

कायम।नयहमशासभारतीयसकतकाहसारहाह।एवखशीदशनकाएकवाभावकतरीका

ह।एकपशवरनतकबननकलएएकजमजाततभाकआवयकताहोतीह,काएऔरमागदशन

डासकरयरबतसमानजनकहऔरइससडासरकोअतरराीयमणकअवसरभीमलतहनय

नय अब कवल मनोरजन का मायम या हमार रचनामकदमागकोसतकरनकाएकोतनहह, बक यह आजीवका क एक अ ोत और यहा तककएकताकपमापतहोगयाह।

एक करयर वकप क प म अब इस लया जान लगा ह कलाकार क लए सरकारी और गर-सरकारी

व पोषण साए ह जनक ारा अययन, उत शण और याा क लए वभ छावया और

अनदान दए जात ह। ावसायक नय क लए औपचारक शा क आवयकता होती ह और ऐस कई कॉलज ह जो नय क वभ कार म नातक औरपरानातकपामदानकरतह।डीरखन

वाल उमीदवारएक पशवर शक बन सकत ह नय का अयास म बत जटल, थका दन वाला होता ह औरइसतदनकरनकआवयकताहोतीह।

एक पश क प म नय म कई करयर वकप हो सकतह।चऔरमताकआधारपरकोईभीइनम सकसीएककोचनसकताह।

*नयकलाकार (Dancer)

एक नय कलाकार बनन क लए चहर क अ भाव, मच पर उपत और आकषक उपत होनी

चाहए।

दशन करन वाल कलाकार का अपना समह होता ह

याउहकसीसमहकसाथकामकरनाचाहए।

उहन नय का अयास करन म बत समय बताया

होगा। नय क म लोग क लए सपक होना एक

फायदा ह और समय-समय पर दशक क च जानन

कलएजनताकसपकमरहनकआवयकताह।

नयशक (dance teacher)

इस म आन क लए का को समवत करन क लए शण कौशल, बत धय और बधन कौशल

होना चाहए। उह उस नय क बार म गहरा ान होना

चाहए । नय को ावहारक और सातक ान म

उहकशलहोनकअवयकताहोतीह।ताकवछा

को नय क सभी पहल को सखा सक। नतक जो

शणकोएकवसायकपमलनाचाहतह, उह कल, कॉलज, नय सानम नौकरी मल सकती ह

और व अपना वय का नय वालय भी खोल सकत

कोरयोाफर

मनोरजनउोगमअऔररचनामककोरयोाफर

क बत माग होती ह । अ कोरयोाफर को टज

शो, टलीवजन, लाइव शो, समारोह या फम क लए

कोरयोाफ करन क लए अवसर मलत ह और उह

उनक काम का अा पसा भी मलता ह। कोरयोाफग म नय क रचना करना, नतकयको

शत करना और वभ चरण का एक पटन

बनानाशामलह।अनभवीनयऔरसगीतकअ

समझ अततः आपको एक अा कोरयोाफर भी बनासकतीह।

अभनयकरयर

यद आप एक डासर ह और आपक पास अा

अभनय कौशल ह तो आप फम उोग म आन का

वकप भी चन सकत ह। बॉलीवड म एक सफल

अभनता बनन क लए डास और एटग एक

महवपण कजी ह। सबस अा उदाहरण ऋतक

रोशन का ह। आपको शत करन और फर फम

उोग म शामल होन म मदद करन क लए

अकादमक ग भी ह। फम उोग कसी भी

फम म बक डासस क लए एक मच भी दता ह। उनकाढ़सकपउहअभनताबननकामौकाभीद

सकताह।

नयचकसक

डास थरपी एक बत ही सवदन शील करयर ह, जो भावनामकऔर वहार सबधी समया वाल लोग

को शरीर क गतवधय और भाव क मायम स खद

को करना सखाकर उनक मदद करता ह। इस थरपीकोडासमवमटथरपीकहाजाताह।चकसक

लोग और समह क साथ नयतस करत ह जहा उनक वहार और भावना का नरीण करन क लए शारीरक गतवधय का उपयोग कया जाता ह। वअपनीसमयाकोजाननकलएोध, मआद पराहककअभकजाचकरसकतह।अपन ती या शात भाव को जारी करन क लए सगीत क गतकाउपयोगकयाजाताहयहजीवनकमानसक औरशारीरकपकोएककतकरनकबारमह

नयकासभावनासभराआह

हालाक इस क बार म सचना नटवक अय

क तरह कशल नह ह। अधकाश लोग को यह

नह पता होता ह क नय कतन अवसर दान कर

सकता ह। लोग आज भी डास को करयर नह शौक

समझतह।

नयमकरयरकलएछाव / अनदान:

1. वभ साकतक

2. सकत मालय, भारत सरकार अपनी

को परा करन वाल चयनत वान को उत शण क लए दो साल क लए हर महीन 5000

।

यह योजना भरतनाम, कथक, कचपड़ी, कथकली, मोहनीअम, ओडसी नय/सगीत, मणपरी नय/ सगीत, थागटा, गौड़ीय नय, छऊ नय/सगीत, सया

नय क लए माय ह। छाव क अवध दो वष क

होगी।

यहराीयराजधानीदलीसरकारकासाकतक

वग ह। यह उत शणक लए दो साल क लए 3000 तमाहकछावदानकरताह।

3. साहयनाटकअकादमीगतऔरसानको अनदानभीदानकरतीह।

4. नय म शारीरक ऊजा का बत उपयोग होता ह

और कई कलाकार शारीरक समया क कारण

अपन तीसव दशक क अत म नय करना बद कर दत ह।कछनयशककपमकामकरनाजारीरखत ह, कोरयोाफर और अय शासनक या पर

टक रहत ह। नतकय म नौकरय क लए ती तधाहोतीह।

नयजीवनकमयकासवधनकरताह।

नतक को बड़ी माा म वतन नह मलता ह लकन व

अपनी कला क दशन और उपयोग स सत का अनभवकरतहनयकलाकोलोगजीवकाकासाधन नहमानतहइसहमएकउदाहरणससमझतह–

यहहमशानयकलाकारकसाथहोताह:

लोग:बटा,तमयाकरतहो?

कलाकार: म नय (कोरयोाफ) सखाता / म एक नतक

लोग: ओह अा! और आप अपन जीवन यापन क

लएयाकरतह?

यह कहा गया ह क "जब आप वह करत ह जसस

आप यार करत ह, तो आप जो करत ह वह पजा बन

जाती ह "नय म करयर को अब गभीरता स लया

जानाचाहए।

यहसोचबदलगईहकडासगमकरयरयादालबा

नह चलगा। डासर हो या कोरयोाफर, अब उह समानकनजरसदखाजाताह।

कई ब को डास करना पसद होता ह। कछ का यह भीकहनाहकवबड़होकरडासरबननाचाहतह। बत

नयसमाजकादपणह,दपणपरधलजम

तोउससाफकरनाहोताह।

अपनसपनकोहककतमबदलनकलएयाकर:1.

1.अपननयपकबारमसभीानातकर

2. आप जस कार का नय सीखना चाहत ह, उस

सीखन क लए वय को नय का या सानम नामाकतकर।

3.नयमडीातकर।

4. नय क वभ चरण को एक सदर पटन म सट करनकायासकरऔरनयकलासीख।

5.जनसपकबनाएऔरअपननटवककोमजबतकर

डासकोकरयरकपमलनकबतसारअवसरह

लकन इसका मतलब यह नह ह क डासर बनना आसानह।अपनसपनकोसाकारकरनकलएबत

महनत और यान दन क आवयकता ह। बना कसी पछतावकआपकरातमआनवालीबाधाकोपार करनकलएआपकोमानसकशकआवयकता

होतीह।

"लोकयता का शॉटकट ह लकन उकता का नह"

इसलए हमशा नय करत रह।

"नय करन का कोई मौका न चक"

सा ारा नह बय को कक तथा ओडसी नय का शण दना आरभ कया। इदौर म कक

क वचव क कारण उहन शआत कक स करी परत बाद म उहन कवल ओडीसी नय क चार एव सार को अपना लय बनाया और मा कछ ही वष म इदौर ही नह अपत पर मय भारत म ओड़ीसी

नय को भी ापत कर दया। छदक कला अकादमी क शया न भारत

जबा रहा क उहन ओडीसी नय को नई ऊचाइया द। छदक कला अकादमी ारा तवष छदकोसव

आयोजत कया जाता रहा। तीन दवसीय नयोसव म वभ शाीय नय क बड़-बड़ ग जन एव

कलाकार को दश-वदश स आमत कर इदौर क दशक को यह सौभाय दया क वह उनक तत को

सम दख सक। डालया मम का नय क त जनन एव समपण ही ह जसन ओडीसी नय को मय भारत

म अम प म खड़ा कर दया। उनस सकड़ छाा न शण

ENDEAVOURS BEYOND THE BORDERS

Anjali Nandan the founder of Online Bharatnatyam.com is Keralite settled in Dallas, US with her husband and two kids she speaks about her journey.

Her roots and training

My mother's family has a strong background in Malayalam literature. While my Paternal family are entrepreneurs. Both my maternal grandparents compose poems, write articles, and are wonderful orators. My grandmother used to train a lot of kids for the kalolsavam. Ammama has also written scripts for Ottam Thullal competitions That’s how my mother was interested in art I started to dance because my mother wanted me to dance I was about seven years old when I started learning Bharatanatyam. My very first teacher was Mrs. Madhurai Kelkar. I trained for 8 years until I completed my Visharad with her from Bharatiya Sangeeta Samitti. Later Ambujakshan sir who used to run a Natyam school in Mulund. Kalamandalam trained teachers would teach Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattom there Under my second teacher, I got to do several live performances for Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattom My journey as a teacher began as a teaching assistant to my martial arts sensei during my teens. I guess teaching technique and the confidence to face a group of students came from there. Later when I chose Natyam, I worked as a dance teacher at schools and had my independent students locally.

Journey of onlinebharatanatyam com:

OnlineBharatanatyam.com started as a blog in 2007 I had nothing to do since I had to wind up my Mumbai classes and bid farewell to my students to move to Pune. One fine day my husband Nandan introduced me to blogging. It was a novel idea then. The site aims at providing Bharatanatyam lessons online. While there is no substitute to the traditional Guru-Shishya (Teacher-Student) way of imparting this knowledge, the content here can supplement and help a new learner understand the basics. Slowly people started commenting on the posts. They wanted videos, and that’s how the YouTube channel began. Eventually, I moved to the US due to my husband's work. My blog viewers wanted to learn more about the steps I described and posted pictures of in the blog. Thus, I began teaching online in 2008 through Skype

Connecting with the students around the world like Australia, Germany, Dubai pretty much many places. Now we have a couple of teachers assisting me to take online classes.

From online to stage tell us about the Arangetram of students learning on our online platform.

We had the good fortune to offer Arangetrams to students who started learning from me in 2009 and 10. They finally did their Arangetrams in 2017/18 with a live orchestra from Bangalore Frankly, I had never imagined conducting an Arangetram by online teaching alone. But it was the parents who believed in the process. Kids were motivated, the parents were enthusiastic and proactive I was in wonder that this was happening!!!! I think if our conscience is clear, intentions are to help and serve, everything falls in place.

Lessons learned from online teaching:

a) When you interact with a person online for about 5 to 6 years and have not met them in person, our minds have already created assumptions and preconceived notions about them and their families But finally, when you meet them, live, and share the same space and food with them for a week you realize, oh my god, this was not what I had imagined These days I don’t make assumptions or preconceived notions about anybody. I do my job and get out.

b) Whatever may be the mode of learning a student must find time to practice on their own Only those who have the motivation and discipline to spend time with dance/ art by themselves on their own figuring out the right and wrongs move ahead. When such students perform it is obvious This form of practice is Sadhana/Riyaz, which pays off in the long run Our scriptures talk about Sravanan, Mananam, Nididhyasana, and Sakshatkara. In simple words, Sravanam means to listen carefully to what the teacher is saying with uninterrupted attention

Mananam is a phase where a student reflects on the subject, creating notes and going through the lessons or contemplating over it. In today's times watching/hearing the video/audio lesson repeatedly also is mananam. Also tried to read between the lines This would also mean figuring out the ornamentations used to improvise an Adavu. Nididhyasana is when you practice what you learned to get your muscle memory strong. And finally, Sakshatkara is to make that body language your own or to live it. What it means for a dancer is through Nididhyasana, the language and vocabulary with which you perform is unique. And that is what we are all looking for is a “unique identity ” But all that takes hard work

Pandemic and online Bharatnatyam platform:

OnlineBharatanatyam.com has only been growing in views. At one point in time, I had to stop looking at the emails and requests I got for online classes I like to keep enough time for my family and kids Too much work or so called “passion” is harmful for a happy balanced family life.

During the time of the pandemic, the entire school moved up online, without any inhibitions So from single private lessons, it got upgraded to group lessons. I had the entire group of 7 to 8 kids up online with me at a time which was amazing. I was saving so much time Hybrid sessions are catching up Students are in the studio and online at the same time. I have the freedom and the confidence to tell them that OK I have Wi-Fi available in the studio if you’re not well, stay home, attend classes if you can Hybrid is the new normal We must accept these changes

Now I have a teacher/student assisting me to take online classes.

Ongoing learning:

Currently, I’m pursuing Mohiniattom from Mrs. Aswathy Srikanth. Ashwathy ji and her spouse Srikanth Natarajan are wellknown dancing duos in the field of Bharatanatyam It’s been almost 4 years of online lessons now and we have completed a Margam in Mohiniyattam. As far as Bharatanatyam is concerned, I try to be as independent as possible to choreograph for my students and perform Madhuri teacher is no more

I upgrade myself by attending workshops by visiting artists like Shijith Nambiar and Kalakshetra Mohanan. I have also learned from Jayakamala Pandiyan Akka, the daughter of legendary Vazhavoor Rajaratnam Pillai She would visit my house when in Dallas and we would get a chance to understand Vazhaoorar’s compositions. During the pandemic years I got to connect with Artists like Ramachandran Muralidharan Sir, Shankar Kandasamy ji, Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam Akka, and Srikant Natarajan Sir to learn about their work and specialization. I have worked with Mridangist and Nattuvangist to improve my Thalam skills Learning is an ongoing/eternal process. The more I delve deeper, I realize that I know nothing. And that is a humbling experience.

Tips for people who opt for online training. Wh shouldn't.

Online stude motivated to the long term proactive to opportunities different pla teacher They disciplined to practice rout When you h your teacher, vibes in an i are instantly e

Online classes may not be suitable for everybody. Some young kids are so playful, how do you get them to do something like Theermanam/ Makuta/ Sutral Adavus in regular online sessions? In such cases, private online lessons or in-person training are much more suitable.

Patience is the key for online classes to be successful. As a teacher, how we talk, and communication matters a lot In an online setting, we must describe an Adavu elaborately verbally as well as physically. I mean it can be very exhausting as a teacher.

Finally, any mode of learning has its challenges, keeping your focus

GodsofDance

The Dance is universal. Dance has been a part of human life right from the beginning of the civilization and there are many archaeological evidences to support the idea. Dance as way of ritualistic practice as well as for recreation were in existence. In India we have a saying “Devo Bhutva Devam Jayet” which promulgates to worship God by becoming God. Indian dances are deeply interwoven into religious practices and great aspect in their evolution being divine interventions. In Indian culture Shiva is the God of Dance, and we take pride in our dances for we believe it as way to salvation. Shiva in India is known as “Natraj” or the King of Nat (Dance and Drama). But it’s a fact that apart from India many other cultures too have God or Godesses of Dance, Music or Arts. This International dance day let us look into the divine beings that are considered as deities of Dance.

India

Shiva is the cosmic dancer, he is the part of the Hindu trinity comprising of Brahma Vishnu and Shiva. Shiva as the Natraj is the inspiration behind the Indian Classical Dance forms. There is great symbolism for Shiva is considered as the destroyer among the trinity yet the Natraj who holds Damru, fire , serpentine locks and trident, also keeps his hands in Mudra of Abhay and Daanand slays the demon Apasmara. He is the one who dances Tandava, often considered fierce dance of destruction. But many don’t know Shiva’s Tandav are also of many types and he danced at variety of occasion. His consort Parvati danced Lasya which was feminine and full of grace and elegance. Hindu Gods Kali, Krishna, Ganesha danced and many gods played music. Goddess Saraswati is considered as Goddess of Art ad Knowledge. Celestial being like Gandharvas and Apsaras were fully devoted to creation and performances of dance and music.

Mayan and Aztec

Mayans revered Ah-Xoc-Xin as god of poetry and dance. Xochipilli was an Aztec god of poetry and dance. Xochipilli is typically represented with flowers around his body. They worship their gods because they wanted their protection. The flowers on the left leg of Xochiplli were eaten by the Aztecs in order to acquire knowledge.

Greek and Romans

Hermes was the son of Zeus who was considered as God of dance or the guardian of Dancers, whereas his Son “Pan” was considered Lord of Dance or dance Master. Greek Goddess Terpsichore was one of the 9 daughters of Zeus who were begotten and considered to be Goddesses of the arts in Greek mythology. Terpsichore got her name from the fact that her field was choruses and dance. It is considered that she delights her followers with the good things that come from education. Dioysus often known as Bacchus among Romans was God of Agriculture, fertility, fun and dance.

Japan

Goddess Ame-No-Uzume-No-Mikoto is a Shinto goddess. According to legends when the god of the underworld, Susano-o, rebelled against his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu went into hiding, causing darkness in the world. All the other Gods put up efforts to bring her out the hiding but. Ame-No-Uzume-No-Miko came to the world’s rescue through her dance. It worked, Amaterasu got over her anger, and the sun shone again She is considered as daughter of Heaven.

Statue_of_Xochipilli _(From_the_Nationa l_Museum_of_Anthr opology,_Mexico_Cit y)

PanandDaphnis

AmeNoUzeme

Syria

In the Cannanite culture, Baal Marqod was the deity of dancing. He was the chief god of Deir el-Kala in Syria, he loved to spin around. He was nicknamed “Lord of the Dance". According to evidences available believed him to be inventor of dance. His temple was on a lone mountain and was a solo God.

Cambodia

Cambodia: Mera was a celestial dancer who married Kambu, who founded Khmer. Apasaras are nymphs who appear in many Asian mythologies. Mera was honoured through court dances. Apsara dances are still very popular form of dance in Cambodia, famous around the world for beautiful costume, ornaments and synchronisation.

Egypt

Bastet was the Goddess of fertility in Egyptian mythology, she was represented by the cat, and she was considered goddess of Joy, dance, music and celebration. Hathor was another Goddess who was considered as deity for Love and dance along with sexuality and maternal care. She was the symbol of Egyptian femininity, often called Eye of Ra. Her ministry was formed by dancers, singers, actors, and acrobats.

Hawai

In Hawaiian Mythology Laka is known as Goddess of Hula which is the traditional dance of Hawai. She is also the Goddess who looks after the forest and vegetation. A hula dancer prays to Laka for the inspiration for the movements. Laka Inspires and teaches respect, commitment, diligence and commitment to nature.

Europe

St. Vitus is considered as the patron saint for dance. St. Vitus was a martyr for catholic church. In many places across Europe there are dance processions held in his honour on his day of martyrdom which falls on 15th June.

Bastet

Laka

St.Vitus

BaalMarqod

Madurai Murlidharan : A musical Genious

What got you in dance and music? Please share your musical journey with us.

I never wanted to become a dancer, it pretty accidental; I never wanted to be in music field as i do not belong to a musical family. I didn't have plan to get into music industry. My elder sister used to go to dance class and my father used to take me to her dance class with the purpose of picking her up. I have a younger sister as well. Initially I was forced to go for a dance class and I never showed interest till I became 17. Under my guru i performed for a government program organised for foreign delegates, it was there that I realized the value of Our Indian classical dance and Music. Everybody was praised my dance and from thereon my interest peaked and my real journey in this field started.

Tell us about your guru and what do you think about guru shishya parampara? Do you think it is important for our generation?

Of course yes, Guru Shishya Parampara is important. our culture we say, “Mata, Pita, Guru, Devam” and in Tamil we say it as, “Annayum, Pithavum, Munnari, Devam” in both the saying Devam comes last that is the importance of Guru.

I strongly believe that guru is definitely one who enlighten us with knowledge. In my life, without my guru like my dance guru, my vocal guru, my mridangam guru i wouldn't have been anything and you wouldn't be taking my interview today. Even when I am composing a small korvai, I think about my guru and I pray; then only I start my composition. Without knowing alphabets, without knowing grammar, you can not write a poem, you can not write a story, you can not write a novel not even write a proper sentence. It is Guru one and only who shows the way the marga. My dance guru is Kalaimamani Smt Chamundeswari Pani, she is a senior disciple of Padmashree Karaikal Natesa Dhandayudhapani Pillai, my vocal guru is Madurai T.Sethuraman and my mrindangam guru is Madurai T. Shrinivasan. During my childhood I did'nt have any fun as I was always involved in my dance class vocal class mridanagam class etc. it was not until I reached 32 years of age I realized I had missed so much fun during childhood.

So we have to understand this before we keep our leg on the floor. Without understanding Jati, how can we do justice to our music and dance. 99% of those in the field don’t want to learn about them but basically in music and dance they say “mata laya pita” and today it stands to remain true only in paper. Most of the dancers don’t care about it They leave it to their mrindangam accompanist and nattuvanar. They don’t want to go deep into it. at many occassions I saw mridangist playing the big role of a conductor and even as a nattuvanar. But dancer should take the lead. Hence I am trying to teach all the dancers the magic of tala. I conducted almost 25 weeks 3 nattuvangam class so almost all over the globe 3000 dancers they learned. So I am trying to educate whatever I know I used to tell my daughter that at the end of my life I will tell the god that you have given everything and I have given everything to this world I don’t have anything in my hand so like that I will leave.

Do you feel criticism is important for an artist? What is your thought about it?

You are welcome to do healthy criticism. You should not take pen to the program and say to self "Ok, today I will be finding only the fault" and go on to write “that this girl's hand is not proper, this is not right, this was wrong”. a healthy criticism and balanced review helps the artist grow , correct themselves and open door for growth.

Artist also have a life of their own. For example, a dancer might be facing lot of problem it be personal , social emotional physical anything; and on the same day he/she might be having a program, dancer may forget something. Mistakes may happen. to understand and rate the dancer one has to see multiple performance. Dancers are like birds and bird fly only when the bird want to fly. how is it possible to ask a peacock to start dancing at at 6:30 today and finish by 6:45. dance comes from the core of the heart.

What message would like like to give to someone who wants to learn music or dance?

Music and dance will keep you young forever because it's a meditation. Everything of dance and music will keep your mind, body, soul young.

GuruSavitaGodbole

Guru Savita Godbole was born in Lucknow and was the disciple of legendary Kathak maestro "Lachchu Maharaj Ji" She was blessed with specialities of adakaari for which her guru was famous for. At the young age of 5 year she was encouraged to take up Kathak Dancing and started training under Shri KD Shrivastav at Kanpur

After compelting Graduation she started rigourous training under and directions of GURU LACHHU MAHARAJ JI With the grace of Guru, she excelled in both the styles of KATHAK - LASYA & TANDAVA. She underwent an Intensive under KHALIFA WAJID HUSSAIN and his son USTAD AFAQ HUSSAIN KHAN - the Great Maestros of Tabla of LUCKNOW GHARANA . She did Nritya Visharad from BHatkhande University and Nritya Prabhakar from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad She was first rank holder in MA Kathak from IKSVV, Khairagarh.

Mrs Savita kept on improvising the oerformance techniques to create her own distinct style without compromising with purity of Kathak. She was the founder of "Layashala Lalit Kala Samiti"; and works for the promotion of Kathak Dance, and the budding Artists. She passed away on September 4 2021.

DR. HONEY UNNIKRISHNAN JOURNEY TO MOHINIATTAM ARANGETRAM

I started my dance lessons under my mother Pramila Unnikrishnan. My Mother started taking classes for kids who lived near by I was never a serious Learner; as a kid, I wanted all the kids to play with me, so I used to disturb them and would not allow them to dance.

Slowly I started taking Bharatanatyam lessons seriously and started practicing with them. I was a quick learner so I graspedallthedancesthatweretaughtto seniors, slowly and steadily I started dancing on stage My first Bharatanatyam performance was in front of Ganapati during Ganesh Chaturthi. I started doing lot of stage performances with the students of the class. When I was 8 years old my mother introducedMohiniattamdancetome,she taughtmesomeofexercises

I fell in love with the graceful movements of mohiniattam. I performed chellakettu for the first time on stagewhen I was in standard fifth. It felt so good, it was an inexpressible feeling. I loved performing Bharatanatyam but doing mohiniattam on stage was something different already enchanted I chanced to see a mohiniyattam performance of Dr Neena Prasad mam in DD Malayalam and within next three days i got to see another performance of herinSuryafestival;Iwasinawe.

I decided that day that I am going to learn under her some day. I saw an advertisement of NTDC that there is a three day Dance Festival in Nagpur and listsaperfomanceof DrNeenaPrasad I jumped in excitement, I had test in my tuition but I decided to go and watch the performance.

That performance was just amazing, I went backstage post performance and spoke to her and she informed that she teaches at Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. I completed 10th 11th and 12th but my my dream was to go to Neena Prasad Mam and learn underher.Igotadmissioninbachelorsof dentistry, along with it i completed my bachelors in dance as well. I got married to Jiten Shankar Raj who is a film and advertisement director. Soon after my marriage I shifted to Chennai with my husband and immediately joined with myidolNeenaPrasadmadam.

Guru

ValmikiBanerjee

ReinventingRabindic StyleofDancing

Born in Barisal, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in the year 1926, Valmiki came from a culturally oriented middle class family, dancing was not considered a respectable profession for males in those days. After completing his school education in his native town Barisal, Valmiki came to Calcutta in the year 1944 and joined “The Oriental School of Music” where he happened to meet the renowned dancer Guru Jaydev Chatterjee. His other gurus were Prabhat Mishra, Tarachanda and Guru Sohanlal (Kathak). He started helping Guru Jaydev in his various choreographic assignments. Valmiki even got the opportunity to dance for several Bengali films like Meghadoot and Sri Tulsidas shot in the Calcutta studios. Eventually, he worked as the Assistant Director (Dance) for the Bengali film Pandit Moshai. Since Valmiki aspired to become a more versatile dancer, he left Calcutta in the year 1948 and came to Madras. With the opening of Kalakshetra where renowned Gurus taught classical dancing, Madras was then considered the dance capital of India. He learned Kathakali under Guru Gopinath and also learned the techniques of forming a ballet from him. He earned excellence in many Vidhas. He taught Kathak, Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Kuchipudi to his students He teaches many folk forms to his students also. His methodology of understanding a dance is different from others and he is never concerned only to the field. He used to analyze a dance form deeply and come up with his own findings. His journey of learning and teaching is never ended. He was like in the search of something. This quest did not let him sit quietly any longer. Observing his unsatisfied thirst of searching something his Guru Jayadeb Chatterji suggested him to search in his own surroundings. He says do not go too far, do not wander here and there; you will get in your surroundings whatever you are searching for. He took his Guru’s words as a sign from God. This is how he got the direction.

An overview by Ms. Priyanka Mishra, Dance Researcher and scholar

Tagore & theDanceConnection

To understand the philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, one must understand the connection of Tagore with dance and music. Tagore was just a kid when he witnessed the landlord’s customs of inviting the Bauls and Banjaras to their villas for providing entertainment to the kids and the ladies of the house. Bauls are vaishanav are mainly devotees and they used to wander around. They used to sing devotional song in the love of supreme god and dance in the sufi style accordingly. Tagore’s child heart was much impressed with their free exposition of love for the unseen god. This impression is easily seen in his choreography (presentation) of many songs. The lyrics of his many of songs also present the love and devotion for the unseen, the supreme. He used to call this style of dancing “Bhava-nritya,” where dancer forgets everything and without worrying about her/his looks and the perfection of the dance, they just get merged with bhava of song while dancing. His idea of creating own dance form started to take shape during the second decade of twentieth century. It was the time when the traditional dance art of India (devdasi dance) was undergoing a great transformation. Devdasi dance art was used to present by women who were married to the God and called devdasi-s. A large group of these women were belonged to the humble group from villages of India and were subjected to physical, economical and mental harassment by the influential people of that time society.

There was a time when people started to call them body traders, and there was a misconception that they were polluting the society and they should be banned to save the morality of people. Instead of the delusion they were actually the great carrier of age old pious dancing art of India. It was like a wake up alarm for the intellectuals and the social reformers of India and they took important steps to save the dancing art and rehabilitate the devdasi also.

Rabindranath Tagore was among them. He started dance education in Shantiniketan and it was the first effort of giving the dance art a respectable place. Shantinikten soon became the prime shelter for many available national and international dance forms. Tagore was very sincere and wanted his teachers to provide his students the complete and the best. He likes to observe the growth of his students personally and preferred to choreograph himself with the help of guru. He showed a childlike interest in learning dance even at such an old age. Although he helped in growing many classical forms in his ashram and wanted his students to learn each and every form with complete devotion, still he could never get out from the love of folk forms. The philosophy of the folk forms of humanism and equality could be a reason for his undying love for the same. His writings were dedicated to the same, including the famous dance drama Chandalika, Malini etc.

He believed in the philosophy of equal rights for everyone and that there is only one god for everyone. This philosophy matched with bauls and this may be a reason for this deep connection. However, when he witnessed the well framed dancesteps of classical dances and came to know that to become a trained dancer there is requirement of long-time dance education and hard practice; he restrained himself to involve in the intricate patterns of Angika abhinaya of classical dances. Nothing was impossible for multitalented Tagore but old age may be an obstacle. Whatever may be the reason but his philosophy of bhavanritya became the base of his dance creation. Hechoreographed many songs and plays. He chose his own songs to choreograph and fit them into his plays. However till his death there were a large collection of his songs, dance and plays.

Everything was spilled and not compiled. The process of his research was still going on when he died in the year 1941, at the age of eighty. The institute of Shantiniketan did not want to make any changes in his works and wanted to keep it the same way as Rabindranath Tagore left it.. Everything was apparently good but somewhere lacking in Tagore’s spirit. Guru Valmiki Banerjee decided to make rabindra-nritya a solid and learnable form. He wanted to save Tagore’s dance form for the upcoming generations as a heritage art.

Valmiki realized that “Dance is inherent in his songs and songs are inherent in his dances. this extensive co-mingling is like the union of Purush and Prakriti, though in a different sense” (Rabindranatyam 20).

Everything was spilled and not compiled. The process of his research was still going on when he died in the year 1941, at the age of eighty. The institute of Shantiniketan did not want to make any changes in his works and wanted to keep it the same way as Rabindranath Tagore left it.. Everything was apparently good but somewhere lacking in Tagore’s spirit. Guru Valmiki Banerjee decided to make rabindra-nritya a solid and learnable form. He wanted to save Tagore’s dance form for the upcoming generations as a heritage art.

Valmiki realized that “Dance is inherent in his songs and songs are inherent in his dances. this extensive co-mingling is like the union of Purush and Prakriti, though in a different sense” (Rabindranatyam 20).

Aharya Abhinaya

He observed that Tagore initially used the ornaments of golden grass for dancers in his choreography This grass was used during santhal folk dance of Bengal instead of golden ornaments. It was probably to maintain the low budget of dancers that time To make it convenient today Valmiki started the tradition of artificial gold jewelary that is both, economical and traditional for Tagore dance Following the tradition of Tagore, Valmiki also used two shrugs for dancers. A green shrug that shows Tagore’s love for nature and a batik print shrug that promotes the art of Bengal He made a little bit variation in the draping style of sari.

He preferred the parted-leg style of draped sari to make it convenient for the dancers while dancing. For the male dancers there is simple dhoti and shrug with minimal jewelary. liked to keep the same dress pattern for all dancers but for the lead role (the Queen or the King) he used different and more beautiful fabric to show the difference of the status. On the compare of aharya designed by Tagore and by Valmiki, I can say that there is much resemblance between both. It only proves that Valmiki did not try to hinder the work of Tagore and he tried to make only those variations that are needed.

Angika

Abhinaya

Angika abhinaya comprises of the movements of anga, upanga and pratyanga. These movements are practiced under the prescribed divisions of the Natyashastra; as drishti bheda, greeva bheda, chari bheda, bhramari, utplavana, hand movements and postures in the classical dances.

There were discussions on the effect of Manipuri dance on rabindra-nritya more than any forms. Apart from all the controversies, Valmiki was quite established in his thoughts that Tagore was never inspired with any other dance form and created his own form. Valmiki contributed in developing the angika of Tagore dance in rabindranatyam after a research. He kept every gesture in the angika part that is able to express bhava-s of Tagore’s song.

Vaachika Abhinaya

Tagore has written more than 3000 songs in his life time. He, like his own dance, created his own music also. His music is known as rabindra-sangita.

Mishra, a research scholar says in her article that Tagore created a dance that is a “loosely weaved or assembled structure which has the essence of different cultures and yet complete in itself” (Mishra 118). The effort of Banerjee to give it solid shape is an appreciable act. Rabindranatyam is definitely a beautiful dance art that deserves the respect like other classical dances. This art has the quality of natyadharmi as well as loka-dharmi in its tendency. It has all the rasa-s and the charms of nayika-s like a classical dance and a satisfactory presentation of life of common man too. It makes you feel attached to your ground reality and gives a proud feeling of having a heritage culture like Sanskrit classical dances. Guru Valmiki is a great teacher and mentor. He has created an army of dancers and disciples who are well trained dancers and gurus. They have been performing globally and passing the valuble spiritual lessons of Tagore to the audience. Some of them are dancer Nancy Sahu, Pranoy Mukherjee and Anupama Chanan. Nancy Sahu has put an example through winning the world dance contest in Rabindranatyam.

He and his disciples have been organizing workshops on Rabindranatyam to give respect to their guru and to spread awakening regarding Tagore’s beautiful dance art. Raasvrunda School of Dance of Mysore played a great role in publishing the book Rabindranatyam and promoting the dance art, under the guidance of guru Nandini Eswer and Dr. Rohitha Eswer; his disciples.

Guru Valmiki has created a new version of Tagore dance and painted a new vision of his philosophy on the world’s horizon. The dance form Rabindranatyam has newness in the way of its presentation, essence of folk culture and the sweet scent of age old classical dances. it definitely has the bright future in the world o theatre and an art that should be learned by as many dancers/people as possible, because it not only satisfy one’s artistic hunger but provide moral and spiritual lessons too.

He, it seems, did not like the long and tough aalaps of Indian classical music. He would rather like the folk music where simple lyrics in regional language with fewer instruments are used. Tagore found it more impressive than traditional classical music. He also created five tala-s and named as, Jhampak, Rupakada, Nabataal, Ekadashi and Shashthi. He used many available music instruments of that time, especially with harmonium, sitar, sarod, khol, chakhua, gilabandh, esraj, ghatam, tabla, flute or ek tara. His songs are the atma/spirit of his dance. Valmiki used his songs in his dance dramas without any changes.

Sattvika Abhinaya

Sattvika abhinaya is the strongest part of Tagore’s creations. It is also the most difficult part of any dance also. Tagore’s sattvika is different from other classical dances. The classical dances of India are mainly based on spiritual and religious themes and Tagore’s themes in his dances, songs and natya-s are day to day life. Valmiki claims that due to much involvement of natya elements in Tagoredance, it should be called as “natyam,” so he renamed rabindra-nritya as “Rabindranatyam.” To give Tagore’s creation a deserving place in the world of theatre, he also decided its gotra and gharana. In this modern age every dance art is in the search of recognition and respect.

All the Indian classical dance arts are getting its respect and have already an established place. Even many of the contemporary and western dance arts also getting their proper recognition on the world scenario, then why should be a beautiful dance art that was created by pioneer Rabindranath Tagore should be unrecognized and labeled as localized or regional art, when it is not? I do not think any act could be more thankful to Tagore than giving his art world recognition and an established place like other classical dance art. There have been discussions like, why should anyone interfere in Tagore’s creation? Answer is simple that everyone has right to know about Tagore, a Noble Laureate’s genius. His art and his philosophy should be known to everyone. The organization of Shantiniketan has been lacking somewhere in spreading the knowledge about Tagore’s creations. Their opinion may be right on its place that no one should try to change what Tagore has already created.

InancientHindusculpture,painting,andmythology,themridangamis oftendepictedastheinstrumentofchoiceforanumberofdeities includingGanesha(theremoverofobstacles)andNandi,whoisthevehicle andcompanionofLordShiva.

Themiruthangamisthusalsoknownas"Deva Vaadyam,"or"InstrumentoftheGods."

Nandiissaidtohaveplayedthemridangam duringShiva'sarcaneTandavadance,causinga divinerhythmtoresoundacrosstheheavens.

Theword"mridangam"isderivedfromthetwo Sanskritwords"Mrid"(clayorearth)and "Ang,"(body).

Theearliestmentionofthemridangamin Tamilliteratureisfoundperhapsinthe Sangamliteraturewheretheinstrumentis knownas'tannumai'.

The mridangam evolved to be made of different kinds of wood due to its increased durability, and today, its body is constructed from wood of the jackfruit tree.

The bass aperture is known as the "thoppi" or "eda bhaaga" and the smaller aperture is known as the "valanthalai" or "bala bhaaga".

ThemridangamhasalargeroleinNewamusic. OneoftheearliestNepalBhasamanuscripts onmusicisatreatiseonthisinstrumentcalled Mridangaanukaranam.

Itiswidelybelievedthatthetabla,the mridangam'sNorthIndianmusical counterpart,wasfirstconstructedbysplitting amridangaminhalf.

PuddukottaischoolandtheThanjavur schoolaretheearlyandmostpopular schoolsofmridangam.

योगऔरनयममाए

पयषमोटघर,नयागछदवाडा(म..)

मा मलत: सकत शद ह जसका अथ भाव - भगमा ह। यह 'मद' धात अथात 'आनद' तथा 'रा' यय अथात 'दना' जोड़न पर नमत आ ह । नय शाो क अनसार नय क सदरता

(ाणश)कवाहशारीरक

वायएवसातकमागकपमवणतह।

माएकाताकओरलजातीह।योगममाकायोगआसन,

ाणायाम व मलतः यान क समय कया जाता ह। मा शरीर क वभअगसबनतीह।योगशाोकअनसारमाअयासस

ाण, चोएवकडलनीकाजागरणसभवह।जसकारणयह

उ कोट का ान रखती ह तथा इस गओ क सानय म ही

कया आता ह। हमारा शरीर 5 तव स मलकर बना ह आकाश, वाय,आनजलपवी

हाथकसमतअगलयकोआपसममलाकरएवअगठकतजनीकसमीपरखइसकानमाण

। योग - कथक नय म आरभक मा होती ह, नय क वभ भाव जस नद क वाह, शयन क दशन, वायकवाह, दरवाजवखडककपटखोलनवबदकरन, शपथहणकरन, काटनक भाव,दपणआदकभावदशनमकयाजाताह। अभयमाकयोगसभयसम,सराजाणहोताह।मनयकोआतरकशवशातका

कतरीमखएवाणमा

हाथोकछोटअगलीएवअनामकादोनकोअगठसजोडाजाताहतथाअयअगलीसीधीरखी जातीह।नयमइसकतरीमखकहतहएवयोगमाणमाकहतह।

अनभवहोताह

पताकाएवअभयमा

माकानमाणकर,तजनीअगलीकोसीधारखाजाएतोसचमाकानमाणहोताह।

ममा

अयाससमनयशरीरकबड़ीआतकसफ़ाईहोतीहएवकजकसमयामभीराहतमलती ह।

हाथकमयमाएवतजनीअगलीकोअगठकसरसजोड़करइसमाकानमाणहोताह, नयम इसकटकामखएवयोगमकबरमाकहतह।

योग - नयम पप हार को पहननया अय सामाय आभषणको धारण

मयरमाएवपवीमा

हाथकमयमाएवअनामकाअगलीकोअगठसजोडनपरइसकानमाणहोताह।नयमइस सहमखमाएवयोगमअपानमाकहतह।

योग - नयमसह ,हरणऔरखरगोशककरदारकोदखानएवहवनमआतदनआदक भावदशनमकयाजाताह।

यहमानवशरीरकपाचनशकोबढ़ातीह, वातवपदोषको

रकरताह।शरीरकउसजनणालीकोनयतकरताह,शरीरसवषापदाथकोरकरती ह।

हाथ क तजनी अगली को मोड़कर अगठ क मल स शकर तथा मयमा अगली और

हाथोकतजनीअगलीकोमोड़करअगठकशीषसशकरनपरइसमाकानमाणहोताह। नयमइसहसायएवयोगमानमाह।

योग - नयमइसकायोगसदरतादखानमहोताह, जससदरमत, मोतीकोदखान, दपक

को दशत करन, पप क माला बनान तथा पपो को तोड़न क भाव को दशत करन म कया

जाताह।योगअनपयहयानमाह,यहवायतवकोउजतकरतीह,आमाकोशातरखती

ह।तनावकोरकरतीह,बातककमीसहोनवालसबचातीह।

हाथोकपाचोअगलयोकआपसममलाकरइसमाकानमाणहोताह।नयमइसमकलव योगमसमानमाकहतह।

सहमखमाएवअपानमा

हसायमाएवचनमा

मकलमाअथवासमानमा

Amazing Amazing Anil Anil

Malappuram (Kerala) based Kuchipudi dancer and Teacher Sri. Anil Vettikkattiri trained under Kuchipudi legends of our times including Nilambur Indrani Vishwanath, Geetha Sukumaran, Nilambur Mohan Master, Gireesh Naduvath, Baburaj Malappuram, Kalamandalam Husna Banu, Dr. Vasundhara Duraisami, Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi, Natya Visharada Anupama Mohan, Kalaimamani Shailaja, Nithya Kalyani Chennai (Nattuvangam Guru)

He has directed the 10 episodes of Devikam for Asianet and Navyami Navarathri Doordarsan. He did choreography for the film Nayanam and also worked for Seven Albums. He has composed music in more than 50 works written by Sri. Suresh Naduvath and OM Manoj.

He has been awarded Natya Kousthubham Puraskar, Nadanakalanidhi Puraskar (2014) , International Dance Day Award, Simhapuri Natya Rathna Puraskar , Narya Rathnakara Puraskar.

When did you start training and when When did you start training and when when did you do Arangetram? Arangetram?

My sister Usha Srinivasan was my first guru, elder to me by 10 year used to be a dancer and was training at that time she used to teach me whatever she had learnt that day once she used to be back home from her dance class. May be seeing my interest in dance my parents took me to her guru under whom I started my training. I did my arangetram at Shri Durga Bhagavathy temple in my village at the age of around 5.

Tell us something about Tell us us Kuchipudi? Kuchipudi?

Kuchipudi originated in kusilavpuri near Vijay wada in Andhra Pradesh. It is also known as Bhagavatha mela was brought up and nurtured by 12 families of Kusilavpuri namely; Bhagavatula, Pasumarthy, Vempatty, Chinta, Hari, Mahankali, Vemu, Darbha, Tadepali, Yeleswarapu, Vedantham, Bokka, These families took it up as their source of livelihood. Thanjavur King Nawab Hasan Tana Shah had bestowed these family with right to the village land after being impressed by their Bhagavatha mela presentation

It is said in early day there were ladies in dance, but majorly they were avoided as the dances presented at royal courts and to protect them for many public discomforts. For many years men continued to play sthree vesham and there came decline in opportunities

They faced competition from dancers from nearby Tamil Nadu region who used to perform Bharathanatyam. The women were brought to increase likeability as well as plates were introduced to make it more challenging and attractive to garner people’s attention. With rise in popularity of the dance form the village’s name was changed from Kusilavpuri to Kuchipudi. Bhama Kalapam and Kola Kalapam were two dance dramas which they used to present and later worked to create new work and major work was done by Vempati Chinnasatyam guru who created a frame work by setting up of adavu system and item division etc. were accomplished. Vedantam Satyanarayana Sharma, Vedantam Radhe Shyam used to perform and popularized stree vesham in Kuchipudi.

There is a huge difference in both the styles. Kuchipudi incorporates chaturvidh abhinaya i.e. Angika, Vachika, Aharya and Satvik abhinaya. It is very flexible. It is quite distinct from Bharatnatyam in aharyaam aspect. for example, use of jada or hair. There exists an entire chapter on Jada vrittantam to be studied it includes variety of hair styles, ornaments for hair flowers for hair etc. The costume also varies from Bharatnatyam and are very vibrant. Male characters and female characters costume have marked difference in Kuchipudi.

Kuchipudi includes Purvarangam, Jatiswaram, Padam, Keertanam, Tarangam, Pravesha Dharavu, Bhama Kalapam, Ashtapadi, Javali and Tillana. Tarangam is the only item where plate is used as a prop some people use pot. The dance has to be very flowing they mind and body should move freely uninhibited in Kuchipudi.

Your family is group of dancers how did Your family group of dancers how did Your group become one? Were they supportive since become one? Were they supportive since become the beginning? the beginning?

In my family my mother sings, father was an instrumentalist, sister Usha is a dancer and other sister Arundhati love dance and singing but is working at Calicut district hospital as assistant nurse . My wife Premlatha and three children Srushti Desakshi, Sidhendra Chokkalingam, Varahalu Revagupti all of five of us have been performing together.

What is the Difference between What is the Difference between is Bharthanatyam and Kuchipudi? Bharthanatyam and Kuchipudi? and

I used to perform male characters and dressing before 20years guru Anupama guided to perform stree vesham as I lean figure and started up as an experiment. At the start it was more of inquisitiveness for the people when I started to do stree vesham, I was only person who was doing stree vesham during that time in Kerala not even on television no one was there even doing comedy. But today we see it has become lot more common. After my marriage I found support in my wife also supported me, my entire family came in support. My wife is the one who selects the colours for the saree of my stage performances. We have very talented make up artists and it takes up around 3 hour or even more to perfect the stree vesham transformation.

What were your experience as a

What were your experience as a teacher od Kuchipudi dance? teacher od Kuchipudi dance? Kuchipudi

Vyjayanti Kashi was my early guru and got trained under her for 2 years, later I started training under Guru Anupama Mohan. I came to understand the importance and contribution of the 12 families during this period.

Guru Anupama Mohan was one of the senior most disciple of Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam. It was along with my friend Thrissur Dharmaraj that I went to train under guru Anupama teacher. In 2000s there were very few Kuchipudi teachers and artists. The biggest platform to perform was at Kerala school festival and it was an important turn around. Although at early years my students didn’t get any prizes, this may be due to the fact that our styles were not very common in Kerala, but slowly it was recognised and well noticed. The school festival were the biggest stage and platform for recognition it we clinched that. I got opportunity to teach in 13 districts of the 14 districts and get my students perform from each district and also well awarded. Today my students have taken up the baton and continuing teaching and learning. I have done 1012 dance dramas it was great blessing of which my most loved drama is French story of Cindrella which scripted into Malayalam language and presented at various stages in Kuchipudi style.

You have been active in films You have been active in films have short films and documentary short films and documentary and documentary making. Ho is the experience making. Ho is the experience is and what are your future plans? and what are your future plans? are plans?

Short films are quite exciting. during lockdown I found it to be difficult to sit idle, with no shows, and all classes being suspended I was very much bored. I used to write stories and poems 20 years back. My son Sidhendra has a camera he loves to capture phots and video. After I discussed with him that I would like to create something from my stories and poems written, He was the one who suggested me to write on something relevant to current scenario. “Varikuzhi” short story was written during pandemic and showcased the life of artists during the pandemic. It was around 12minute in length and was very much appreciated. Everybody encouraged me and came

up with a story of 2 kids on Onam celebration and disparity between them in economical lines it was titled “Onakodi”. I had written a longer story for the purpose of film adaptation “Kolambipaattu” it took a lot of time it fetched best film award as well as best actress award. Then I worked on 10episode web series “Mooshika stree” next is up the sleeve. Now classes have started up, don’t know how directing and dance will go about but I hope to direct a good movie someday.

What would be your message for upcoming artists?

All upcoming generation of dancers is that in Kerala around 90 percent of dancers want to take up dance as a livelihood. Studies are very important; art is important learn art. Art has to be taken up as a sub profession. A regular job is important, during pandemic many artists have suffered. A regular job at hand will help survival security. Education and art should go hand in hand for real and sustainable success.

Recently @ Drupad Indore

Guru Ashish Pillai and Disciple Purva Pande perfomed at Rangoday 2021 held at gra organised by Sanskaar Bbharti Natya Kendra.

uru Dr. Ashish Pillai performed at Bala Saraswati Dance Fetsival held at Thiruanathapuram

GDrupad Dance Academy performed at Malwa Utsav 2021 held in last week of December.

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Guru Ashish Pillai was felcitated with Tambavarti

Nagari Puraskar 2022

Arangetram of Ku. Sudeshna Dani held at Pune.

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