ero ICSO

The art of mallakhamb was displayed with skill and fervour by the only Indian participants at WOMAD

Rightfrom the inaugural even t in 1992, WOMADelaide, an o p en air festival of world music a nd dance, has always had one o r two major artistes from India. Some of the participants in th e past included such notables as Am jad Ali Khan, Asha Bhonsle, N Ramani, L Subrama niam , Mandolin Srinivas, R ajendra Prasanna, Sudha Ragunathan and Zakir Hussain. Ravi Shankai· cam e twice, the second time w ith hi s daughte r Anollshka S baukar, as did Manjiri Kelkar.

Starting as a biennial weekend extravaganza, WO:MAD has grown into an annual fo ur-day event attracting around 90,000 people It featL1res dozens of bands and groups, comprising three to four hundred performers in all. And yet it was sITTp r ising that there was n o major Indian performer at tl1is year's fesr.ival mar concluded on March 10. However there was a different and inte resting contribution in the form of gymnastic feats;

111allakha111b performed by m embers of tlie Pune Sports

Academy. A team of seven , comprising of three girls and two boys accompanied by two trainer/ coaches, disp lay ed amaz ing skills tlirice a day in 20- minmelong spells, to a spellbound audie nc e. The only equipment they n eeded was a ten - foot rail round wooden pole of 10inch diameter and a pair of 20ft long tl1ick ropes hung fro m sreel scaffolding.

O n the wood en pole, the yollng gymnasts wrapped themselves around like rubber dolls, slitl1ered like snakes, horizon tall y stretched o u t at a perpendicu lar augle a nd stood vertical, like a n exte n sion of tlie pole. Two girls in t hei r twenti es and o n e in her early teens cook the proverbial Indian rope tri c k to new heights. \"Xi'ith lig hrning movements of their nimble Lin1bs th ey managed to sit cross-legged in mid- air, su sp end their bodies in levitation mode and perform some gravity defi1ing fears, including a few )'0gasatu1sas. After their indiv idual performances, they did a synchronised show as well There was a large admiring audience for every one of their shows.

Omkar Paranjape, a senior member of t he team, told Jndia11 Li11k that the main o b jective of tliei r participation at \-XIO:tvlAD was to make people o u tside India aware of their train ing methods to keep tl,e mind agile a11d tl,e body su pple, slim and stroug.

"Unlike the modern gym that requires a lot of latest gadgets, mallakbaT11b i s tlie most in expensive and narnral form of exercise wi tl1ouc the. need for any equipment It is a unique combination of m editation a nd gymnastics. The rn1is ting and turning around t he pole massages tlie whole body and the gra\rity- d efyi.ng fea rs help blood circulation," explai n ed Paranjape.

"Currently the Pune Sports Academy has over sixTy trainees. The earliest one can stare is from the age of six. While it cakes considerable t raining time to reach tl1e l evel of the performers o n this sh ow, overseas vis iror s can spe n d a couple of weeks at our Academ y ro l earn a few exercises to keep their body fit and Aexible ,", h e added. This m ay be a good opportunity for som e of those with beet guts ro return from an Indian holiday witb a body well conditioned and a mind well rn n ed

The Lidian presence was felt in a big way with the announcement of a $400,000 private donation, the largest ever received by WOiYIADe.laide, by Dr Mohindar Dh ill o n an d h is Natraj Cul tural Fo undation of MelboLIIne. His gift will ensure the continued p resen ce of ln dian classical artistes a t this festival, which has been a tradition since its inception.