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Novelist Amitav Ghosh examines the question of otherness and alienation in his brilliant work-Shadow Lines, where the lines-representing nations, places, countries, sex and culture—intangible and unseen, divide the characters among themselves and within themselves as each fight the outsider around them and in them. In a similar fashion, as dancers seduce boundaries of nationhood and race, to follow their passion for different dance forms with a compelling desire and ambition, one is forced to look at the ferocity with which the lines of otherness obsessively guard their forts and maintain hegemony in their womb... *** Typically for the North Indian, everyone hailing from the South of India is a Madrasi, speaks Tamil and performs Bhartanatyam! This is a consequent affect of the preponderant Tamilian influence which while being harmless to the North Indians, did wonders to the growth of Bharatanatyam (while affecting the development and popularity of dance forms like Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Mohiniattam) and exported the Madrasi culture to the farthest area of India and the world. In the process, Bharatanatyam also became a catalyst in uniting India under the umbrella of dance and became the masthead of secular dance tradition. *** Today, Bharatanatyam has people of every religion enriching it. Be it a Jew like Leela Samson (who by far, has been the only exceptional case respected for her talent and dedication across the board), a Sikh like Navtej Johar, a Christian like Dr Francis Barboza, a young Muslim Bohra girl, Mubina Bandookwala, or Assamese Indira P.P. Bora, to name a few! The interaction began long back, when a cut-Surd from Lahore by the name Mohan Khokar decided to go to Kalakshetra to learn Bharatanatyam. Few knew that he was going to become one of India’s best documenter and an authority on Indian Classical dances. Before we move further, it is vital for us to understand that when you de-center your cultural ethos in preference of the other, two things happen simultaneously. One, your surroundings do not permit you to move out easily and two, the newfound destination does not allow an entry till you purge yourself off the "alien" culture which has defined you till recently. For an artiste however, the ultimate goal is to become a living example of a vibrant cultural entity that carries the germs of both cultures. But it is an arduous task and demands inane fortitude and not just an insane passion to cross over! In the case of yours truly, sections of the Sikh community denounced the act of a Sikh boy dancing to Bharatanatyam with some vocal voices taking the battle to the regional media and initiating a debate on whether the decision to learn a South Indian dance was anti-Sikh? Crossing the fence Moving from one culture to another is not analogous to a two-hour flight from Delhi to Chennai. It is about noticing that Punjabis tend to wear slippers while moving in their house while Tamilians prefer to walk barefoot! For Sikh male dancers it boils down to enraging the fringe Sikh community for dancing with unshorn hair on stage and destroying the construct of Punjabi masculinity while for Jewish or Christian dancers, it impels bearing the protests of the right wing organisations who, with their love for fascism, do not take kindly to these dancers dancing on Telugu or Sanskrit numbers... *** Over the years, Oriyas, Punjabis, Gujaratis and even Maharastrians have passionately taken up the dance form leaving little to infer how it has become an all encompassing form of Classical dance. These dancers have peformed Bharatanatyam on Sufi songs, Gurbani, Bhajans and folk numbers, thereby bringing in their own cultural signifiers into operation and elevating the samchari or the abhinaya aspect of dance for which, the Gurus and the Shisyas deserve an equal praise. The process of osmosis has seen a Guru going to Gurudwara to get the feel of the Sikh culture to compose a Padam on Gurbani while the student, in this case yours truly, has fought with his cousins who took jibes at Nataraja, the Lord of dance! The intricate relationship has been therefore, nurtured by both sides and for the Gurus, it has extended beyond finding new "souk" for their dance! *** Corporate functions, trade fairs and festivals and embassy gatherings are some avenues that become limited to them, initially because of their novelty value and later perhaps, for their sheer talent. But in recent times, art impresarios across the country in their desire to capture something different have decidedly thrown their weight in favour of this breed of dancers... *** You leave your demarcated boundaries, cross-over to a different landscape, plough the land there trying to earn your bread and at the end come back to your own people or in Psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva’s words-create your own carnival space. But even the carnival remains problematic. A couple of years ago, at the Natya Kala Conference in Chennai, Delhi-based Navtej Johar created an uproar when he said that even if he lies down on stage, it will be Bharatanatayam for him. |
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