Bharatanatyam Arangetrams in the Diaspora

Indian immigrants in the Diaspora are constantly battling the need to balance eastern sensibilities with western ideologies.  Whether it is the first or second or subsequent generations of South Asians, NRIs, as we are commonly referred to, take that extra step to inculcate Indian values and culture in our young ones.  How much we succeed at this lifelong journey at maintaining our roots as we live abroad, cannot be quantitatively measured but only be qualitatively estimated on a sliding scale.

Jayamangala Arangetrams (1998-2000)

We enroll our children in spiritual classes at temples and Chinmaya Mission.  We drive them to classical music and dance lessons -  Indian or Western. Every year, they share their skills at Annual performances conducted by their teachers.  Many of these talented youth win prizes at competitions and the more serious ones go on to complete their Arangetrams. Some continue the passion onto the University level and participate in competitive college teams (Acapella, Marching band, fusion and classical dance).  But how many go above and beyond the education level, and pursue the arts as full time professionals?  This can easily be counted on our fingertips. Does it mean that art is merely an extra-curricular activity which helps students to get into good colleges, or medical or law school ?

In this blog I will try to share my observations based on experiences, over the past two decades, as a Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, singer and choreographer in an attempt to assess where performing arts stands today in the average modern Indian family in the US.

My own personal affinity with Carnatic music and Classical dance started as a young 6-year-old in India when my grandma enrolled me in Bharatanatyam classes at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore.  Being the daughter of an Indian Air Force officer whose job transferred us from city to city in India, my parents kept up with finding me a local teacher everywhere to continue my dance classes.  Vocal music is in the family, so that was a constant input from my mother and grandmother.  Eventually, singing and dancing became intrinsic to me and I could not imagine myself as a non-artist.  The passion to practice and perform kept me going for several years as I ascended prestigious platforms - IIC, New Delhi; NCPA, Mumbai; Bharat Kalachar, Chennai; numerous sabhas and temples of south India, my first tour abroad to Finland in 1981...the list is endless...the point I am trying to make here is that although my parents encouraged and supported me in my school days, my inner motivation is what took me further and beyond.

Jayamangala Arangetrams (2001-2004)

Coming to the states in 1991 with my husband and a toddler son, teaching dance was my first paid job in Staten Island and Maryland.  What started off as teaching a handful of little kids in my Greenbelt apartment has now mushroomed into a large 501c3 non-profit organization where hundreds of children, youth and adults have been trained.  Between 1992 and 2014, I earned an MFA in Theatre, organized two dance conferences, presented several dance dramas, an international dance tour to Africa and conducted 28 Arangetrams performed by 34 girls and 2 boys (there were 8 pairs of siblings/duo debut). Obviously, none of this could have been accomplished without the cooperation and contribution from my staff, students and their friends/families.  If such cultural events can be used as a yardstick to measure a community's involvement with the arts, then, yes, Indians living abroad are very driven and very committed.  So are the students who dedicate an average of ten to twelve years in mastering an ancient Indian art form while living on foreign soil. We teach kids with the hope that it becomes a lifelong passion for them - what they do with it is up to them.  

Jayamangala Arangetrams (2005-2010)

So coming back to my question: what prompts youngsters to undergo rigorous training to perform a solo Margam in a debut recital? Is it to instill Discipline? Culture? Yet another activity to show on college apps? Passion for the arts?  And how impactful and significant is a Bharatanatyam Arangetram in the life of a youngster growing up in North America?  In the case of my students, most of them have continued dancing after the Arangetram, but in general, how many of them keep dance as a priority beyond school years?

To answer this, I must first elaborate on the challenges faced by students and the Bharatanatyam teachers who have to handle students coming from varied socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.  While most of my students are from the Indian subcontinent, many are not.  In the past, I have taught girls who are French, American, and African.  Transfer of knowledge happens at various levels and absorption is multi-layered, depending on who is receiving it.  In the case of classical dance, this holds true more than anywhere else, because it is an oral tradition.  Its sustenance (or lack thereof) depends on the commitment of gurus handing down their skills in the craft. On top of it, different teachers have different standards and set the bar according to their individual expectations. Hence we have Arangetrams happening at mixed levels. Some teachers are able to present students who are at a very professional level, while others are sadly lagging behind.  And then there are those students who don't believe in doing a lavish solo debut recital, but keep dancing for sheer joy. Those are the ones that will go far, ultimately.

Jayamangala Arangetrams (2012-2014)

There is no way to enforce quality control on private dance schools other than through peer pressure.  When I lamented about the difficulty in teaching abhinayam to young kids, my guru Ms. Shantha Dhananjayan once told me "If you have one strong dancer, she will inspire her fellow dance-mates to improve".  Likewise a good arangetram inspires other teachers and dancers to do his/her best. Thus, like Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection, over time, gradually we see better quality dancing in cities that are heavily populated with Indian dance schools. The good ones obvioiusly stick around longer and keep doing what they love - Dance!

Well, whatever motivates you, one thing is for sure. Classical dance and music is here to stay, in North America.  The NextGen is breaking barriers and discovering new possibilities through creative collaborations. The few fittest that survive in the field, with solid training in traditional arts and an infinite amount of tenacity towards obstacles (such as insufficient grants and funding for productions, scramble for prime performance venues, lack of good orchestra to create original music etc.) are the torchbearers of classical art forms in the Diaspora.  

Trips and travels

The First Safari

My very first game drive in Africa happened in South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) in eastern Zambia. Since Mom and Dad were with us from India for a couple of months (Jan-Mar) we took advantage of this opportunity to give them a true experience of Africa. The weekend trip to SLNP was very eventful. A comfortable stay at Mfue Lodge right in the middle of the thick forest got us up close firsthand views of lions, zebras, giraffe, elephants, hippo, impala and a lot more. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday there were early morning drives (6 am – 10 am) and afternoon drives (4-7 pm) to capture various animals during their wanderings at different times of the day. The guide would drive us around, stopping for pictures and giving us in-depth insight about the eating, mating, birthing and sleeping patterns of each of these animals. One morning they even stopped and set up a lovely meal for us in the middle of the forest. The night drives included a spotter in our vehicle who would shine light in the dark to look for nocturnal animals. Slightly scary but fascinating experience!
The lodge itself housed small independent rooms separated from each other. The owners took special care to prepare vegetarian meals for us and ensured that our stay was comfortable and memorable. Which it most definitely was!

* Tanzania – beaches, boats and bananas

During the American Memorial Day long weekend (May-end) the four of us (including Ashwin who was visiting us) took a trip to Zanzibar, an island on the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of Tanzania. Flying on Zambezi Airlines from Lusaka into Dar-e-salaam and then connecting by a local flight to Zanzibar took us to this paradise on earth very akin to our very God’s Own Country – Kerala. The lush greenery, Tanzanian dhows (as the sail boats are called) plying on the backwaters and the lazy fishing villages along the coast form an ideal laid back setting for any tourist seeking a quiet retreat from the hustle-bustle of the city. The strong Islam flavor is seen in the local culture when we saw many burkha-clad women in the markets and men wearing kaftans riding bicycles. The highlights of our trip were Stone Town (old architecture), Prison Island (where black prisoners were separated back in the days), Tortoise Park (housing 120-year old turtles) and the crystal-clear warm waters which invite you take a dip when the sun is out. The two-hour boat ride back from Zanzibar to Dar on the choppy waters was scary and we were glad to set foot back on land. Our final night stay at Dar’s SeaCliff Hotel was delightful with lovely views of the harbor and some last minute shopping for souvenirs to take back home.

*Namibia – sunsets, sand dunes and safaris!

Namibia has been on the top of my mind ever since we landed in Africa last year. Without much preparation we decided on a spur-of-the-moment trip during Thanksgiving weekend of November. Our friends Padma & Krishnaswamy joined us and we flew Air Namibia Lusaka – Windhoek. After overnighting in Windhoek at a moderate self-catering apartment we went to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. The view of the Atlantic Ocean waters on one side and the vast stretches of untouched Namib Desert on the other side offered the most spectacular sight. Desert drive and quadbiking was an amazing way to get right into the middle of the sand dunes. With each of driving our own quadbike, the guide took us some 25 miles into the desert and stopped for pictures. During that hour I realized and experienced - once again - the presence of God on earth; divinity alone can be the cause of such breathtaking natural scenery. I thanked God profusely for bringing me to this part of the world. All others in our group shared this viewpoint and wholeheartedly agreed with me. We were re-discovering joy through these small and big wonders of nature. In fact living in Africa has re-opened my eyes to seeing nature in a renewed fashion. I now find joy in simple daily activities—like sunrise and sunset, chirping of the birds, stargazing, fresh smell of earth after rain—activities which hitherto had little appeal to me. Perhaps the fact that I have less stress and more time here in Zambia is a prime cause for this, who knows? Whatever be the reason, the bottom line is that this chapter in my life is undoubtedly an unforgettable one.
The next day we took a cruise along Walvis Bay to see dolphins and seal colonies. While in Swakop we also enjoyed Nachos and cappuccino at a Mexican restaurant and a hearty vegetarian meal at the “Wreck” seaside restaurant. Most of our other meals were pre-cooked foods and snacks which we had packed from home. After our return to Windhoek that night we spend a whole day of sightseeing and shopping in the capital of Namibia. We also went on a long drive to Amani Lodge located at the highest point of the country where we saw the Big Cats safari; at the lodge they take care of and rehabilitate orphaned cheetahs, leopards and lions. The trip ended with a gorgeous sunset and a glass of champagne! A fantastic way indeed to end our trip. Next morning we flew back to Lusaka.

Fast forwarding through the calendar year 2011

Zambia diaries – updating my blog after ten months! Lots to write about. A lot.

Completing my MFA Thesis

After the workshop performance of “Shakuntala” at the Alliance Francaise, in Lusaka I took it to Towson for a video presentation during my short visit to Maryland all of which happened in February 2011. Then came the thesis writing portion; I would sit for hours at my computer in Zambia to churn out the 40-page paper. Those weeks of writing, re-writing, and editing involved linking my paper “Performing Identities: South Asians in the Diaspora” to the Shakuntala performance. To read my thesis, follow the link that I will post very shortly.

And finally defending my thesis in June at Towson. After a stressful period of final edits, I cleared the defense and officially received my MFA degree from Towson University! Whew! What a roller coaster three years of hard work it has been. Tough, but totally worth it.

Nritya Mala
My very young local students and I performed a dance recital in May 2011 at Hindu Hall, Lusaka which was a simple collection of bharatanatyam items. The entire program especially the contemporary finale “5 elements” was very well received. What with good press coverage and an attendance of about 300 people the show went better than we anticipated. I found a new collaborator in Rekha Chandramouli, a talented dancer and a creative person who has just moved into Zambia from South Africa.

Summer in the US!
After celebrating my Masters degree graduation I had to take care of other business such as my dance school Jayamangala activities (Annual Recital & Arangetram training and performances in June/July). Besides spending quality time with close friends and extended family members, a memorable aspect of that summer was attending Chinmaya Mission’s “Mahasamadhi” spiritual camp at Chicago July 29-Aug 3, 2011. Five full days immersed in yoga, meditation, satsang, Bhagwad Gita lectures by Swami Tejomayananda and partaking in the cultural programs by offering and enjoying dance performances with like-minded people, was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Of course any trip to the US is never complete without visits to some of our favorite hangout joints, shopping sprees and eateries. Especially more so because we had spent the last year in Africa. In deprivation, so to speak. So it was Olive Garden, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Macaroni Grill, Columbia Mall, Coldstone Creamery…um…the list is slightly long and endless. Road trips to New York City, Baltimore, Charlottesville were combined with visiting potential college campuses for Aishwarya for next year.

Fall 2011 – Back in Lusaka
After returning to Zambia in Aug, I had to re-adjust my mental thought processes to slow down to African standards. Which is great, if you’ve just returned from a whirlwind tour of the states.
Within a few days after our return from the US we welcomed Gayathri Ganapathy and family friend visiting from London who spent two weeks with us. Being a dancer herself Gayu was an ace addition to our dance team when we performed for the
1. Barefeet Theater Festival in Aug
2. Maharashtra Mandal’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in September
3. Kerala Association’s Onam thiruvathira dance in Sept.
Believe it or not, all of the above were events that happened in Lusaka. After Gayathri returned to UK, with the hubby and daughter settled in their respective work (office/school), I am left to myself. I spend a lot more time reading, praying, contemplating, cooking and doing social service – for everything, there is plenty of time and scope here! As mentioned earlier having a daytime domestic maid and a driver has made my life much simpler. Moreover, besides a shopping mall, a movie theater and a few small clubs, sources of recreation in Lusaka are few and far between. The scarcity of external sensory pleasures forces one to turn inward. That might be the reason why many of my fellow Indians who live here, turn extremely devout and religious - visiting temples, conducting regular pujas and havans at home. Which might only be the ritualistic aspect of religion, yet the importance of bhakthi margam as an approach to salvation cannot be undermined.
Personally though, I prefer the introspective approach of self-discovery. Among the books that have kept me engaged are “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma, “The Journey called Life” by Mananam series and Yogahasma Paramananda’s “The Autobiography of a Yogi”. Currently I’m leafing through a downloaded copy of MK Gandhi’s “The Story of my Experiments with Truth” which is a fascinating read! Our weekly satsangs in a small group on Sundays are also something I eagerly look forward to. If there is nothing else to do on a weekend, there is invariably a birthday party or a social gathering or ICC cricket match where a few families gather to wine and dine together.
In addition to teaching dance and music to a small group of south Indian girls at home, I have got roped into joining various executive committees of Lusaka Hindu Association (LHA) and Lusaka Indian Ladies Association (LILA). So when I am not teaching dance, I am helping organize fundraising or cultural events for these groups. One such big community project was the Diwali show “Yathra – Journey through India” in Oct 2011 at Lotus Grounds for LHA where I rounded up more than 150 local singers, dancers and models who came together on stage in a spectacular production attended by 3000 people. It was a tiring, daunting task to pull together. Not aesthetically satisfying like organizing one of my regular classical dance programs/festivals/conferences, but a different experience in my life. The hardest part was dealing with people, their complex personalities, and ego clashes. Been there, done that, not sure if I want to do that again!

Coming up next: Travels to neighboring countries
* Tanzania – beaches, boats and bananas
*Namibia – sunsets, sand dunes and safaris!

Thesis research: Barefeet Theater & social upliftment thru the arts

So as I am beginning to look for possible collaborators from among fellow artists in Zambia, new doors started opening up. My meeting with Barefeet Theater group has really been an eye-opening experience.

At Barefeet Theater (BFT), the actors work with street kids and use theater as a medium of social upliftment. After several phone calls and emails, I finally met Tobias who had invited me to their Christmas play last month, “All Hail, Chief of Chibombobombo”, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. The play was directed by Paula visiting from the UK and the assistant director was Adam who’s the local white head of the group. When I spoke to them later, I found out that all the actors were street kids and black youth who were picked up and were being trained to become actors, singers and dancers. That art is being used as a way to instill confidence, to educate and expose them to the outside world is a lofty objective. Obviously Barefeet Theater has international funding from European non-profit charitable organizations that are in the noble business of service to the arts and society.

Taonga Tembo from BFT took me to visit a community school in a compound where local poor children of all ages try to get an education. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work that well because some of them don’t have money to pay for school unless they find a sponsor. The boys and girls of all ages 5-19 are grouped not by age but by level of reading, writing ability. So for eg. one classroom where basic arithmetic is being taught could have up to 40 students of mixed ages. Taonga and his colleagues do theater-related workshops with these groups where they take up topics such as Children’s Rights, or AIDS. They discuss about it and create performance pieces as a group. For those kids that are not able to learn in a typical classroom setting, this is a hands-on approach to learn. After developing the piece, they take it to the marketplace or homes to give small performance and carry the message to the local community. What a wonderful way of using art as a tool for educating at grass roots level. As I saw them perform their traditional dancing with drumming, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I decided that I will work with some of these people.

I was given a warm welcome and when I told them I’m looking for dancers for my production, they were enthusiastic to pick up some Indian dance moves. When I told Taonga that I will be back next week to work with them, he assured me that word will spread easily and I can easily expect a much larger number of participants who will flock to learn Indian dancing! I decided that not only do I want to use some of them in my production Shakuntala, but as my husband suggested, I hope to continue my interaction with them in the coming months while I am in Zambia to teach them Indian classical & folk dances. That will be my social service to people in this part of the world, the less fortunate ones that are deprived of opportunities and resources. I'm sure the local dancers will expect some remuneration or honorarium to cover expenses (travel and chai-pani we we call it in India!) which I must be prepared to shell out from my pocket.

Looking at the situation here in contrast to North America where I came from, and comparing it to American affluence, there is so much to be done. The realization that dancers must create work not just to entertain audiences, but also to educate and enlighten gets reinforced. I really feel privileged to be here and to be able to contribute in any small way possible - even it's if going to be a few drops in a large ocean....

Music Season India - Dec. 2010

The whirlwind 3-week trip trip to India was filled with fun, food, frolic not to mention music mania, rustling silks, jostling crowds and sizzling brownies! I'm going to try and give a summary of our activities while we were in Chennai last month. We stayed at serviced apts Nakshatra, a bed and breakfast joint which was clean and adequate. The cook made excellent food and madras filter coffee!

Cutcheris and artists

Some outstanding musicians that we were able to catch were Malladi brothers at Narada gana Sabha, Bombay Jayashree and Sreevalsan menon at Music Academy, Ganesh-Kumaresh violin duo, Salem Sriram, Visakha Hari's Gajendra moksham, a lec-dem on "Music and Lyrics" by Neyveli Santhanagopalan and many more.

Solo/duet Dancers that enthralled audiences - Priyadarshini Govind, Mythili Prakash, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Sheejith and Parvathi Nambiar, Rama Vaidyanathan, Janaki Rangarajan and Nalini-Vijay's Samhita. Why is everyone copying Shobana in costumes and choreography?

Group productions and dance dramas that we watched are Radhika Shurajit & group, Dhananjayanas all-male ensemble, Anita Guha's awesome professional kids, Kalakshetra's Panchali sapatham and Mallika Sarabhai's Darpana. It's very difficult to say which was the best because of the variety in the presentations and high quality in every production.

Restaurants and food - yummy!
One prime attraction in visiting India is the food that we get to eat - home cooked and restaurant food. We ate at Pizza corner, Cream centre, Saravanabhavan, Chaat corner (Mumbai) Tanjerine, Little Italy, Rajdhani in Express mall, Ananda bhavan. Except Tangerine and ananda bhavan, everything else was blissful. It's a different matter that some of us got sick eating street side food, but that's part of the immunity-building-skill for the body.

New Year's Eve party

On dec. 31st night a family get-together brought 35 near and dear ones (aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, kids, parents, grandparents) together for an enjoyable few hours. Entertainment was provided by the 4 youngsters Anjna, Rajna, Ashwin and Aishu who jointly presented the Sabha Awards - a humorous parody of glamorous glittering award functions. Very funny! The dinner was followed by more entertainment in the form of Antakshari and other party games. Unforgettable times!

Other highlights of the trip included a one-day trip to the shore-side rock temples at Mahabalipuram with Saumya and kids (who were visiting from the US), shopping for saris, salwars and dance costumes at shops like Pothys, Naidoo Hall, Tulsi Silks, Srishti, Kumaran, Rasi etc. Visits to various tailors, shopping malls like Express avenue and multiplex movie theatres (we saw Guzarish, Band Baja Baraat, Manmadan Ambu) pretty much completes the picture of our memorable India trip.

If one is prepared to overlook the congestion, traffic, and chaos everywhere, and compromise on efficiency and quality, we can have the time of our life in India. Things are much cheaper than the US or Africa. And abundance in everything.

Oh, one last thing. The issue of toilets. Yeah. Didn't really expect dry bathrooms everywhere, but the scarcity of public restrooms is an issue the authorities must really look into - especially on highways. The movie halls and malls are equipped with good bathrooms but not necessarily kept clean always. Few things that bothered me - no bathrooms tissue, no hook on door to hang your purse (how on earth do we balance our handbag and do our job?), nonworking dryer and no paper towels to wipe hands.....aghhhh! Hopefully these things will get better one day in India.

Kerala nite, Rains and Christmas Carol

December has started of with the mallu community organizing "Kerala Nite 2010". The Keralites are very enterprising and came up with a very colorful, variety program showing glimpses of Kerala -- from a tableau of boat races to kathakali, from the vibrant chendai/edakya to mohiniattam, from elegant kaikottikali to oppana dance in which we all participated.

The weather has become a very, very rainy affair. Didn't realize it could rain cats and dogs and that too non-stop... roads are waterlogged, traffic is messy and delays everywhere! Not to mention power cuts and frustration. And this is just the beginning of monsoon which goes on for 3 months, apparently!! Wow, and back in sept I had wondered why it never rains in Lusaka (why did I open my big mouth?).

LICS (Lusaka International Community School) called me to hire my services as choreographer for their play "Masala Night's Dream" which is a Bollywoodised version of Shakespeare's play set in Mumbai. I went in to audition dancers from the enthusiastic group of kids - mostly middle schoolers. Rehearsals will begin in Jan. Also in January, I will start an Intro to Indian Dance class at the American School - if enough students register for classes. Meanwhile my own classes at home for the handful of Indian girls is going strong. They all seem very dedicated and are promising dancers.

Today, I saw a play produced by the Barefeet Theater company at Lusaka Playhouse called "All Hail the chief of Chimbobobombo" an local adaptation of Dickens Christmas Carol. I went for the morning show which was full of school children on a field trip. The play was directed by Paula, visiting from London and had a cast of close to 20 Zambian local actors (mostly men, couple of women and 2 men dressed as women who did an awesome job!). I'm trying to see if I can audition someone from this troupe to include in my production of Shakuntala -- may be a long shot, but let's see if it works out. Speaking of Shakuntala, I've finalized the show date with Alliance Francaise as Feb 12th. Followed by the presentation at Towson Univ. on Feb 21st since I'll be visiting the US for ten days soon after the show. Making arrangements for hall, travel, flyer etc took up a good part of the past two days.

And finally we're getting geared up to visit India during the holidays. Looking forward to that, naturally! It promises to be a big family re-union in Chennai; with my parents, brother, aunts & uncles, cousins, nieces & nephews and more....

Jayamangala activities

Although I'm physically in Zambia, a lot of my time and thoughts are with my dance school and students back in Maryland. Fortunately I have a handful of strong assistants who are running the institution in my absence. Teaching Bharatnatyam classes continues every Saturday at Stars Studio, Laurel. Several performance opportunities during Sept/oct of 2010 kept the senior group busy with rehearsals and shows. From what I heard, the girls did a fabulous job at Towson University's Many Moons festival, Carrol Community college's "INDIA DAY", Taste of Bethesda, Hyattsville Intl. festival and the Unitarian church in River Road Bethesda. They even got some press coverage! I'm really proud of the fact that they are keeping the Jayamangala flag flying high even in my absence.

I continue to do long-distance online monitoring of the grants administration, tax filing and overall supervision of the non-profit activities. But for an occasional crisis, there has not been any major issue so far. High speed Internet is available for home offices, but at a premium cost! And also with limited time usage during peak hours. So I try to keep internet activity to weeknights after 6 pm and during weekends.