The 21st Natya Kala Conference - a report

This is a little late to be publishing a report on last year's Natya Kala conference, held during December 15-21, 2001, at the Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai. However, this is such a thorough and detailed report that we think it is never too late! The report is by A Seshan, Economic Consultant in Mumbai, who was formerly Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy in the Reserve Bank of India. He is a music and dance enthusiast and writer, who attended and took copious notes on all days of the conference.

Dec 15 Dec 16 Dec 17 Dec 18 Dec 19 Dec 20 Dec 21 Wrap-up Gallery

December 18

Leela Samson spoke on "SPANDA - Doing as it comes". Spanda means "vibration" or "pulsation". It is symbolic of the enduring and perpetual energy that is life force of the universe. Spanda, as a group, attempts to journey inwards, seeking the essential 'centre', the origin of movement and its source of strength. At one level, it attempts to internalise the consciousness of the dancer towards the particular movement rather than choreography as a whole. So, as movement and energy travel from within to the destination without, the point of origin and the point of completion of that movement become the 'journey' and quite apparent due to the slowness of delineation. At another level, the choreography as a whole stands out to challenge every member of the group. The inner journey of the individual dancer merges with the outer journey of the group, with the style they represent, with the journey of the choreographer. She regretted the excessive emphasis on speed which led to dilution and restlessness. In Spanda she has tried to reverse the trend. There is a deliberation upon movement thereby exposing the dancer and the viewer to the stillness within the dance. For her the dynamics of several bodies is the most exciting part about group choreography leading to a whole new vocabulary.

What she said she articulated well through her group dance demonstrations. The clever use of tisram, chatusram, khandam, etc., brought out the points she had made in her talk. The elongation of the line with the dancers locking their hands in a khandam stretch was fascinating. The use of tanam with rhythmic accompaniment was one of the highlights. She said she hated hierarchy. Dance dramas are hierarchical. There is no role for the individual. No one has a special status.

Veteran critic V.A.K. Ranga Rao, who was asked to judge the demonstrations, announced on the last day that he had selected Leela's as the best - a decision which was supported by resounding cheers from the delegates. He gave the reasons also. It was also announced that she would be the next two years' convener for the conference.

Prof C.V. Chandrasekhar and Manjari Rajendar Kumar presented the topic "Rhythm as a Signifier". Rhythm is not just the meter. It has a wider connotation as it helps generate ecstasy, a mood. Therefore rhythm can and does signify a mood/idea depending on how it is used In their demonstration the authors of the paper stressed on the emotive use and potential of rhythm. There are two ways of arriving at this:

i. Instinctive reaction to a rhythmic piece; and
ii. Consciously setting a rhythmic piece to generate a mood or express an idea with the training and the tools that one has.

Each rhythm has its own inherent mood for which it is best suited, e.g., the khandam is most suited for veeraa and raudra rasas and the tandava aspect. Misram evokes sringara and bhakti. At the same time, the same rhythm can have different hues if the stress is given on a particular beat change. Whether 8 beats are represented by 4 plus 4 or 3 plus 3 plus 2 can make a difference. The second one is definitely more playful. It is like the concept of 'usi'. The same rhythmic piece can be transformed if set to 'usi'. Jati or bol can be used to express an idea besides the underlying rhythm. Thus numerical abstraction and bhava are not polar concepts.

In her demonstration Manjari showed how tempo makes all the difference. The mood represented by chatusram is different from that of any other gati. The coming of opposites like ushas (dawn) when darkness and light meet could be signified by appropriate rhythmic patterns. Many padams are in misram because it is suitable for delineating sringara. Two jatis with the same syllables could represent two different bhavas. The way the jatis are uttered and the movement together signify the mood. Misram can signify melancholy in slow tempo and happiness in a fast tempo. Thus jati sets the mood. They should have some relevance to the character depicted. Ha-ha-kara can bring out boisterousness.

Manjari referred to a recent crisis in her life due to a health problem. That she had not completely recovered was evident from the breathlessness she showed while talking. One was worried whether she would break down because of exhaustion. But lo and behold, when she danced, there was no evidence whatsoever of all that breathlessness . It was a vigorous and well-articulated demonstration of what she wanted to communicate to the audience. When in a later session Malavika Sarukkai made the pertinent point that there was nothing like exhaustion for a dancer so long as her "internal circuit" was complete this writer remembered Manjari's remarkable transformation moving from speaking to dancing.

21st Natya Kala Conference report -> Dec 15 Dec 16 Dec 17 Dec 18 Dec 19 Dec 20 Dec 21 Wrap-up Gallery