Splendid Construction of "The Ruins" A review by A Seshan*

Fusion vis-a-vis Jugalbandi

Fusion is a term used in many references to music and dance nowadays. It is an attempt to synthesise various styles taking advantage of the best in each. Purists raise their eyebrows as it compromises with the framework and grammar of the individual styles as laid down in the ancient shastra-s and as followed by the great artistes of the past. However, a few brave souls started attempting such fusion in classical Indian dance around the middle of the last century due to their exposure to Western ballet. Uday Shankar and Sachin Shankar were the pioneers in this field. Earlier, Rukmini Arundale, who had brought about a renaissance in classical Bharatanatyam, had attempted, albeit in a somewhat subdued way, the introduction of some alien elements in her dance dramas. Thus more than half a century ago she could incorporate elements of the Kerala martial art of Kalaripayattu in the battle scenes of Meenakshi Kalyanam set in the Bharatanatyam mode. She had a renowned Kathakali teacher in residence at Kalakshetra to teach that art form to her students. Following this lead were numerous others like Chandralekha, Astad Deboo and Padma Subrahmanyam. Art cannot grow and develop unless there are innovations and improvements. It should not become a stagnant pool. As Kabir said, flowing water remains clean ("Bahata nir saf hota hai.") There would have been no Ramayana if Sita had not crossed Lakshman Rekha.

There have been two strands in the fusion of dance styles in India. One is to dance to Western melodies in one's own medium. The other is to mix two or more styles. This writer has seen Astad Deboo dancing to the Gregorian Chants and Daksha Seth to Vivaldi, each one of which has its own charm to the lay viewer. Padma Subrahmanyam choreographed Jatayu Moksham to the strains of Tchaikovsky's Overture to Romeo and Juliet. As she explained at a dance symposium in Mumbai a couple of years ago she had not followed the strict grammar of Bharatanatyam but had adopted a free approach to movements which were no doubt graceful. She herself pointed out to the audience that while the chari-s were taken from Bharatanatyam they were not strictly bound by the rules of rhythm and, in some places, there was no tala at all. However, as a visual experience this writer found it of absorbing interest. (For the record, it should be noted that Padma Subrahmanyam calls her style as "Bharatanrityam".)

The trend has gained strength due to the migration of Indian artistes to the West where they have opportunities for interaction with those of other cultures and have the necessary facilities and encouragement in the form of funding from local art councils to try new ideas. They are appreciated by the audience which perhaps wants something new away from the beaten track. Similar experiments have come to be attempted in the field of music too. A vocalist who renders the Carnatic Hindolam with flashes of Hindustani Malkauns is also attempting fusion. The other trend is the combination of Western and Indian music, each sticking to its idiom. Ravi Shankar and the Beatles and the Shakti group featuring Western, Hindustani and the Carnatic instruments are good examples of this genre.

There is a qualitative difference between a jugalbandi and fusion. The former involving two artistes in music or dance is a demonstration of each style in its original form with few compromises. It is basically a contest even if the artistes deny it. Each wants to show the mastery of his or her medium in an act of one-upmanship. There is not much of overlapping in the styles. Thus when Bhimsen Joshi and Balamurali Krishna sing ragas Yaman and Kalyani in the Hindustani and Carnatic styles, respectively, there is no fusion. Both the melodies retain their pristine qualities though, as a climax, the artistes sing together but in their own styles. Joshi does the alap in his own idiom and Balamurali his alapanam in the traditional manner he has been trained in. Where there is an absence of a corresponding technique the artiste makes it up in his own way. Thus when Balamurali takes to swaraprastara, Joshi, not used to that technique, gives the reply in the akara format and one could decipher the underlying swara-s.

In the field of dance too one can have jugalbandi. At a programme organised by the Kuchipudi Kala Kendra during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha in Mumbai a few years ago there was a song for which there were two artistes, one doing Kuchipudi and the other Kathak simultaneously. It was a visual treat to see and compare how each line was interpreted by the two artistes in their own ways. If it were a fusion then one would have expected a mix of styles, which was not the case. The success of a fusion experiment in music or dance depends on whether the mixing is done is a seamless way so that there are no jerks in movements from one to another style. 'Seamless' is the crucial operative word; otherwise there will be only confusion.

Anurekha Ghosh's Programme in Mumbai

These thoughts came to the mind of this reviewer when he attended a successful attempt at fusion bringing out the characteristics mentioned above in a programme entitled "The Ruins". It was enacted by a leading practitioner of Kathak in the United Kingdom, Anurekha Ghosh, and her group at the Godrej Dance Academy of the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai on January 27,2006. The narrator started with the statement that one is surrounded by ruins everywhere, most of which pertains to the architectural ones, perhaps symbolizing the breakdown of values. The programme sought to investigate different aspects of the state of ruin - personal and global, negative and positive. The dance was described as a celebration of hope and existence exploring the struggles of the familiar into the unknown. It told a story of discovery, degeneration and decay evoking feelings of nostalgia and regeneration. It was a journey from old to invisible to modern ruins.

The production used techniques of classical and contemporary Kathak seamlessly blended with Western ballet, Spanish Flamenco and even martial art with gymnastics thrown in occasionally. This reviewer could also detect some movements similar to what one finds in the Southern film star Prabhu Deva's dance, though it might have been coincidental. The anga sanchalan involving various parts of the body in the Kathak format blended harmoniously with the movements of Western ballet while chakkar incorporated a good measure of the pirouette of the Western art form. (It is worth pointing out that sama pada in the samabhanga position is a predominant characteristic of footwork in classical Kathak.) The emotional quotient of gat bhava came through loud and clear in abhinaya. It explored different aspects of the ruins facing us everywhere, both literally and figuratively. While some are totally given-up cases others provide a glimmer of hope for reconstruction. The moral of the story is that we cannot get away from the fact of ruins surrounding us but need to do something about them.

Led by Anurekha the dance included Debasis Basu, Sujit Karmarkar and Mitul Sengupta all of whom gave a professional performance marked by vigour and dynamism. Besides Anurekha there were three other eminent choreographers, viz., Kumudini Lakhia, Shobana Jeyasingh and Nahid Siddiqui., each taking care of one part. The dances were done in the backdrop of video pictures on the screen depicting various facets of ruins. It blended smoothly with the main programme without being a distraction and enhanced the appeal of the theme. Although a foot mike was provided in the proscenium as in classical Kathak performances, where footwork (tatkar) with jingles of the ankle bells is an important item to display the virtuosity of the dancer, there was not much scope for its use given the nature of the programme. Lighting was done tastefully.

At a lecture demonstration at the 21st Natya Kala Conference held at the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai on December 15, 2001 Kumudini Lakhia pointed out how costumes in Bharatanatyam are very well designed for the body and show each movement of the dance whereas in Kathak the artistes tend to overdress and wear too much loose fabrics hanging around them posing an obstacle to movements. It was not so in this case. This reviewer was impressed by the aharya that was suitable for the occasion. It facilitated free movements.

Music was of a high order. Ragas like Bageshri and Bhairavi were evocative reflecting the somber theme of the dance. Topnotch composers Atul Desai, Ronu Majumdar and Glyn Perrin provided music direction. Jazz beats were also incorporated. A part of the programme was done to recorded music. The accompanying musicians for the other part were Partha Sarathi Mukherjee (tabla and parhant) and Sandeep Mishra (sarangi). The sound system was good and the sonorous strains of sarangi and the mellifluous beats of the tabla came through soft and mellow in keeping with the theme. Creative collaboration was provided by Ronie Shambik Ghose

To sum up, it was an evening well spent.

* The author is an Economic Consultant in Mumbai and former Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy of the Reserve Bank of India. He is a fine arts buff.