Mesmerizing Eyes of a True Guru

“You are a Bharatanatyam dancer, why are you attending a Mohiniattam workshop?” they asked. I had two words for them – Bharati Shivaji! We often clamber to spend just a few minutes with corporate leaders, stealing a moment in the lift or at the cafeteria. Yet, we overlook opportunities to learn from great leaders outside of board rooms. Bharati Shivaji is not just a Mohiniattam legend and a perfectionist at her art, but more importantly a thought leader in her field. So why would I not sign up for this workshop where I could spend three days with her, learning all that I could?

This Mohiniattam workshop was brought to us as part of the Celebrate Dance Series 2010. This series is a contribution of Mrs. Vaijayanti Kashi, to the world of dance. In this workshop, the third of the series, Mrs. Kashi, once again, has out done all expectations. Through these workshops, she brings the best in the world of dance, to artists in Bangalore. Each of these workshops leaves me awaiting the next one eagerly.

In this workshop, the content structure was particularly interesting to me. It had a good balance of technique and histrionics (Nrtta and Abhinaya). The technical piece, the Cholkattu, was of just the right size. For non-Mohiniattam dancers like me, it was not too long to overwhelm us, yet was enough to give us good exposure to Mohiniattam Nrtta. As I struggled to interweave languor into grace, the uniqueness of the style dawned on me. Chechi, as Bharati Shivajis students fondly call her, patiently explained to us, what our body was struggling to grasp and put into motion and we slowly worked through the intricacies of this dance form.

The Padam posed an interesting challenge for me. Learning a composition which focuses more on abhinaya poses less of technical barriers and hence should have been easier for me. Yet, I struggled, as I often got distracted by Chechis mesmerizing abhinaya. Her subtle yet delightfully sensual eye-movements transport you to a land of dreams and fairy tales.

As we took a break and sat at Chechis feet, sipping hot tea, Chechi spoke to us about the history of Mohiniattam. She talked about its development, pre and post-independence. About their struggle to gain Mohiniattam acceptance in the country and the challenges it faces today. We learnt more about Mohiniattamitself. About how Lasya and Shringara Rasa are so central to Mohiniattam, that they are even seen during Nrtta. About the more dramatic and yet more soulful nature of the Abhinaya.

At the end of each day, as I sat on the cool floor and the serene surroundings of Shambhavi theatre, stretching and massaging my sore muscles, I wondered at the myth the Mohiniattam was an easy dance to do. I watched Chechi chat with her students and even from the distance I could see the love and affection she has for her students. Chechis wiliness to open her hearts wide for anyone who wants a place in it and yet the strength and determination she demonstrates when it comes to the growth of Mohiniattam, might seem in sharp contradiction to each other, but blend gracefully in this beautiful person. I was looking at a true Guru, in what comes closest to a Gurukul, for city dwellers like me.

As I journal my account today and look back at the past three days, I am not sure if I have managed to learn the characteristic sways of Mohiniattam, but I am sure I have gained more understanding of the style, which will allow me to appreciate it better. I believe that the more art we learn to appreciate, the more beauty we let into our lives. People like Mrs. Kashi and Chechi dedicate their lives to bring this beauty into our lives and help us enrich our lives. And all we need to do is to want it!

Sampling the Guru-Shishya Parampara

Her lips quiver, her fingers tremble, her eye lashes flutter as she depicts Radha drinking the nectar from Krishnas lips. As Sujata Mohapatra, a leading Odissi dancer, sensually moves across the stage, and the audience is spell bound. Watching her is a pleasure. Learning from her is a blessing! So when the opportunity to learn from her came by me, I did the only thing to do – grab it!

I heard from Mrs. Vaijayanti Kashi, that she was bringing to Bangalore, an Abhinaya Workshop by Mrs. Sujatha Mohapatra. My delight knew no bounds. The fact that I had my own performance a week away and the challenge of scheduling my rehearsals after this workshop did not deter me from instantly registering for the workshop. And booked a spot for myself in a hurry, lest it gets booked out!

Armed with directions scribbled on a piece of paper, I headed out on a Saturday morning, trying to find my way to Shambhavi Dance Theater in Kengeri. A pleasant drive on NICE and a short drive off NICE road brought me to the wonderful ambience of Shambhavi Dance Theatre. The terracotta tiled theatre sits pretty in a garden with dainty flowering plants and fruit trees that house chirping birds and bees. A cool breeze welcomed me as I got out of my car and walked towards the theatre. Inside, I saw several inspirational images, quotes and awards. I knew, instantly, that dancing here was going to be an experience to cherish.

We started the three day workshop with Mrs. Vaijayanti Kashi explaining to us her sentiment towards the Guru-Shishya parampara. Mrs. Kashi has benefitted immensely from this system and is eager for us, younger dancers, to experience the same. As a tribute to this system, she had invited Mrs. Mahopatra. Mrs. Mahopatra, also hailing from the same system, shares Mrs. Kashis sentiment and seemed equally eager to give us a taste of this system. I saw the immense learning experience this was going to be and I quietly smiled to myself. I could not wait for it all to start.

Over the next three days I was immersed in dance. Mrs. Mohapatra taught us the way to move our body with such grace. She spoke to us about her Guru and his undying passion. We spent hours trying to learning what seemed rather effortless to her. We spent our breaks discussing dance. The workshop had attracted students of different dance forms – Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi. We spoke about the differences in our forms and the similarity. We spoke about our love for dance. One evening, we were even treated to a performance by Mrs. Sujata Mohapatra.

The three days came to an end before I knew it. Of course, I could not find a single muscle in my body that was not sore. In the three days I had driven almost 80 kms each day, driving between home, workshop and my dance rehearsals. But I had gained more than I had expected. Spending more than 6 hours each day with such an accomplished dancer had an added benefit. It gave us a glimpse of the special Guru-Shishya bond, which when fully forged, is more than just a tutelage system. It can be an enriching life experience.

I must admit that, as certain as I was about learning new and exciting things at the workshop, I did have concerns about the relevance of this Odissi training to my Bharatanatyam. However, I soon realized that lessons from such great exponents transcend stylistic differences. In fact, when I tried one of the moves I learnt from her at my last Bharatanatyam show the audience loved it and appreciated it greatly. I did not realize that a three day workshop could give me the best move of my entire performance.

Mrs. Vayjayanthi Kashi is bringing to us several such workshops as part of the Celebrate Dance Series 2010 as a response to her receiving the Sangeet Natak Academy Award. This gesture from Mrs. Kashi, where she has provided us with the opportunity to learn from the best, bears testimonial to her dedication to the art and to her generosity as a Guru. If the first of the series is any indication to the caliber of these workshops, then this series is definitely a must-do for all dancers this year. I eagerly await the rest of this series to unravel and I sincerely wish Mrs. Kashi the very best in such future endeavors.

Magic at Konark

Being a Bharatanatyam dancer, the idea of attending the Konark Dance and Music Festival excited me tremendously. I found abundant information on the internet. Before I knew it, I found myself in Bhuvaneshwar, looking for a cab to take me to Konark. As I sat in the cab, and watched the quaint country side pass by, I thought about what the five day festival would have in store for me. I knew from the illustrious names on the detailed program I had downloaded from the internet, that the performances would be of asuperior caliber. But I wondered what the overall experience would be?

On the first evening of the festival, I walked into Natya Mantap and was taken aback by the stage. The stage is designed after the Natyasala of the Konark Sun Temple. The stage has life size replicas of the statues on the temple walls. As a performer I looked at the stage longingly, wondering how wonderful it would be to dance on such an inspiring stage. My ruminations were broken by the sound of a gong announcing the commencement of the festival.
The opening sequence of the festival was grand, to say the least. It started with the Subha Sankha Dhwani & Mangal Vadya. Extremely young artists danced while playing various instruments like cymbals and drums, conches and gongs. A ceremonial flower arrangement and flames are carried all the way from the back of the audience, on to the stage. This is closely followed by the Panchadeva Stutee. More than fifty Odissi dancers danced in perfect unison invoking blessings. This spectacular opening sequence created a culturally charged festive environment, setting the tone for the rest of the evening.

The format of the evening was well defined. Each evening started with the spectacular Subha Sankha Dhwani & Mangal Vadya and Panchadeva Stutee. This was followed by a musical performance. Then the dance programs of the evening took over. Each evening there was a Odissi performance, one other classical dance form of India and one folk dance. The festival gave Rasikas an opportunity to enjoy a little culture from the length and breath of the country.

The festival was a continuous stream of delightful art. Music lovers were treated to all time favorites like Dr. Balamuralikrishna and Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Dr. Balamuralikrishna presented a composition in his own Raga – Lavanga and a Tillana in Kadanakuthoohala. His performance transported me to a dream world and when he finished it felt like someone had woken me up from a beautiful dream. I did not want his performance to end.


Sujata Mohapatra’s Odissi was enchanting. She presented a piece on the life of Krishna – his victory over Bakasura, Kalinga and Putana. Sujata mastery over the technique and her exquisite Abhinaya created a memorable experience. As I sat under the stars, in the amphitheatre of Natya Mantap and watched her perform, it was easy to imagine the statues on the stage come to life.

Anuj Misra and troop performed Kathak for us. Anuj was really the star of the Kathak show with his lightning fast footwork and chakkars. He executed sixteen chakkars in three different speeds. When he reached the fastest tempo, he did four chakkars in four different directions. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and so did the audience, judging by the constant cheering. Mrs. Vajayanthi Kashi and troop presented Krishnarpanam. Mrs. Kashi, in her role of Putana, writhed in pain, dying slowly, contorting her body and creating a dramatic effect. The Kalaripayattu performance had the entire audience on the edge of their seats with their exhibition of sheer strength and power. The combat, with several deadly instruments like swords, was quite thrilling. As their blades struck each other, sparks flew and the audience gasped and cheered.

But what really stood out for me was the Gotipua performance by kids as young as five. They maintained perfect rhythm, exhibited immense grace and performed gravity defying acrobatics. Their infallible performance bore testament to their dedication. As the night progressed, the magic of the evening was disrupted by people leaving. The thinning audience was disheartening and yet it was expected. After all, the guests had to worry about dinner, stay or return to Bhubaneshwar. There are no restaurants serving dinner after 10 PM, no sufficient hotel rooms and poor connectivity to Bhubaneshwar. As Indians, we take a lot of pride in our culture, but do we do enough to preserve it?


Today as I look at the pictures I took at the festival and recount my experience I have a mixed feelings. My heart swells up with pride at the breadth and depth we have in our art forms. Yet, the image of the Gotipua children, the sincerity in their smiles, the eagerness in their eyes and the remarkable strength in their tiny limbs contrasted with the dismally thin audience also brings me to tears. I clutch to a hope that India shining illuminates Indian arts.

Konark, Orissa - February 2010

I love traveling and have found various reasons to travel – business, sightseeing, adventure sports etc. This time I decided to make my travel all about culture. Being a Bharatanatyam dancer, the idea instantly excited me. A little research on the internet pointed me towards the Konark Music and Dance festival. All it took was a few calls to the organizers and soon I found myself in Bhuvaneshwar.

As we landed in Bhubaneswar, I was pleasantly surprised by the weather. It was just about the same as Bangalore. We left the airport in search of a place to eat and an internet parlor. We found a dingy internet cafe with an infuriatingly slow connection and spent, what felt like hours, trying to open an equally infuriatingly heavy yahoo mail page. After an ordinary meal and some coffee, we found a cab to take us to Konark. Thing about taking cabs here is they charge for both ways, even if you only want to get dropped off. So we ended up paying Rs.800 for being dropped off at Konark.

The drive to Konark was interesting. There are tons of quaint little villages along the way. Most of these village houses have cute stick figures painted on the walls. But what struck me was how ancient everything looked. It was almost like we were traveling back in time. The lack of development in this place is a bit confusing to me. The place seems to be rather lush green. For an agrarian country, I would imagine, verdure has to translate to wealth and prosperity. I saw no signs of prosperity here. Sad!


We finally reached Konark and to our dismay found that it’s a smaller town that we even imagined. There is only really one option to stay at. There is the govt. run Yatrinivas with rooms in the range of Rs.800 – Rs.1400. The place is run badly, maintained poorly and is not clean. Apart from this, there is Panthnivas, the more inexpensive version of this, and perhaps even more badly maintained. And then there is the much more expensive Lotus Eco Resort on Chandrabagha beach. Rooms here range from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000. Apart from being completely out of our budget, it was also quite far from the centre of Konark. We did go check out the rooms there and they are very nice. I would recommend it to anyone looking for isolation and quiet. Since we needed to be close to the heart of Konark, we settled for Yatri nivas.

Yatri nivas is the best option for anyone interested either in the dance festivals or the Sun Temple. The Konark Natya Mandap is where one of the dance festivals is conducted and it’s about 1 km from Yatri nivas. However, there are not many transport options between the two. Getting to the festival in the evening was not as much as problem as getting back. Since the festival ends well past 9 PM, there are no autos or cabs available. On one day we ventured walking back. The roads were deserted and there are many excited dogs and bulls on the road, not making it a very pleasant walk. So we decided that it was a good idea to not be shy and ask cars on the premises for a drop to Yatri nivas.



The festival began at around 7 PM on all five days. So we had the first half of the day to ourselves. We visited the Sun Temple on one day. The temple has very intricate ornate carvings. These carvings depict to a great detail, life in the 13th century - everything from the sense of dressing, folklore of the day, occupation all the way to philosophy, sex life and even diseases. The entire temple took 12 years to build. That sounds like a jiffy, when I compare it to how long it’s taking us to get the city metro up.





We spent another day in Puri. The drive from Konark to Puri is beautiful. The city itself is crowded and dirty. I did not enjoy the city and we did not spend much time there. We visited the Lotus Eco resort on Ramchandi resort and got lunch at the restaurant there. The beach there is pristine and a wonderful place to spend a day with nothing but your thoughts. We chose not to visit Pipli or spend more time in Bhubaneshwar.



Orissa being so distant and so different from Bangalore, it gave me a great opportunity to forget city life all together. All the time we had to ourselves was a great way for us to unwind and disconnect from “real life”. Five days of great music and dance transported me to a beautiful world of dreams. While the festival itself is wonderful, the infrastructure is poor to say the least. Connectivity to Bhubaneswar is poor, transport within Konark is difficult, almost impossible at night, there are not enough options to stay and the restaurant at Yatri nivas is closed by the time you return from the festival at night. As obvious, I do have mixed feelings about this trip and about returning.