காதல் வள்ளி கண்ட முருகன் - நாட்டிய நாடகம்

காதல் வள்ளி கண்ட முருகன் - நாட்டிய நாடகம்

பெரியசாமி தூரன் அவர்கள் எழுதிய முருகன் - வள்ளி காதல் நாடகத்தை தனஞ்செயன் குழுவினர் கலாக்ஷேத்ராவில் மிகச்சிறப்பாக அரங்கேற்றினர். 1972 இல் பண்ணாராய்ச்சி கழகத்திற்காக முதலில் அரங்கேறிய இந்த நாட்டிய நாடகம் 44 வருடங்கள் கழித்து இன்று அரங்கேறியது மெய் சிலிர்ப்பான ஒரு நிகழ்வாக அமைந்தது.

தமிழ் தனது இயல் இசை நாடகம் என்ற மூன்று சீரிளம்  சிறப்புகளுடன் பல் மடங்கு அழகு கூடி ஜொலித்தது, சொல்லொனா மன நிறைவு தந்தது. இசை என்றாலே தெலுகு கீர்த்தனைகள் என்றும், நாடகம் என்றால் ஆங்கில நாடகம் என்று கண்டு ஏங்கிக்கிடந்த இந்த தமிழ் நெஞ்சம் இன்று இந்த நாட்டிய நாடகத்தை கண்டு பெரும் மகிழ்ச்சி கொண்டது.

நாடகத்தில் முருகனின் அழகும் வசீகரமும், அழகிய தமிழாலும் இசையாலும் மேலும் வயப்படும் தமிழ் நெஞ்சம், இது போன்ற கதைகளும் நாடகங்களும் கண்டு உணர்வெழுச்சி பெற்றே தனது தெய்வங்களை உருவாக்கிக் கொண்டதோ  என்ற ஐயத்தை நெஞ்சில் எழச்செய்கிறது. இன்றைய காலத்தில் பலரும் திரை நடிகர்களை தெய்வமாக போற்றும் உணர்வு பெருக்குகலும் இது போன்றதோ என்ற எண்ணம் ஏற்படுகிறது.

முருகன் -வள்ளியின் அழகு ரசம் சொட்டும் காதல் காட்சிகள் மனதிற்கு கோதை-ரங்கன் காதலையும், மீரா-கிருஷ்ணன் காதலையும் நினைவூட்டியது. இந்த காதல்கள் தாம் நம் தெய்வங்களை செய்தனவா என்று எண்ணத்தோன்றுகிறது.

பெரியசாமி தூரனின் வரிகளில் தமிழ் அழகியாக, எளியவளாக, இசை எனும் கோட்பாட்டுக்குள், காவடிச்சிந்துவாக , கும்மி பாடல் என்று வேறு வேறு ராக உடைகளில் தமிழ் பெண்  கச்சிதமாக பொருந்தியவளாக நம்மை ஆட்கொள்கிறாள் .

நடன அமைப்புகள் தமிழ் வரிகளை எந்த பிசிரும் இல்லாமல் சிறப்பாக தொடர்ந்து அழகுக்கு மேலும் அழகூட்டின.சாந்தா  தஞ்சயனின் குரல், இளமை குன்றாமல் சிறப்பாக பொலிவு சேர்த்தது.

இந்த நாட்டிய நாடகம் தமிழ் மொழியின் பெருமை. இது அணைத்து தமிழ் நெஞ்சங்களையும் போய்  சேர வேண்டும்.. நிகழ்வின் முடிவில் நாற்பது வருடங்கள் முன் அரங்கேறிய முதல் முறையில் பங்கேற்ற கலைஞர்கள் கௌரவிக்கப்  பட்டது பூரிப்பை தந்தது. தனஞ்செயன் குழுவினருக்கு பாராட்டுகள்...

Chudamani- plays by Madras Players

I was spoilt for choices of events this Sunday evening. There were I Pa's 'Aurangazeb' staged by Theatre Nisha at AFM, Pappu Venigopal Rao on Badrachalam Ramadasu's Kirthanais at Vani Mahal and Chudamani by Madaras Players (MP) at Museum Theatre. I opted for Chudamani as i had attended a commemorative book release of hers, a compilation of her short stories Published by Kalachuvadu and on the occassion happenned to listen to Ms. Barathi and Ms. Seetha Ravi speak about her works. Ever since, i had been wanting to read more of her, but failed to. 

I thought it was great that MP had chosen to adopt her stories and stage them for the first time ever, and wanted to convey my appreciation by attending the Play. i still remember how i applauded and welcomed it when they announced the plans to stage Chudamani's stories at the end of their phenomenal leg of Mouse trap in Chennai. 

Chudamani was a phenomenal writer, who wrote around 100s of short stories between 1957 and 2010, when she passed away. She led a predominantly lonely life closely attached to her sisters. Though a loner, she seems to have kept a close watch on the society in general and many lives around her and look at them with the guiding lenses of her moral eyes in her stories. She is not judgemental but leaves enough clues to make you think differently.

Nikila Kesavan had chosen around 7 of her stories and adapted them wonderfully for the stage, this evening. She also gracefully donned Chudamani's looks in a  neck close blouse and white saree with a blue border. Thanks to K Bharathi, She also had Chudamani's actual writing desk to support her. However for people who knew the sufferings and the disablities Chudamani went through, Nikhila's plump appearence might have been a bit hard to accept.

all the stories had a strong women presence either in action or in subject. The first was about an aging father's agonising search for an alliance for his daughter. This story could have been the norm those days. its a sad reminder of the sad feelings of bygone days. It was a big relief to think taht these sad things are now a thing of the past or atleast very rare these days. its actually the story of two fathers ( of daughter), one riding the pillion on lady luck's drive and another left to the mercy of bad luck, in finding match for their daughters and in life in general. The pathos was enlarged due to the contrast in the two fates.

Next came a neatly done plait of two stories of ' Porunthaa Kaathal' or 'unmatched love'. Here Chudamani has let her imagination run crazy n wild in bringing interesting combinations of unmatched love and the sad end it has to face. She just gives us hints of these unmatched proposals, just lifting the veil for a second and closing it in a jiff, and quickly hastens to give them a typical short story ending. 

By now you tend to start understanding the world of the author. that she tends to create her stories out of charecters from an idealistic world, seasoning them with essential ingredients of a short story like a twist and a sweetened ending.

' Fourth Ashram' was ambitious and rebellious in portaraying 3 partners for a simple woman. this is again a case of wild imaginations, and a sweetened treatment to fit in a short story. Neither the woman's charecter nor her partners' are well developed to justify the strange course the woman choses to undertake. The lack of conviction in the story here ended in the audience bursting out in laughter and mockery at moments that were supposed to be grave in the play. 

The story of the Blind father and the committed daughter was a bit of a drag, saved only by the towering presence of PC Ramakrishnan. His love and commitment to theatre is infectious.

The story of Vellai and Thulasi was a sort of Chudamani's manifesto calling for equality and revering the divinity in man. Though again very ambitious in scope, this was more convincing to the viewer. Chudamani's brave dialogues questioning the meaning of rituals and neglect of humanity was brilliant. The fine drama in the dialogues between Thulasi and her father were well received by the audience. 

Last came S. Meenakshi, a women with many dreams who wishes to be so many things and is confronted by her tradition to be another 'amma' and finally decides and finds meaning in being herself. S. Meenakshi could be any woman or even man for that matter, who dream of many things in their youth and slowly let go all these dreams to only finally, failing to stand up and  end up going down the gutter of ordinary.

Chudamani's charecters are a reflection of the lives she might have aspired for in an ideal world. The play had fitting end in Chudamani walking past a guard of honour of the charecters she had conceived. 

Congratulations to MP for paying the best possible tribute to a writer, adopting her writings and giving them life. Chudamani would have been very proud. But one thing that kept begging at me was why had they chosen to do it in English. The plays would have been so natural and wonderful in Tamil.

Meghadootham- a Performance by Samradhya

When it was announced that Meghadootam was going to be staged in Chennai, i was very excited. i always love it when a literary piece is given an artistic treatment- be it Singing Barathiyar, or reciting poems; singing Pasurams/ devaram; Paintings, dance performances etc inspired by a literary work. So it was no wonder i was very eagerly looking forward to this performance. By the way of preparing i wanted to get a copy of Meghadootham and Sit with N. Balasubramanium (Nahupoliyan) and refresh my reading of the classic by Kalidasa. We had only briefly touched upon it on a couple of occassions earlier. 

My little grunt about Shelling out quite a sum for the ticket was washed away when i learnt about the Noble work done by Sankalp, the hosts. They are doing yeomen service in the field of education and livelihood for children with special needs. It was touching to learn about Bombay Jayshree's association with Sankalp and her little touching experiences these special children. ( this was the second day i was getting to witness her presence and her music, after Pappu Venugopal Rao's lec dem at Vani Mahal yesterday). She had devised the Music for this performance.) And if any little doubts ( blame the middle class mindset) were left, it was completely washed away at the end of this Fabulous, once in a life time performance.

For those who need a little intro to Megahdootam, it is a classic sanskrit poetic work by Kalidasa. it has at its core a yaksha, outlawed by Kubera from his Kingdom in Alakapuri for dereliction of duty in the spell of love, yearning for his Yakshi and sending a love messenger in the form of a cloud. he telnets the clouds path by describing socio-geographical landscape it has to take enroute to Alakapuri fro Ramagiri hills. There lies the genius of Kalidasa.

In working out the technicality of staging this work, the creators had made a clever decision of embedding the spirit of the Yaksha himself in the cloud, along with his message. This made the narration more direct and dramatic. Talking of narration, i need to mention the few English lines that interspersed the performance, that sort of gave a foreword to the segments which divided the performance, was simply magical and poetic. It made me look up for the english writer, while acknowledging the genius of Kalidasa. These few lines that have so poetically captured the essence and context of the original would definitely be a fine feather in Baradwaj Rangan's writing cap.

Talking of Rangan, takes me to the other cine-star casts featured in this work. Apart from Bombay Jayshree, who has scored the music, there is the now very Popular n distinct voice of the actor Arvind swamy, and the gentle voice of Rajiv Menon, playing the narrators. 

The performance opens up with the Yaksha and Yakshi yearning for each other in different corners of the land. Then the creepers,birds and all nature empathise with the yaksha's pining for his love and wow to help him ( bring in Paulo Coelho' Alchemist). The yaksha's pining tears form as a cloud and take his love travelling to Alakapuri. 

On the way we see Kadamba forests, rare deers, and birds. and then we see women bathing in the river ghats, Siva worshipers portraying some ecstatic Siva nadanam., and Devdasis dancing.

The cloud is portrayed poetically as struggling between his identity as the cloud and as the yaksha it self love struck. It was a fantastic feeling to imagine a 'romantic' cloud, stopping and  enjoying the glimpses of life on earth as it passed over.

and as the cloud nears Alakapuri and pours down , the Yakshi senses the presence of her love in evrey drop and finds her ailing heart suddenly feeling light. This were the clever decision by the makers materialises as a beautifully staged scene where the yaksha magically materialises out of thin air as the cloud pours down. 

some clever stage and property arrangements and performance ideas like featuring the cloud with a cluster of drops, huge panel of cloth with painted cloud, the graphical reproduction of a burning pyre, etc  lifted the aesthetics of the performance. 

the music was refreshing and stuck to mind like a gum. i was fascinated to find a person in the audience hum the tune of the songs we had just heard in the performance, for the quickness with which he had grasped it. I learnt from him that the songs were all mostly in desh Raag. Listening to Bombay Jayshree's Voice in the back drop of a shining moon was a magical lullaby ( reminding one of 'Life of Pi's title track.)

The performance was lit bright by the performances of the actors who played the cloud and other elements of nature, leaving little scope for the performnace of the Yaksha and Yakshi and pushing them sadly to the sidelines. This also highlights the leadership quality in the creator couple of Shrijit Nambiar and Parvathi Menon.

பாரதி பற்றி ஞானாலயா கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி

பாரதி பற்றி ஞானாலயா கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி

கோவையில் 11.09.2016 அன்று நடைப்பெற்ற பாரதி பாசறை தொடக்க விழாவில் திரு ஞானாலயா கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி அவர்கள் பாரதி பற்றி பல அரிய தகவல்களை ஒன்றன்மீதொன்றாக சுவாரசியமும் உற்சாகமும் ததும்ப எடுத்துரைத்த போது மிகவும் பரவச நிலையை உணர்ந்தேன். மீண்டும் அவர் பேச்சை கேட்க வேண்டும் என்ற ஆவல் நெஞ்சில் குடி கொண்டு விட்டது youtube இல் தேடிய போது அவர் நேற்று ஆற்றிய உரையின் பொருள் படவே முன்னெப்போதோ ஆற்றிய இன்னொரு உரை கிட்டியது. அதன் துணை கொண்டு அவர் கூறிய கருத்துக்களை, நான் புரிந்து கொண்ட அளவில் , பிற அன்பர்கள் பயன்பெற  இங்கே பதிவிடுகிறேன் . தகவல் பெட்டகமாக, பெரும் எழுச்சி அருவி போல பொழிந்த அவர் உரையை வாய்ப்பிருப்பவர்கள் , கீழுள்ள சுட்டியில் கண்டு களியுங்கள். நான் தருவது சாரம் மட்டுமே.
Anaya vilakku Bharathy speech

# பாரதி 1904 எழுதி வெளியான முதல் கவிதை, 'தனிமை இரக்கம் ' வெளிவந்தது மதுரை கந்தசாமி கவிராயர் நடத்திய 'விவேக பானு' என்னும் இதழிலில். இவ்விதழ் கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி இடம் உள்ளது !!!

# பாரதி 1908 இல் வெளியிட்ட முதல் நூல் 'சுதேச கீதங்கள்'. இதை அவர் நிவேதிதா அம்மையாருக்கு சமர்ப்பணம் செய்துள்ளார். இதில் மதுரை முத்துகுமாரனார் எழுதிய 'என் மகனே' என்ற கவிதையையும் சேர்த்து வெளியிட்டது பாரதியின் பெருந்தன்மை.

# புதுமைப்பித்தன் கூறியது போல பாரதி உருவாக்கிய தலை சிறந்த படைப்பு பாரதிதாசன் . 'பாரதி கவிதாமண்டலத்தை சேர்ந்த கனக சுப்பு ரத்தினத்தின் கவிதை என்ற அறிமுகத்துடன் தாசனின் கவிதையை சுதேசமித்ரனுக்கு அனுப்பி வைத்தார் .

# திலகரை தலைவராக ஏற்றுக்கொண்ட தீவிரவாத வேகம் கொண்ட பாரதியும் வ உ சி யும் அண்ணி பெசண்ட்டின் மிதவாத போக்கையும்  தலைமையும் வன்மையாக எதிர்த்தனர். இந்த வெறுப்பின் அடையாளமே பாரதி எழுதிய ஆங்கில கட்டுரை ' the fox with a golden tail'. இந்த சிறு நூலின் ஆழமும் அர்த்தமும் கருதி நஞ்சுண்ட ராவ் என்பவர் தனக்கு 500 பிரதிகள் வேண்டும் என்று கேட்டிருந்தார். பாரதியோ தான் வலிந்து உருவாக்கிய பாஞ்சாலி சபதம் நூலை தீண்ட ஆளில்லை ஆனால் பொழுது போக்கிற்காக எழுதிய இந்த சிறு நூலிற்கு இத்தனை வரவேற்ப்பா என்று நொந்து அந்த வாய்ப்பை தீண்டவில்லை பாரதி.

# மிதவாத குழுவை சார்ந்த திரு வி கா பெசன்ட் ஆதரவாளர், அவர் நடத்திய தேசபக்தன் இதழில் பெசன்டை , அன்னை பெசன்ட் என்று குறிப்பிடுவார், இதை கண்டு பொறுக்காத பாரதி திரு வி கா விடம் ' என்னய்யா விளக்கெண்ணை முதலியாரே. அன்னை பெசன்ட், அந்நிய பெசன்ட் என்று போடும் ஐயா' என்று வெடித்து தள்ளுவாராம்.

# பாரதி படங்களில் காணப்படும் நெற்றி திலகம் ஓவியர் ஆரியா படங்களில்  இட்டது.

# பாரதி கனகலிங்கத்துக்கு பூணூல் இட்ட போது, 'ஏன் ஐயா , நீர் துறந்த பூணூலை அவருக்கு இடுகிறீர் என்று கேட்டதற்கு' , ' நான் பார்ப்பான் என்று இந்த உலகறியும், இவனும் பார்ப்பான் என்று அறிவிக்கவே இது என்றாராம்'

# பாரதி கவிதைகள் அரசுடைமை ஆக்கப்பட்டு அரசு அவர் புத்தகங்களை வெளியிட்ட போது அவை 6 ரூபாய் விலையிட பட்டிருந்தன. அப்பொழுது முதல்வராக இருந்த காமராஜர் ஆயிரம் விளக்கு பகுதியில் புத்தக கடை வைத்திருந்த சக்தி வை கோவிந்தன் அவர்கள் கடைக்கு வந்திருந்த போது, கோவிந்தன் முதல்வரிடம் பாரதி புத்தகங்களின் விலை அதிகம் என்று வாதிட்டாராம் . காமராஜரும் பதிலுக்கு முடிந்தால் நீரே மலிவாக போடுங்கள் என்று கூறிவிட்டாராம். இதற்காகவே கோவிந்தன் பாரதி கவிதைகளை அரை ரூபாய்க்கு விற்று தீர்த்தாராம்.

# அண்ணா ஸ்ரீ மகள் என்ற பதிப்பகம் நடத்தியுள்ளார் , அதன் வெளியீடாக 'உலக கவி பாரதி' என்ற நூல் வெளி வந்துள்ளது.

# பாரதியின் இந்தியா சிகப்பு தாளில் வெளிவந்தது.

Taxi- Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panahi's Taxi is an absolute treat for the thinking kind of audience. i got to watch the movie at the inauguration of Kovai Film society. The movie's premise looks disarmingly simple and woven around a candid camera fixed in a Taxi, but provides scope for loads and loads of contemplation for the inclined. The context of the movie lays around the phenomena of candid camera that's become quite popular on television these days. But Panahi has taken this powerful device to explore a full length feature film. The result is delicious food for the mind. 

Panahi starts off driving a Taxi and takes in a bunch of passengers on his way to pick up his niece from school and meet up with a neighbor. The different characters that hop in and hop out of the Taxi, their experience, conversations, behavior as captured unawares by the candid camera forms one part of the movie. 

This part is very experimental in nature, and the viewer is left guessing if this was really a candid work or a staged one. i tended to believe and be convinced that it was a candid one. it was funny to see how different characters behaved. a teacher and a self declared mugger argue about capital punishment, a wailing wife of an injured man is more concerned about the video footage of the last will that the man leaves behind, than the man's recovery. There are no judgmental interfences from the director, its all left to the viewer's take.

a video supplier and buyer are captured. it was interesting to see the coming together of a creator, a fan and a pirate seller come together on screen. these intersections give rise to some profound and thought provoking dialogues ( not verbatim) like,' all these books and films have already been made, its worthwhile to find something that has not been said are approached' and  ' the toughest part is always where to begin'.

The other part of the movie starts when the niece comes in and brings in a very contemplative mood to the movie. Now the movie transforms into a dialogue on the state of censorship in the country. Dictates like give the good charecters the names of holy men, and what they should wear and look like all have been interestingly packed in the punch of a kid's gloves. Its all the more beautifully done as a dialogue between the child and her uncle. Panahi's niece Hana as the child is adorable and brilliant in her portrayal. And Panahi himself carries himself with great gentleness and composure through out the movie.

Jafar Panahi in Taxi

Talking of the dictates of how the movie can't portray sordid realism, a lawyer Character walks in and takes the dialogue further to its best. when she says,' the authorities begin by branding you an agent of some foreign hand, and then bring in charges of morality and then make all your friends your enemies and make you feel like you want to get out of the country', a reflection of the suffocating atmosphere in which people like Panahi operate in. She could as well be speaking for any country where cultural fascism and hegemony are prevalent.

 There are a couple of interesting branches the story takes in the second half in the form of a rag picker's conundrum with some accidentally found money and a man's experience at the hands of swindlers and how he comes to terms. The movie finally ends in an ironic note, leaving us wondering how much of the movie was candid?

PECDA- Day 2

Having had experienced a good deal of Contemporary dance performances on the first day and having listened to Eddie Nixon talk about his work at The Place, London, i had a fair idea of what to expect on the second day.

Contemporary dance performances can, in short, be said to be brave and thinking experimentation with movements by dancers who have a certain cross domain training and are itching to explore. 

On Day 2 many performances made me wonder of dancers failed to see where and when to end their work. Some performances seemed to stray a bit too long after when it should have ended. And many performances seemed have borrowed their dance vocabulary from some common bank, for many movements seemed repeated and highly patronised. 

Viewing a Performance under the high, thatched, sloping roofs of Kalakshetra brings it own added side kicks. You get to see the occassional butterfly surreptitiously invading the stage and blessing the dancer like a stray golden hued drifting confetti. There was this occassonal thunder that clapped exactly at the end of a performance, and  also the constant thudding of the down pour that played spoil sport on many a carefully designed sound experience. And on this lovely evening it was a luxury to have the waves fanning the breeze in across the shore.

The evening started with Abilash Ningappa's " architect of self destruction' . The performance started with wild jerking movements to music, and grew into a group movement and ended in conflict and chaos. The group Movement sequence reminded me of a sequnce in last evening's performance in Riya Mandal. Though, today's version was little chaotic.

Strange fruit by Satakshi Nandy was a brave experimentation exploring the exploitation of the female body. The performer dared and challenged many a boundary and came through glorious in doing great justice to her chosen concept. the last shot was sudden could have shocked many in the audience.

Parallel intersections by Sahiba Singh was a permutation combination of 2 men and 3 women performers each taking turns to grab and hold the other in a tight lock break and find a new hold. The performance set some new standard for the festival in terms of depiction of physical relationships.

'To see ' by Anuradha Venkatraman, lit the lamp for the evening. the performance started of with a natarja and a bakasura depiction and a conflict between good and bad. it was beautiful to see the Nataaja pose slowly transform into a ' thalaiyaati bommai' . The performance was accompanied by some beautiful rhythimic beats from thappu, urumi and a drum.

Rush hour by Manju Sharma was a depiction of the rush in a metro- the struggle for space, the adaptations to the resource cruch etc.

Mindscapes by Anish Poli nad interesting use of video projections on stage alongside the performance.

Conveyor belt by Mirra Arun was the winner of this evening, for me, for the soulful effort the performer had let loose on stage, for the lovely conception of the idea and for executing it with great dexterity. It was a great deal of pain evident and a massive effort in communicating and all. This performance had so many interesting layers to it that one could keep deciphering them. A great idea and great effort, fruitfully married in this performance.

Wail by Joshua Sailo was a poetic exploration of movement portraying a  deep sorrow, loss and a pain.This was one of those performances that shot and dragged beyond where it should have ideally ended. I would have preffered an ending where the movement died and the sound lived on, while the dancer thought otherwise.

Hands and Face project was a brilliant performance that clearly crossed over into theatre domain and would have made a beautiful and poetic theatre performance. The difference, however, just as Eddie had remarked in the course of his speech, this morning, was a thin and fast dissolving one. 

 The culturally restrained stage of Kalakshetra was in for some big shocks this evening. it would be interesting to see who is the winner chosen by this experienced Jury tomorrow.

Eddie Nixon and The Place

Eddie Nixon, the Director of Theatre and Artist development at The Place, London was here in Chennai as a part of the jury for the Prakriti Excelence in contemporary dance awards, and The British council had arranged for him to deliver a talk on his work. It was a great oppurtunity to listen to a man so much involved in the best of contemporary dance and Theatre happening in UK and Europe. Eddie fashioned his talk around explaining the birth, growth and functioning of the Place and therby giving us a complete panaromic view of the contemporary dance scene in UK.

Eddie Nixon

He started off with the elementary details, explaining where the funding comes from and where it goes. An institution that started off as a simple venture by a wealthy patron of arts in Robin Howard, who started this inspired by performances and success of Martha Graham, and bought in one of their proteges, Robert Cohan as its first director in 1969, in a Victorian place that used to be a drill Hall. it was a revelation to see how state funding can raise it to a phenomenal level of efficiency in the national culture scene. He did not shy away from pointing out the difficulties faced in selling out a show, convincing state officials on staging new and experimental works at state owned venues etc.

Eddie has the most important job of identifying talent and nurturing them. The Place invests in a long term relation ship with its artists supporting and helping them grow deep and reach across. at present there 11 artists who are being supported at the 'work place' A trailer video showing the works of these different artists impressed upon us the diverse range of artistic experiences that The Place is particular about nurturing. while he was talking about supporting the artists, one naturally starts wondering about 'grooming' ( if it may be said so) an audience.

It was heartening and encouraging to know that The Place was taking great steps in  addressing that concern aswell through a variety of initiatives. There were these simple well made introductory videos to Contemporary dance, ' Landing on Planet dance
' , for the uninitated audience that walks in once in a while and says,' that was a great piece, but i could not make anything out of it' 

And for the audience who are regulars and want to improve their engagement with dance The Place has programs where these audience are introduced to some basic creative practices and also provides them an oppurtunity engage with a production in progress. It was exciting what a beautiful experience that could be for an audience that wishes to cultivate and groom its interest.

While i tend to believe that writing on the arts was one way of reaching out to the larger public, Eddie had diifferent thoughts and believed ' writing' was more for of academic interest and tends to further complicate one's experience of the arts. However, Karthika Nayar was very quick to point out The Place's initative to groom new writing in dance criticism by publishing amature writings alongside professionals and making space for identifying new writing.

Eddie was very eloquent and frank about his work and threw open to the audience a great window to the world of Contemporary Dance in UK, left us wondering if such institutions would see the light of the day here in India.