tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92233441693513379302024-03-14T07:22:34.617-07:00life and times of....Reflections .... the mind prints on the time sand; recording the journey for the art it is ....Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-30964692029328924932023-03-08T04:32:00.007-08:002023-04-13T02:09:30.611-07:00NPNM- Lost and found<span style="font-family: helvetica;">There are certain moments in life when you lose yourself to emotions like anger, lust, etc., become something else for a while, and return to your true self when you regain your composure. You would look back in wonderment at what had taken you over, and how silly and foolish you had been to an emotion and losing your right senses. </span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nanpagal nerathu Mayakkam (NPNM) evokes a similar feeling, in a movie running for just under two hours and brilliantly stitched together with a series of absorbing visuals that look like water colour paintings of rural landscape of south Tamilnadu, memorably captured earlier in a series of paintings by Koilpitchai Prabhakar during the pandemic. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_jRI8IW0yJNIPIySsXtM-BVb0_Wg4BA61pjyBHqkznS5Ofxc9CuP2VdZQG5iCbSdNVU-KzcKuv9f-H2HmipguoYfuyn15Roa0Vpek-OHKHYzrF-gIuL2uXEckAbAGquWp8_urBN44-eQ2mYwc3ENHt4vg7u0XY0tlsCveaCJQ-dULYaubdD7qgm6/s960/WhatsApp%20Image%202023-04-13%20at%202.35.25%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="798" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_jRI8IW0yJNIPIySsXtM-BVb0_Wg4BA61pjyBHqkznS5Ofxc9CuP2VdZQG5iCbSdNVU-KzcKuv9f-H2HmipguoYfuyn15Roa0Vpek-OHKHYzrF-gIuL2uXEckAbAGquWp8_urBN44-eQ2mYwc3ENHt4vg7u0XY0tlsCveaCJQ-dULYaubdD7qgm6/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202023-04-13%20at%202.35.25%20PM.jpeg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Native series 2021 by Koilpitchai Prabhakar, accessed from his FB pg</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The brilliant visuals int he film are topped up with a cacophony of songs and dialogues sound track from old Tamil films. It was a joy to watch the rural country, its people, their land and life presented with the masterful strokes of a very gifted artist.<br /></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It has been quite some time since a movie had me eating out of its hand, enjoying every morsel it had to offer thoroughly, and leaving me yearning for more- such was the quality of art that NPNM was. </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFj66mIcFahbZRsMVct609YNUMGUqwvPMK1idyr3yBwL5bScpZoRRmpwrjzRE3GzSo3Pu_OrsP5c3C5Y2GOZY_Ka0tdf4TKEPdjVta3gJzkt9q_9Gptq-Y7kWxuvrecqvyZtDjcIb7GFMa5uHVzzJBBkuuI-cLlbQReMV_9ak-anQd89wzGyBJQYjr/s364/npnm.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="273" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFj66mIcFahbZRsMVct609YNUMGUqwvPMK1idyr3yBwL5bScpZoRRmpwrjzRE3GzSo3Pu_OrsP5c3C5Y2GOZY_Ka0tdf4TKEPdjVta3gJzkt9q_9Gptq-Y7kWxuvrecqvyZtDjcIb7GFMa5uHVzzJBBkuuI-cLlbQReMV_9ak-anQd89wzGyBJQYjr/s320/npnm.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">poster accessed from wiki</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Every frame of the movie unfolds as a treat to the eyes, a stunning composition of colour and a brilliant experimentation with lighting. i have often gaped with wonder at the light blue tinge of the white that houses in south Tamilnadu are plastered with. It tends to have a cool chromatic effect in the summer and evokes a warmth in the rains. But to see this white plaster make a great canvas for the cinematograhy of this film was quite revealing.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Songs and dialogues from old Tamil films make the sound track of the movie. At times they sound perfectly in sync with the mood of the movie, and at other times they provide a jarring effect accentuating the pathos in the movie. These tracks though not placed randomly, act like abstract colours in a painting that can grow upon you the more you immerse in it. 'Vidu varai uravu' that plays out towards the climax sums it up best. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The film has dusted and used props from the Tamil aural and visual treasures, stuff </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">that has mostly been relegated to the cellar and safely ignored. The artist in the director has </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">put these together and serenaded them in a carnivalesque delight, hoisting a mesmerizing spell on us with stuff from this Tamil cultural backyard. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This movie seemed made for a very personal viewing experience, just made for a couch viewing experience in the comfort of your home. i am not sure how much would it have been enjoyed in a theatre. Many might find it slow and pointless.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For the first few minutes of the film, nothing much seems to be happening in the movie except for what looks like an impending accident that could crash on us anytime. But then </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">the movie starts making you sit up when Mamooty stops the bus and gets off in the middle of nowhere in a rural Tamil countryside and starts walking out into the open, and then walks into a house and behaves as though the house and its people were his own. Suddenly the plot and its attendant intricacies reveal themselves in all their splendid possibilities and invites the viewer to immerse into a charming world of many splendors.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The screen play gently tickles moral judgements and slowly pushes the viewer into taking the side of one corner or other of the scale, and then springs a sweet surprise with an unexpectedly easy and neat resolution to undo the moral knot that it had us tied into. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mamooty revels in all the scope of acting this beautiful script provides. The bar scene invoking 'Gauravam' dialogue was one sequnce that brings the different glorious features of this film together- the acting, the paly with the lighting, the soundtrack of a classic film, and the immense potential for drama. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">However, the sequence that follows, in which a drunk Mamooty questions the people of his village could have been put together better. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">The making doesn't quite live up to the potential drama in that sequence.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">The helpless, yearning blank stares of the two wives, the desperate friends of the families who want to force a return to normalcy, the blind mother sitting all day before the television immersing herself in all that the television has to offer (</span><span style="background-color: white;">there by aiding in the playing out of the train of songs and dialogues) </span><span style="background-color: white;">and playing an indifferent yet affective subject to the proceedings of the drama - are some of the lasting images from the film that are likely to stay with you for a long time. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A very difficult truth, that could break one down, lands on a people unannounced and they are shown to be taking to it with a great heart and character. Its the beauty of these people </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">and the character they show, that speaks of the immense nature of the human spirit,</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> that makes this film all the more beautiful and absorbing. There are a few who happen to be small and react to it differently, but the Truth finally takes leave of these wonderful people with the soft treads of a dream, leaving these people smiling, with a little ache in their heart, at the </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">'அலகிலா விளையாட்டுகள் ', the </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">crazy ways of the world.</span></div>Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-69423019208923499092022-12-30T12:12:00.005-08:002022-12-30T19:22:49.791-08:00அக்கினிக்குஞ்சிரண்டு ..<p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> அக்கினிக் குஞ்சொன்று கண்டேன் ..</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Kavivanar; font-size: 18px;">தத்தரிகிட தத்தரிகிட தித்தோம்..</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Kavivanar; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">yes.. thats how i felt watching Apeksha perform on Meera's (K)Terrace. Meera's terrace offers an intimate space to experience dance on the same plane and from close quarters. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9-d7ESxAZycJfb_9KE5ColHSPFEyS6mQC6Ul01dZ_kvA-kebp0VlswPHTyTC56XGtLqfV57T37XQqRLqBGVlw-hSVlKFy8JC_rPI5hl2p155THGfR4lsIZO_fBlo6G7xYIIPrf3A9nfp1t8OzueAMdm3sOQnMyL_5i8vQwg_GDetnyhmr_4aZsUd/s1535/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-25%20at%2011.46.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9-d7ESxAZycJfb_9KE5ColHSPFEyS6mQC6Ul01dZ_kvA-kebp0VlswPHTyTC56XGtLqfV57T37XQqRLqBGVlw-hSVlKFy8JC_rPI5hl2p155THGfR4lsIZO_fBlo6G7xYIIPrf3A9nfp1t8OzueAMdm3sOQnMyL_5i8vQwg_GDetnyhmr_4aZsUd/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-25%20at%2011.46.38%20PM.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I had watched Apeksha perform in Koham and she came in as a surprise package. After all, i was looking forward to Koham for Meera's (SN)performance, but here came someone matching and even bettering Meera. When i learnt later from a friend that she was only in her teens, i could not believe it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> i was looking forward to seeing more performances by her. i got to see her off stage at BVB and she looked like any languid bespectacled girl. But when she stepped into her BN costume and onstage to perform, she underwent a million transformation and appeared a veritable அக்கினிக்குஞ்சு.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">her limbs seem to grow that extra length to make those hastas reach further, <br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">her fingers grown an in inch longer to make those mudras sharper, </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">her torso grows a round sturdier,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">she ages a little prettier,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">her face glows like a lamp lit in the dark, <br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">her eyes speak a new language, <br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">and her tapping feet reverbrates across the floor</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">she swirls like the wind,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">smiles like a lotus,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">- she is a new avatar and a different force while performing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Apeksha kamath has decided at an early stage to choose a life in dancing. it means a lot and shows her charecter and devotion, and having anchored in the shores of the magnanimous Indra Kadambi, she is bound to sail far and wide.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SaiBrindha follows closely on Apeksh's heels and has also anchored around this big tree of IK. SB is a tad simpler in comparision, and what she lacks in physical forcefulness she more than matches with her Intelligent applications. her mukha ahinaya stands out in her performance. Those little twists in the lips, cheek and eyes can hook any audience into the sway of her performance. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SB will live with the fact that she is always going to be compared to her peer in AK, she only has to remember that she has everything in her, and the gracious blessing of her guru, to match and win any competition.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sandhya Udupa who started learning with IK as a young mother brought alive IK on stage in the 'little krishna' piece. IK's dedication and devotion seem to inspire the best out of her students and transforms them into gold. </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Talking of the performances in the evening, i found it fascinating how the acharyas come alive through their choreography. Kalanidhi Narayan's choreography had the flair of a an instructive artist, while Leela Samson's choreo had some great agility, and Ik's choreo tended towards the experimental. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">my Salutations to guru IK for all the love and care she showers on her wards and for choosing to show case her student's talents in an unconventional space like Meera's terrace and hopefully setting off a trail blazer..</span></p>Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-26496563148302460442022-12-26T04:37:00.004-08:002022-12-30T00:18:46.329-08:00 Performances @ Kalavahini<p> <span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ever since I watched <a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2019/12/season-snippets-natya-darshan-1.html">Meera and Sree</a> perform a production specially made for a festival, i have been very excited about this idea and the initiative of Malavika Sarukkai and have been eagerly looking forward to the Kalavahini festival. It is heartening to see the the festival grow in brilliance and stature year on year. This year,i felt the festival kind of reached its zenith with people starting to feel it a matter of pride to be showcased on this platform. The onus is now bigger on Malavika's shoulder to keep the spirit intact and soaring higher. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The idea of identifying young talent and awarding a fellowship to them and helping them tend to a dance idea and see it grow into a production is fantastic and forms the core of this festival. This year we saw fellowship awardees Sarveshan ( jr category) and Sreelakshmi ( Senior cat.) present their works. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5gUlb92PCk60kboXfheP4QfV8KO4Q7mV7RJ2fqFRDDEvWNuLTH6rcq0_Yq6DqAsg6gI-mnBSruNCf570MkmBW7KIcJAG47JXd-U_8XV6tWfWGDGktAEBqM1YZNbbD0bxBnAlCtSAjKC2Ly5yXYa0lEUdM1n6A4KGeR_xnyOGgqZV-gCKBBsEu0m_/s1280/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%204.54.19%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1014" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5gUlb92PCk60kboXfheP4QfV8KO4Q7mV7RJ2fqFRDDEvWNuLTH6rcq0_Yq6DqAsg6gI-mnBSruNCf570MkmBW7KIcJAG47JXd-U_8XV6tWfWGDGktAEBqM1YZNbbD0bxBnAlCtSAjKC2Ly5yXYa0lEUdM1n6A4KGeR_xnyOGgqZV-gCKBBsEu0m_/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%204.54.19%20PM.jpeg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sarveshan</b></span> had hit upon a gold mine in devi purana in the story of <i><b>Kailasha Krishna</b></i>. Just The brilliance of the idea was good enough to keep anyone hooked. The story is so rich in beautiful episodes each of which could be expanded into a full scale performance. Be it the imagery of Shiva and Parvathi captured in a moment of bliss, or the idea of Shiva desiring to take the woman's form to experience pleasure from the otherside of being a woman, any of them could form the seed of a full scale performance in itself. Sarveshan chose to expand on Parvathi's desire to be born as Krishna, in response to Shiva's desire. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A lot of time, however, was lost in setting the context of the Kailasa and the ecstatic moment of the divine couple, and consequently, the expansion of Parvati's desire seemed to have been rushed through. i wish Sarveshan could give it more thought and application to expand on the latter part. Some liberties to go beyond the original could be taken to delineate each aspect of the desire.. for instance it occured to me that Parvathi could be said to desire the dark blue skin colour of Krishna, so that she could be constantly close to Neela kandan, she could be said to desire to grow in a yadava clan so that she would not be far from their vahana the rihaba, she could be said to appease Muruga by including a peacock feather on herself as Krishna...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sarvehsan's training in Kalari showed in his performance. I also wonder if he has also trained in Kathakali, for the eyes were performing at an exuberant level. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I had may be put too much expectations on <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sreelakshmi</b></span>'s performance that i came out a bit disappointed. i felt she was trying to bring too many things into the performance and for me all of it didn't quite come together well. and it feels too preachy to talk about environment through dance. and too much gloom in a dance performance does not go well with me. the music and lighting for her work looked brilliant.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I was eagerly looking forward to watch <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Mavin Khoo</b></span> perform- one because I had been hearing much about him and his name and foreign origin pinches ones curiosity. Mavin did not disappoint and i walked out of the show greatly satisfied. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While watching the performance, i was keenly aware of myself constantly judging Mavin for what he was doing on stage. Mavin can be difficult to absorb for some and can be too good to take your eyes off for others. what look like some of his antics on stage can be off putting for some. if one can get over this reservation and take it in as his characterization one is bound to enjoy his dance better. just during the course of this performance, my opinion often went to the verge dismissing his performance as just another comic stunt, when he would do something to suddenly overwhelm me and after a point i got completely absorbed, and sheer bliss afterwards, discovering layers of his personality and performance.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjhylR3p2Sim3IvWDPMOAPS0b_uPZmM4lgOZSeodUXT-HnavmmRI8HZyVXmIcvbi8vnXvICa81D9OVO2FYXQBPyl-lomDPL7oYeT2i1pjgXm54efEmIG3KCOM7HeoW6IG2QhhBwTClDUe50moQ1YKg66eZLkBpG-gVB-WOKeQG8H8OK5h_u8zWJLh/s1280/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%204.54.11%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1012" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjhylR3p2Sim3IvWDPMOAPS0b_uPZmM4lgOZSeodUXT-HnavmmRI8HZyVXmIcvbi8vnXvICa81D9OVO2FYXQBPyl-lomDPL7oYeT2i1pjgXm54efEmIG3KCOM7HeoW6IG2QhhBwTClDUe50moQ1YKg66eZLkBpG-gVB-WOKeQG8H8OK5h_u8zWJLh/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%204.54.11%20PM.jpeg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Watching Mavin, one felt BN had been cast into fresh new die. Every movement seemed to be fresh and different- he either manages to add a small physical twist to a regular movement or has created a entirely new visual vocabulary. While there were few moments when he reminded me of Bragah Bessel, otherwise he scripted something visually fresh and unique. We are probably witness to Mavin creating a Bani of his own.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There was a time when i suggested to a dancer that while dancing for 'karpuram naarumo, kamala poo narumo' it would pay to be meditating on the lips, rather than gesturing the camphor and the lotus. i think i saw Mavin performing at this level. He did not aspire to bring every syllable to abhinaya, instead he would just let his dancing body take in the lines and probably let his cells and muscles emote to those lines. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There were times when you felt like watching John cage's 4'33''. Mavin constantly challenges the viewer to refresh his/ her visual cache. Mavin has probably introduced 'vilambith or the 'super vilambith' in dance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mavin seemed to be taking the idea of slowing it down and then throttling it up suddenly to a new high and i think we are going to see many dancers take to this style at different scales. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The idea of mixing 'Neerajakshi' and 'varuvaai ena' was brilliant and innovative. The vocalist fluently changed registers in setting the mood for the performance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">i wish Mavin had not ended the performance on a negative note, leaving the heroine still yearning for her lord. after showing a blissful ecstatic union earier on the middle of the piece, Mavin could have ended the performance with the heroine waking up to discover marks of the lord having visited her and left.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My respect, admiration and expectations off <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Karuna Sagari </b></span>had gone notches higher after watching <a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2022/12/tiruchendur-by-karuna-sagari.html">Tiruchendur </a>at the NGS festival. at first she looked like a very small and different version of the splendor that she was while performing skandam. However she grew in stature over the course of the performance to reveal a new dimension. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Sundarar thevaram did not work for me, for one, it did not sound familiar to me, nor did it carry the trademark sweetness and other features we would expect of a Sundarar thevaram. The segments where the lord and the goddess dance in alternation was brilliant. it would be interesting to see this segment as a duet.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">while the varnam piece did not give much scope for making a difference, KS aced it all in the Nattrinai piece. her explanation for the piece was a brilliant performance in itself.</span></p><div class="main_tabdiv" style="border: 0px; font-family: MaruthamRegular; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_400 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: 0px; display: table; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 853.333px; word-break: initial;"><div class="subhead" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><b>45. நெய்தல்</b></div></div></div></div><div class="main_tabdiv cuscol_width_100_per main_tab_colspan" style="border: 0px; font-family: MaruthamRegular; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>இவளே, கானல் நண்ணிய காமர் சிறுகுடி,</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>நீல் நிறப் பெருங் கடல் கலங்க உள்புக்கு</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>மீன் எறி பரதவர் மகளே; நீயே,</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>நெடுங் கொடி நுடங்கும் நியம மூதூர்க்</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>கடுந் தேர்ச் செல்வன் காதல் மகனே:</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>நிணச் சுறா அறுத்த உணக்கல் வேண்டி,</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>இனப் புள் ஓப்பும் எமக்கு நலன் எவனோ?</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>புலவு நாறுதும்; செல நின்றீமோ!</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>பெரு நீர் விளையுள் எம் சிறு நல் வாழ்க்கை</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>நும்மொடு புரைவதோ அன்றே;</b></div></div></div><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_20 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_600 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>எம்மனோரில் செம்மலும் உடைத்தே!</b></div></div><div class="cuscol_width_90 link tabdiv_row_cell" style="background-position: -32px -3px; border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin: 5px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 40px; word-break: normal;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.tamilvu.org/node/154572?linkid=0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">உரை</a></span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="footer" style="border: 0px; font-family: MaruthamRegular; font-size: 11px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 950px;"></div><div class="main_tabdiv main_tab_colspan" style="border: 0px; font-family: MaruthamRegular; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="tabdiv_row" style="border: 0px; display: table; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 853.333px;"><div class="cuscol_width_26 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 59.7292px; word-break: initial;"></div><div class="cuscol_width_500 tabdiv_row_cell" style="border: none; display: table-cell; font-size: 13.5px; height: auto; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; word-break: initial;"><div class="poem" style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 476.156px;"><span style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i>(குறை வேண்டிய தலைவனைத்தோழி சேட்படுத்தது)</i></span></div></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">KS expounded upon this poem in a brief introduction that was very foreceful and amply set the tempo for an even more power packed performance</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Just the choice to perform this song was very powerful, as it demonstrates the power and strength of a woman to say no to a man and does so with great clarity and forthrightness. And this coming from a tamil woman from two thousand years ago, should be inspiring to girls of today. I am thinking of how this piece worked for me , while Sreelakshmi's , again a socially conscious and responsible piece, sounded preachy to me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">KS signed off her performance in a magical pose of a soaring swan, beautifully augmented by the soaring voice of Subhiksha and the blue lighting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">i had first come across Girish Karnad's <b><span style="font-size: medium;">Naga mandala </span></b>as a play staged at the theru k koothu festival 2022 at Purisai, superbly performed by Kumaraguru drama troupe, ably directed by Arivazhagan. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDh8kcUaQpsuSWvxGSpPUtDqJxmf0JuEdjuifh4u-Q6tx3Ha8CmHGMh0gONWV6x68KKfZayW9AHIJHmoGm6WluPKjzfOd-hPtYkpCxZreFaVjHFD1kdo8mzawEnzYkeH3aRuVQj4fvoDSVyrzfUtc1AKM6c5rSwF6d3LdREhO_081ACKQ6j-KXF1OX/s1080/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.14.04%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDh8kcUaQpsuSWvxGSpPUtDqJxmf0JuEdjuifh4u-Q6tx3Ha8CmHGMh0gONWV6x68KKfZayW9AHIJHmoGm6WluPKjzfOd-hPtYkpCxZreFaVjHFD1kdo8mzawEnzYkeH3aRuVQj4fvoDSVyrzfUtc1AKM6c5rSwF6d3LdREhO_081ACKQ6j-KXF1OX/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.14.04%20PM.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">accessed from fb post of Gurusaravanan Manoharan</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I would never have imagined that it could be made into a dance performance. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Punyah</b></span> dance company simply aced it and made delectable feast of dance, music and design. at times they had the audience peck out of their hands, they carried the script with so much grace and elan and topped it up with their individual brilliance to give us a scintillating premiere of their production. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqX8hR4t0rBQSjORr9BMGxsjdzJr2HIJ5zZmEyXA_C5RJv0d6r23-HoAJ9COCL_-mq6iOsyHX77DTwa5hxG7PmMOK25lT1zfCDW9S7v2nh44CHAvmIlmS_mDGPApXzMV9fJjdTbhr6CF_szWrMgOrqmsHqZ6TR7P2yxHUogupRJsiqSg-zwHSLgkp/s1080/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.34.23%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1080" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqX8hR4t0rBQSjORr9BMGxsjdzJr2HIJ5zZmEyXA_C5RJv0d6r23-HoAJ9COCL_-mq6iOsyHX77DTwa5hxG7PmMOK25lT1zfCDW9S7v2nh44CHAvmIlmS_mDGPApXzMV9fJjdTbhr6CF_szWrMgOrqmsHqZ6TR7P2yxHUogupRJsiqSg-zwHSLgkp/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.34.23%20PM.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It was fascinating to see how much talent and effort had gone into the aspects of music, lyrics, light design and kudos to Parshwanath for bringing all these talents together . Their decision to do away with dialogues and convey the story line only through gestures was brilliant. The idea of dancers flipping between being the story tellers and charectars made for an interesting watch.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A fleeting moment when Parshwanath turned to the audience and egged the few spontaneous clappers to join in was magical. it was a string of moments like these, where the rasa built up in the audience and the bhava on the stage matched and resonated that made this production spectacular.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I only wished i could understand the Kannada lyrics, for it could have greatly enriched the experience of the production. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Congratulations to team Kalavahini for a great show this year. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>images except where mentioned accessed from Kalavahini's insta page </i></span></p>Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-37362457284379009052022-12-26T04:35:00.001-08:002022-12-26T04:40:40.787-08:00Tiruchendur by Karuna Sagari<p>(<i>the post had been lying a draft since Aug 2022</i>) </p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As a part of the annual Natyarangam festival of NGS, this year around the theme of Utsava Bharatham, each day saw the staging of a dance production based on the theme of the prominent festival in a Temple town. I got around to watching performance of the festivities in Madurai by Roja kannan and Priya Murle. and when i noticed Karuna Sagari was to perform a couple of days later, i told myself that i should not miss it. I have seen her perform and talk about dance and she showed she could be different, daring and innovative. once i saw her perform on a modest stage on a simple street, to a lay audience in the neighborhood where she probably lived. and in every piece she performed on that simple stage she was giving it her best efforts. this showed me here was someone made of steely resolve and soaring spirits.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Karuna Sagari was chosen to perform the festivals and story of Thiruchendur. The problem with performing divine stories is that most performers tend to aspire to keep their audience in a constant state of exaltation. one could achieve this by having the other dancers on stage go into an exalted frenzy whenever the divinity appeared on stage and thereby hoping to evoke the same in the audience- this would in turn constrain the scope of the choreographer and performer to produce anything new on stage. they would have to constantly fall back in to this trap loosing out on the innovative elements they could have otherwise explored.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">i felt Roja Kannan and company fell into this trap. but they had elements of surprise in their performance that kept their production from falling flat into staging the divinity alone. the folk elements in their production were the most scintillating part of their performance. the production progressed by projecting the tales around the divine forms, tales of divine interventions, and the vehicles featured on each day of the festival. the role of sutradhari played by Sasirekha anchored the performance cogently and paved the way for the stories to bloom one after the other. the folk/pop tone in her delivery helped the audience lighten up and anticipate the next sequence. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But I should
confess Sasirekha’s performance was only half as good as the magic she could perform
in ‘ Mylai kuravanji’ dance drama that most players of this ensemble had
performed a few years ago. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">a couple of folk numbers in the sequence, namely on
the festival day of Kuthirai vaganam and another a kavadi chinthu number brought
a much needed difference to this performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The dance
sequence featured on the Bootha vahanam day featuring only the male dancers was
a riveting bit of performance- some steps in the sequence reminded me of Padmasubramniam
school’s signature styles, and those movements seemed to sit more adeptly on
the male body. There was much to work upon in every sequence, and that some
fine tuning – a little less of divine exaltation and little more of the folk
elements- could have improved the overall experience of Madurai.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq03VqzYg-v9eha9XehH2oLPXI7taMisHhcnUPHxfa5xC2WyEJOGBoe75tyTHtb8l75cqyvEj5F2GxnaRVZwz-TX266uTQCj_SOuC0nWpItAfST1C36-0Tp0eDlHL59S5afzP0wmOQZgzSR1PvriiY8UaHlu4uCN7UgqYS3Lwa7i7d1g_L8TcGBfIj/s1280/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.57.25%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1006" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq03VqzYg-v9eha9XehH2oLPXI7taMisHhcnUPHxfa5xC2WyEJOGBoe75tyTHtb8l75cqyvEj5F2GxnaRVZwz-TX266uTQCj_SOuC0nWpItAfST1C36-0Tp0eDlHL59S5afzP0wmOQZgzSR1PvriiY8UaHlu4uCN7UgqYS3Lwa7i7d1g_L8TcGBfIj/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.57.25%20PM.jpeg" width="252" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Moving on to
Thiruchendur, Karuna Sagari lead her group of dancers with great spirit and
energy. it was refreshing to see her perform as one of the Asuras and not as
Muruga. And during certain group configurations on stage, she was graceful to
be performing on the sides at times.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iV-zXtCycl53MgINh8DlG6tXs7L18Wa5zg9woXp-pc0yv1gWyXiSY3ptUnyMkQ09lCuv3XDQweAngeOqZlme2B3XzWnFBm7mL_4HYe7FQ7YdtJ3aFBemllP7YyZItMROZnlC4AcJsbYM7VVK9IqQrJjyMiOgO8GQZvuv56QcYOxAw41HtLuJy6H8/s1122/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.45.29%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iV-zXtCycl53MgINh8DlG6tXs7L18Wa5zg9woXp-pc0yv1gWyXiSY3ptUnyMkQ09lCuv3XDQweAngeOqZlme2B3XzWnFBm7mL_4HYe7FQ7YdtJ3aFBemllP7YyZItMROZnlC4AcJsbYM7VVK9IqQrJjyMiOgO8GQZvuv56QcYOxAw41HtLuJy6H8/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-26%20at%205.45.29%20PM.jpeg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">@ karunav insta page</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Almost more
than half of the performance was around battle scenes and it was a challenge to
see how one could spice it up to make it interesting. And Karuna Sagari has
cracked this puzzle and she has done it in style by bringing a difference with
the choreography and a zing with some experimental music. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The battle
scenes were choreographed with great rigor and energy, bringing in elements of
Kalari and all the performers showed great intensity in these sequences,
showing signs of some immersive training in the same. Some innovative
deployment of music also helped carry the show further to greater heights. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The music
was a big surprise element for the performance. The dynamic voice of Susha
could be equally brilliant while bringing alive the divinity through
Arunagirinathar’s lines and also when she set the stage and our hearts ablaze
with a light rendition of ‘ aa aaa’ for the Krauncha giri sequence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I was
listening to her for the first time and the ease with which she rendered
Arunagirnathar’s lines made me look up for the vocalist, and while at it she
could shift gears with ease and change to another tempo and mood and carry on
with great elan. The music of the quartet led by Priya and vocal support from
helped add more punch to the performance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It was
quite revealing that KS could work on this idea for a long time, thanks to the
pandemic, and she could bring in help and expertise from various corners. The use
of compositions by her grandmother in the performance added so much more value
to the overall experience of Tiruchendur. After all, there is nothing that can
get better than a god that one can call one’s own, and a divine experience that
gets more personal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Inspired by
the spectacle that KS’ show was, and the expectations of a rich Dussera
celebrations at Mysore, I took my family along to see Pavitra Bhatt perform on
the concluding day. We ended up <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>being very
disappointed. The Only saving grace for me was to witness <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and awe at PB’s stamina and endurance in
performing long duration pieces. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">PB had
structured the performance around little snapshots from the dussera celebration
and elaborating on them in detail. The choice of the snap shots was not
eclectic and this led to show falling flat and unimpressive. The hall seemed to
be filled with his fans and the big applause for small gestures from PB, making me
wonder what was I missing out on. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></span><p></p>Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-3023901335886317442021-06-22T06:13:00.002-07:002021-06-22T06:31:09.988-07:00learning with a humane artist..<span style="font-family: helvetica;">it has been a month since my <a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2021/05/first-swipe-at-film-making.html">last post</a> about my first exercise and i have in the mean time had my first brush with the various aspects of film making over fiver weekends, thanks to Ramani's course. This was such a cool course in its structure and execution, every wwekend we had 8 sessions, 4 with Ramani reviewing our exercises and 4 with experts who shared their knowledge. there was no compulsion to attend all the sessions and these were so good that you felt bad if u missed one. i am really glad i signed up for it.</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">as a part of the course i have had the oppurtunity to listen to some very fine film makers talk about their art and craft. i picked a few nuances on film appreciation and the great amount of thinking that goes into the making of every shot. i also enjoyed watching the works and development of peers from the course and listening to their perspectives.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The level of openness in the course was liberating and the gentle goading to complete exercises was motivating. It was rewarding to listen to Ramani and fellow course takers view and discuss one's exercises. These review sessions though they seemed to be a lot of drudgery, were quite enjoyable in that they were samples of work in progress. We had the option to skip these sessions, it was more exciting when your work or someone familiar's work was being discussed. But Ramani had to sit through all our exercises and discussions. it was quite a revelation to see Ramani watch every exercise with the same intent, sense of excitement and interest, and invariably pat with a , '<i>hmmm.. nice..</i> ', at the end of any work, before going into discussing different aspects of the work and inviting others to pitch in with their views.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In the first s</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ession of the course we got to listen to Biswajit Das, an animation film maker. Biswajit had recently converted to film making from abstract painting and during the lockdown he had kept himself motivated and charged to produce 100 animations videos over 100 days. he introduced editing tools and made editing and video making look very simple. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In an another interesting session, listening to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPiBeN7jOqM/?utm_medium=copy_link" target="_blank">Narayanan</a> talk, opened up so much to read into Ghatak's film Subarnareka. One particular haunting scene of a demon like character frieghtening child Sita, just as she is shown walking across a crack running across the dry landscape, suddenly made so much sense when he mentioned an allusion to Ramayana, and hintng upon Ghatak's involvement in street theatre and art before coming to films. All these put together suddenly made the film so much more beautiful and meaningful. </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0uZTGufq94tpiFT3_WFiuajOiFn712weg1oHE8P5vKDW04weXA0CCoQrG9XLOTx_JV2o2lKjLXJqc1P1hZkmMow0cuKbDO-5cSFCINiXFTPI-DWwzHmJnKcddNawKfyLag6vi49-dpk/s820/WhatsApp+Image+2021-06-22+at+6.04.58+PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="547" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0uZTGufq94tpiFT3_WFiuajOiFn712weg1oHE8P5vKDW04weXA0CCoQrG9XLOTx_JV2o2lKjLXJqc1P1hZkmMow0cuKbDO-5cSFCINiXFTPI-DWwzHmJnKcddNawKfyLag6vi49-dpk/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2021-06-22+at+6.04.58+PM.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In another memorable session of the course,we had a chance to listen to Prateek Vats talk about his films Eeb Allay Ooo and A very old man with enormous wings. After watching a short video on the FTII Row, i expected to see a firebrand youth activist in Prateek, but we got to hear a very cool and composed professional speaking eloquently about his craft and attitude to film making.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A couple of disturbing scenes in 'very old man' and the way Prateek talked about filming it and framing it and putting them in a perspective spoke a lot about the depth of his philosophy, passion and honesty. The way he explained nuances that went into the making of select scenes from eeb allay ooo revealed his solid technical clarity and the openness to share it with us was humbling. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ramani's closing session for the course was an immersive session on his journey in film making and a peek into his filmography. The session brought to fore the ever experimenting artist in Ramani and the amorphous character of his films. the session glided on for 5 hours and no one was in a mood to leave and finally Ramani had to take the call to close the session filled with emotions.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">the course was also a great oppurtunity to relish and learn from films made by course mates and drawing inspiration from their works and experiences. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">this was the fifth batch for Ramani since the lock down and he is as excited as ever.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div>Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-48389946315439819232021-05-21T08:54:00.000-07:002021-05-21T08:54:25.951-07:00First swipe at Film making<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I just registered for a film making course with <a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2019/11/oh-thats-bhanu.html" target="_blank">Ramani </a>and
he has already brought a difference to
my life. I have shot my first ‘Video’, thanks
to the first Exercise in Ramani’s film making course. At first I thought it strange of Ramani to
dispatch an exercise even before the course had started. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But Ramani’s description of a Shot and the things that he
looks for in it got me hooked. The fact that he said shots reflected attitude,
ruled out any casual attempts. I had to put some effort to make a good
submission. I was jogging my brain for different concepts/ ideas I could work
on. Even though we were in a lock down, I did not like the idea of domestic scenes.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The conversation/ encounter I had the previous day with a
woman who was selling palm fruits, inside a farm, appeared to be a good premise
to capture on video. But this would require going back to her, convincing her
and repeating a conversation- at the loss of natural behaviour. But it was
still worth trying, I thought. I was thinking in terms of possible angles,
dialogues and scenes to include in the video. Viola!! This felt so different to
me. I was venturing new territory. I was learning a new language, a craft. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But then I did not want to wait till going out to the
farm and wanted to have a couple of back up videos, as time was short and the
deadline was drawing closer. So in a moment of intrepidity, I took my phone and
stepped out of the house. It felt very different. I was trying to script a
video out of thin air. And there were so many stories happening around me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A bunch of goats grazing around offered themselves for a
shot, I tried my camera on them, but then it felt stupid not to capture the
flight that was passing by making all that noise that registered itself in the
goat video. A second shot that I tried centering on the kolam in front of our
house and capturing the legs of the goats as they walked on it, was good , but fell
sadly short of capturing one mischievous goat that was eyeing the open gate and
trying to enter the house. The video didn’t feel complete without capturing this
mischief.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then I thought of a concept around ‘flying’- capturing
bees, butterflies, crows, and finally a flag. I had also conceived a poem a to
go with this video. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<h2><span lang="EN" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: helvetica;"><i>Flying<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
<h2><span lang="EN" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: helvetica;"><i>The flight
of the bees feels like music<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
<h2><span lang="EN" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: helvetica;"><i>The flight
of the crow feels like an escapade<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
<h2><span lang="EN" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: helvetica;"><i>The flight
of the myna feels like fresh rain drops<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
<h2><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: TA;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">The flying
of a flag…?</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The video did not work because the actors failed to turn
up just in time.. Finally, a video of two goats answering each other’s calls
and in the end, walking together felt good. It had everything I was looking for
- an idea, concept, actors, sound and all- falling in place. It was worth
submitting for the course. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-alt: 12.95pt; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am glad that this simple exercise has done profound
things to me. I have had an opportunity to experience what it feels like to
conceive and create something. I have now had a swipe at being an artist. I had
conceived a poem after such a long time. I was now looking at the movies on my
TV in terms of the shots that they had been conceived and found a lot more to
appreciate in a movie. That’s a whole new world opening up before me. Thanks to
Ramani’s first exercise.. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-60718867130132538222020-05-12T12:40:00.003-07:002020-05-13T20:14:08.965-07:00Flying over Maddy Land<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I First met Madhavan Palanisamy and his works in a show that was a part of CPB 2016. The show was called '<a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2016/03/cpb-series-in-dreams-madhavan-palnisamy.html">in dreams</a>.'. I remember the show for the shock i felt when i encountered the image of beloved writer Kovai Gnani in one of the pictures. i was shocked at the treatment of a father figure and his blindness. i went back to the artist's bio note to gather more information about the artist, and it was a surprise to discover that Maddy was the son of Kovai Gnani. i was also glad to have Maddy around and talk to him about the shock and get over it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">After i got talking to Maddy about the show, i started making sense of his other works, but the portrayal of the father figure was still unpalatable for me. After all these years, i got an opportunity to listen to Maddy again, and this time talking about the entire gamut of his photographic, personal and professional journey on a platform made possible by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thalam.in/">Thalam</a>. This was a good opportunity for me to understand and appreciate Maddy's works in their entirety over a span of a couple of decades. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">At this juncture, i should thank Thalam for providing an opportunity to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAkkAFa6_Sk&fbclid=IwAR3-ak172bBU_rMmsEEPz7WK-wr5iscDJq4-HvEfQ5r4P8E75OZ7Lk0S3Us">listen </a>to and have a glimpse of a lifetime's work of so many photographers. This has come as a boon during this lock down period to understand, appreciate and engage with so many different professional paractices, journeys and aspirations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Maddy's upbringing as the youngest child in a doting home, where he was 12 years younger to his elder brother; His scholarly father's doting on him and taking him along to watch avantgarde European movies, and sowing in him a sense of freedom in his thinking and sensibilities all show in different aspects of Maddy's body of works. Maddy seems to savour a childish enquiry and treatment of the world around him. This is most evident in the occasional graphic story board that feat</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: large;">ures</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: large;"> in his works.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEbrmVx4nNB7h5n5fAbBi-5VpitKZddhOxBa-FQdaB-khQfAFCk8aFHt85XUaDksJ8amupfH_5gRTVHRilwYX4yG8DuPsf6FOML5nVqvziAA3mR97lmlKx2bpYnRTJYFdzZ2godqpOuUU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEbrmVx4nNB7h5n5fAbBi-5VpitKZddhOxBa-FQdaB-khQfAFCk8aFHt85XUaDksJ8amupfH_5gRTVHRilwYX4yG8DuPsf6FOML5nVqvziAA3mR97lmlKx2bpYnRTJYFdzZ2godqpOuUU/w130-h200/maddy+read.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdWvozngmjIMkAjwVKEBiI-h_wam7Gph9qpezHgmWfySg5dSbs-7PSLOBCk0VcbKj2w41oXJiNopRZ1x4eRBq6wNZlxggL-77SS12Xf31TtdZ5ZMEui7PLSK9tEXNcXJMjzXCjGoLFkbw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdWvozngmjIMkAjwVKEBiI-h_wam7Gph9qpezHgmWfySg5dSbs-7PSLOBCk0VcbKj2w41oXJiNopRZ1x4eRBq6wNZlxggL-77SS12Xf31TtdZ5ZMEui7PLSK9tEXNcXJMjzXCjGoLFkbw/w154-h200/maddy+film.jpg" width="154" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">These graphic illustrations are at once playful and profound in their minimalism. Maddy arrives at photography after dabbling with a career in Pharma and Management. He presented an overview of his works done under commission and of his personal experiments with photography. I have engaged mostly with the non commissioned body of work, though i have occasionally drawn from the commissioned work only to illustrate my view point. In my reading, there are two things that run common through Maddy's body of works - sensuality and playfulness.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3nRby2Qu-FqDIf_im9dnsvvg3DnL2tI5AzAmmCoee1wU1_Y3X9sTLODDwbwNpMjosW6fAAzzI3II9rcUs7gKR86JthVL1WlqCKCzSCmlmTUDtWYxO57Zo4SM0UCKP03lzxyuwY2Pi0I/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3nRby2Qu-FqDIf_im9dnsvvg3DnL2tI5AzAmmCoee1wU1_Y3X9sTLODDwbwNpMjosW6fAAzzI3II9rcUs7gKR86JthVL1WlqCKCzSCmlmTUDtWYxO57Zo4SM0UCKP03lzxyuwY2Pi0I/s320/maddy+aisha.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Maddy creates an aura of sensuality in his images by playing with the lighting of the face. The sensuality in his images are deeply embedded and coded in the lighting and positioning. A woman's toe placed tenuously on a man's head was the hieght of sensuality in his images for me. But here Maddy plays around with the viewer's perception by not giving the viewer anything away to guess that it is a woman's foot, and further places the image in the middle of a deep cosmos like ambience and evokes the images of a primordial Shiva and Shakthi. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCUqox2xrrrMH7iAOYXcng9wdWnPqczwahgtCLMcYeAVoqAfls3yviv-EAmtsWla8zzd9lxB8sx2Xp65LqXvlYDndXAb0kOUfZJoW3VnNHxLbfhyphenhyphen0_waYeOQgyt14nNsKXlcqOg-DcLM/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCUqox2xrrrMH7iAOYXcng9wdWnPqczwahgtCLMcYeAVoqAfls3yviv-EAmtsWla8zzd9lxB8sx2Xp65LqXvlYDndXAb0kOUfZJoW3VnNHxLbfhyphenhyphen0_waYeOQgyt14nNsKXlcqOg-DcLM/s320/maddy+fabric.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">One also wonders if it is the light that Maddy fancies and fetishizes. This is more so evident in his work built around his visit to America. He is fascinated by the different quality of the light in that part of the world and produces and dreamy body of images, where building facades look like fabric and landscapes carry an European film montage like quality. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO8mhhxPVlVKPLT9uzWz-Rheh2xVIqir7LLhuZKN2mBMe339IEgcT2jQc0Hoh8pcNuCYcRC1BcLl7vgJfvNHoVXqncTNZEVVfWQk8Oa4krd9_YKtABIgqNy6KEUrAh1GaxSFUXK7q22E/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO8mhhxPVlVKPLT9uzWz-Rheh2xVIqir7LLhuZKN2mBMe339IEgcT2jQc0Hoh8pcNuCYcRC1BcLl7vgJfvNHoVXqncTNZEVVfWQk8Oa4krd9_YKtABIgqNy6KEUrAh1GaxSFUXK7q22E/s320/maddy+horse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Maddy's playfulness is what is amply evident in most of his work. he does this by introducing Graffiti and toys into his work. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Bz3aeiQc4e-sQE3VeT6mjYLHcV0NRtHQcFCv3Qhw7sW9q42AlcP0ABynccug3dZIFEtgmZMbMqkEcaP_aI3MEJ9q6an5DwrI-G1Dg6KDqqP-RSeQGi1R5KSXSycQl16aD7nHAMy05bo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="685" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Bz3aeiQc4e-sQE3VeT6mjYLHcV0NRtHQcFCv3Qhw7sW9q42AlcP0ABynccug3dZIFEtgmZMbMqkEcaP_aI3MEJ9q6an5DwrI-G1Dg6KDqqP-RSeQGi1R5KSXSycQl16aD7nHAMy05bo/s320/maddy+gnani.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">He introduces another layer of playfulness by knocking down the legs of science and the laws of ordinary perception and throwing an unhinged image at the viewer and inviting him to explore the dimensions that the viewer can bring to the work. In his images, mountains, and rivers are removed from their geographical sensibilities and reduced to a topography of crushed paper, folds on a bed spread and thick lines curving on a graphic sketch board. He would also invert scale by creating a perception of the cosmos from a close up of a conglomeration of speck of dust. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVv3VfwOUCu5Gt2MQshzRpGz5sgF9KUHYeW8DpZE874w8C_gke4jdqdEfXWcxKT0Gs_wdjdh545sSXf6taBUcDTs3wGMEwgnNPdWMBXn_9V1LXTb4MTUIWKPxMUm2gyiM5GWnkONrKpWY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="685" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVv3VfwOUCu5Gt2MQshzRpGz5sgF9KUHYeW8DpZE874w8C_gke4jdqdEfXWcxKT0Gs_wdjdh545sSXf6taBUcDTs3wGMEwgnNPdWMBXn_9V1LXTb4MTUIWKPxMUm2gyiM5GWnkONrKpWY/s320/maddy+mount.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The series <i><b>Simla special </b></i>manifests another dimension of playfulness, wherein he invents new images that monumentalise and marry his own and his son's sensibilities. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-l3RmlvP-TMxA7utqYR4RUXUp_R11-qPIIbquFyg8JwvrZN-Yd3Fd9B-AikzKNRt4TX5lbjwjSdk3-JTD0q8Kvypo4MWXsHVipGEoBBFJen12YwfhdEb1BVT9kIPB-IwHPggH9qRajo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-l3RmlvP-TMxA7utqYR4RUXUp_R11-qPIIbquFyg8JwvrZN-Yd3Fd9B-AikzKNRt4TX5lbjwjSdk3-JTD0q8Kvypo4MWXsHVipGEoBBFJen12YwfhdEb1BVT9kIPB-IwHPggH9qRajo/s320/maddy+shimla.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">He creates a collage of images and enjoys disrupting the viewers sense of balanced perception. He takes away the viewers crutches of conditioned vision and invites him to discover a new balance in his picture. He invites the viewer to join in on a new st</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: large;">ate of mindfulness.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJlh4SGzfOd1nGJZUMg4j4g9r-oFKSAU-ZDumGkbFyif_-maFh3RzayiFY7K_XfzwrhtdEhukcCdAQzItSwb-eCouFaPqj4f5WCiZHPTQq1bwpRg08OwtfHY7xgBVD1otMSnpha6H-mc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJlh4SGzfOd1nGJZUMg4j4g9r-oFKSAU-ZDumGkbFyif_-maFh3RzayiFY7K_XfzwrhtdEhukcCdAQzItSwb-eCouFaPqj4f5WCiZHPTQq1bwpRg08OwtfHY7xgBVD1otMSnpha6H-mc/s320/maddy+appa.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Apart from sensuality and playing around, the influence of his writer father runs quite prominent in Maddy's body of work- the obsession with the written word, the type face of a printed word, the aspiration to poem making, the playfulness with which the father gives himself up in totality to his son's playful world - offe</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: large;">r interesting paradigms to Maddy's work.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzz0aun9Dzj8v8D_Noh-rpzI-DTcJ4IKQuYyp9S1kEYHsaNPFodSz-2pc5yNUDif2s5FSz4hBpaQX3nQfzUlh59nAwHDDRgY68Zhyphenhyphenl4eVZz9NE1tsE7Kakjleyoa109ZV9Nckoa-umUY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzz0aun9Dzj8v8D_Noh-rpzI-DTcJ4IKQuYyp9S1kEYHsaNPFodSz-2pc5yNUDif2s5FSz4hBpaQX3nQfzUlh59nAwHDDRgY68Zhyphenhyphenl4eVZz9NE1tsE7Kakjleyoa109ZV9Nckoa-umUY/s320/maddy+words.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Maddy accords the animal subjects in his pictures a great sense of dignity of a kind that is rare to be ever encountered. i believe this again comes from a very tangential influence of the philosophy to which his father subscribes to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Maddy's commissioned works form a small plantation tract in a corner of the dense forest of Maddy land . It is his inventiveness and disruptiveness that come across prominently in his commissioned works for Coffee day, CPB and CSK.</span></div>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-6658211581794794232020-03-10T08:12:00.001-07:002020-03-10T08:12:24.575-07:00Transgress - Voicing the Vulnerable<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Transgress- Voicing the Vulnerable</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">A talk
by Vijaysagar Subbaiyaa<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">At the
Spaces, 6 pm 18/2/2020<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Participating
Artists:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Vishnu
Sasi, Clement Raj, JibinBabu, Mani K Ayyappan, Rishi Sasi<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Curated
by Sujeeth Kumar Sreekandan<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">( <i>the text of my speech on the above occassion</i>)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> feel excited to be here talking about
this show, as I think this is quite a phenomenal and a historic show in the
sense that it is simmering with a raw, untamed energy that is characteristic of
youth and this energy has become very scarce to come across in this hyper
censored world. This bunch of artists is quite gifted in that they have been
offered this wonderful platform to present their ideas and practice in an
unmitigated manner- unmediated by external factors like institution, mentorship
and commercial considerations. It’s also heartening to see that they have risen
up to the occasion and put up a very considerate and responsible show thanks to
the distant touch of the curator Sujeeth Sreekandan and their mentor, Ganesh Selvaraj.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this early age in life, an artist is
usually subjected to moderation and mediation of the Institution and we scarce
get to see the artist untouched by the bigger and sanitising designs of the
institution. And after he graduates and starts his independent practice he
either loses this untamed fire to the abrasions of life in general or has to
give it up to ply by the considerations of the gallery masters. This show is
unique because it has happened free of these tribulations and It’s a piece of
wild energy presented intact and made palatable to our urbane sensibilities.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some
of these artists have not been to an institution; some of them have not passed
out of the institution yet. They share a common umbilical connection to their
mentor Ganesh Selvaraj, under whom they have been picking up the nuggets of a
professional practice. I want to congratulate their mentor for not having
imposed any ideology or narrative contingency on to their work. Though certain
influences of style are obvious, the artists are fairly untouched by any kind
of ideological proselytization. This is also not surprising, given that Ganesh
himself is indifferent and averse to working with an ideology, as it was
evident in his recent talk at this venue. Ganesh’s practice hinges around
inviting the viewers to approach his works with an open mind. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ganesh’s long association and work with the
artist group <a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2019/10/kinetics-sensation.html">Kinetics</a>, I believe has had a very positive influence on this
show. Group shows, i have come to realise, offer an interesting and exciting
avenue for multiple and varied treatment of a given mood or context in diverse
mediums and styles. Group shows are also unique in that they offer a strange
beauty in the form of a synergy achieved among artists and works. I believe
this show has achieved that synergy and beams with that wild beauty.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vishnu Sashi’s works are a collage of
emotions. While one work reminds the viewer of crumpled balls of failed love
letters another plays around with the crumpled balls of paper as a distracting tool
to distract the viewer from the stark images on the collage and also to add a visual
dimension of a disturbed mind to the work. A third work featuring a collage of
pieces of canvas featuring distorted and animated versions of still life from
every day images is interspersed with coloured pieces of cardboard. Vishnu
seems to have a special liking for the striated surface of the card board which
again features in a work of ensemble of embossed shapes created with canvas.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each image in Vishnu’s collage is worthy of
an undivided and complete attention in themselves. Yet he prefers to present
these images as an assortment, and bury them in a maze, leaving it to the viewer
to dig up and relish the images that savour their individual sensibilities.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this age in life these young minds are
bound to be bothered by so many existential questions for which there would seemingly
be no answers or help forthcoming from people around them. Clement has chosen to
take refuge from these bothering questions in travels and look at the sadness
around him as a bystander. Themes of travel recur all overhis works. He has
reduced the human figure to a caricature that looks like a question mark, and
all these figures seem to be in some form a journey- some seem to be going down
a drain hole, others seem to be going around in circles and everyone seems to
be in search of that ever elusive key to all their problems. Clement’s works
come across as the more polite and understated work of this show.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Jibin’s works are the most disturbing ones
of this lot. Jibin has used the metaphor of ant to convey a persistent source
of intrusion and irritation. The wire sculptures of ant are </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">throbbing with life and look threatening
streaming in in colonies, they could as well be a buzzing colony of bees. The
singular ant caught in an island of white looks like swearing vengeance and
poised for action. It is also interesting and serendipitous to note that this
figure of the ant has ivolved into motif for the show idealizing the seeming
naïve and innocent creature that can be a painful source of irritation to the
authority.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRvLmgeSpAgnatvIeodFIAFugWkKfhVxFBRoVUANgl9y87rMKItavKJ7OYCKIH8Sa4dGoPtYhZ5wmvF-L3rA4Sr6mK9Y41j79GUOdExnJq0HiaQy7J2D52bkKVTZzkCclhYBVqrVpFyY/s1600/trangress+ant.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRvLmgeSpAgnatvIeodFIAFugWkKfhVxFBRoVUANgl9y87rMKItavKJ7OYCKIH8Sa4dGoPtYhZ5wmvF-L3rA4Sr6mK9Y41j79GUOdExnJq0HiaQy7J2D52bkKVTZzkCclhYBVqrVpFyY/s320/trangress+ant.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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mind. Two ashen and robotic arms seem to have knocked an eye off, depriving him
of the solace he seeks in his dreams and look like tearing his face apart and can
be very painful on the viewer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Z4EZXVOnKUD9VPnd6g8jwKdN8YPtUp6gVCMncMkxNlcrYwIPThTEjbgesIrcMemhtiobLVIbu6er5Tq1F9ETwP-8Jk27jiqMtF92O8eitRPaLMxT-dJP4acFe8W0ETnepP8qb3w6U_4/s1600/jibin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Z4EZXVOnKUD9VPnd6g8jwKdN8YPtUp6gVCMncMkxNlcrYwIPThTEjbgesIrcMemhtiobLVIbu6er5Tq1F9ETwP-8Jk27jiqMtF92O8eitRPaLMxT-dJP4acFe8W0ETnepP8qb3w6U_4/s320/jibin.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His ‘curse of a tree’
stands tall in vision and concept but somehow fails to make the visual impact
on the viewer. A little tweaking with the colour scheme could make a big
difference to this work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rishi creates a
stratigraphy aping the physical elements with a combination of material-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the tower made of wood, the undulations of
surface in the form of ears, noses and genitals in plaster of paris, the river
of thread that runs across the striated surface. Together, this jigsaw pattern
of geographical features offers a visual puzzle of sorts and opens itself to
interpretations of the viewer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNZFYffVL6E9mcT8g_Dd7BiePvUHI9_0eyq3PjD71seh3oSCUiTFaSZV-b5Uh9pS3CVKAygsWL292qFvQeQtQhVL5B2yO4ARZj51kFQc_5K9tgLk9NVNYdjWzB4Dc9mE9FL3skMAnBZo/s1600/rishi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNZFYffVL6E9mcT8g_Dd7BiePvUHI9_0eyq3PjD71seh3oSCUiTFaSZV-b5Uh9pS3CVKAygsWL292qFvQeQtQhVL5B2yO4ARZj51kFQc_5K9tgLk9NVNYdjWzB4Dc9mE9FL3skMAnBZo/s320/rishi.jpg" width="180" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sturdiness of wood
probably alludes to the rigidity of institutions and the people we come across
there, the undulations in plaster of paris allude to a sensuality of a private
moment and the threads evoke a feeling of the self that keeps flowing on its
course in space and time immaterial of these public and private encounters.
Rishi manages to bring together a drama of these elements condensed across
space and time on to his work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While talking to Mani
Ayyappan about his works he dropped this beautiful word ‘Prathishetha sekshi illathaaal’
in Malayalam for a man who is not capable of reacting to the things in the
society. This word was so fulsome and enough for me to talk volumes about his
work. The man in the photo wanting to cut himself off from the society could be
Kafka’s GregorSamsa, or Sallinger”s Holden Caulfield or Rahel and Estha from
the God of Small Things. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The figure in these
photos seems to be crying out in deep pain to a deaf or nonexistent society. He
has either been left behind or lost his way. This series is more relevant today
in these times of social networking, where one is expected to have and voice an
opinion about everything. Even as an artist one is often faced with this
question of how does one’s work reflect the times we live in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These works that are
full of young adult consternations and rebellion beautifully fit into the theme
of Transgress. This is an age when one would want to break the rules and create
new ones. Transgress could also highlight the absurdity of the rules and the
times we live in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very happy for
these artists for they have made a studied choice of medium, concepts and ideas
to express their transgression. In the process they have made themselves
vulnerable, yet showing great character. The music played by the band INK on
the opening day complemented so well the art and spirit of this show.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sujeeth has played the
crucial role of handling these bundles of explosive energy with care, helping
them choose from their portfolio of works, liasoning with stakeholders,
enabling a discourse around the show and giving us a show that will be
remembered as a brilliant milestone in the Chennai art scene. He has tended to
these artists as a loving elder and guided them in this enterprise.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now for the bigger
question of where does the narrative strand of this show fit in the wider
discourse of the art world? In this context I would like to quote a British
polish Sociologist, Zygmunt Bauman. He says what we see in action around us is
a new Tribalism, a collective reaction to liquid modernity, that has resulted
in the dissolution of traditional bonds and certitude imposed on a society by
the vast processes of economic and social transformation triggered by
globalization. While on the one hand globalization gathers individuals and
communities together into an ever expanding web of consumption and production,
on the other hand it loosens the matrices of existential value in which lives
were conducted previously in this planetary drama.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe this show
kind of resounds with anger and concern about the asymmetries that is inherent
in this circulatory culture of Globalisation between those who can participate
in it and those who are left behind. Transgress I believe has endeavoured to
talk about the absurdities of our times and giving a voice to the vulnerable<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While looking at this
show in the context of the art scene in Chennai, I am constantly drawing a
parallel with the ‘Labour’ show curated by C P Krishnapriya that was shown here
sometime back. In this context, I miss a well drawn out Curatorial statement
that I look forward to in any show. It is a joy for me to see the words blown
up and put up at the entrance to a show. It offers an anchor for the viewer to
approach the show. It’s a joy to keep going back to it to appreciate the show
better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am happy to see the eyes of these artists
untouched by any false sense of achievement, ambition or anxiety, rather immersed
in the joy of the moment, snuggling against each other and enjoying their
moment under the sun. It’s also heartening that their curator and mentor have
given the moment all to them, withdrawing and keeping a distant watch from the
background.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The life of an art
does not end with hanging it in the gallery; it is the discourse around an art
work that can add new dimensions to an art work. I wish to take this
opportunity to request artists to take an extra effort to make every visitor
feel very welcome to an art show and I want to encourage everyone in general to
visit art shows and assure you that you don’t have to be a buyer to visit an
art show. Every viewer is capable of adding to the discourse and enriching the
art. It is in a bid to kick start such a culture of deliberation and discussion
around art that this talk and discussion was conceived. I welcome you all to
pitch in with your thoughts on the show. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>photos courtesy: scaffold art fb page </i></span></o:p></span></div>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-22964834343053060902020-01-14T04:07:00.002-08:002020-01-16T02:46:13.093-08:00Nibandhana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the most exciting, fulfilling and memorable performances i got to see this Decemeber season was Nibandhana by Vaibhav Arekar and Sankhya. It stood out for it's vivid demonstartion of possiblities of lighting n group dynamics in a dance performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One sees a pressing and a constant quest among dancers of BN as to how to create something new or different into their repertoire. Few manage to do this by dancing to pieces of poetry chosen from different languages etc. But Sankhya dance company showed how u can bring so much difference to a traditional varnam ( the longest and usually the central piece in a BN performance) by thinking differently. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 'Mohamaana' is a traditional Varnam danced by almost every other dancer in a given season, for it offers so much scope for exploring and elucidating on the Shringara rasa. Dance performances that don't touch upon Shringara in the varnam or the padam can leave you feeling dry. ( Something that Priyadarshini Govind did in her performance at the Academy. She chose to present only Devi and VAtsalya). How sad and uninspiring would dance look without Shringara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The execution of Mohamaana varnam by a group was so refereshingly different idea in itself. Only the other day the idea of a multi body presentation of the varnam looked so appealing in a presentation by Rama Vaidyanathan's students at BGS, but it had so many glitches and left one wishing for a better treatments. In a group presentation it can be a disaster to have two nodes executing movements at the same time. The viewer tends to get lost in such scenarios. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sankhya's treatment, in contrast, was a brillant exposition of what the group exploration of the Varnam could offer and brought great joy in the way of interesting pacing and captivating formations. Here too the group did form into nodes to execute movements but the movements were in a way of complementing each other and hence augmented the viewing experience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The piece 'Priye Charusheele' was a piece in which the vocal dynamics of Karthik Hebbar came to the fore and was mesmerising to say the least. Vaibhav should consider letting a younger dancer perform the Krishna role for the piece to complement the romance in the piece better. When Vaibhav performs romance, it has the aura of a guru performing ingrained in it and doesn't yield itself to the magic that's waiting to be tapped. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final thillana saw brilliant moments of magic woven with lighting ( by Sushant Jadav) and choreography, there was an unbelievable moment of brilliance, that i consciously blinked eye to try and grasp the magic without being transported by it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Vaibhav seems to have mastered the craft of infusing an ingenious spirit and energy into the traditional BN repertoire by playing around with pace, formations, lighting and music. Therein lies a secret waiting to be tapped by young dancers looking to make a difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am very glad that i managed to brave many odds and caught up with this performance at NKC.</span></div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-64429218854261131812020-01-14T02:42:00.000-08:002020-01-14T03:11:31.400-08:00 NKC 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Natya Kala Conference 2019, the annual delibrations and celebrations of dance that Krishna Gana Sabha hosts, and in its 39th edition, will be remembered for the image of its convener Rama Vaidyanathan, that loomed all over every aspect of the proceedings. I can't say if it has ever been so earlier, but from what i have seen in the past two editions, i have known Srinithi, the previous convener keep a low profile while operating from behind the scenes and she was more visible only towards the end of the previous edition, probably because she was signing off. Whatever may be the pros and cons of such an influence, brand NKC, for one, has shot to very high levels of popuarity across India and the world over and sure has set a standard that others would soon vie to adopt and future conveners of NKC are assured of a far n wide reach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rama set the ball rolling with deciding to charge the delegates a fee of Rs.500 for attending the 5 day conference. I was an enthusiastic supporter for the initiative, but soon the hassles it gave rise to fizzled out my enthusiasm. i will discuss this a little later in the article.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Nirikshna theme music and the call for dance videos received entries from across the world and set the buzz of NKC high and loud; it was also quite a revelation in terms of capturing the enthusiasm, the structures and reach of barathanatyam across the globe. The video was also a great initiative in it could have been the first choreo exercise for many students, marking a stage in their evolution as performers. This was quite an exciting phase in the run up to NKC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was also quite a revelation that the reach n enthusiasm for videos for Nirikshana theme music also translated into an overwhelming attendance that had flown in from all around the world. One can say for sure that this is the biggest number of footfall that any any dance festival in Chennai could have garnered in the recent times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All this enthusiasm and crowd also left many chennaities stranded outside without a place in the auditorium. The frustration even got worse with The legacy lights segment being staged in a even smaller venue, leaving many out unfortunately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On my part i could only manage to catch the action online on Shaale.com. One had to pay to get access online. Since i was not going to be in town for three days of the festival, i decided it was better to pay for the online access. The videos featured in Shaale were very good, efficiently edited and mastered, giving people who missed the live action, a complete feel of the festival. The organisers could have considered people who pay for attending the conference access to Shaale as well , considering many who had paid could either not turn up or not be there on all five days and were left out of the auditorium given the limited capacity. It was another sad thing that the Shaale access did not cover the wonderful Legacy lights and Torch bearers segments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The festival opened with the much cherished and celebrated coming together of three legends of the BN world on the stage. IT was a dream opening to the festival with the audience eager to catch every little moment of the legends on the stage. The screening of segments from Viralimalai kuravanji, which brought the three together, staged in 1987 from DD archives was a very special and thrilling moment. Humble respects to the people who had arranged for retrieving and mastering this treasure of an archival material.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The back stories of what went behind bringing the three legends together back in 1987 made for a very interesting recounting by Seetha Ratnakar. It was heartening that Padma Subramanyam did not forget to thank the Devadasis of Viralimalai. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The festival i think managed to hit it off perfectly well with dancers young and old alike and also in delibrating on topics ranging from the dance histories to adventures. The festival also managed to bring in expertise from across India and the world to share their knowledge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">NKC seems to have transformed itself into a Dance seminar, an event for the dancers to sit back and talk about dance. One question that keeps nudging at me and i wish such forums deliberate up on is, where is the audience for Dance, where have they vanished, how to bring them back. This is something these festivals should look into and address. </span></div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-37699429573964029402019-12-31T23:28:00.000-08:002019-12-31T23:29:31.783-08:00Mahathi Kannan- KTN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Coming from the illustrious family that she does, soaked in the arts of dance and music, every move, word and gesture of Mahathi Kannan is bound to be watched with intent interest and expectations. It's a joy to watch her perform outshining these expectations and carrying them effortlessly and responsibly on her slender shoulders. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is a huge responsibility being called out to revive a legend's classic work. Mahathi made a delicious cake of it and served it with finesse in presenting Krishnaya Tubhyam Namaha, a piece, her legendary grand aunt Padma Subramanyam premiered in the 1970s. The piece came alive in all its splendor in young Mahathi's presentation, giving us a glimpse of what an exquisite piece it would have been in young Padma's presentation and giving it a touch of her charm and sensibility.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The production is a riveting one in itself in the huge gamut it covers of Krishna's life from his birth through his growing up and segments portraying his various virtues; and in the eclectic choice of songs to portray the segments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It struck a beautiful chord at various levels and with the flavor margazhi to start with ' oruthi maganaai piranthu' and more so with Mahathi's hair dressed in the Aandal Kondai. The performance proceeded thereafter with segments featuring Krishna's progression in a lullaby, Kaalinga narthanam, Lover of Rukmini, Krishna the Friend, and finally Krishna the Gita purusha. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mahathi made her mark early in the performance and set the high standard in the Lullaby piece. She dished out a wide range of emotions and expressions completely at ease. Be it the loving gesture to put the child to sleep, the growing anxiety, that slowly turns to restlessness that tires you out, and finally, just as you think the child has dozed off, the desperate helplessness when some stray noise wakes the child up. She brought to stage all these travails that every mother undergoes, with so much grace and elan. Just as you were thinking that a great piece was coming to an end, a surprising turn brings so much joy and colour to close the piece.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The swaying movements in Kaalinga narthanam, evoke the features of signature interventions/ interpretations of Padma Subramanyam. The 'Achyutha' piece that followed was a joy unparalleled. The piece was about Rukmini struggling to write a letter to her beloved Krishna summoning him to carry her away and save her from a forced marriage. Rukmini's struggles to pen a letter was reminiscent of many such scenes portrayed in films, evoking a timeless romantic appeal. It was a pinnacle of a moment when Gayathri Kannan's vocal brilliance and Mahathi's cute bhavam came together and created a beautiful sequence to be treasured forever. This sequence forms the central piece of this production and should appeal to sensibilities across all strands of rasikas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The segment glorifying Krishna as the friend saw Mahathi toggling with ease and proficiency of acting skills between the humble and overwhelmed Sudhama and the gracious Krishna.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">KTN in Mahathi's rendition will be etched as a milestone in the dance annals of the sabha era for gloriously doing justice to a legend's creation and giving it a new lease of life of it's own. Mahathi as PS' protege has proved to be a roaring success without any trace of doubt, this was also evident in her short presentation i got to witness at Navadisha 2019. However i look forward to seeing her breaking out of her gurukul mould create a distinct personage of her own. That's going to be another himalayan task ahead of the young shoulders of Mahathi.</span></div>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-80498598338874003972019-12-22T10:29:00.001-08:002019-12-23T03:15:29.996-08:00Sree n Meera<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Season snippets- Natya Darshan 1</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was very thoughtful of Priya Murle, convenor of Natya Darshan 2019 to have conceptualized and brought together Meera Sreenarayanan and Sreelakshmi Govardhan together on a stage in the opening performance of the 3 day show. The dancers had been briefed to portray spritual and emotional transfromation over a dance piece. It was a brilliant strategy of the dancers in choosing to adapt aspects of Silapathikaram for the purpose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sreelakshmi, the kuchupudi artist, found a natural affinity to performing the Character of Madhavi and Meera, the Bharathanatyam artist, gloriously brought to life the vacccilations of fortunes and transformations in the Charecter of Kannagi. It was refreshing to see the dancers alternatingly taking to the stage in presenting segments portraying the evolution of the characters in the emotional and spiritual realms, as they traversed the storyscape of Silambu. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meera's performance was marked by her ability to synchronise and sway perfectly in unison with the music and lyrics. She showed great suppleness and energy in bringing force to her movements. Though there was a streak of sadness running through her portrayal of Kannagi, yet she did not let the performance limp in pathos, and rather spruced it up with her suppleness. Subsequently, when she had to scale the tempo up towards the climax, it felt natural and very convincing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sreelakshmi was revelling in her portrayal of Madhavi. She looked very much at ease with the charectar and seemed to enjoy herself in the performance. She was ecstatic starting with Madhavi's arangetram in the Indra vizha, where she is proclaimed the best and wins over the affection of Kovalan, luxuriant through the good times she has with Kovalan and composed in the sad loss of Kovalan and in the grief that leads her to adopt asceticism. Her poise and grace lent itself very naturally to strengthening the portrayal of Madhavi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parts of the performance when both the artists appear together on stage were rich in splendor and possibilities. it was a treat to watch two different style and inclination play out together on stage, like waves from two different sources meeting and finding a high in resonance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The musical rendering of lines from the Silambu was executed in a very fine and enlivening manner. It was an interesting and innovative intervention on the part of the artists to end the performance on a high and positive note by portraying the climax in terms of the Characters seeking after the ultimate truth and invoking lines from Narayaneeyam (?) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It would also be pertinent to think beyond the brief of ND and explore other interesting possiblities offered by this context. For instance, it would be interesting to introduce a couple of segments where Madhavi and Kannagi meet during the course of the story, one while Kovalan is still around and again after his death.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some aspect about Meera's costume n make up did not quite work for this performance. She had quite rightly and judiciously toned her paraphernalia down, to evoke the simplicity of and the sad fate to befall upon Kannagi. But the pared down appearance did not quite sit well with the brilliant green sari.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Kannagi's travails leading upto the tragedy at Madurai deserves a lot more delibration. There was a sense of being hurried up in the segment of burning down Madurai; the subsequent fate and state of Kannagi after the burning episode also begs for a lot more expansive treatment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is also a lot of scope in exploring the versatility of Madhavi's character as portrayed by Ilango. The minor glitch in prompting of the lines could be averted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The concept of Madhavi and Kannagi holds a lot of possibilities. The artists could only do little justice to this immense potential subject in the 50 minutes alloted to them. Further, not withstanding</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the short time and limited oppurtunities to meet and work together on the concept, the artists still managed to pull off a brilliant show. The idea that they have stumbled upon is highly potent and should be developed into a full fledged production featuring the two artists. <b>Sree n Meera</b> is an idea that Priya Murle has sown and on Friday they showed us glimpses of the promise they hold and i strongly believe it's an idea that's going to travel far and wide. Here's to wishing them great success..</span><br />
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-8585697472916057412019-11-22T04:17:00.001-08:002019-11-22T04:40:32.891-08:00Experiencing life 'Queen size'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Experiencing / witnessing certain art works/ performances can be a very ecstatic experience. Life is bound to never be the same, such is the impact of a truly great art work. I had a taste of such a work when i got to witness the performance of ' Queen size' conceived, choreographed and on this occasion in 2018 at the ITFOK in Thrissur also performed by Mandeep Singh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a performance of sensuousness, passion, love and relationship. The music, energy, lighting, the ambience, the choreography and the magic was all of a surreal level and a string of very hard hitting punches of energy and beauty that i had never before encountered. I had become a big fan of Mandeep and 'Queen size' ever since witnessing that performance. Coming more than a year later, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the work and the artist when IFA put together a workshop on the occasion of a 3 day festival show casing works of IFA grantees in celebrating 25 years of IFA.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mandeep started off the workshop by narrating an incident from his childhood that occurred to him in a park when he was bullied for the way he walked. In narrating this incident, he was subtly hitting out at how we had all been trained to 'perform' a certain idea of sexuality in one way or the other. What followed was reflections from each of the participant about what kind of advice and inputs they had received as they grew up in ' performing' a set idea sexuality very religiously.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Articulations around the idea of performing Masculinity led to the making of his dance production ' A male ant has straight antenna' in 2013 . It drew inspiration from Rahul Roy's 'A little book on men'. This aspect of Mandeep's dance making in which he constatntly looks up to literary and art references to evolve his dance choreography is a fascinating one. Mandeep was not happy making dance just for the urban elite crowd. He wanted to take his dance to the corners of the country and engage the audience in a dialogue on aspects of queer rights.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was at this juncture that he went back to late documentary maker Nishit Saran's essay , 'Why my Bed room habits are your business'. Nishit Saran's essay is about provoking the public by being open about his sexuality and confronting the public to react to it, as he has been forced to this situation as a result of the public invading his private space in section 377 ( <i>Sec 377 of IPC framed in 1861 criminalised homosexuality and read, 'Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse aganinst the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished'. Th esection was ruled unconstitutional in Sep 2018 by the SC</i>). </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Mandeep also happens to come across a painting by Pakistani Artist Asim Butt that showed two men in a bed. Mandeep was slowly arriving at the idea of exploring the bed as the site of a performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Further, when he hit upon the idea of the charpoy, it's universal and simple appeal, its allusion to the laid back rural life across the length and breadth of the country, it's occasional overtures as the symbol of power, as a site of deliberation were all overwhelming reasons to make the charpoy the central piece of the performance. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One has to give it to this idea of the charpoy, for it really is a very integral part of this performance, given how it bounces, creaks, embraces and dances around along with the performers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Confounded with the actual choreography, Mandeep was toying with the idea of working around 108 sex positions of the male body. But stringing a series of sex positions was not quite achieving what he set out to achieve. He was averse to stitching a narrative together either. It is at this juncture that he happens upon Roland Barthes' 'A Lover's discourse', a book which is more an assortment of fragments shorn of any overarching narrative. This lead Mandeep to devise the piece in a highly non linear format, leaving a lot to the judgement of the performers in mixing up the pieces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus was born 'Queen size', a performance of intimacy, which can be quite tasking on the audience in terms of constantly being pushed to limits of comfort and constatntly throwing questions and breaking barriers. It takes quite an effort to look directly at the performers. The magical, ethereal quality of the light that seeps through a layer of water from the lamps held afloat above the charpoy adds a sting to the vigour of the performance. The lights designed in the shape of a bunch of wine glasses hung from above sets an element of drama and adds sophistication to the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The piece runs for two and half hours with 7 fragments that get repeated 3 times. at the end of each fragment the audience can change position or leave and make space for new audience to enter. this way Mandeep constantly keeps disrupting any attempt at building a narrative. The music complements the tempo and racing beat of the performance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a bid to give the participants a feel of the thinking process that goes into performing intimacy, Mandeep introduced a small exercise that in its build up of complexity was quite revealing to us. The participants were set into pairs and instructed to explore each other's hand by hand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was a touch that was unlike any touch i had experienced. This was a touch of reducing the other to just the sensual aspects of the hand. the touch was devoid of any other layer. it was a sensual exploration of every square inch of the palm and it's back. there was this choreography when to let the other feel you and when to take the initiative to explore the other. the intensity of the touch and the desperation to take in more of this other through the touch was building up with each turn. Mandeep's instructions to introduce aspects like 'push - pull', 'playfulness' was adding spirit to this dance of the touch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then came the instruction to ask one half of the participants to play the audience, and the other half to continue performing brought a great shift to the dance of touch. The consciousness of having an audience look at brought a sudden vanishing of the intensity of the touch and transfigured it to an exercise of 'performing' the touch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This simple exercise in the workshop was quite instructive of what sensitivities the performers of 'Queen size' might have had to undergo. It is no wonder that Lalit, one of the performers almost wanted to quit and thankfully it was his craftsmanship in putting together the charpoy made him stay in the performance.</span>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-25618067065039252622019-11-18T04:22:00.002-08:002019-11-19T02:20:31.688-08:00Finally, Art arrives in Annanagar!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Annanagar is a clueless space in Chennai, when it comes to Art events in the city. It's a question that keeeps nudging at many in the city, why certain pockets of the city are the favoured hosts to bulk of the art events. Annanagar, despite all its potential and promise has not managed to lay any significant claim to this art space. Initiatives by VR mall in recent times could be seen as an attempt at correcting this course, but for me they lack in intensity and they are too clouded in the mall environment and fail to make the impact, for instance, that exhibits in Phoenix mall manage to create.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is in this context that a fledgling initiative by Madras Art collective, came as a sweet news to me and made me look up to the photography show they were hosting over a weekend with great interest. I was even more eager to catch up with the show as i had been following works of Sharan Devkar, one of the participants, and found his oeuvre to be of an exciting range to look up to.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX143Xwhd5AQo6oWmV8bp9k0iYY9N4e07jrBXFCJR0quCd4GpqubfxGFIdbQrgbGCVrRf1aTwQUnV0k1r91_B255iEMgAmivY0WH4HbCzarGxeX40bnHNxmD6R_DFFLeuoAzexWYrEes/s1600/74914150_2490267527689363_5354681511998128128_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="641" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX143Xwhd5AQo6oWmV8bp9k0iYY9N4e07jrBXFCJR0quCd4GpqubfxGFIdbQrgbGCVrRf1aTwQUnV0k1r91_B255iEMgAmivY0WH4HbCzarGxeX40bnHNxmD6R_DFFLeuoAzexWYrEes/s320/74914150_2490267527689363_5354681511998128128_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pc Sharan's fb page</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The location of the venue in an apartments besides Thirumangalam metro station, as given in the address in the poster, set me up for what to expect of the venue. For these are the typical TNHB apartments that could not be missed by anyone who has been in the vicinity and can be easily traced to the 1960s when Annanagar was being developed as a planned settlement, post the Industrial exhibition held around Tower park. But what set me all excited was the revelation of how the energy of a bunch of art work can transform an otherwise modest and mundane space. It was this overwhelming experience and revelation that was the hallmark of this exhibition for me.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgpoTq1hcdgTETnH7Z87cH_8Qb1kjKlz_-tiDgz8WnL21iYofJ-_BU9qyY7xlN_Oi71esSxWvcBTNAJBgJJ12-gsierxQJbuABBkxyJhQT54lhzYtF8EjmLJ7KlatuEnaJ2O9CU0yXS0/s1600/76727062_2220123334952528_8434962151801618432_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="646" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgpoTq1hcdgTETnH7Z87cH_8Qb1kjKlz_-tiDgz8WnL21iYofJ-_BU9qyY7xlN_Oi71esSxWvcBTNAJBgJJ12-gsierxQJbuABBkxyJhQT54lhzYtF8EjmLJ7KlatuEnaJ2O9CU0yXS0/s320/76727062_2220123334952528_8434962151801618432_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pc: Sharan's fb page</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The exhibition had works of 6 artists- 3 from Chennai and 3 from other states. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWrj4Y3Zkc_XGKWVQTZhME6R7awCmsJSFvVV7sGEiyuQXKuZ8VBnYWUCjw25Mny_By-hbD6gvaQqEj9QuMMLXZ-CRaPDQJFrf9JV1XLU0yJqEhI45cw6rKj5TkDTIWp2x_gd0S9UacVE/s1600/IMG-20191118-WA0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWrj4Y3Zkc_XGKWVQTZhME6R7awCmsJSFvVV7sGEiyuQXKuZ8VBnYWUCjw25Mny_By-hbD6gvaQqEj9QuMMLXZ-CRaPDQJFrf9JV1XLU0yJqEhI45cw6rKj5TkDTIWp2x_gd0S9UacVE/s320/IMG-20191118-WA0024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Divya's works were an exploration of a series of unobtrusive intrusions into and capturing poignant moments of the subtle drama in the everyday and the personal space, as evident around her living space, and at times in the public sphere. The potential drama played out by these passing moments is immense and can be very moving for a viewer open to take in the flux that transpires in this series. Adding rhythm and mood to the pathos in the photos is the mood she sets out in the short note so aptly quoting from the poem 'Somehow we survive' by Dennis Brutus. The poem and the photos compliment each other perfectly in an act of such rare and pulsing resonance between two art forms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>T<span style="color: blue;">he work of the poet is not to restore the connection between the inner and the outer, but to conjure phrases and images which make the painful difference between the self and the rest of the world all the more acute and laden with pathos.- David Ayers in 'Modernism'</span></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8K0rTzFfToSVrxlABlOcF_PWdE6_CGcj7pVTewCgS2SZcMB2Rk7Mi_Eqk9SOHl6jZEvxS4zhFA12tiPafLp-08pUufgt-TS_c8A59IMHpCQfcLFApwkU9J-9BEEfwgeEc__2WbRoIN3U/s1600/76776512_473319616639330_1355742543362392064_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8K0rTzFfToSVrxlABlOcF_PWdE6_CGcj7pVTewCgS2SZcMB2Rk7Mi_Eqk9SOHl6jZEvxS4zhFA12tiPafLp-08pUufgt-TS_c8A59IMHpCQfcLFApwkU9J-9BEEfwgeEc__2WbRoIN3U/s200/76776512_473319616639330_1355742543362392064_n.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH46aqc-BVShAJy1cv3czqhTIDMp4tMRdWSrngaZfJH_ktBhV2jDF87_ERJl0UaM_GPKBYeh54k45tSztw-NOWQH0NODTt0o0FzEN0F32qMTnLGlJYMisCek2nSyq2LTIkH8Dz-vJDfUE/s1600/71666695_1826111490866221_8224651948507267072_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH46aqc-BVShAJy1cv3czqhTIDMp4tMRdWSrngaZfJH_ktBhV2jDF87_ERJl0UaM_GPKBYeh54k45tSztw-NOWQH0NODTt0o0FzEN0F32qMTnLGlJYMisCek2nSyq2LTIkH8Dz-vJDfUE/s200/71666695_1826111490866221_8224651948507267072_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shankar Devkar's work was a series of diptychs put together in the form of little books. the books had an interesting cover design, apparently to suggest what was inside. However, in the absence of some prompting i had not figured out the idea of the book and was for quite sometime puzzled only looking at the cover design. When i approached Sharan with my anxiety, i was told that i had to open the books to figure it out. it was a fascinating world of surprising correlations and interesting patterns and pictures that was waiting to be explored inside. each book held a small bundle of joy in the unwrapping of the element of surprise in the found object/ pattern and the deciphering of a relation between the two pages of the book and finally looping back to figure how the cover design fits into the puzzle. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sharan's work was also interesting in that it held the promise of engaging a viewer with a playful bend of mind and equally as well with someone open to engaging deeply with the subject.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'<i>art should not be judged as the simple impression of life, by standards of realism and fidelity, but should be understood as a stylized meditation which reflects the artist's creative and synthetic mode of seeing..' Roger fry in 'Vision and Design'</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrQwVPGRU0i7XwMxfPxEGGtBGrPwCGITHEr__sLmIgRR-Bf5NmJSFCwYFOFeaJNFazenDxsEDC5MakWghZ7Re86W2SkpQbJa69CDZumW5FLk-bZNZixc20HxfuvuBU1qGXqVQPCEB1VI/s1600/71139932_1839102036234605_7792989189590482944_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrQwVPGRU0i7XwMxfPxEGGtBGrPwCGITHEr__sLmIgRR-Bf5NmJSFCwYFOFeaJNFazenDxsEDC5MakWghZ7Re86W2SkpQbJa69CDZumW5FLk-bZNZixc20HxfuvuBU1qGXqVQPCEB1VI/s200/71139932_1839102036234605_7792989189590482944_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lMhsDws0HRwL2_ki8GRkA86yisJF2wz09Csv_l-atQlafoUghVsirQq7ww6ecudzWsHBSB3vSDiXspf2fVwqdGCSNvD6BQrIST0OUKF_HjyOcS4Shv4sDpQMPGd37j1FsYcgP9SHDjA/s1600/75576498_554453372017614_7798701380130045952_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lMhsDws0HRwL2_ki8GRkA86yisJF2wz09Csv_l-atQlafoUghVsirQq7ww6ecudzWsHBSB3vSDiXspf2fVwqdGCSNvD6BQrIST0OUKF_HjyOcS4Shv4sDpQMPGd37j1FsYcgP9SHDjA/s200/75576498_554453372017614_7798701380130045952_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cyril Paulrose' 'Dark room' was a kind of </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">triptych with portraits of his grandmother seated in her living space. This work again resonated so well with the Whistler's 'Mother', that the artist had drawn inspiration from. The work was a meditation on loneliness, old age, helplessness and an eternal waiting. The lighting and the profiles helped improvise the mood of the series. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgHFJoSgiUhtBDx4XgymXYB5aCSXcVv8sDhzA1V75AJOANKVGZS87BL8Bo01j_IW8yukFRGGw7EJKJQORfmbTYmTQJbvv6vWUNfD5sO9RwqZeWcq4L9wJb5fHLL1QuCUgyQCp4B0Hcw0/s1600/75443011_557776158099628_2932287388317122560_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgHFJoSgiUhtBDx4XgymXYB5aCSXcVv8sDhzA1V75AJOANKVGZS87BL8Bo01j_IW8yukFRGGw7EJKJQORfmbTYmTQJbvv6vWUNfD5sO9RwqZeWcq4L9wJb5fHLL1QuCUgyQCp4B0Hcw0/s320/75443011_557776158099628_2932287388317122560_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sushavan Nandy's work " Ebbing away of identity is a deeply engrossing work on the brunt borne by a people and a landscape as a result of lifestyle that degrades our environment and life's priorities that put livelihoods in danger. It is a stark documentation of a slowly dying habitat and the lives that hang on it's edges. The gravity of the issues this work has undertaken to project is immense and very moving. They are a mix of moods of poetic longing, a clinical procedure and a mournful lament.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpISUzKambDyCaDYNwlDGRFhtQ-BcsXOkGU2BZiy_1XOjBLv-xTcTULjIZFh_6yJX5MrCJ2bcdck4cyJBHpsGjcbTIRHRKwGrFdrYyGasnIvtoJVAZYjMvQXB4nmmU0lLsYe-NW5i6o6c/s1600/74989167_2185934848370228_5319975594971103232_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpISUzKambDyCaDYNwlDGRFhtQ-BcsXOkGU2BZiy_1XOjBLv-xTcTULjIZFh_6yJX5MrCJ2bcdck4cyJBHpsGjcbTIRHRKwGrFdrYyGasnIvtoJVAZYjMvQXB4nmmU0lLsYe-NW5i6o6c/s200/74989167_2185934848370228_5319975594971103232_n.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_2FPdAboVPoz4rSfWTX_UKUU7H1jPzW8Hcf229Yft-JLDF4TxVlKRW6gfqZEgxrXNH_zLrkwJyPzHLy2E1WCncpT5OFhWNzA2WiFYM9AF5I4dZkIfinb_tZEwoRiWCI9b_kTiRH7UC4/s1600/75576393_2838230486403227_2832221986124464128_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_2FPdAboVPoz4rSfWTX_UKUU7H1jPzW8Hcf229Yft-JLDF4TxVlKRW6gfqZEgxrXNH_zLrkwJyPzHLy2E1WCncpT5OFhWNzA2WiFYM9AF5I4dZkIfinb_tZEwoRiWCI9b_kTiRH7UC4/s200/75576393_2838230486403227_2832221986124464128_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Punith Hiremath's 'Religious dip' is a playful and disturbing work around double exposure, throwing disturbing questions on our ideas of the sacred and the profane.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Can art or any force be independent of the two great forces of imperialism and nationalism. James Joyce in 'Portrait of the Artist..'</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_noRYKBixq6O7HCUKeQTjywkieiqnt15urF3i-RJaoAP9OCyWQrPU09flbztE1d6fJkLG23zlm8A2uzM_CrAZfjwwpns3K8JaM5nolDmzPF_ejF6vWtw1ugHO1BBzDGJGcFKdVmFfq8/s1600/73321488_975605419458420_7089957469060857856_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_noRYKBixq6O7HCUKeQTjywkieiqnt15urF3i-RJaoAP9OCyWQrPU09flbztE1d6fJkLG23zlm8A2uzM_CrAZfjwwpns3K8JaM5nolDmzPF_ejF6vWtw1ugHO1BBzDGJGcFKdVmFfq8/s320/73321488_975605419458420_7089957469060857856_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Vivek Mariappan's work around the kitchen was a familiar work from an exhibit in a CPB show. The idea of locating it in the kitchen space of the facility somehow did not work for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was exciting and exhilarating to witness this show, and be witness to a historical moment when a bunch of young talents have come together and silently work on shaking Annanagar out of it's deep, laid back, retired, slumber. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0BOdvQHE_5xcxJaSMzH6ETImUXiFVghJOAN5Jy5qyaPC-aZgg2rOSWLvFqEccl4b1Kxuxg7flhhceWYiUFfYRAhXJOnfroA2I5bA3yr04VlY1YlXwZdNQ3jHv9jqi6A7aS50Pvw3hMA/s1600/75576394_436694933715459_6059232452654661632_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="720" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0BOdvQHE_5xcxJaSMzH6ETImUXiFVghJOAN5Jy5qyaPC-aZgg2rOSWLvFqEccl4b1Kxuxg7flhhceWYiUFfYRAhXJOnfroA2I5bA3yr04VlY1YlXwZdNQ3jHv9jqi6A7aS50Pvw3hMA/s320/75576394_436694933715459_6059232452654661632_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pc Sharan's fb page</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This Monday morning, the space would have transformed back into it's usual office bay. I had insisted the show should be on for a longer time for more people to engage with it, and have requested them to put this show back on during the next weekend as well. I am hoping more people do get to engage with this show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My sincere and heartfelt salutes to the people of MAD collective who have taken the heart to host and support art and activate a locality. May this breed prosper.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>These avant gardists considered themselves to represent the few who had to advance into unknown territory in order that the rest of the society could follow..</i></span></div>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-53681496199800960142019-11-17T12:10:00.000-08:002019-11-20T01:59:08.822-08:00Oh that's Bhanu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chennai's own documentary film maker, Ramani feels the gravity and is enamored by the 'artistic' presence in the proximity and touch of Bhanu during their first meeting with the 92 year old Bhanumathi Rao, and instinctively asks Maya Rao, Bhanu's elder daughter, if he could make a film on Bhanu. Maya had some how seen this coming, as she had noticed how possessed Ramani looked during the brief interaction with her mother. What then started was a film that was 5 years in the making, with footage shot on and off between Delhi and Bangalore, and culminates in the documentary 'Oh that's Bhanu',that was premiered in Chennai this Sunday and also has already earned Ramani the Balakailasam Memorial award, in its fifth year, instituted by Cinema Rendezvous, who also hosted the screening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ramani is known for the personal streak in his film making. He is a constant presence in his films. even if he doesn't appear on the screen, you can feel his presence. This film revels in and has let this style prosper and bloom to it's fullest glory, more so because it adds spice to the Chemistry between the beautiful soul of Bhanu and the enamored spirit of Ramani.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The viewer is smitten by Bhanu, right from the first shot, just as much as Ramani claims to have been in their first meeting. it's quite difficult to identify what is it about Bhanu that ties the viewer tightly up to this close to 2 hour long movie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At one level Bhanu is this 95 year old lady who has the spirit of a young girl. Her walk is a march of joy, it resounds with the the jubilance and self assuring feeling of walking free of any support or a stick. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bhanu is this loving friend when she courts Ramani with a warmth of making friendship every time they meet; she is this obedient child when she waits for instructions to get down from the car; she is this complaining house holder when she talks about the mali; she is the purposeful and devoted student when learning music; </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">she is a possessed lady while immersed in music and dance; </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">she is the busy mother in Maya's recounting; she is a coy young widow lovingly reminiscing memories of the good times with her husband; she is a dark koel in the lush green groves of Calicut; she is the performer who loves to play the jester; she is the independent minded who loves socialising; and she is the caring comrade who dips into her own insecurities of the past and is bothered about Ramani's future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At another level, Bhanu is troubled by memory. Unlike others who might feel defeated or frustrated by the loss of memory, Bhanu is happy accepting it for a fact and makes it interesting for her and for us by playing around this handicap by inventing stories of the past and improvising in the present. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bhanu's memory is tricky and is fascinating and exciting for that reason. She does remember some facts. for instance she remembers her year of birth, can identify her grand parents in a photograph and can even identify Indira Gandhi in a photograph, but she can't remember who she learnt Bharathanatyam from, but has no doubts that she learnt it in Madras. Her brilliance sizzles when she remarks how sad it is that we keep remembering things that we wish to forget.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every time she meets Ramani, he has to go through the motion of introducing himself and answering curiosity of how does he mange a living. Ramani makes himself vulnerable in this sequence; but every time it sounds different and the coolness of a rock that Bhanu shows in not blinking while asking the same question for the umpteenth time, the innocence and genuineness she radiates in her curiosity are never tiring and ever interesting because of the freshness it reeks of, in spite of the repetition. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bhanu revels in the gaze of the camera. she is an ever green performer, ever happy to make herself up and ever ready to perform. she courts the gaze of the camera and flirts with it in a very romantic way. she is at her spontaneous best and bursts with energy and quick wits all through the movie. She is in fact the one who comes up with a name for the movie about herself. there is never a dull moment when she is around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">she is ever obliging for the camera and even the occasional walking away as a result of tiredness, is very soon followed by another flash of a performance. Ramani seems to have had a good measure of Bhanu's moods and capabilities, and his camera never gives up even Bhanu walks away. The capturing of the wonderful and spirited dancing sequence in the garden is a gift won by this perseverance of Ramani's camera. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ramani has brilliantly used this dynamic Bhanu-scape to investigate and make us reflect on the nature and role of memory. It is thrilling to watch the process of Bhanu pick upon some cues from Maya and perform spontaneously , while retrieving from her physical memory of the mudras while performing a Kathakali piece. The evident tension, and the supple creation of a performance from the thin air of a distant memory of a training is a glorious sequence that can summon an aesthetic equal in a 'time motion' captured blooming of a flower.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is also quite fascinating how Bhanu keeps coming up with some brilliant articulations brimming with wisdom and makes the viewer pause and wonder how can a someone with a faltering memory produce such brilliant articulations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ramani uses the siblings Maya and Tara to bring out different facets of Bhanu. Through the stories shared by the daughters we get a fair idea of Bhanu's early life and the influence she has been on her daughters. Maya comes across as the more tightly bonded of the two. The mother and daughter constantly draw inspiration from each other. Bhanu jovially drops a remark that she likes the 'people' in Delhi better and Maya is brimming with thoughts about her mother that invariably find place in her works like 'loose women', excerpts of which Ramani so beautifully captures and juxtaposes fragments of the performance with what could be perceived as the seed in Bhanu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While Bhanu comes across a person obssessed with 'performance' while she is in Delhi with Maya, she seems to be a different person when she is Bangalore with Tara. In Bangalore, she is obsessed with music, trying to learn it and trying to unravel a new strand of herself through music, again another flash of brilliance in articulation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">when one looks back at the end of the film there is not much we get to know about the biographical details of Bhanu's life. But that is not Ramani's brief and i am not complaining.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ramani has not approached the subject of Bhanu through an investigative lens of her early life , character, etc. He has rather let us just relish the beauty of Bhanu, letting her just be and letting stories drop by on their own and not going for a biographical and psychological dissection of the 'Truth'. Ramani has 'seen' the beauty in Bhanu, and through this film shares the joy of this beauty with us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Congratulations to Ramani on treating us to the joys of a beautiful mind and to Cinema Rendezvous for hosting the show. </span></div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-8050801998168829582019-10-21T04:18:00.000-07:002019-10-22T03:24:03.697-07:00பெர்ச் ன் சிறகை விரி <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
சென்னையின் நாடகச் சூழலில் தீவிரத்துடனும் வீரியத்துடனும் இயங்கும் குழுக்களில் ஒன்றான பெர்ச் குழுவினரின் முயற்சியில் ‘சிறகை விரி’ என்ற புதிய கலைப் படைப்புகளை ஊக்குவிக்கும் திட்டம் சென்னையின் கலை வானில் புதிய வண்ணம் பாய்ச்சும் , புதிய வேகம் மற்றும் உற்சாகம் சேர்க்கும் முயற்சியாக வளர்ந்து வருவது நம் நகரத்திற்கு வாய்த்த பெரும்பேறு.<br />
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இம்முயற்சியில் ஓவியம், நாடகம், நடனம், புகைப்படம், குறும்படம், எழுத்து என்று எந்த ஒரு கலை படைப்பிற்கான மூலக் கருத்தையும் முன் வைத்து விண்ணப்பங்கள் அனைவரிடமிருந்தும் எந்த வயது/ தகுதி வரம்புகளின்றி வரவேற்கப்படுகிறது . அவற்றிலிருந்து சில தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டு அந்தக் கருத்து, முழு கலை வடிவம் பெற்று உருவாகிட பெர்ச் குழுவினர் உதவித் தொகையாக ரூபாய் 30000 தந்து ஊக்குவிக்கின்றனர் .<br />
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இம்முயற்சியின் இராண்டாம் வருடத்தில் பெறப்பட்ட நூற்றுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட விண்ணப்பங்களிலிருந்து தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட 7 கலை படைப்பின் வித்துக்கள் பெர்ச் குழுவினரின் பொருள் மற்றும் தார்மிக ஊக்குவித்தலுடுன் சிறந்த படைப்புகளாக உரு பெற்று பார்வையாளர்கள் முன் சென்னை கதே இன்ஸ்டிட்டியூட்டில்படைக்கப்பெற்றன. இப்படி உருவான படைப்புகளில் மின்னிய வீரியம் மற்றும் திறன் பிரமிக்க வைப்பதாக இருந்தது. அவற்றைப் பற்றி இங்கே உங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்துக்கொள்ள விழைகிறேன்.<br />
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முதலில் ‘சிறகை விரித்த‘ பிரேமா ரேவதியின் ‘ ஒரு கொடடும் அழகு ‘ என்ற ஓராள் நாடகம், முற்போக்கான பெண்ணிய கருத்துக்களை மிகவும் எளிய மேடை அமைப்புகள், எளிய வஸ்துக்களின் திறன்மிகு பிரயோகம், மேடையைப் பிரித்து புதிய பரிமாணங்கள் செய்வது, உடல் மொழியில் கூர்மை, வசனங்களில் கவித்துவம், அசைவுகளில் நாடகீயம் என்று நவீன நாடக உத்திகளுடன், கலைஞரின் முதல் முயற்சி என்று நம்புதற்கரிய விதத்தில் அரங்கேறியது.<br />
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கோடு , வட்டம், சதுரம் என்ற புனை மொழியின் ஊடே பெண்ணியம் எதிர்கொள்ளும் கட்டுப்பாடுகளையும், அடக்குமுறைகளையும், சுதந்திர உணர்வின் வேட்கையையும் அழகுடன் இயம்பிச் சென்றது பிரேமா ரேவதியின் நெறியாக்கம். ‘இழப்பதற்குக் கை விளங்குகளைத் தவிர வேறொன்றும் இல்லை, வென்றிடவோ ஒரு பொன்னுலகம் உண்டு ’ என்ற கருத்துக்கள் தோய்ந்த பெண்ணிய வேட்கையின் சித்தரிப்பின் நடுவே, ஆண் மைய அடக்குமுறையைக் கொன்றழித்து, அதன் இரத்தம் தின்னும் , கொய்த சிரங்களைக் கழுத்தில் மாலையாகத் தரிக்கும் காளியை உருவகம் செய்யும் காட்சி அமைப்பு , பிரேமா ரேவதியின் பெண்ணிய சிந்தனையில் ‘காளி ’ தான் ‘ ஒரு கொடும் அழகாக ‘ உருவகம் பெருகிறாளோ என்று எண்ணம் தோன்றுகிறது.<br />
பிரேமா ரேவதியின் நடிப்பில் சிறந்த பிரயத்தனம் தெரிந்தது. ஒரு காட்சியில் கையில் எதோ ஏந்திய படி பாவனை செய்யும் பிரேமா, அடுத்த காட்சிக்கு நகரும் முன் கையில் இருந்ததை ஒரு பாத்திரத்தில் வைக்கும் பாவனை செய்து அடுத்த காட்சிக்கு நகர்ந்த பாங்கு, அவர் காட்சியின் ஓட்டத்துடன் ஒன்றியிருக்கும் பாங்கு வியக்கச் செய்தது.<br />
பிரேமா ரேவதியின் கணவர் நடராஜன் ஒரு ஓவியர். அவரது ஓவியங்கள் இரண்டு, மேடையை அலங்கரித்து இருந்தன. நாடகத்தின் ஒளி ஒலி அமைப்பு சிறப்பாக நெறியாளப்பட்டிருந்தது.<br />
படைப்புகள் பெரும்பாலும் இன்னும் முழுமை பெறாத வடிவங்களில் அரங்கேறுவதால், பார்வையாளர்களிடமிருந்து படைப்பை மேலும் மெருகூட்ட கருத்துக்கள் வரவேற்க்கப்பட்டன . இது ஒரு சிறந்த செயல்பாடாகும், பார்வையாளனுக்கும் படைப்புக்குமான தொடர்பை மேலும் ஆழம் செய்யும். என்னளவில், மதுராந்தகம் பகுதியில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கின் அனுபவம் என்று விரியும் ஒரு சிறு பகுதி நாடகத்தின் மைய ஓட்டத்துடன் ஒட்டாமல் இருந்ததைப் படைப்பாளியிடம் எடுத்துக்கூறினேன் .<br />
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இரண்டாவது படைப்பு பத்மபிரியா என்ற நுண்கலை மாணவியின் புகைப்படங்கள் மற்றும் ஓவியங்கள் வழி பெண்கள் மேற்கொள்ளும் தனி பிரயாணங்கள் பற்றிய அனுபவங்கள் மற்றும் விசாரங்களின் பதிவாக அமைந்தது. பத்மபிரியா தனி பிரயாணங்கள் பற்றிய தனது தனிப்பட்ட மன அழுத்தங்களை நேற்கொள்ளும் மற்றும் கேள்விக்குட்படுத்தும் ஒரு சுய பரிசோதனை முயற்சியாக இந்த படைப்பை அணுகிய விதம் படைப்புக்கு ஒரு புதுப் பொலிவையும் உயிர்ப்பையும் ஊட்டியது.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJGP8TEXy338PXtpaVABJmHo6jIdz8lJ-7dLhZQMdTUV-OZptilZLCFhdfEv4pBbj642Oft-msyJMEWy0NKo4p_cN93V9K30hvPzWz6Dku6UF_J56bBr8c2y04hUWwJa1XNSd6BkEuWQ/s1600/perch+pp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJGP8TEXy338PXtpaVABJmHo6jIdz8lJ-7dLhZQMdTUV-OZptilZLCFhdfEv4pBbj642Oft-msyJMEWy0NKo4p_cN93V9K30hvPzWz6Dku6UF_J56bBr8c2y04hUWwJa1XNSd6BkEuWQ/s320/perch+pp.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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சம்யுக்தாவுடனான அறிமுக உரையாடலின்போது பத்மபிரியா வெளிப்படுத்திய நேர்மை மற்றும் எளிமை அவரது படைப்புக்கு இன்னும் வலு சேர்ப்பதாக அமைந்தது. புகைப்படப் பதிவுகள் என்ற கருத்துடன் இந்தப் பயணத்தை தொடங்கிய பத்மபிரியா , தன் முயற்சிக்கு வலு சேர்க்கும் விதமாக கோட்டோவியங்கள், வாக்கியங்கள் என்று விரிவு செய்துள்ளார். கூடுதல் முயற்சியாக பார்வையாளர்களை தங்கள் அனுபவ பதிவுகளையும் பகிரும் படி கோரியுள்ளார். அவரது படைப்பு ஒரு நல்ல குறும்புத்தகமாக மலரும் வாய்ப்புள்ளது.<br />
படைப்பாளி, பிரதியின் வேடம் அணிந்து காட்சியில் அவதரிக்கும் பாங்கு என்பது cop Shiva , Pushpamala போன்ற கலைஞர்கள் தங்கள் படைப்புகளில் கையாளும் ஒரு உத்தி. அந்த உத்தி பத்மப்ரியாவின் இந்த முயற்சிக்கு கச்சிதமாக பொருந்திவரும் என்று எனக்குத் தோன்றுகிறது.<br />
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மூன்றாவதாக அறிமுகம் செய்யப்பட்ட முத்துவேலின் படைப்பு பொருள்வயின் இடம் பெயர்ந்த உழைப்பாளிகளின் கவிதைகளைத் தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்த்து அவற்றுக்கு குரல் வடிவம் தந்து சிந்தையைத் தூண்டும் நிலைப்படக் காட்சிகளுடன் வடிவம் தந்துள்ளது. சீன இளைஞர் ஒருவரின் காவிதையினின்று அரும்பிய முத்துவேலின் இந்த பயணம் பல புலம்பெயர் வாழ் கவிஞர்களின் கவிதை வழி கண்டுள்ளது. தற்போது தனது பார்வை தன்னைச் சுற்றியுள்ள புலம்பெயர்ந்து வாழும் சிப்பந்திகளின்பால் இடறியுள்ளது என்பது இந்தப் படைப்பு அதன் முழுமையை நோக்கி சரியாக நகர்கிறது என்பதின் அறிகுறியாகத் தோன்றியது.<br />
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முதல் நாள் மூன்று படைப்புகளும், அடுத்த நாள் பிற படைப்புகளும் அறிமுகம் செய்வது என்பது பெர்ச் குழுவினரின் நடைமுறை. என்னால் மறுநாள் வரமுடியாத காரணத்தால் பிற படைப்பாளிகளையும் முதல்நாளே கண்டுகொள்ள ஆவல் கொண்டேன்.<br />
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தக்ஷினியின் அசைவுறு ஓவியங்கள் என் கவனத்தையும் கற்பனையையும் பெரிதும் கவர்வனவாக அமைந்தன. தச்சர் உதவியுடன் தனது அரூப/ விந்தை ரூப ஓவியங்களுக்கு அசையும் தன்மை வழங்கியுள்ளார் தக்ஷினி. வினோதமான முகங்கள், மூன்று கை , மூன்று கால் கொண்ட மனிதன், அவனது சிப்பந்தி, அவனது தோழன், ட்ரோஜன் பெண்கள் அவர்களது எஜமானர்கள் , அவர்களது வாட்சண்டைகள் என்று விரிந்து கொண்டே செல்கிறது தக்ஷிணியின் படைப்புலகம். இவை சிறியவர்களுக்கு பெரிதும் களிப்பூட்டக்கூடியவை , பெரியவர்கள் சிந்தித்திடவும் தக்ஷினி இவற்றில் பல பொருள்படும்படி வடிவமைத்துள்ளார்.<br />
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காண்பியல் மொழி பயின்றுள்ள தக்ஷினி தியேட்டர் நிஷாவின் நாடகங்களில் பங்காற்றி வருகிறார். இவர் தனது ஒவ்வொரு படைப்பையும் பார்வையாளர்களிடம் விளக்கிய பாங்கு, ஆர்வம், ஈடுபாடு ஆகியவை , இவரிடமிருந்து சிறந்த படைப்புகள் உருவாகும் உறுதியை நமக்கு எடுத்துக்காட்டுகின்றன.<br />
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சரண் ராஜ் குவாரியில் உழைக்கும் மக்களின் வாழ்வையும் வலியையும் நம் கண் முன் காட்சிப்படுத்துகிறார் . கவின் கலைக் கல்லூரியில் தாள முத்துவின் ஈன்றெடுக்கும் குதிரையின் சிற்பம் அதன் தத்ரூபப் பதிவிற்க்காக என்றென்றும் நம்மை பாதிக்கக்கூடியது. அந்த ஈனும் வலிக்கு ஒப்ப, ஒரு சொல்லில் அடங்கா துயரத்தை, குவாரி வாழ்க்கையின் வலியைக் காட்சி, ஒலி , மற்றும் தொடுதல் பதிவுகள் மூலம் நம் நெஞ்சில் நீங்காச் சுவடைப் பதித்துச் செல்கிறார் சரண் ராஜ்.<br />
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நாடகக் கலைஞர் பகுவின் படைப்பு மறுநாளே அரங்கேறும் என்ற நிலையில், அந்த படைப்பை மட்டும் நழுவ விட்டேன்.<br />
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இங்கு அரங்கேறிய ஒவ்வொரு முயற்சியும் சிறிய முயற்சி என்றாலும் எண்ணம் மற்றும் நோக்கத்தில் மிக உயரிய சீரிய ஆக்கங்கள். நமது கலைச் சூழலைப் பெரிதும் பாதிக்கக்கூடிய அதிர்வுகளை ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடியவை, ஒரு பெரும்போக்கிற்கு எதிராக தலைதூக்க முயலும் எளிய முயற்சிகள். இவற்றை மிக சிரத்தையுடன் கண்டெடுத்து ஊக்கப் படுத்தும் பெர்ச் குழுவினர் மீது நமது நம்பிக்கையும் எதிர்ப்பார்ப்பும் பன்மடங்கு உயரச் செய்கிறது. </div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-65599943280156776812019-10-19T05:09:00.001-07:002019-10-19T05:09:46.966-07:00Kinetics- Sensation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2017/12/kinetics-art-show.html">Kinetics </a>are back with a sensational show. Gallery Veda, that hosts the show, has an exceptional way of sprucing itself up for every new show. It feels like the gallery is reborn to host a new show. This time it was no different either and it is a pleasant feeling to encounter art in such a credible space. The etching of texts on the wall, the artist names printed on the glass doors make for a very fine sense of the space.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just as you climb the stairs and reach a wall, mid way up, you encounter the title of the show stylistically portrayed on the wall and as you turn and reach the first flower level you encounter the curatorial text, both in English and Tamil ( the Tamil texts are such a joy to see), and then as you turn to enter the gallery the the glass doors offer you a room's view of the art works with the names of the artists stamped on the doors in bold letters. That's a fraction of an idea of the amount of aesthetic sense and ergonomics that goes into making of the experience of the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnHyUmUtW4wQOhAJ-HMUWeULGFE8MtOyQwugCkhtcccKbrISl2CqUbIeLhkxH7s-_n-l_0nfgO8CUGakDpzALAYk2pkAJfS8OAcDcnndLzAbR9wZ4I1tt80qGaF78jqL5dDanqg87bnA/s1600/sensation+poster.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="678" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnHyUmUtW4wQOhAJ-HMUWeULGFE8MtOyQwugCkhtcccKbrISl2CqUbIeLhkxH7s-_n-l_0nfgO8CUGakDpzALAYk2pkAJfS8OAcDcnndLzAbR9wZ4I1tt80qGaF78jqL5dDanqg87bnA/s320/sensation+poster.jpeg" width="226" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The show features works of eight artists, each of them pursuing a distinct style and practice and venturing in this show to experiment with new material and ideas while holding on to a certain string of continuum in the character of their practice. If there is one character that binds them all, it is a certain conscious moving away from a 'prettiness' and questioning the character of material involved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gurunathan's works have a fuzzy, woollyness about them. He has put up a collage of ink smeared fabric, the shapes and roughness of the fabric, with lingering estampages of being rationed are pointers to certain memories and economics and politics. He has also put up a ceramic installation, with coins embedded in them. The coins, i gather are a memorablia od his recent visit to france.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kumaresan Selvaraj's works combine wood, fibre and resin in a compression technique. His works evoke an acute sense of modernity in experimenting with material and form. One of his works we encounter early in the show reminds me of a 'tower of hides' evoking attendant feelings of political dimensions. The other works in the same technique convey different imagery, that are quite absorbing. These works are very engaging for the different imagery they evoke from the manifestation of striations in our daily visual realm from a floor mat to layers of the soil, etc</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfyxOxTKV8euS3rjnSvdKOywrsumf_hk6ayrgCeCcCrHGK4m05AnnMd8p49trDAmCA0ORi-ajHTOxnEw66uieKa8xZzmyN8BUN_wMb-uqosMlZTyK_g7YDseMDfdBuwmLbcL31GbiTxs/s1600/tower+of+hide.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfyxOxTKV8euS3rjnSvdKOywrsumf_hk6ayrgCeCcCrHGK4m05AnnMd8p49trDAmCA0ORi-ajHTOxnEw66uieKa8xZzmyN8BUN_wMb-uqosMlZTyK_g7YDseMDfdBuwmLbcL31GbiTxs/s320/tower+of+hide.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If Kumaresan's works captivate us with striations, Saravanan Parasuraman's works play around with the circular form. His bigger work with an arrangement of smaller circular discs radiating out of a central core to form a million petalled flower like arrangement is a very engaging work. he chosen unromantic colours like ash, grey, brown, blue and white to create a dynamism and add energy to the work. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzF75EeRcKiwAalQnVRobHQtX4eHUeDdwfSJAB_M1MGICFZAoyF034sjQS1k9V67I9kuV7kAVNtHfy_bHXZNWc6UO1E-RGvhE2T8l8MIqQUYhLESL2Y1ecapavoAbF2UhKupRcErxvEEM/s1600/sp+millenia.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzF75EeRcKiwAalQnVRobHQtX4eHUeDdwfSJAB_M1MGICFZAoyF034sjQS1k9V67I9kuV7kAVNtHfy_bHXZNWc6UO1E-RGvhE2T8l8MIqQUYhLESL2Y1ecapavoAbF2UhKupRcErxvEEM/s320/sp+millenia.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJF_PW2yPZrLO5aLzvFgZKg-4Ivo7melNHaIGzK-4tMDW7jW0npelrhUPdGG6_GnnYu_ioJdGDbK-M2fapx4d2K2u5TJHq7fLDB0RKfiZKuv5vCrq2RNu7G-BomO-WuTgilaQzf0jNEo/s1600/sp+stub.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJF_PW2yPZrLO5aLzvFgZKg-4Ivo7melNHaIGzK-4tMDW7jW0npelrhUPdGG6_GnnYu_ioJdGDbK-M2fapx4d2K2u5TJHq7fLDB0RKfiZKuv5vCrq2RNu7G-BomO-WuTgilaQzf0jNEo/s320/sp+stub.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His other work with mounted wooden stubs with a hollow core painted red in the centre and black in the inner surface. The hollow in the stub is edged out along the patterns of cambrian circles in the wood an allusion probably to the wound of years of life lost to tougher times.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmxhILNn7dC0Mf6zRqKKbUfM_svbc2NeQ0KWOrSLpg4ym1hHr1JOzyQ1xpBw4J06WSOiLUTocengcRa4jlxksNgCMnsfeiDMILxRd_kwqrx-DAuAQpxUUo4yuZYhgemZT4M69hbeULmNE/s1600/yuvaraj+face.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmxhILNn7dC0Mf6zRqKKbUfM_svbc2NeQ0KWOrSLpg4ym1hHr1JOzyQ1xpBw4J06WSOiLUTocengcRa4jlxksNgCMnsfeiDMILxRd_kwqrx-DAuAQpxUUo4yuZYhgemZT4M69hbeULmNE/s320/yuvaraj+face.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yuvaraj Arul's works are the only ones in the show that have a semblance of 'prettiness' about them. His installations in metal sculpture evoke a fantasy world imagery. A beautiful face amidst flowers, a face with key holes on it and surrounded by keys are the stuff of this fantasy world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjur3-68JdVQySCJQoGC_APW_HR6WIxmVuy4s5RiZf6cOoLTl9MIpSVCzlgei45X54J8JglQCq4GBv0k200AWdd0SgxiJiefybbLniaDFBcvUmtMGK_J8ozuw51c5jdg8bV1PO1vjofNkk/s1600/yuvan+red.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjur3-68JdVQySCJQoGC_APW_HR6WIxmVuy4s5RiZf6cOoLTl9MIpSVCzlgei45X54J8JglQCq4GBv0k200AWdd0SgxiJiefybbLniaDFBcvUmtMGK_J8ozuw51c5jdg8bV1PO1vjofNkk/s320/yuvan+red.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Yuvan Bothisathuvar's works play around with linear element and how it interacts in creating illusion of surface. The rusted piece of corrugated metal sheet looks like a perfect find that fits in so well with his practice of creating illusions on surface. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVvKzdOv9nfnEApjpOG3hjTq1GOqpSpJdAXe72M_MzfFnVndZOg2R5J0T4-MrGhKwIla1xLWNDsHTdEc4bJA_uiq6lIhVQqB1kSh08G3cjn1cWQjDVtomNIiJQvFd4qe75UnpWe9CYBE/s1600/sree+amoeba.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVvKzdOv9nfnEApjpOG3hjTq1GOqpSpJdAXe72M_MzfFnVndZOg2R5J0T4-MrGhKwIla1xLWNDsHTdEc4bJA_uiq6lIhVQqB1kSh08G3cjn1cWQjDVtomNIiJQvFd4qe75UnpWe9CYBE/s320/sree+amoeba.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunil's works play around with the texture of metal and wood. He has created illusions on the texture of the material creating what looks like a soft toy image of Garuda from wood and an amoebic piece of fabric from metal sheets. His video installation is a meditation on shapes forging out of a process of destruction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Aneesh's video installation was the show stealer for me. The blurred images of street scenes of a river side locality captured with all its bustle, culture and social activity, brings to life in all its mood and aura, a certain fragment of our bioethnocultural sphere. The photos the accompany the show add value to the video. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The overlapping of frames and the tardiness of the motion combine to produce different visual effects. The sparkling life in the image of a bird captured randomly in the blurry frame of the the sky are remniscent of the ripples set off by a stone on a serene pond. The haziness and the slowness of the video adds to its magical appeal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The show Sensation is a package that offers one a taste of modern and incrementally experimental art. Kinetics is a group to look up to and the sense of completion they make as individuals and as a group, and manage to keep repeating it, is amazing. Congratulations to the team and the curator Ganesh.</span></div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-48511938606828684662019-10-15T09:02:00.002-07:002019-10-16T09:47:00.013-07:00Random Thoughts at Nartaka dance festival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> was glad I had an opportunity to immerse in some wonderful
dance experience at the Natyanjali Trust’s recent Nartaka festival at BVB , Mylapore. It
was quite a stellar line up of upcoming talents that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>drew me to the festival. I had missed the
performances of couple of these dancers at the bygone December season and that
made me even more eagerly look up to this festival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been following the BN dance scene in Chennai<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for a couple of seasons now, interacting <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with dancers, attended workshops <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and have had the opportunity to attend guided
readings of Dance texts <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and have taken
deep interest in the deliberations on dance at different Natya Conference,
Darshan, Disha, Seminars etc. While dancers might have prejudices about attending
these events, I have had the privilege of listening to voices young and old deliberating
about dance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ideas and the knowledge gained there in , combined with
the performances at this festival offered me an ideal platform to critically analyze
the dance experience. I venture to share some of the thoughts in this post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sooraj Subramnyam</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The festival opened with Sooraj’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>performance. I have eagerly awaited an opportunity
to catch Sooraj perform ever since I read <a href="https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/dance/sooraj-subramaniam-the-world-at-his-feet/">this</a> article in the Open magazine.
And when I found him participating in this festival , it made the festival all the
more special to me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyone watching Sooraj is bound to be overwhelmed by his perfectly
sculpted body. His ground movements and throwing of hands border on a very
contemporary and modern realm. His agility and flexibility belie his age.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to see two
pieces performed by Sooraj. One was around the Gopis missing Krishna, and
another on the Navarasas. I personally felt a deep pain at seeing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>such a wonderfully sculpted body and gifted
dynamics going wasted on feminine posturing in these pieces. It was difficult
for me to bear to see feminine emotions sit on top of such a gifted masculine
body. I am sure the Navarasas could be given a masculine treatment by a male
dancer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to have to
wait to watch Sooraj <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>do a contemporary
performance to have my fill of his talents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Narendra</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Narendra was given the Nartaka award at this festival. I have
seen him earlier perform once at Meera’s terrace. He is a dancer blessed with
abundant charm. I was very impressed by the way he carried himself and talked
about his dance. He was eager to share stories and experiences that made him
even more interesting as an artist. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The spunky tuft of salt pepperish hair
naturally caressed to form a funk at the back and the prominent yagnopavithram
embellish the spright in his dance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I understand Narendra has a very spiritual connect to dance,
that makes his dance border on a bhajan/ Kalakshepam experience. He enjoys
doing it that way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sridhar Vasudevan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Vasu’s performance was easily the winner for me on the first
day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The prominent pauch, carefully concealed in a vest made me a bit apprehensive in the beginning, more so coming on the
heels of watching two performers in great shape. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Vasu simply won me over when
he made efforts to sing while performing. This is a simple way of making a big
difference to BN dancing. Young dancers who look to make a difference could
take inspiration from Vasu and try and instill what was once a norm In the Sadhir
form and add more value to their dancing and greater connect to the heritage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Vasu gave a very expansive and novel treatment to the Varnam
‘Mohamana’, another inspiring instance of how one can make a big difference
while still performing a very traditional varnam. His interpretation of Vishnu
as the Nayika pining for Aroora was a very novel one and made perfect sense and
offered scope for so much improvisation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Meera Sreenarayan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had missed Meera’s prize winning performance at the Music
academy last season and I was eager to catch up with her performance. Her
performance was clearly a class apart. The effort she puts into every small
adavu and make it look very rounded was very evident throughout her
performance. The perfect synchronism she managed to strike between the singing
and her movements was another aspect that made her performance special. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her unhurried,
refined execution of nrittas combined with a good video capturing technique would
make for an interesting study of the geometric aspects of BN. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right from the word go when she started by making floral
offerings and invoking blessings she was very convincing and very immersed in
the role play of the chosen theme. In the Narasimma Kavuthuvam, at one point
she seemed to have grown several feet tall in enacting the drama, that is elucidative of the
power she packs into her Nritya.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the swara jathi
varnam Meera had chosen, there was a point when she serves the nayaka something
to drink and sits on the ground beside him looking at him, at this point her
gaze seemed to be at something distant rather <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>than on a the face of the nayaka close by. This
was a a very minuscule fraction of a perturbing moment in the performance, I happened
to notice it and mention it only because the rest of the performance was so
thorough and flawless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The vocal artist Bijeesh accompanying Meera made interesting
improvisations that added to the fun and drama of the performance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Lakshmi<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>P Athreya</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lakshmi looked gloriously tall and beautiful during this
performance. While first half the varnam went by looking pretty and well, a moment
when the dancer looks at the lotus and the sun with its lighting and the dancer’s
posturing made for a very surreal experience, making me wonder why could not a
whole nayaka- nayika piece be danced around with the imagery of say the sun and
the lotus, rather than the usual nara- naari modeling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The tempo of the performance in the Varnam picked up with the lines ‘ Kaaman
enai..’. The performance
had scaled up to a different level thereafter. The Meera Bhajan and the
ashtakam were a visual and aural delight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Shrutipriya</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While SP was introduced as the runner up in the Music acdemy
peroformances in the last season, my expectations naturally grew higher. SP had
a easy grace and style about her dancing. I wish she invested a little more in the
ideas that go into the Choreographing of her dance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For instance, in the Nandanaar charithram piece, when
Nandanaar is trying to get the bull to get out the way in Thirupangur, she
starts off with showing a nataraja inside the shrine, which I thought was a
quite a slip. She was not convincing as Nandanaar either. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And while trying different
means to get the bull to move she brings a tuft of grass to lure the bull away.
I could imagine Bragha doing it if she were performing, but you have a young
girl performing Nandanaar, u could attempt things like pelting a stone ( say at
near the bull) to try and get the bull to move. I mean such things could make
it more convincing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Acharyas could make a big difference by choreographing with
the dancer in mind rather than themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Shwetha Prachande</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had missed watching Shwetha in the last season too. It was a couple of very close misses. She comes with a wide range of trainings in foreign
shores to Kalari, rising expectations in her performance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was disappointed when she started without an invocatory
piece. The invocatory piece helps the dancer to settle down to performing a
dramatic piece. One cannot walk straight on to the stage and start emoting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shwetha started straight with the varnam, which should have
caused difficulty in bringing emotions. The Varnam also happened to be one that
the previous performer had performed to, something the convenor could have
averted, making it a double disappointment. Moreover, Shwetha’s emoting to the
lines of the varnam was almost zilch making it a difficult experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Meenakshi Sreenivasan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">MS was quite a treat to watch. She stood out in here ease of
performing to Padams. More special because these were the only padams I got to
see in this festival. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her grace added
lilt to the performance. A mudra MS made for the 'chakora' bird, bringing both her hands together appeared different and ingenious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">MS could bring a world of difference to her performance by being more
convincing in the dramatics. The ‘koozhi’ piece was such a different and
interesting piece, it offered a lot of scope for dramatics. She was very
unconvincing while portraying the disappointment when the hero leaves all of a
sudden or in her loosing cool with the rooster that spoilt all the fun. One could
introduce folk elements like chasing the rooster to add value to the
performance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>In concluding</i></b>, i feel that while the Nritta part is something one cannot tamper much
with, dancers could make a world of difference and elevate their performance by
adding more theatric and ingenious elements to the Nritya part of their performance.
These are some thoughts that young dancers could deliberate upon. </span></div>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-91553206204426380752019-09-20T07:55:00.000-07:002019-10-16T09:51:24.488-07:00Spectacle as Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's celebration time for Chennaities, for they now have a new Art gallery in town, paving way for new and exciting art and thoughts to flow into the city. Ashvitas gallery by Ashvin has opened in a street off Radhakrishna Salai, Mylapore. The gallery promises to be a powerhouse of energy and enterprise manifest in Ashvin, the founder. The opening show that opened for viewing on 18 September is a testimony to Ashvin's enterprise in the Art world today. In the line up of the show he has managed to bring home some of the super star artists</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> of the Art world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDjiPd8SIWHnf5pl4_8E7Mr5nQnAIfyxdUT68mb6rEzfK5ypRKP1RAzYzv1ytJ9VskIa_PWSBESL4xQGufCmS39uJsc6F7RaKoh2MuCRpqFjDNZnrOsjN4oHMP9pSL3csBM3bmoj3Lc8/s1600/Ash+poster.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="720" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDjiPd8SIWHnf5pl4_8E7Mr5nQnAIfyxdUT68mb6rEzfK5ypRKP1RAzYzv1ytJ9VskIa_PWSBESL4xQGufCmS39uJsc6F7RaKoh2MuCRpqFjDNZnrOsjN4oHMP9pSL3csBM3bmoj3Lc8/s320/Ash+poster.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I believe this is the first time Chennai would be playing host to the works of Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher, Jitish Kallat and Thukral and Tagra. Chennaites have seen an LN Tallur installation in the <a href="http://artcindia.org/?page_id=58">Juggernaut </a>on display at the Phoenix mall in Velachery. Ashvin has also brought in the dynamic Peter Nagy as the curator of the show. One usually expects atleast the curator to be around during the opening of a show, unfortunately that was no to be the case here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The inaugral show, The Savage nobles, leaves the viewer with a mixed feeling, true to the title.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacnW0YFQiIVhT8l4sySadBeEEBzgN99brz9e61hrgdm2njs1coTQSFbJKO47ukH6d9vTRGnarWfy_iwI8FI5DXUYNPKaHCY6nqRFXGrcmeuNUcOiIt7bJjlh3FTdspDecvDIQg5oHno0/s1600/Ash+Tallur.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacnW0YFQiIVhT8l4sySadBeEEBzgN99brz9e61hrgdm2njs1coTQSFbJKO47ukH6d9vTRGnarWfy_iwI8FI5DXUYNPKaHCY6nqRFXGrcmeuNUcOiIt7bJjlh3FTdspDecvDIQg5oHno0/s320/Ash+Tallur.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXanDWLg5UtD4v7v85mJHS-tOac5Fz3SUuP_Motp3BuERWmEH7CXTx_NHVrCURFJLWkYFiwDI4uzuiqyLYLeRvm06c4Y2HnM60ZNGqvk6y0VcKcpjgSr8_ULElBA5lTUPtFH1HdWJkeA/s1600/Ashvita+Subodh+shaman.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXanDWLg5UtD4v7v85mJHS-tOac5Fz3SUuP_Motp3BuERWmEH7CXTx_NHVrCURFJLWkYFiwDI4uzuiqyLYLeRvm06c4Y2HnM60ZNGqvk6y0VcKcpjgSr8_ULElBA5lTUPtFH1HdWJkeA/s320/Ashvita+Subodh+shaman.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While Subodh Gupta's installations are stuff of Art world's fleeting and epoch making moments, there was also this lingering dreary feeling that the Art world should have since moved on. The installations are probably an attempt to bring home a sample of the spectacle that rocked the art world in recent times. Subodh's installations smack of megalomania, an urgency to astonish and excite, the power to will up on a mundane object and transform it to some shaman object of the modern Industrialised world. In contrast, LN Tallur's installations are made of layers that draw the viewer in, in trying to explore, revealing layers of sense of history and culture. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpjt6EohNvQjaELZi5vphl_Ok9qTPC5cYe7rspCTv29HamTjU88o-3Vs9qdrH-Ut8bZi6pKdh1sxEgnf3rUNuuYgBPpKrfohjUxtrcTINmxQhb9XdUKS4oLnJPS6z3r8KOVHVFPm-Ov8/s1600/Ash+Jitish+night.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpjt6EohNvQjaELZi5vphl_Ok9qTPC5cYe7rspCTv29HamTjU88o-3Vs9qdrH-Ut8bZi6pKdh1sxEgnf3rUNuuYgBPpKrfohjUxtrcTINmxQhb9XdUKS4oLnJPS6z3r8KOVHVFPm-Ov8/s320/Ash+Jitish+night.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGUE10URIYT4Bth53bEcoUFDlihQyWRs5JlnwgPi89jOGnrb7K-9p1MDoYFcYuZE5YDuZ001iXLDB2MwFVzIpZIVsT_083mhtq119wKC4PS8Gt4B5-LA6VN0LF2YjKNbAyhj_MNuNl9U/s1600/Ash+TT+painting.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGUE10URIYT4Bth53bEcoUFDlihQyWRs5JlnwgPi89jOGnrb7K-9p1MDoYFcYuZE5YDuZ001iXLDB2MwFVzIpZIVsT_083mhtq119wKC4PS8Gt4B5-LA6VN0LF2YjKNbAyhj_MNuNl9U/s320/Ash+TT+painting.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T&T's paintings are a loud dislay of colours beaming joy into an animated and a dreamy scape. While Jitish Kalat's works are subdued creations playing on the grey/sepia scale that looks like some scientific model of the world, a mapping of a starry night sky, distorted mathematical modelling images, a biological drawing gone astray and a geographical mapping that gave away.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTYiyY9EtGcrDyw-eRCTWo4K0zgNdnzbYTexSmf_VlQ9Ia8BpIGLILPbp5d58GYq0MN6NjL_7u-OjPCzMFLJ8C0-vvLcQDmV1OCTAQl5Lr8WyJrJs3pnxbQ_Ra80GWGt2nYm-mtPKfCs/s1600/Ash+TT+yoga.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTYiyY9EtGcrDyw-eRCTWo4K0zgNdnzbYTexSmf_VlQ9Ia8BpIGLILPbp5d58GYq0MN6NjL_7u-OjPCzMFLJ8C0-vvLcQDmV1OCTAQl5Lr8WyJrJs3pnxbQ_Ra80GWGt2nYm-mtPKfCs/s320/Ash+TT+yoga.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqQ2881-r6EImUozaUv8z7yfXqlzgiqGjPf_V4azx8w87UTCbi79iGYfB0iK7geQJWfmuePZSLgFmEFJWljgzQ2MdQt1f0Zz9mW6DnJUGMltRB2frPN8xu5-22cha9K7iFsftS_l23TU/s1600/Ash+Fibre.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqQ2881-r6EImUozaUv8z7yfXqlzgiqGjPf_V4azx8w87UTCbi79iGYfB0iK7geQJWfmuePZSLgFmEFJWljgzQ2MdQt1f0Zz9mW6DnJUGMltRB2frPN8xu5-22cha9K7iFsftS_l23TU/s320/Ash+Fibre.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tallur's installations of Yogic postures on tiles offers a visual treat in Terracota, just as T&T's wall installations of painted Fibre glass figures are floral and decorative in a disruptive way.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_1mNaMd6eG330wu5AsSDdCNtW3U6fyEsQAU5KbmubJhaWoG1UGVTyTCUuyivinaIsdZHyXyBlq0m1PPMXGPYSnizRmYlA5R8DgvW8_tAqDTiBtGzr5vnV01JHOx2vEF_N6CrE_PFbr4/s1600/Ash+Bindi.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_1mNaMd6eG330wu5AsSDdCNtW3U6fyEsQAU5KbmubJhaWoG1UGVTyTCUuyivinaIsdZHyXyBlq0m1PPMXGPYSnizRmYlA5R8DgvW8_tAqDTiBtGzr5vnV01JHOx2vEF_N6CrE_PFbr4/s320/Ash+Bindi.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Bharti Kher's works with the Bindhi make loud feminists statements. Her works like Subodh's plays with the ordinary to create extraordinary works. The bindi stuck to mirrors and door frames is a common sight in every Indian house with a female presence. Bharti takes this cue to it's different explorations and weaves patterns and marks currents. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6t2LUkd1M_gffp-FP-3sGMVtQJo572G5F0RpF4LmsDNN2UbfytUscFewDPmaYmzOTwOa89jRLNQ-KQ9KE7s5MtgLYYIUIsGC6067xNH_Th_VZrXzjCIT9USXUp5W7n1MvQZhSd1rzns/s1600/Ash+Subodh.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6t2LUkd1M_gffp-FP-3sGMVtQJo572G5F0RpF4LmsDNN2UbfytUscFewDPmaYmzOTwOa89jRLNQ-KQ9KE7s5MtgLYYIUIsGC6067xNH_Th_VZrXzjCIT9USXUp5W7n1MvQZhSd1rzns/s320/Ash+Subodh.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Subodh's painting series titled TBD. breaks many convictions. It offers scope for many deliberations by virtue of keeping the image simple and emptied. He welcomes the viewer to fill the image with his thoughts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ashvin has done great service to the city by bringing the works of these Super star artists to Chennai. Ashvita promises to be a great space in the making. The raw look of the walls, the unfinished look of the entrance all point to a great work in progress. The initial trepiditions that one feels while having to locate an art gallery inside a hospital campus, vanishes without a trace once you enter the fabulous gallery space. Cheers to new beginnings. </span></div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-77276496741614656802019-08-30T05:08:00.000-07:002019-08-31T09:49:36.366-07:00En-cored..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had known Pravin Kannanur only as a <a href="https://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2014/07/ponniyin-selvan-on-stage.html">Theatre </a>person and it was a pleasant surprise to discover his affair with the paint and the canvas when he had invited some of his friends to have a sneak peek at his paintings just before they were to be packed up for a show at Jehangir art gallery in Mumbai in September 2018. Memories of a huge painted canvas left to dry under the fan on the floor and walking around the studio space and discovering a mug that carried the remnants of a 'Core' in its core, still stay fresh from that visit. There was this lingering feeling that i could not catch the show in the gallery setting, and i was very elated and eager when i learnt that the show was opening in Chennai at the Inko center.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PtV24Q-6l74TkrKZELV4UZbG_vWW-hltRdw0dw3p94xl6DaPDOyKoSxztLPiMzliLy1aPU-QCwGYFTiAo2VrxrKHLw31CHh0dyq-NgbFYiAWjmetysIz7TbhiktVLVhpsnJPiQMfvLY/s1600/core.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PtV24Q-6l74TkrKZELV4UZbG_vWW-hltRdw0dw3p94xl6DaPDOyKoSxztLPiMzliLy1aPU-QCwGYFTiAo2VrxrKHLw31CHh0dyq-NgbFYiAWjmetysIz7TbhiktVLVhpsnJPiQMfvLY/s320/core.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pravin's <b>Core</b> is a meditation on the circular form. To the imaginative eye these paintings could invoke various manifestations of the circular frame in nature. It is fascinating to see so many varied versions of manifestations of the circular field. Though a 'genre'ification of these paintings would put them in the 'abstract' domain, i felt there was a definite rhythm and purpose to each of the painting. It's difficult to imagine that the rhythm was intended, it is more plausible that they are manifest and are dependent on the pluck of the viewer. The paintings appear to be like a piece of string tied to a bridge and waiting for the viewer to pluck them to play a flavour of music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just as one enters the main space of the gallery the huge painting, <b>Luz</b>, that faces the viewer invokes a grand cosmic event and easily steals the show. It invokes a brilliant explosion, frozen and pasted on wall; a brilliant yellowish plasma seeping through cracks in an exploding ball of the universe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The painting <b>Lucent</b>, invoked a microscopic image of an eye. An eye naked and revealing, looked at with a microscopic vision, revealing its prominent bloodish veins and its bluish pupa. An eye, projecting out of its socket. It's interesting to see how depth and texture manifest in these paintings. One painting invoked a brilliant blue sky as seen from lying down and through a gap in an yellowish thatched roof. A greenish painting brings to life the waves trembling off a pool, thick with mossy greenery. A painting invoked the cross section of a trunk of a huge tree with all its Cambrian circles there was another that invoked the vision off a sparkler being circled around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The canvasses varied in size from around 10 feet to a few inches in size. one of the smaller paintings that was placed over a bigger one offered a newer perspective. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had chosen to visit the show on an evening when Pravin had planned to stage a performance pooling in music composer Martin Visser and performers Anoushka Kurien, Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya and Preethi Athreya to join him on an experimental exploration over two evenings of 'Score painting'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the first evening, Martin was playing on a sax from a graphical score sheet. The Music sounded like bursts of chaos, Chaithanya added to the Chaos with her vocal support and Eldho was on the synthesizer adding effects to the music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The three performers had an almost 10 feet wide canvas and cans of paint to themselves. The canvas had a few tapes stuck on it in a pattern of concentric circular sections. The performers worked on the canvas, splashing paint and working on it with their feet, fingers , scrapes and little broom like brushes. Though it all looked playful, random and chaotic, constrained only by those concentric sections of circular pattern stuck on the canvas, a pattern that was distantly related to the Core was emerging. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The performers did not seem much bothered by the bursts of music from Martin's graphic score. However the music did set a mood for the viewers, adding zing to the chaos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This performance offered one a glimpse of some of the methods of the artist and his techniques and i feel is very special for the artist opens up aspects of his process to the public.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The show and the performance was a beautiful culmination of the multi factedness of Pravin and his constant experiments with collaborative engagements.</span><br />
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-66723214926443431742019-08-03T04:06:00.000-07:002019-08-03T04:27:09.400-07:00Cinematic Imagination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chennai owes a lot to Helmut Schippert, the Director of Goethe Institute, for bringing so much art, colour and discourse from across the world and the country to home. What a deprived time we would have had but for these culture evangelists. Talking of angels, i wish to also mention others who have done fantastic work on these lines for the city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you talk of Germans, the French can't be far behind. Pierre-Emmanuel who until recently was the Director here at AFM was also instrumental in bringing so much cultural activity to the city. One other thing that stands out in these two gentle men is that they were easily approachable, open to ideas and took heart to attend local cultural events and appreciate the arts and talents of the land.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The British council and US consulate though paler and understated in comparison, nevertheless have made their own contributions to the city's culturescape. Whereas the former two are more outgoing and enterprising establishments, the latter two are more withdrawn and engage on more cordial and conservative terms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not as if the city's culture oxygens are fed only by these foreign cultural attaches, our local players have treated the city to some fascinating and awesome shows matching these agencies in grandeur and vibrancy. Ranvir Shah's Prakriti Foundation is prominent among these. The city is a poorer place without the grand array of events like the Short and sweet plays( an exciting testing ground for identifying and nurturing theatre talents), Poetry Festival ( bringing poets from across the world and the country to different venues and more importantly to colleges across Chennai), Contemporary Dance festival and other engaging book launches and lectures that Prakriti had made possible in the city. The city had found in Ranvir a great connoisseur and patron of arts, theatre, literature and heritage. One wishes Ranvir could get back to doing what he does best - keeping the city informed and entertained. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With that wishful thinking, i wish to get back to my present brief of what Goethe institute has brought in its latest serving of cultural treat. In this post i am talking about three servings- one an Exhibition at LKA, Chennai; two, a curated screening of films at the Goethe Institute; and three, about the film Achyut Kanya that features both in the Exhibition and the curated film screening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In collabration with CPB foundation and In sprucing up the premises of Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai in Hosting a Photographic exhibition, reminiscing a glorious piece of Indian Cinema History, they have brought home the glorious pages of history of the birth, grooming and flourish of the Bombay Talkies; featuring, the splendid dreamy stories of Devika Rani, Himanshu Rai, Niranjan Pal; the stories of German collaborations- Jews finding refuge and bringing with them a new sense of enterprise and finesse of technique and glimpses of the vision of a man Josef Wirsching. In the process the Goethe Institute has also brought to the city the contagious and enterprising aura of the Serendipity Arts Festival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While Devika Rani steals the show with her towering and ubiquitous presence in the show, one also gets a good feel of the contributions of Josef Wirschng, Niranjan Pal and other technicians of Bombay talkies during the 20s and the 30s. It's a celebration of a production house, leaving us wondering what fascinating history lies waiting to be showcased in other production houses of the period. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The exhibition could have easily ended as a romantic reminiscing of a piece of the past but for some interesting stories hidden in the narrative. For instance, a Photograph showing Josef in an internment during war period, putting together a picture book for his son has so much to say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One is also left awestruck by the variety and depth of social consciousness beaming in the stories and scripts the BT had chosen for its movies. Izzat is a movie based on the historical conflict between the Bhils and the Marathas and Jawani ki Hawa is another with it's novel treatment of capturing a major part of the movie on a moving train stand out among the exhibits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was very thoughtful of the Goethe institute to arrange for the screening of some of these films from the 1920s and 30s and also set a context to appreciate the aesthetics of German expressionism as featured in films like Metropolis by Fritz Lanz, 1926 and Dr. Calligiri by Robert Wiene, 1919, that the technicians like Franz Osten ( Sjiraz, Achyut Kanya) , Joe May ( The Indian Tomb, 1921) bring to Indian cinema. The parallel screening of these movies by arranging a studied curation called ' Indian Expressionism through German Lens' by the expert hands of Hariharan and Uma Vangal, who were also pitching in with their thoughts and inviting discussions from the audience. It was a very heartening sight to see a dedicated bunch of students learnig film engaging with these films from a century ago, not for a moment whining or flinching in attention during the screening of these films from a very early era of Cinema.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Among the invited speakers, Suresh Chabria in his talk brought a context to expressionism as seen in Edward Munch's Scream painting and outlined the features of German expressionism in its manifestation in the movies in prominent play of Shadows, diagonal and distorted lines, animate sets, etc. and amply illustrated the talk with clippings from the films Dr Calligari, Metropolis, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The screening of Achyut Kanya featuring Devika Rani, and Ashok Kumar and directed by Franz osten, Camera by Josef Wirsching complemented and completed the experience of the Exhibition 'Cinematic Imagination' to perfection. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The plot of the film aspires to highlight the effect of caste in Indian life by lacing it with a bunch of love stories. Even though the film is very subdued in its treatment of the subject of caste it doesn't restrain from landing a few deep punches that resonate even to this day. For instance, when one character invokes Hindu Dharma to castigate another and settle scores from elsewhere, one is surprised how pertinent those dialogues and situations are and still resonate in our midst. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Every character in the movie is given a very gentle, sympathetic and wholesome treatment, and yet Devika Rani and Ashok kumar stand out with their subdued performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was interesting to see the lead characters sing their lines too. The songs were very memorable ones. There was also one of the earliest instances of Play back singing of a very touching 'Boat man song'. The boat man song keeps recurring in the movie. in an earlier instance in the movie it is sung in another version, when women from the neighbourhood work together preparing for some festivity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The film also doesn't fail to capture the spirit and festivity of a village fair in it all its glory, the simple ways of the village folks and finally the different problems faced by married couple. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The film is so very tightly and richly woven that not one sequence is out of place or unwarranted. It was a fantastic experience to watch a very sensible and a well meaning from almost a century ago.</span></div>
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-79214560596427111762019-07-08T12:37:00.004-07:002019-07-08T13:07:54.956-07:00 Naachiyar Next<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This Sunday ( 7 July 19) Anita Rathnam premiered her production Naachiyar Next in Chennai at RR Sabha, Mylapore. I had gone to the event looking forward to see something different from Anita. For one, the life of Aandal offers so much to explore and extrapolate and Anita , through her long association with the subject and liberal thinking, was quite capable of challenging conventions and present Aandal in a new light and explore the perspectives that Aandal's life offered itself to. All this promise was also temptingly held out by the word 'Next' in the title, or so had some of us sadly imagined. The 'Next' only seemed to signify that, Anita has found someone new to play the role of Aandal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, what one gets instead is an uninspiring, faithful retelling of the Aandal story, very wary of and catering to the popular sentiments and traditions. The production's main objective seemed to be to stoke congregational ecstasy among the faithfuls in the audience. This is the kind of show Bombay Gnanam and the likes do. Their prime motive being to narrate the subject's life and present the key moments in the life of the subject in all its glory so as to stimulate a sharp rise in the religious ecstasy in the audience. The ultimate goal being to get the audience to join the action during fervent chantings, and get them to rise up on their feet and feel sacred about the show when the Subject is unveiled in all its Bountiful Darshan. The allignment of Anita's show seemed to be no different, and to her credit, the show earned a standing applause from the reverent Audience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the overall feeling was that of a lovely opportunity put to waste, there were some positives and beautiful moments to cherish in the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One could sense the making of a promising and a lovely sequence taking shape as the tempo gradually builds up as Kodhai is set to wear the garland for the first time. The execution of this sequence, that culminates with Kodhai in an blissful state of union makes intelligent use of the mirrors to give a multiplying effect, pointing to an infinite bliss, stands out as one of the most beautiful sequences in the show. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The actor playing Vishnuchittar brought alive the Pillaithtamil songs of Periazhwar. His gentle voice and tenor made the 'maanikkam's and 'mani vairam's so much more special and resplendent. However, The actor's fatherly admonishing of Kothai at various instances, doesn't quite sit well with the motherly nature of the man reflected in those Pillaith tamizh songs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fact that Vishnuchittar could so very convincingly position himself as a tender mother in those Pillaith thamizh songs made me wonder if the imagery of Aandal and the songs alluded to her were also works of Vishnuchittar positioning himself as the playful Paavai in Thiruppavai and the pining nangai in Nachiyaar thirumozhi. It is probably alluding to this transforming ability of his that he was given the name Chittan, the sorcerer. This is one of the many such digressions that the story of Aandal lends itself to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A point of digression that Anitha has taken heart to mention in the passing is how Aandal could have been referring to a shared fate with Krishna in being born in one house and growing up in another, 'oruthi maganaai piranthu..' A line of thought that's so inviting and refreshing but sadly left to waste in the passing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Madhusudhanan as the Araiyar is a darling of the performance. Anitha has beautifully designed sequences in a way as to incorporate and fit in Araiyar performance in all its vitality and yet gel with the show. She has made perfect use Madhusudhanan's ability to perform the araiyar ritual in its complete earnestness. The reverberating tone of the recital of the Araiyar performance lends a magical touch of ingenuity to the production. As the show is bound to travel, it is heartening to note that a piece of our performing heritage is going to travel across the world. This is an absolutely brilliant way of taking aspects of our Heritage to a wider audience. Anita's ingenuity in conceiving this idea is a fabulous one and very laudable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To cut a little slack in the performance, Madhu's entry in the stage as a possessed passerby, as a pooja performing person etc. takes a little sheen off the brilliance of his featuring on the stage. His appearances could be restricted to the Araiyar portions only. He should not be wasted as an extra on the stage. This could help add more brilliance to the Araiyar performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anitha was tall and splendid in keeping the show together and in Chaperoning Aandal through her pangs of love for Krishna. In her flowing and resplendent costume she could have been a dervish, but in the sequence where she sits down to hear from the sooth sayer, she could have very much been in a madisaar. Even though it made a picture perfect scene to have Anita in it, I felt It would have made better sense for the mother in Vishnuchittar to seek the advice of the soothsayer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Madhu as the Araiyar playing the sooth sayer again offered plenty of scope for exploration. It could have been the scheming Krishna himself who was plotting to win Kodhai over from the holds of Vishnuchittan, offering him advice to give her over to Ranga. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If Kodhai could become Aandal, why not the Aaraiyar become Ranga. Madhusudhanan with his dark complexion and piercing charm could easily overwhelm the audience as the all conquering Krishna. Such a line of exploration again offers many different interesting dimensions to the story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lot of thought has gone into bringing in the beautifully crafted Parrot from Villiputhur, the ritual of bathing of Aandal and the Decking up of Kodhai as Aandal, and also bringing aspects of Kolattam into performing for Thiruppavai, etc. The 'Vaaranam aayiram' song is one song with fabulous lyrics, and begs for a little more infusion of fantasy elements in performing it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Portraying Aandal as an ever pining and possessed girl, is a very narrow way of looking at her. The story of Aandal offers so much more to explore and engage with. We will have to probably wait for Anitha 'Next' to do justice.</span><br />
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-28412573557364811062019-06-26T11:25:00.000-07:002019-06-26T19:38:32.173-07:00Between the Personal and the Performative<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A chance meeting with the Kaarthiks while waiting in a Que for a ticket to watch a play at the ITFOK, Thrissur in 2018, and a bond that i had tended over watsapp and Facebook helped me secure an invitation for the Indian premiere of their film, 'His Father's voice' on 23/6/2019. I was hoping to see a hall packed with the glitterati of the dance community to celebrate the movie, that had among it's cast around ten popular dancers, all of them spectacular and much loved performers in the Bharatanatyam circuit. But I could see only a handful of performers at the show i happened to attend. ( there were two other shows the same day, may be i missed them to the other shows )</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7VvgA5vfXwnUlW2ieA5kOyZzUg3q2EVTbzhwhAw9_m3HjjXJU5lYL_qarV6kZyMzE4jeLhaPI585D_WsDi7Y0YzduzOjfL8w2memZV4TvWzWcd-_4XIPhNx8hWwuBGpWBUI1lWkytOE/s1600/HFV1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7VvgA5vfXwnUlW2ieA5kOyZzUg3q2EVTbzhwhAw9_m3HjjXJU5lYL_qarV6kZyMzE4jeLhaPI585D_WsDi7Y0YzduzOjfL8w2memZV4TvWzWcd-_4XIPhNx8hWwuBGpWBUI1lWkytOE/s320/HFV1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had been eagerly looking forward to this premiere,and had been following the news about the film ever since the first looks and trailers were shared on Facebook. It was thrilling to see the film open to raving reviews at its Hollywood premiere, and then premiere at Malaysia before arriving in Chennai. To add to my excitement was Kaarthik's video journals, short videos posted on Facebook. These videos had brilliant visuals and equally enrapturing texts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The screening was at NFDC's premiere screening facility in the city, Tagore cinema, inside Music college campus in RA puram. It was a quiet opening for an outstanding film. The version that we were being shown that day was a truncated 100 minute verson.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The film for most part is located at the serene home of the Kaarthiks, called Kaavadi, located near Pondicherry. The beauty and serenity of Kaavadi and the immaculate, charming grace of the lead actress Ashwini form the backbone of the movie. The film unfolds as a chain of beautiful visuals, accompanied by wonderful mix of carnatic and western music and dramatic segments of preformative lyrics and movements. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The slips in the Plot</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the first few minutes, the viewer is let in on the central plot of a son in search of his father. The viewer also gets to know that the father is away on a journey and is expected back anytime. With these cards set out on the table, there is very little to hold the interest of the viewer. This probably is the weakest point of the movie. The viewer is left to munch in on the beautiful visuals as they unveil, and patiently wait for a twist or a turn that could get him hooked to the narrative. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, few attempts are made at keeping the viewer interested, like opening out on why the Boy had to leave his father and quite later around the question of whether Parvathi had a role to play in the breaking up of the boy's parents. But somehow these potential suspenses fizzle out before they can build enough tension in the audience, probably due to some misgiving in the way the sequences are being played out. The Director pans in and out between the present and the Past, and somewhere the steam fails to pile up enough pressure. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the other hand, there’s also the potentially interesting
plot of a play that is taking shape within the movie. The characters are shown working
on the conception and rehearsing the nuances of what should go into this play, and the
film concludes with the staging of this play. Somewhere this
potentially interesting plot is also squandered in the panning in and out of sequences. We
are left with relishing glimpses of some brilliant and beautiful moments from the Ramayana being rehearsed to some enticing Bharatanatyam accompanied by Sanskrit
poetry set to tantalizing music. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this context, </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sanskrit being upheld as a Devabhasha, sounded a bit cliched. However, i start getting a feeling ( after watching <a href="http://vjsagar.blogspot.com/2019/06/blog-post_15.html">Urubangam </a>play and listening to a few renditions in this movie) that Sanskrit does come across as the language best suited for theatre, and theatre is identified with the Devas in the Natyasastra and it is probably in this context that Sanskrit is touted as Devabasha.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Magical moments</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recounting some of the magical moments, Kris and Valli straying in on the rehearsals of the Characters of Janaka and Kousalya, played respectively by Masters of the art, Balagopalan and Bragha Bassel, was a moment of lilting poetry. Kris and Valli, played respectively by Christopher and Sudharma, rehearsing the Lava and Chandraketu sequence is another flash of brilliance, but these end up being beautiful transient moments that just pass by the viewer without actually engaging him. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Director has done a brilliant job of getting these professional dancers to emote naturally for the camera. Ashwini, who plays Parvathi, aces it by looking completely at ease with camera, her presence on the screen is very graceful, composed and reassuring. Narendra, who plays Parvathi's husband fails to connect in some sequences, and aces it in the others. Christopher and Sudharma evoke a natural and friendly bond. It's a joy to watch their camaraderie reflect in the gentle professional competitiveness that's subtly visible in their trying to edge each other over in brilliance of performance. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholXaBLWqwOOlkYO3lcz6KgHx-mV-e4STLnasQO8m_X1RN1DF6WzZbC2V6vx4kNWmhO6x4m6mh7wMNm6pcexxLcdywn8ntLJAOkiHEgOS1W4flOANlCruzHIaDnmiY0_AKZLPA162RC7Y/s1600/HFV3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholXaBLWqwOOlkYO3lcz6KgHx-mV-e4STLnasQO8m_X1RN1DF6WzZbC2V6vx4kNWmhO6x4m6mh7wMNm6pcexxLcdywn8ntLJAOkiHEgOS1W4flOANlCruzHIaDnmiY0_AKZLPA162RC7Y/s320/HFV3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kris and Valli</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The actor playing Jon looks vulnerable in the scenes he appears without his little guitar. And in the scenes with the guitar he looks like a possessed person. The actor who plays Jon's wife has an air of easy wickedness about her. Thankfully, she is wicked only to the extent of wanting the best for her son, in this film. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fine Tunes and lines</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Music is the throbbing soul of the film that keeps the spirit of this film together. The director has found his best foil in Vedant Bharadwaj in hitting the right mix of carnatic finesse and the breezy flow of western music. It would be an injustice to call this fusion, as the two distinct styles are treated in their natural plane and retain their distinct grace and spontaneity. The voices of Vedanth and Bindu Malini add zing and verve to the music. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While JeremeyRoske's voice and Vedanth's guitar stand out in the 'fire and ice' song, 'Santana Tillana' is a beautiful coming together of Vedanth's breezy rendition of a thillana and Jeremy's tapping rendition. The marathi song brings to the fore Bindu malini's magic, while the Hemavathi song is a brilliant ground for Karthik's lines. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqbbOO6UF99PVWj3xB8RTNwVyqz_jUp1Pjs5E32AG5_FZA1jVG5XawoX2kn8bJQChhtOJExAjZqV0jTenpVzOvdZPzhfi45_aGN1TscqzPQtZFqXYLcknxa5KwFQqh1uC94N87Ie8YgQ/s1600/HFV2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqbbOO6UF99PVWj3xB8RTNwVyqz_jUp1Pjs5E32AG5_FZA1jVG5XawoX2kn8bJQChhtOJExAjZqV0jTenpVzOvdZPzhfi45_aGN1TscqzPQtZFqXYLcknxa5KwFQqh1uC94N87Ie8YgQ/s320/HFV2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karthik, Ashwini and Vedanth pc: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hisfathersvoice/?tn-str=k*F">HFV</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kaarthik's lyrics works at different levels- at times they bring out the hidden emotions of the characters to the fore, and at others they play the guessing game with the viewer. Talking of enaging the viewer, Kaarthik's dialogues are truly a delicious aspect of the movie. It keeps lifting the narrative and the mood up whenever there is a tendency to sag. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The dialogues keep reverberating across as the craft of an intelligent mind at work. Valli quizzing her parents about their attitude towards Jon was an interesting case in point. Karthik bounces question off at his characters to give us a feel of their mental make up. Whereas Parvathi's response reflects her maturity, her husband's response to Valli's quizzing reflects his attitude towards life. Kris' response on the bus to a stranger quizzing about his whereabouts reveals his temperament. There are few lines that so very perfectly fall in place that one takes a moment off to applaud the dialogue writer. There were also a couple of moments where the dialogues sounded a bit unnatural and oddly formal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were a couple of moments when the director steers things clear without resorting to dialogues. For instance, Valli reassuring Kris, when he is down, with the roll of her eyes was a very cute gesture. But when it gets repeated on more than a couple of occasions it gets a bit odd.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Three pillars</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, there were three things that lifted the spirits of the movie from sagging into a chain of brillinat sequences. The Hemavathi song with it's bordering on the ecstatic mood gives the movie it's first big push. The baby shower song brings in a new energy to the film with it's fresh perspective. and the final 'Fire and ice' song gives the movie a fitting close on a positive high.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The baby shower song also ends in a beautiful painting by Ashwini ( she graduated from JJ school of arts), Mumbai), my favorite among the ones featured in the movie.There's a moment in the act of painting, when a stroke of paint on the canvas is captured at close up, revealing the beautiful texture of the canvas, transforming it for a magical moment into a dyed fabric. These are moments that reflect the deep love that the artist in Karthick has for his muse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The setting of the movie is filled with aesthetically done spaces adorned with beautiful paintings and sculptures. A cute little Skanda easily wins hearts. It's also a reflection of the karthiks' spiritual sojourn that we see portraits of Ramanar prominently displayed, pointing to their preferences over the Aurobindo influence that is prominent in that region. Also not to forget the simple and appealing costumes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a movie that needs to be celebrated by the dance and music community of Bharatanatyam performers and fans alike.And to the others, this movie could mean soulful music, brilliant visuals, interesting dialogues and an immersive experience in Bharatanatyam. </span><br />
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-6719923716862874032019-06-15T05:21:00.002-07:002019-06-15T05:35:06.338-07:00தியேட்டர் நிஷா- உருபங்கம் நாடகம் <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
தியேட்டர் நிஷா- உருபங்கம் நாடகம்<br />
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தியேட்டர் நிஷா சென்னையில் இயங்கிவரும் நாடகக் குழுக்களில் ஒன்று. இக்குழுவைப் பற்றி அறிமுகம் செய்யும் வேளையில், சென்னையில் இயங்கி வரும் பிற குழுக்களைப் பற்றியும் ஒரு சிறு அறிமுகம் செய்ய இது ஒரு நல்ல தருணமென தோன்றுகிறது. ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட தளத்தில், அதாவது தியேட்டர் நிஷா இயங்கும் தளத்தில் இயங்கும் பிற குழுக்கள் என் நான் கண்டும் கருதும் சில குழுக்களை மட்டும் இங்கே காணலாம்.<br />
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இக்குழுக்களை நான் 'காஸ்மோ' குழுக்கள் என்று அழைக்கிறேன். இவை தமிழ் மண்ணில் வேரூன்றி இருந்தாலும் இவற்றின் பார்வை, அழகியல், மற்றும் இயங்கு முறை உலகலாவியதாக உள்ளன. ஒவ்வொரு குழுவுக்கும் ஒரு அடையாளம் இருப்பதாக நான் கருதுகிறேன்.<b> துஷ்யந்த் குணசேகரின் கிரியா</b> குழுவின் நாடங்களில் சிறந்த மேலாண்மை இருக்கும். இளையதலைமுறையின் ரசனைகளுக்கு தீனி போடும் விதமாகவும், அவர்களை சுண்டி இழுக்கும் அம்சங்கள் நிறைந்ததாகவும், வணிக நோக்கில் விளம்பரங்கள், பரப்புரைகள் என்ற சிறந்த கட்டைமைப்புடனும் கிரியாவின் நாடகங்கள் அரங்கேறுவது ஒரு தனிக் கலை. மேலும் கிரியா, பல கல்வி நிறுவனங்கள், கார்ப்பரேட் நிறுவனங்கள் என்றும், பிற குழுக்களுடன் கூட்டு முயசிற்ச்சிகள் என்று நாடகம் குறித்த ரசனையை, திறமையை வளர்ப்பதில் முக்கிய பங்காற்றி வருகிறது. <b>ராஜிவ் கிருஷ்ணனின் பெர்ச்</b> குழுவின் நாடகங்கள் இலக்கிய அம்சங்கள் நிறைந்தவையாக, ஆழ்ந்த கருத்துக்களை இலகுவான தளங்களில் பதித்து செல்பவையாகவும் உள்ளன. <b>மேஜிக் லன்டர்ன்</b> குழுவினரின் நாடகங்கள் அனைத்து தொழில்நுட்ப வகையிலும் சிறந்த முறையில் செப்பனிடப்பட்டவையாக, ஒரு திரைப்படத்திற்குரிய நேர்த்தியுடன் அமைந்தவை, நிகழ்த்து முறையில் பல சோதனைகளை தொடர்ந்து செய்துவரும் குழு இது. <b>தியேட்டர் ஸிரோ</b> வின் நாடகங்கள் நம்மை வயிறுகுலுங்க சிரிக்கவும், மனம் துளிர சிந்திக்கவும், நிகழ்த்துக்கலையின் சாத்தியங்களால் நம்மை மெய்மறக்கச் செய்பவை. காஸ்மோ குழுக்களில் முன்னோடியென்று கருத்தக்கூடியவர்கள் <b>மெட்ராஸ் ப்லயேர்ஸ்</b>. இவர்களது நாடகங்கள் ஒரு வித பிராட்வே அழகியலை மென்னுணர்வுகளைப் பறைசாற்றுவதாக இருக்கும்.<br />
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இந்த காஸ்மோ தளத்தில், <b>தியேட்டர் நிஷா</b>வின் நாடகங்கள் சற்றே தீவிரத் தன்மை கொண்டவை. புராணங்கள் (பெரும்பாலும் வடமொழிப் புராணங்கள்) மீதும் அவற்றின் நாயகர்களின் காவியத்தன்மையை மிகைப்படுத்துவதன் மீதும் பெரிதும் மோகம் கொண்ட குழு என்று கூறலாம். இந்திரா பார்த்தசாரதியின் அவ்ரங்கசீப் நாடகத்தை நிஷா குழுவினர் அரங்கேற்றிய போது பார்வையாளரின் மனம் பெரிதும் கதை மாந்தர்களின் உருவாக்கத்தின்பால் லயித்தபடி இருக்கும், இதுவே இன்னொரு குழுவின் அரங்கேற்றத்தில் அந்த நாடகத்தில் சொல்லப்படும் அரசியல் கருத்துக்களின் பால் லயிக்கும்.<br />
தியேட்டர் நிஷாவை தோற்றுவித்த பாலா அதன் முதுகெலும்பு என்றால் அவர் தோற்றி வளர்த்த இந்தக் குழுவின் இளம் நட்சத்திரங்களை இந்த உருபங்கம் நாடகம் மூலம் ஜொலிக்கக் கண்டது, மற்றும் இக்குழுவின் பிரதான அங்கமான சக்தி ரமணி இயக்குனராக மலர்ந்து ஜொலிக்கக் கண்டது இன்றைய நிகழ்வின் முத்தாய்ப்புகள்.<br />
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முதன் முறையாக சக்தி ரமணியின் மேடைத் திறனை நான் நேர்காண முடிந்தது ஒரு குருநாடக விழாவில், ( 2016 இல் என்று நினைவு )அவர் அரங்கேற்றிய, தீவிர உடல்அசைவுகள் மேலோங்கிய நிகழ்த்து பாணி நாடகத்தில் மூலம் தான். இன்றும் அந்த நிகழ்வதிர்வின் நினைவுகள் ஒரு தகிக்கும் ஜோதியாய் என் மனதில் ஒளிர்விடுகிறது. அன்று முதல் அவரது செயல்பாடுகளைத் தொடர்ந்து கவனித்த வண்ணம் இருந்துள்ளேன். இன்றவர் இயக்குனராக மலர்கிறார் என்ற செய்தி மிகுந்த ஆவலைத் தூண்டியது. முதல் நாள் முதல் கட்சியே பாஸாவின் உருபாங்கம் மேடையேற்றத்தைப் பார்க்க சென்று விட்டேன்!<br />
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நாடகத்தின் களம் என்னவோ நிஷா குழுவினரின் வழமையான வடமொழிக் காவியம், நாயகனின் தீரத்தின் மிகைச் சித்திரமென்று விரிந்தாலும் சிறு சிறு புது உத்திகள் புது அனுபவத்தை தந்தன.<br />
குறிப்பாக நாடகத்தின் தொடக்கத்திலிருந்தே ஒலிக்கத் தொடங்கும் விஷ்வா பரத்தின் தப்பொலி நாடகத்தின் ஒவ்வொரு கனத்தையும் மெருகேற்றியபடி கூடுதல் ஜீவன் சேர்த்தபடி வளர்கிறது.<br />
விஷ்வா பரத்தின் நடனமைப்பு , ஒயிலாட்டத்தின் அசைவுகளை நினவுப் படுத்தின அவை நாடகத்தின் நிகழ்த்துமுறைக்கு கூடுதல் தீவிரத்தையும் தொடர்ந்து கவனத்தை ஈர்க்கும் ஒரு வேகத்தையும் தந்தன.<br />
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நான் கண்ட பிரதி காட்சியில் ஒளி அமைப்பு பல இடங்களில் சரிவர அமைக்கப்படவில்லை. பல நேரங்களில் நடிகர்கள் இருட்டில் நடிக்கும்படி ஆயிற்று .<br />
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நாடகத்தில் வடமொழி, தமிழ், ஆங்கிலம் என்று மூன்று மொழிகள் கையாளப் பட்டுள்ளன. அங்கிலத்தை தவிர்த்து தமிழையே ஆங்கிலப் பகுதிகளிலும் கையாண்டிருக்கலாம் . அது நாடகத்தின் உணர்ச்சி தீவிரத்திற்கு மேலும் வலு சேர்த்திருக்கும் என்று தோன்றியது. ஆங்கில பிரயோகம் அந்த உணர்ச்சியோட்டத்தோடு சிறிதும் ஒட்டவில்லை.<br />
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வடமொழி பிரயோகம், இசையோடும் , நிருத்தங்களோடும் சிறப்பாக கை கூடியுள்ளது இந்த நாடகத்தின் வெற்றிகளில் ஒன்று.<br />
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ஒவ்வொரு நடிகரும் தன் பங்கை மிகச் சிறப்பாக நிகழ்த்தியிருந்தார். எந்த ஒரு நடிகரைமட்டும் தனித்து குறிப்பிடுவது மிகவும் கடினம். துரியனாக பாலாவும், அஸ்வத்தாமாவாக சக்தியும் மிளிர்வதை குறிப்பிடாமல் விடுவதும் கடினம். அந்த அளவுக்கு ஒருவரை ஒருவர் மிஞ்சும் விதமாக சிறப்பாக நடித்திருந்தனர்.<br />
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இருப்பினும் ஓரிரு நட்சத்திரங்கள் அவை வானில் புதியன என்ற அளவிலும், அவற்றின் தனி துடிப்பாலும் கவனத்தை ஈர்த்தன.<br />
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காட்சி அமைக்கப்பட்ட உடல் அசைவுகளுக்கு ஒரு நடிகரின் உடல் வாகு பொருந்தாத போதும், உடல் வாகு கை கொடுக்கத் தவறியதை மனதின் தீரம், மற்றும் கீர்த்தியின் வலிமைக் கொண்டு சமன் செய்து பிற நடிகர்களுடன் இணை செய்த ஒரு நடிகர் என் மனம் கவர்ந்தார்.<br />
தால ஒலி தொடையில் தட்டி எழுப்ப வேண்டிய காட்சியில், ஒலி கூடுதல் வரும் பொருட்டு தன் தொடைமறைக்கும் ஆடையை விலக்கி தாலம் தட்டி சீரொலி எழுப்பிய நடிகரின் ஈடுபாடும் பிரயத்தனமும் என்னை வெகுவாகக் கவர்ந்தன.<br />
காந்தாரியின் வேடம் அணிந்தபெண்ணுக்கு அமைக்கப்பட்ட நீளமான துகில்களுடன் கூடிய நடன அமைப்பு ஒரு தனிச் சிறப்பு.<br />
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இந்தப் புதியவர்களின் பெயர் அறிய ஆவல் கொண்டு நாடக முடிவில் வழமையாகச் செய்யப்படும் கலைஞர்கள் அறிமுகத்திற்க்காக காத்திருந்தால்,<br />
பெரும் ஏமாற்றமே மிஞ்சியது. நிஷா குழுவினர் இந்த வழமையைக் கைக்கொள்வதில்லையாம்!!<br />
இது தவறானது. புதுமை செய்கிறோம் என்று பார்வையாளர்களை இருட்டில் விட்டுவிடுகிறார்கள். கலைஞர்களின் அறிமுகத்துடன் மட்டுமே ஒரு நாடக நிகழ்வு முழுமைப் பெற முடியும். பாலா, சக்தி, மீரா போன்ற கலைஞர்களுக்கு அறிமுகம் தேவைப்படாது, ஆனால் புதியவர்களை அறிமுகம் செய்யாமல் விடுவது அவர்களுக்கு இழைக்கப்படும் ஒரு வித அநீதியாகத் தோன்றுகிறது.<br />
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துரியனின் மனதை விளக்க முனையும் நாடகத்தின் ஆசிரியர் பாஸா , பாண்டவர்களையும் கிருஷ்ணனையும் தனி பாத்திரங்களாக படைக்கும் அவசியமில்லாமலே நாடகத்தில் அவர்களின் சுவடுகளை ஆழப் பதியச் செய்வது, ஆசிரியன் வெற்றி காணும் இடங்கள்.<br />
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தொடர்ந்து நல்ல காவியங்களையும், புதுக் திறமைகளையும் நமக்கு அறிமுகம் செய்யும் நிஷா குழுவினருக்கு வாழ்த்துக்கள். </div>
Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223344169351337930.post-76003323246745709972019-06-12T13:17:00.000-07:002019-06-12T13:31:53.336-07:00எழுத்தாளனைக் கொண்டாடுவது - 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
எழுத்தாளனைக் கொண்டாடுவது - 2<br />
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சென்னையில் 8 ஜூன் 2019 அன்று பெருந்தேவியின் முன்னெடுப்பில் அரங்கேறிய பூமணியை வாசித்தல் என்ற ஒரு நாள் நிகழ்வை குறித்தும் அது என்னுள் கிளர்த்திய சிந்தனைகள் குறித்தும் இங்கே பகிர்ந்துட விழைகிறேன்.<br />
சமீப காலமாக புத்தகங்களை ( நாவல்களை தான்... இது வரை ஆங்கில நாவல்களுக்கு தான் இந்த வாய்ப்புக் கூடியுள்ளது .. Milkman வாசிப்பில் ஆழ்ந்த போது தொடங்கியது இந்த அரிப்பு ) வாசிக்கும் போது அருகே ஒரு தாளை வைத்துக்கொண்டு குறிப்புகள் எடுப்பது என்பது வாடிக்கையாகி உள்ளது. தமிழ் நாவல்களில் அதிலும் பூமணியின் எழுத்துப்பரப்பில் ஆழ்ந்தவர்களிடம் நாம் கற்றுக்கொள்ள நிச்சயம் ஏதும் இருக்கும் என்ற ஆவலில் இந்நிகழ்வை எதிர்நோக்கினேன். பெருந்தேவியின் ஆளுமையை நேரில் கண்டுணர வேண்டும் என்றும், மொழிப்பெயர்ப்பாளர் கல்யாணராமன் அவர்களை சந்தித்திட வேண்டும் என்ற உப ஆவல்களுடன் வழக்கம்போல் இந்நிகழ்வுக்கும் நேரம் தாழ்ந்தே சென்றடைந்தேன்.. கல்யாணராமன் பேசி முடித்திருந்தார்..<br />
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நான் கேட்க்கும் வாய்ப்பு பெற்ற பெருந்தேவி, காசி மாரியப்பன், பெருமாள் முருகன், ராஜன்குறை ஆகியோரின் உரைகள் பெரிதும் அகாடெமிக் நெடியுடன் கூடியிருந்தன. ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட கலர் கண்ணாடியை அணிந்துகொண்டு படைப்பை அந்த குறிப்பிட்ட பார்வையினூடே அலசுவது என்ற ஒரு சலிப்பூட்டும் அணுகுமுறையை தேர்ந்து கொண்டனர். இந்நிலையில் ஒவ்வொரு உரைக்கும் பின்னான கேள்வி பதில் நேரம் சற்று சுவாரசியமாகவும் உரையின் மீது மேலதிக வெளிச்சம் பாய்ச்சுவதாகவும் அமைந்தது. குறிப்பாக கல்யாணராமனின் கேள்விகள் சிறப்பான குறுக்குவெட்டுகளாக அமைந்தன. அவரது நிதானித்த தெளிந்த பார்வையை புலப்படுத்தின.<br />
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பெருந்தேவி, பூமணியின் படைப்புகளில் அலைதல் என்ற ஒற்றைத்திரியை தேர்ந்துகொண்டார். அவரது உரை அலைதலின் அழகியல் என்ற ஒற்றை இழையை மிகவும் சுவாரஸ்யமாகவே பதிவு செய்திருந்தது. அனால் உரையின் முடிவில் கல்யாணராமன், அலைதலினால் உண்டாகும் நிச்சயமின்மை முதலிய இடர்களை சுட்டியபோது தான் பெருந்தேவி உரையில் இருந்த மிகப்பெரிய வெற்றிடம் புலப்பட்டது. பெருந்தேவி அலைதலின் அழகியல் என்ற ஒற்றை பரிமாணத்தை மட்டும் romanticise செய்து உள்ளது விளங்கியது. இது போன்ற கல்விப்புலன்சார் கட்டுரை நோக்குகளில் உள்ள பெரும் குறையும் வெளிப்பட்டது. பெருந்தேவியின் உறையினூடே 'கொம்மை' நாவல் பற்றிய பகுதிகள் இந்நாவலின் கிராபிக் சாத்தியக்கூறுகளை மனக்கண் முன் நிகழ்த்திக் காட்டின.<br />
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பெருமாள் முருகன் எழுப்பிய 'பொருள்வகை முரண்' யாருக்கும் புரிந்ததாகத் தெரியவில்லை. ஒன்று மட்டும் விளங்கியது,அதாவது மார்க்சிய எழுத்தாளர்கள் தங்கள் கதை சொல்லும் நீதியை தனியே கதையின் முடிவில் எடுத்துரைக்கும் வழக்கம் கொண்டிருந்தனர் ஆனால் பூமணி இந்த வழக்கத்தை பின் பற்றவில்லை, மாறாக பூமணி கதையின் மைய ஓட்டத்தின் நடுவிலேயே தனது நீதிகளை பதிந்து விடுவார் என்றார் பெருமாள் முருகன்.<br />
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காசி மாரியப்பனின் உரை, பூமணி படைப்புகளில் 'வெளி' என்ற சங்கம் தொட்டு தொடரும் ஒரு ஆய்வுப்பார்வையின் வழியே விரிந்தமைந்தது. அவரது உரையின் முடிவில் பெருந்தேவி எழுப்பிய , அதென்ன அகம் என்றால் பெண்ணுக்கும் புறம் ஆணுக்கும் என்ற நியதி என்ற கேள்வி 'வெளி' என்னும் தளத்தின் மீது ஒரு புதிய பெண்ணிய வெளிச்சத்தை பாய்ச்சியது.<br />
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ஒவ்வொரு கேள்வி நேரத்தின் போதும் யவனிகா, பூமணியின் படைப்புகளில் ஜாதி வெளியின் சித்தரிப்பு பற்றி, தொடர்ந்து கேள்வி எழுப்பியபடி இருந்தார்.<br />
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ராஜன்குறை தனது உரையில் பூமணியின் படைப்புகள் அன்றாடம், வரலாறு என்ற இரு வெளியினூடே எப்படி விரிகின்றன என்று விரித்துரைத்தார். அவரது உரை கேட்டு உடனே மனதில் பதிந்து விடும் விதமாக இல்லை. இது போன்ற உரைகள் முன்னரே பதிப்பித்து ஒரு பிரதியை பார்வையாளர்களிடம் தந்தால் மட்டுமே அவற்றை குறித்து ஒரு உரையாடல் உருவாக முடியும்.<br />
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ஸ்டாலின் ராஜாங்கத்தின் உரை மிக சிறப்பாக பூமணியின் படைப்புகள் எவ்வாறு அந்தந்த காலத்தின் மாறிவரும் அரசியல் தொடர்ந்து பதிவு செய்து வந்துள்ளது என்பதை அஞ்ஞாடிக்கு முன்னான இரு நாவல்களின் வழி அழகாக எடுத்துரைத்தார். 'பிறகு' நாவல் 60களின் பெருங்கனவுகளின் சாத்தியங்களையும் ; 'வெக்கை ' 70களில் வளர்ந்து வந்து நக்சல் முதலிய அதிருப்தி பிரிவினரின் அரசியலையும் பதிவு செய்துள்ளதை உரையில் எடுத்துரைத்தார்.<br />
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வழக்கம் போல் கேள்வி நேரத்தில் இவரிடத்திலும் ஏன் பூமணியின் படைப்புகளில் ஜாதிய சித்தரிப்புகள் மறைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன என்ற கேள்வி எழுந்தது. இதை ஸ்டாலின் அவர் வகுத்த பார்வையினூடாகவே சிறப்பாக அணுகியிருக்கலாம் என்று தோன்றியது. அதாவது 90களில் இருந்தே ஜாதி அரசியலில் பிரதானம் பெறுகிறது அதற்க்கு முந்தைய அரசியலில் அப்படியில்லை , அது போலவே பூமணியின் அஞ்ஞாடியில் ஜாதி சித்தரிப்புகள் மேலோங்கி நிற்கின்றன அதற்க்கு முந்தைய நாவல்களில் அப்படி இல்லை என்றொரு விளக்கம் எனக்கு ( ஸ்டாலினின் உரையின் மூலம்) தோன்றியது.<br />
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தனது ஏற்புரையில், இது போன்ற ஒரு நிகழ்வை சாத்தியப் படுத்த அயல்நாட்டில் வசிக்கும் ஒரு பெண் வரவேண்டியிருக்கிறது என்ற நிலையை நொந்து கொண்டார். தனது நாவல் ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு கண்டிட நாற்பது வருடங்கள் காத்திருக்க வேண்டியதை சுட்டி நொந்து கொண்டார். தனது ஏற்புரையை சுருங்க முடித்துக்கொண்டு கேள்விகளை வரவேற்றார். தான் தலித் எழுத்தாளன் என்ற அடையாளத்தை முற்றிலும் மறுப்பதாக தெளிவுப் படுத்தினார். பி கேசவதேவின் அண்டை வீட்டார் தனக்கு பிடித்த நாவல் என்று கூறினார். பூமணி கருவேலம் பூக்கள் என்ற படத்தை இயக்கி உள்ளார் என்பது கேள்வி நேரத்தின் போதே எனக்கு புலனாயிற்று (இந்த திரை அனுபவத்தைப் பற்றியோ அவரது மொழிபெயர்ப்பு பணி பற்றியோ உரைகள் இல்லாதது இந்நிகழ்வின் ஒரு குறை) . மேலும் அவரது வெக்கை திரைப்படமாகிறது என்றும் அறிந்தோம்.<br />
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நிகழ்வின் தொடரிழையாக ஓடிய கேள்வி பூமணியிடமும் கேட்கப்பட்டது. black literature , black music போன்ற வகைமைகள் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட நிலையில், பூமணி ஏன் தலித் இலக்கியம் என்ற ஒன்றை ஏற்க மறுக்கிறார் என்று 'பேட்டை' தமிழ் பிரபா கேட்டார். இதற்க்கு, தலித் என்று ஒரு அடையாளமே கிடையாது, அது அரசியல்வாதிகள் உருவாக்கிய ஒரு மாயை என்று தான் கருதுவதாக பூமணி விளக்கினார்.<br />
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தட்டையான அகடெமிக் கட்டுரைகளே என்றாலும் துளைத்தெடுக்கும் கேள்விகள் மூலம் இந்நிகழ்வு ஒரு சிறந்த அனுபவத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியது. முந்தைய நிகழ்வு போன்று இங்கும் பெருந்தேவி தன்னை முன்னிறுத்திக் கொள்வதில்லை என்பதில் அதிக கவனத்துடன் செயல்பட்டது குறிப்பிடத் தக்கது.<br />
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Vjsagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746573295111914925noreply@blogger.com0