Married to the art
ANJANA RAJAN
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Uma Vasudevan on life for an Indian classical dancer in Montreal.
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I was the kind of dancer whom you teach, and I dance.
Dialogue with dance Uma Vasudevan in New Delhi
Bharatanatyam dancer Uma Vasudevan, a granddaughter of the legendary vocalist T. Mukta and grandniece of T. Balasaraswati, carries her legacy and her responsibilities with ease. Based in Montreal, Canada, Uma, not surprisingly, has named her school f
or Indian classical arts Naadham, after the cosmic sound. Nadam is, after all, the soul of music, and music is the soul of dance, as exemplified by her illustrious forbears.
In Delhi for performances, Uma says that in her 15 years in Canada, she has found the local population more than willing to see and learn Bharatanatyam and related art forms.
Her audiences and students are not limited to the expat Indian population. “The people there have been exposed to the Indian arts attend our programmes,” she relates.
About to conduct her 10th arangetram (debut solo performance) in December, Uma mentions proudly that she has presented a French Canadian student too in an arangetram. Uma admits to a particular satisfaction in the event, because the dancer was very good at abhinaya (interpretative dance). A mother of two, she imbibed the heavy classical abhinaya pieces from the traditional repertoire not all are capable of, says the teacher. Normally she trains students for eight years before presenting them as soloists.
Despite the sizeable Indian population, however, North America remains a far cry from Chennai, Tanjavur and other cultural hubs that nurtured Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.
In performance.
“I do miss the scene,” admits Uma, who visits India once in three years. “Not so much the performing, but learning, and watching others dance.”
Still, teaching in the West has its own challenges and rewards. Though Uma has so far not been tempted to choreograph Western themes or sources, she feels she may consider it in future.
Like many of her counterparts, she realises her own tradition requires more thinking about than she had done when she was in India. “I was just a dancer whom you teach, and I dance,” she says candidly.
Teaching abhinaya poses difficulties. “Lots of people don’t know about, say, Krishna and all the other stories. Some find it difficult to relate to Krishna stealing butter, going to many women, etc. I have to be careful in conveying it.”
Varied training
Uma, who trained under Gurus S.K. Rajaratnam Pillai and Kalanidhi Narayanan in Chennai, started as a child under Gurus P.M. and Jayalakshmi Arunachalam. She later learnt nattuvangam under Kamalarani of Chennai.
In Canada professional musicians for dance are hard to come by, says Uma. For arangetrams, not every NRI family can fly in musicians from India. “Sometimes sponsors help. Sometimes we share.”
Organisers also help in various ways, she adds. Perhaps it’s just as well she is married to mridangam artiste G. Vasudevan. It helps to be married to the art!
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