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`There is a timelessness to it'
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Madhvi Mudgal and Prathibha Prahlad speak on their work and the present-day dance scenario
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PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM
SHINING STARS: Prathibha Prahlad and Madhvi Mudgal striking the right pose
Dance is a tough profession. By the time one understands the nuances of the form, the body can't cope with the physicality of it. Odissi danseuse Madhvi Mudgal and Bharatanatyam exponent Prathibha Prahlad, who represent the more thinking, intellectually inclined and articulate classical performers, are comfortable talking about themselves, their work and the present-day classical dance scenario with Alka Raghuvanshi.
Prathibha: I have often been asked how valid is classical dance today but it is so unnecessary, for arts can't be discussed in terms of validity, for they are as valid as breathing and their validity is forever! Until there is a need in someone to experience that rasanubhuti, they will remain valid and relevant. When we depict universal emotion, there is timelessness to it.
Madhvi: Who can say that Krishna is not valid today? It is rasanubhuti, which is valid for all times - for it is distilled to perfection. It is a continuous expression for they are an intrinsic part of one's psyche. Then people wonder whether we get bored doing the same themes over and over again. It is interesting that as one matures, one's understanding of a particular piece deepens and grows, and the way one might perform the same piece evolves with us. The way I did the piece at 20 or or 40 or 50 will markedly differ. Parampara has to change for it to grow.
Prathibha: Exactly. Each and every dancer enriches tradition. And yet there is this unwritten pressure that the onus of enriching tradition be on performers and gurus. I don't call myself a guru. It is too much of a responsibility. I like to teach six or seven students individually. I teach them pieces that I don't perform myself, so that I don't lose my cool when they don't perform it well. But what I do find challenging now is abstract choreography.
Madhvi: The sanskaras that I have inherited insist that I pay the `Guru rina' by giving it back to society that one can. Unfortunately the Odissi form is so nascent that it is still in the process of developing a pedagogy and formatting it does take a lot of effort and energy and of course responsibility. You change and so does your understanding. The desire to share the lyricism and subtlety of the form is acute and that teaching then becomes a pleasure.
Prathibha: It is sad that we have inherited a rather fragmented and destroyed dance scene. It is sad that perception about the dance scene is so warped. We have had to do some amount of clearing up to carve a niche for ourselves.
Madhvi: Despite popular notion, I too have had to work very hard for making my place. I actually paid the price in reverse discrimination. Despite the fact that my father, Pandit Vinaychandra Maudgalya used to be in so many committees, I never got any programme from those organisations. But things have changed so much. Youngsters today have many more opportunities than we could even dream of.
Prathibha: It is also heartening that youngsters are conducting themselves with greater dignity and not competing in a disgusting way for programmes.
Madhvi: I think there is enough room under the spotlight for the really good performers. Instead of looking only at the Government for patronage, what we really need is discriminating audience who in turn can provide the much needed sustenance.
Prathibha: Isn't it interesting that both of us have flirted with other disciplines before settling down to our respective forms? Madhvi, you trained in Kathak initially and architecture and I am a post-graduate in mass communication. Unfortunately the education system in our country doesn't make it possible to pursue dance on a full time basis. Besides, my parents never believed I would make it as a dancer. They insisted that I get a post-graduate degree, before I could even contemplate dance as a career option. And shall I tell you, the first piece that I wrote was on twins (her two sons are twins). I even worked as a production assistant in Bangalore Doordarshan to pay for my dance training. How about you?
Madhvi: Dance and music were an intrinsic part of my growing up. So it came naturally. There was no forcing but it was just assumed that one would take up either dance or music. I was fortunate to get a wonderful guru in Kelubabu (Kelucharan Mohapatra) and he really helped me discover as to what was right for me physically and spiritually. I think you have to go through the pangs of exploration until you find what is intended for you. And my training in architecture is coming in handy now in my choreography, for the sense of space.
Madhvi: You are far removed from the quintessential image of the conventional Bharatanatyam dancer. Are you uncomfortable with this tag?
Prathibha: Far from it. I am a natural rebel. I value my freedom with all my being and I have had to suffer the backlash against myself by the conventionalists who have tried to bring disrepute to me at every step. But it is okay. Life is a long game. I have made my own rules and lived by them. And paid the price for it.
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