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A PHILOSOPHICAL BEND Purushartha looks at human dilemmas

Everything seems to be happening in the reverse for Jayachandran Palazhy, the artistic director and brain behind Attakalari. While most dancers make a name in their own country and then try to perform in foreign lands, for Jaychandran it has been the other way round. He has conquered the world and is now trying to seek the attention of connoisseurs back home. Of course, his name is synonymous with Attakalari. This time he is in the news because he is presenting his “precious” creation Purushartha in the city “for the very first time!”.

Purushartha has been staged in Europe, Japan, Germany, Italy, Holland and Venice, but has never been presented on the Indian platform. Why? “Because we got neither technical nor financial support. Purushartha is a collaboration with Japanese artistes — Naoki Hamanaka, Kunihiko Matsuo and Mitsuaki Matsunoto. “It’s an interactive technology, in that the movement of the dancer becomes the main data for the visual effect. It’s something to see and experience. A lot of technology is used in this work along with dance,” explains Jayachandran. “The work was also developed over the Internet over a period of time. Then we met to put our ideas together and the result is the current Purushartha, a 60-minute performance with eight Indian dancers,” says Jayachandran.

“Purushartha is an exploration of individual dilemmas. Purushartha is also an Indian philosophical content and talks about the pursuits of life — the four stages in one’s life. One is always desiring for something be it money, fame, lust or salvation. The desires are there and the list is long. This dance looks at the human dilemma that comes as a result of these pursuits of man,” explains Jayachandran, who then shows you a short promo of his work on his computer.

The music is high pitched with the constant beat of the kalari and the dancers dressed in black and white create slow, but strong lines in space while the walls and the floor get covered with varied digital images. It seems like a perfect union between the dancers and the technology — a moment where the physical and the virtual world meet.

Isn’t the music a bit too high pitched and doesn’t this visual effect withdraw your attention away from the dancer and the dance itself?

“No, you have to see it to believe it. The music is the contemporary Japanese noise music, which is very happening today. The work also is created to make you have a 3-D experience, which is not captured on the camera, but when you sit in the auditorium, you will experience a whole new world,” assures Jayachandran, who adds that he was a wee bit nervous about presenting a work that is “so loaded with technology. It will appeal more to younger people. Even the dancers come from varied backgrounds, so it’s like giving their own life experiences for the production. People have likedit because of its uniqueness. It has a good component of Indian philosophy performed by Japanese artistes with their own music, all this adds to the uniqueness of the performance.” About comprehending contemporary dance he adds: “This kind of dance is very new to India for we have not been taught to appreciate this kind of art. Whereas abroad there are many institutions teaching this kind of art, hence they are more familiar with it. It also depends on how much time we as people or artistes invest on a particular style or form.

There may also be difficulties in comprehending the movement language but our work is like an abstract painting where the audience will have to put in some effort to comprehend what is being said or done on stage,” he says.

Then his training in the “pure” kalari or Bharatanatya must be dwindling for it is all blended into a new language? “I no longer do a ‘pure’ Bharatanatya or Kalari but it is my foundation. It’s our cultural heritage and it cannot be destroyed. It’s the string foundation on which the contemporary dance is built on. A glorious past makes you richer. So an access to that classical past adds a richness to the contemporary,” he explains.

Jayachandran also believes that if a group stays together it also works better as the “bonding is better. It’s like the dancers know each other’s breath and can work better.” He also feels that India is a very happening place. “It’s the new darling of the world. The world is keen on discovering our country. We desperately wanted to perform in India but it was too difficult. Now it is possible because the Japan Foundation has sponsored the Japanese artistes.”

A pan Asian collaborative, Attakalari’s “Purushartha” is choreographed by Artistic Director Jayachandran Palazhy with Japanese artists Kunihiko Matsuo (digital arts and interactive technology), Mitsuaki Matsumoto (sound design and music composition) and architect Naoki Hamanaka (light and set design). It involves Bharatanatyam and Kalaripayattu.

Date and time February 13, 7.30 p.m.

Venue Music Academy

Donor passes Priced at Rs. 500, Rs. 400, Rs. 300, Rs. 200 and Rs. 100. Available at Landmark (Nungambakkam, City Center and Spencer Plaza), Raymonds, Gatsby Collections (Nungambakkam) and Music World (Anna Nagar and Spencer Plaza).

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