MY FESTIVAL
Not to have gizmos was a boon
Talking about festivals then and now means tracking the transition from one era to another. Technology has made a vast difference to sound, visuals and presentation.
Though there were no hi-tech recorders, DVDs, cell phones and sleek mikes during my learning years, when I used to enjoy the Season only as a rasika, life was quietly beautiful. People had time to "stand and stare."
That mellow Madras is a charged up Chennai now. The change may be exciting but in the process often quality seems to lose out to quantity.
While there is a great deal of diversity and fresh approach to dance presentations, there's also the danger of compromising the specific idiom and character of the form. Of course, technology has several advantages. Advance recording techniques have made it possible to play and replay every nuance of the performance and analyse every line and posture.
This offers scope for correcting and understanding one's flaws, but I have always considered the lack of such technological aids during my early years a boon. For the simple reason we learnt to fall back on our imagination, think independently and evolve our own styles.
I remember going to sabhas with a tiffin carrier and sitting through three or four concerts at a stretch. Sabha-hopping was not known because the festival was not unwieldy in size and content. Besides, you could never think of leaving an M.S., MLV, a D.K. Pattammal, Madurai Mani Iyer or Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer concert halfway through.
That Music Academy performance of Balasaraswati is still clearly etched in my mind (the year she was conferred the Sangita Kalanidhi). The hall was packed, there were people sitting in the aisle. I watched in awe Balamma sing and dance the phrase, "Vaari" (from "Unnai Toodhu Anippinen") in myriad ways. She had the amazing capacity to make dance a sublime visual and aural experience.
I think when you are exposed to the highest standards, you invariably become more discerning and appreciative of the true aesthetics of the art. I feel as an artiste it is my responsibility not to play to the gallery but reach out and take the audience along with me to explore the power and beauty of Bharatanatyam.
Despite the changing profile of the art scene, the Margazhi festival is truly an international phenomenon. Life literally comes to a standstill and nobody seems to mind. No matter where I perform, it is only here that I want to premier my new work. It is only here that I am inspired and challenged to grow as an artiste.
(As told to CHITRA SWAMINATHAN)
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