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Many Arts, Same Sky |
(The highs and
lows of the Vasanthahabba at Nrityagram) |
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Just as the hum of the veenas died down, and the smells from the makeshift food stalls
wafted up, classical dance gave way to motion. Fluid, smooth and different.
The Daksha Sheth troupe wiped away all traditional, classical and cliched moves in four
awesome Stages, that had the crowd applauding every strange motion. For Daksha Seth and
her musician husband Devassario, Nrityagram is |
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old and familiar terrain. In the early days of
Nrityagram, during the snakes, scorpions and tents scenario, they threw in their might.
Devassario's hands still wear the tell tale mark of a fire hastily put out. And almost in
defiance Daksha and her dancers set the amphitheatre on fire with live music support from
John Varkey's bluesy guitar and Tony John's stand-up drumming.
The sleek, unsmiling, male dancers, stretching every muscle to the limit, while the
unsmiling, female dancer Esha, Daksha's daughter keeping time in the true 'Kalaripayattu'
martial art style of Kerala, where Daksha has made her home.
The much wanted break comes at 12.30 a.m..."We shall break off for 40
minutes...there's biriyani available in the stalls"...says Arundathi, as the huddled
groups stretch their legs, but still reluctant to leave their seats. Outside the
amphitheatre, the teens look lost.
Riding all the way to be part of 'Vasanthahabba'. Riding all the way to see Talvin Singh.
"He's not coming..." say some. "He's here..."say the others. But for
middle-aged music lovers gathered here, the showstealer, the person-to-look-out-for, is an
unassuming, bearded, man who uses an instrument called the 'Mohana Veena'. For the
initiated, this is a slide guitar. For the rest, this instrument brought home
"India's only Grammy award". And for the initiated again..Pt. Vishwamohan Bhat
is accompanied by his son.
One hundred and ten magical minutes later, when Bhat rises to go, the otherwise staid
crowd, screams for more...They scream for "A meeting by the river"...The father
obliges the crowd, while the son looks on in amazement....fingers frozen. |
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Now, for the restless youngsters, who have stayed awake all night, there is only one kind
of salvation. They have drove, cycled, hitched a lift or tagged along to see one man. One
man who has set the English Dance Club circuit on fire. With an age- old indian
instrument. Talvin Singh and the tabla. With a little help from electronics. And he
doesn't dissappoint them one bit.
As the sun rises over the skyline, spilling orange-yellow morning light over starry-eyed
teens,
Talvin"Trance Tabla" Singh, and the kids who came to see him, signal the new
audience of the decade old 'Vasanthahabba'. Everything changes under one sky. |
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By Monu Surendran |
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