Before i tell you my story ,i seek your prayers & wishes to pass through these two forthcoming concerts in Bangalore.
1.Bharathanatyam solo by Nirupama Rajendra for Bangalore Habba on 18 th January at Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan Race Course Road.
2. Kathak & Bharathanatyam choreographies of ABHINAVA ensemble on Jan 21 st for Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha at Purandara Bhavana,Indiranagar.

My story :

Art is our life . To reverse it & live Life as Art is nice as a concept,beautiful to read & hear from great spiritual masters  , but to live it in actual is something else, like arjuna standing in the middle of kurukshetra bewildered,
 i am right now in the kurukshetra of life,torn between dharma as a daughter & karma as a dancer.

Everybody knows that good art requires focussed time , dedicated efforts & above all a high spirited mode of being.Since dance is a medium to sharing immense beauty , joy & emotions & makes use of the body mind & spirit as the instrument it's all the more challenging when the tuning of the instrument gets disturbed.

My dearest mother who loved life so dearly is now slowly losing it.She is hospitalized for past ten days with complications.As a result,we have been in unpredictable situtations ,l we have been iterally living in the  hospitals ,constantly talking to doctors , managing nurses.

I am sure many have people have been in such situations of having to experience the suffering of a loved one but the challenge  here is that with this background we have to be in an inspired mode to deliver quality art .

Initially like Arjuna i withdrew from performances but I realize I am incomplete without dance.

I am so grateful to our friends , students & family members for their loving support in this juncture.
I am hoping to draw my strength from all your wishes & do the performances.
I don't know how far i will be successful but at least I have your prayers.

Thank you.
-Nirupama  Rajendra

 

Performing solo on Sep 29th at DHAATU-Bangalore was a true blessing as it was much more than a performance. It was a life changing enriching experience for me . It was a perfect set up to realize my yearning to take Abhinaya to the next level & perform the same with a new understanding.

While the special NatyaShastra classes by Ganesh Sir  had opened me to details of the Saathivika Abhinaya ,the performances of  Dr.Padma Subramaniam & Mantap Prabhakar had greatly inspired me & deepened the desire to explore abhinaya in those dimensions.

In the recent performance,i was able to explore emotions & situations with loka dharmi specially in scenes of present day celebrations of Ganesha festival on the streets of Mumbai & other cities.Emotions of various characters & situations gave a lot of scope for Saathvika Abhinaya in the Varnam " Hidako bidabyada" - very well tuned & choreographed by Paddu Akka .In nagumomu of Sri ,Thiagaraja I portrayed Sita in Ashokavana ,thinking of Rama's beautiful face &  In the Tillana I showed the Kavadi celebrations.

Best part was that I did not rehearse any of these with the musicians , I only explained the situation & tried it all out directly on stage !

I must say it is one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCES because i was NO MORE MYSELF....I HAD DISSOLVED IN THE SITUATION...
I could feel sita & enjoyed being sita..i could feel Krishna & enjoyed being krishna  , i loved smiling like Rama & walking like Rama.
I enjoyed being in another time ...another space ..another era !!!

 

Creativity is the quality one brings to an activity , it is an attitude, an inner approach.
Creativity means loving whatsoever one does , enjoying, celebrating it - OSHO

We consider ourselves creative artists using classical dance as a media to realize our visions, our dreams , our LOVE.
Dance is not just a performing art ,but CELEBRATION OF LIFE !

We believe -Artist creates out of noble purpose of sharing Joy & Aesthetics with the world.
Artist tears himself to bring in excellence in every aspect.All efforts an artist makes is for the LOVE of Art & NOT for any benefits of Fame or Finances.
The Art lover relishes it, enjoys it & participates in the celebrations .
Everything is beautiful ,audiences go into raptures & even honor the performances with standing ovation.

While both the artists & Art lovers are still enjoying that bliss comes disappointing reviews in the newspaper which is the reason for my scribbles.
It has raised some questions  & emotions in me.
This is my response to the recent review/article/reports given in some newspapers & online portals on our production Kathakitathom that was staged recently in Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore.

Questions :
Do the reviewers have any clue at all of the work ? its vision ,purpose, process ,effort ,challenges?
A work that takes herculean efforts for two years ( of making) & number of hours of vigorous practise is covered as an average , mediocre report in the review & given to the millions of readers !!!
What is the purpose of any review/report if it cannot feel the depth of the work.
Where does the vision of reaching quality art to the world stand when critics do not recognize the worth of a work.
How do all those million readers who did not come to the program feel the same joy that the whole auditorium experienced if  they read an ordinary report ?

As it is there is such limited interest for classical arts & when good creative energies flow through new works why are the eyes & hearts of critics not receptive ?

CAN ART CRITICS BECOME FRIENDS OF ART ?

It would be great if the reviewer could be part of the creative process of a new work before writing about it.
Then he can be more empathetic towards Art.

Whether the works gets published or not DOES NOT MATTER.
What matters is that it will lead to deeper understanding of the work.

Nirupama & Rajendra

Creativity is the quality one brings to an activity , it is an attitude, an inner approach.
Creativity means loving whatsoever one does , enjoying, celebrating it - OSHO

We consider ourselves creative artists using classical dance as a media to realize our visions, our dreams , our LOVE.
Dance is not just a performing art ,but CELEBRATION OF LIFE !

We believe -Artist creates out of noble purpose of sharing Joy & Aesthetics with the world.
Artist tears himself to bring in excellence in every aspect.All efforts an artist makes is for the LOVE of Art & NOT for any benefits of Fame or Finances.
The Art lover relishes it, enjoys it & participates in the celebrations .
Everything is beautiful ,audiences go into raptures & even honor the performances with standing ovation.

While both the artists & Art lovers are still enjoying that bliss comes disappointing reviews in the newspaper which is the reason for my scribbles.
It has raised some questions  & emotions in me.
This is my response to the recent review/article/reports given in some newspapers & online portals on our production Kathakitathom that was staged recently in Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore.

Questions :
Do the reviewers have any clue at all of the work ? its vision ,purpose, process ,effort ,challenges?
A work that takes herculean efforts for two years ( of making) & number of hours of vigorous practise is covered as an average , mediocre report in the review & given to the millions of readers !!!
What is the purpose of any review/report if it cannot feel the depth of the work.
Where does the vision of reaching quality art to the world stand when critics do not recognize the worth of a work.
How do all those million readers who did not come to the program feel the same joy that the whole auditorium experienced if  they read an ordinary report ?

As it is there is such limited interest for classical arts & when good creative energies flow through new works why are the eyes & hearts of critics not receptive ?

CAN ART CRITICS BECOME FRIENDS OF ART ?

It would be great if the reviewer could be part of the creative process of a new work before writing about it.
Then he can be more empathetic towards Art.

Whether the works gets published or not DOES NOT MATTER.
What matters is that it will lead to deeper understanding of the work.

Nirupama & Rajendra

We are sooooo happy to share with you our privilege of having Legendary Dancer ,Scholar Padmabhushan Dr.Padma Subramaniam & renowned Sanskrit scholar Dr.Shathavadhani .R.Ganesh at our studio doing a weeklong shibira ( workshop) offering insights into Natyashastra- the Ancient Indian Scripture on Dramaturgy.