“It (beauty) is a fragile thing that can only live where fragile things are loved. Take it away from this valley, and you will see it fade like an echo”
— James Hilton, Lost Horizon
Sutra is one place where art exists without the frills that usually come with it — a place where one could immerse in art forgetting all else. That in today’s world is a luxury.
It is a journey of an artiste called Ramli Ibrahim. Sutra, his brainchild, is where diverse art forms cohabit; where art meets art without inhibition. The place also seems magical because of the lack of hierarchy — every department, be it lighting, graphic designing, choreography all co-exist, without a vertical hierarchical pyramid.
It was truly interesting to watch the creative process unfurl at Sutra. At the break of dawn, music wades through the rehearsal space. Sometimes it would only be Poornama (Sutra’s pet dog found on a moonlit night) listening to the notes when Siva, the artist and lighting designer walks in. Students enter on the dot and the warm up exercises begin with the dogs and cats watching all the activity in progress. Most of these pets were brought into Sutra by Ramli and Siva, when these animals were abandoned.
Sutra’s philosphy of harmony extends to food too. It is the cauldron not only for the arts but for artistes to try out their hand at various cuisines. If mustard oil from Orissa wafts into the cooking one day, then it is the rich Malay herbs the very next and not to be left out, I brought in the aroma of Madras and Palakkad cooking! There is so much of a learning even as the teaching progresses with constant exchange of ideas, ranging across disciplines — lighting, cinema, music, language, books, painting, cuisine, artefacts, costumes, cats, dogs, fish....in short about everything.
Ramli has lent a distinct Malay flavour to his cultural oeuvre. The core of his artistic vision is freedom of expression. After 35 years of existence, Sutra has not lost its charm. I did not have to wait long to discover the secret behind it — Ramli inspires love and affection and reaches out to everyone, on and off stage. A reason why he loves to drive to Malacca or Kajang to conduct outreach programmes.
Says Guna, a principal dancer at Sutra, “Ramli is a giver. Though he is the main artistic director and choreographer, he allows us to blossom through a process of discovering and learning both the art and ourselves.”
Ramli makes Sutra not just a place, but an experience to be carried back home for every visitor.