To learn an art form requires a student to have a set of qualities -- wonder, innocence, patience, respect to the guru etc. Likewise, there are also certain qualities that should not surface a student’s mind. ‘The desirable and undesirable bhavas of an ideal shishya’ is being explored through a Bharatanatyam production by Sneha Narayan, a budding Bengaluru-based classical dancer.
Sneha Narayan, currently a disciple of senior guru B. Bhanumati, is all-set to release her second online Bharatanatyam album, Patha. “Patha enlists qualities to be imbibed for receiving in-depth knowledge in the arts. Will a student be able to learn with ahankara (arrogance)? Or pure bhakti (complete surrender) is the only way? This production is an attempt to reiterate the age-old truth that ‘false ego/pride’ would ruin the journey of a seeker and to seek truly is to, first, let go of it,” explains the young danseuse who depicts the same through six self-choreographed items.
Beginning with a Saraswati shloka, the production depicts a shishya who desires to learn Bharatanatyam. “By narrating a number of stories from mythology -- of Ravana, Kalidasa, Jatayu and Krishna -- the production showcases how bhakti, perseverance, passion and letting go of arrogance, would lead one to the learning path.”
The production, conceptualised by Sneha, is choreographed exclusively for the virtual album. “The online version is mainly to reach a wider audience who do not get to watch many Bharatanatyam productions. As students abroad and in remote areas depend a lot on content available on the internet, it is to bridge this gap that I am coming up with online albums,” informs Sneha, who would later be performing some of these pieces in traditional settings as well.
“Only if the student takes lessons with humility, will he/she be rooted, confident and content. Therefore, the path of complete surrender to the art form only would be meaningful and fruitful in end. In the one-hour-long production, I explore the challenges to achieve this bhava,” explains Sneha, who has been listed as an ‘A’ grade artiste recently by Doordarshan.