The life of most music and dance lovers revolves around the cultural calendar. They keep close track of performances and festivals, and travel far and wide to catch presentations and shows.
The pandemic has completely changed all that. There’s no travel and the annual dance and music events have all gone digital. “Despite the crisis, we were keen to reach out to rasikas and not disappoint the many youngsters whom we offer a platform in our annual series,” says ‘Mridangam’ Shankaranarayanan. The 100th concert of his academy featured Vivek Sadasivam’s vocal performance in an online format.
Sustaining art
Veteran Kathak dancer Uma Dogra, whose Samved Society of Performing Arts hosts Raindrops and the Pt. Durgalal Festival every year in memory of her guru, has also taken to the digital platform, inviting both young and senior artistes to participate. “Digital or real, I believe we have to encourage the practice of pay-and-watch. How else can we sustain art and help artistes pursue their creative work,” asks Uma.
Uma Dogra
“I know the experience will not be anywhere close to watching a live performance in an auditorium, but I have prepared myself mentally to accept the new normal and move on,” she says.
Both Raindrops and the Pt. Durgalal Festival will feature artistes who had performed in earlier editions. “I have asked them to send a new or pre-recorded piece from a recent performance. Though we need not step out to put together events for the digital platform, it is not easy at all. It requires perfect tech inputs to make performances look sleek.”
Odissi exponent Daksha Mashruwala and her disciples at Kaishiki Nrityabhasha presented the annual Guru Poornima programme online this year. “These youngsters are learning to rediscover space. I told them to perform in their homes and link the pieces into a cohesive whole,” says Daksha.
Says senior dancer-guru Lata Surendra, who is known to curate performances that bring together artistes from diverse genres, “I have always tried to project the connect between dance and life through unique themes in my annual festivals.”
Shifting focus
‘Ode to Humanity’ was the first mega virtual festival she curated during the lockdown. “With over 80 dancers and varied dance forms from across the world, I sought to define the human spirit and its ability to go beyond limitations,” says Lata, who presented the popular EKAM festival too on the digital platform.
EKAM, featuring veteran and young artistes, was a blend of dance, music and poetry.
Though senior Odissi dancer-guru Jhelum Paranjape has decided to postpone her annual Sanjukta Panigrahi festival held every August, she along with her disciples paid homage to the late exponent with a nearly 12-hour performance.
Jhelum Paranjape
“We need funding to organise such festivals. With very few sponsors and many artistes undergoing financial crisis, I decided to reschedule the event,” says Jhelum. “The pandemic has forced us to shift our focus to more urgent issues such as raising money for indigent artistes and offering solace to those feeling lonely and disturbed by the lockdown.”
Tech help
Well-known harmonium artiste Sudhir Nayak is thankful to technology for bridging the artiste-audience gap during the lockdown. Along with a few other enthusiasts, Sudhir has been presenting events under the aegis of organisations such as Kala Coast and Village Music Club.
“The huge number of online events is taking away from the true purpose of art during a global crisis. We need to offer something beyond the routine. People now have the time to understand the intricacies of an art, so why not do something to that effect,” says Sudhir.
He feels offering a decent honorarium to the performers is equally important, but appears difficult in this situation. “Let us contemplate on these issues to bring about necessary changes,” he adds.
The Mumbai-based author writes on music and dance