Director: Kumar Shahani
Year: 1991 “The point is, no film can be made on other arts as
if it were some sort of social scientific question. You have to
transform and violate the other art to some extent; through
juxtaposition and montage, you violate the unity of that particular
work, and you have to, because unless you do that you cannot achieve a
kind of transcendence. As Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra said of my film, it
is not a film ‘on’ him, but something which goes beyond him and beyond
gestures; it is an interpretation.”
– Kumar Shahani.
With this post, i reach the second mile-stone in my Blog, the 200th post.
On the 8th November, 2017, the
Indian Government celebrated as the Anti-Black Money Day (people on the other
side of the political divide observed it as a Black Day). High denomination
notes of Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 (almost 86% of the money-supply) were de-monetised
on the 8th November, 2016.
After this event, i had published 3 blog-posts
titled ‘Dhan ki Baat I, II and II on the 8, 9th and 10th January, 2017.
I had been following reports on the effect of
this de-monetisation and i was wavering on whether it was beneficial or harmful
for the country; however, the scale in my mind was tilting in favour of this
decision.
On the 8th November, 2017,
newspapers carried reports of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement
that demonetization was an “ethical and moral step”. The Opposition Parties led
by Congress, a ramshackle party which failed to secure even 10% of the seats in the Lok Sabha in 2014 elections, to claim the position of Leader of Opposition, observed the day as a Black Day. One may dismiss as a mere
power-play, what the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said on the subject.
But when the seasoned economist and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who
became the P.M., courtesy the Congress President Sonia Gandhi (The journalist
Sanjay Baru book on him is titled ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’.) branded
demonetization as “an organized loot and legalized plunder”, one would have
taken notice. But it seemed that his economic analysis was coloured by the political
situation in which he has placed himself. The United Progressive Alliance led
by Congress and supported by C P M -Communist Party of India (Marxist) - was in
power from 2004 to 2014, with Dr. Singh as P M. Its uncharitable critics dubbed
the coalition as having 3 PMs: P M (Dr. Singh), C P M and an ‘S P M’ (Super P M
Sonia Gandhi as Chairman of the specially created for her, the National
Advisory Council).
However, the reasoned editorial of The
Economic Times of the 8th November 2017 analysed the overall picture, took a balanced view and decided
my view of de-monetisation. The first sentence of the editorial stated, “On the
first anniversary of de-monetisation, it is unambiguously clear that the
project has been a resounding success. It sent out a clear message that the
government is determined to clamp down on black money and is prepared to take
unorthodox measures for the purpose. … The government would now go after benami
property.” Most black money is held as real estate, gold and other assets. The
editorial went on to say that even most of the amount held in cash came back
but at a cost to the black money holders; they had to employ people, directly
or indirectly, to deposit the money in banks. And this has left a trail which
the authorities are investigating.
I regularly watch Classical Indian Dance recitals on DD Bharati, telecast at 3 PM everyday. A few days ago, i chanced upon, on this TV channel, a presentation of Sattriya dance by Anesha Mahanta. I liked the presentation very much. So, i searched for more about her in You Tube. And here is video which was the result of my effort:
Here is a sample of her expert presentation of this dance form:
Andhra Natyam is a folk dance of Andhra Pradesh. It is reported that efforts are being made to obtain for a classical status.
Andhra Natyam is a classical dance form originating from the Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh. This traditional dance form, having a history of
2000 years, was lost in the Mughal and British era, and was revived in the
20th century.This dance form is
essentially performed by females, characterised by rich footwork and Abhinaya.
The musical instruments accompanying the dance include mridangam, manjira,
veena, the violin, venu, tanpura, surpeti and kanjira.
It is derived from various dance forms and
has strong similarities with Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam, including older dance
styles like Dasiattam, Kacherittam and Chinnamelam. Though it originated in
temples, it was also performed by the courtesans known as kalavantulu in
Telugu, open-air public performances known as Kalopam are a part of
Andhra Natyam.
I watch the classical dance programme telecast by DD Bharati in afternoons every day. Whenever i like a particular presentation, i note down the name of the artiste and later, i watch her/his dance numbers on You Tube and sometimes, find out more about the dancer from Google. One day, in a programme produced by Door Darshan, Mumbai, Subhada Varadkar was the danseuse. I very much liked her presentation.
Here is one:
Subhada first started learning Bharatnatyam. Then she learnt Odiss dance under the tutelage of the legendary Odissi dance Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra of Odisha. She was amazed by the nuances and subtleness of Odissi dance.
From Google i came to know that she had survived an attack of ovarian cancer! The following is extracts from this.
Source: Google - The Times of India
During a performance in London in November 2006, Shubhada began to feel uneasy. "I was bleeding but assumed it
was a regular menstrual problem since there was no pain." She flew back to India
the next day and underwent a sonography. Her doctors were surprised that she had danced with such a large tumour, not even complaining of pain. She was 40 at that time.
Subhada's grandfather, Dr V R Khanolkar was the first dean of Tata Memorial's Cancer Research Institute.
Although she was not allowed to practice, she conceptualised her dance, lying in bed.
The reports came and these showed that she had
two tumours, one in the ovary and another in the uterus. Fortunately,
both were in the primary stage.
In January 2007, she started chemotherapy. She would schedule
performances keeping the chemotherapy and radiation sessions in mind. She used to lock the dates for performances three weeks after chemo, because, by
then the blood count would be back to normal.
While undergoing weekday radiation sessions, she used to perform on weekends.
She tried to bring in positive rhythms in her body and mind. "Cancer
treatment isn't just about access to the best drugs or therapy. It's
also about how positively your body responds to treatment. Your state of
mind plays a huge role its cure," Subhada adds.
The four chemotherapy sessions she underwent between January and April 2007, left her vulnerable.
Being a dancer meant that she had to be physically fit and look
presentable. She was losing her hair, and even her eyebrows. The
medication made her hands and feet go numb. While dancing, balancing the
mukoot on a wig with nothing to latch on was a challenge. Her mother
crafted a special toupee that could be tied behind the ears.She was determined that she would dance and afraid that if the truth about her health became known, she might not get any performance.
Later, months after her last chemotherapy session and when she was recuperating, Subhada stopped hiding her cancer-survivor status. In 2008, she met another cancer patient who was finding it hard to accept the truth. The impact she made on the other, encouraged her to take up awareness as a cause, especially among other artists. She spreads such awareness about the disease.
"Early in 2008, I met a fellow cancer patient who was having a hard
time accepting the truth. I tried to motivate her by using myself as an
example. The impact I was able to make on her encouraged me to take up
awareness as a cause, especially for the artist community," she adds.
With dance being her only language of mass communication, she now
routinely gives performances to spread awareness about the disease, communicating that although the cancer-treatment is difficult, it is curable.
She has written a book titled 'Mayurpankh' narrating her struggle and ultimate triumph.
My post titled 'Goddess of Odissi Dance' dated 29.09.2012, is about the legendary Odissi danseuse Sanjukta Panigrahi of Odisha who made Odissi dance what it is today. When she was at the height of her dancing career, she was diagnosed with cancer and succumbed to it in 1997 at the age of 53.
