By NITISH S. RELE - [email protected]
In August 2004, Khaas Baat wrote about the Kronos Quartet�s CD, "You�ve Stolen My Heart: Songs from R D Burman�s Bollywood" with Asha Bhosle. Now, that album has been picked for a Grammy Award in the Category 73 (best contemporary world music album).
Of the 12 tracks on the album, Bhosle has sung eight, including the ever-popular Dum Maro dum (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), Chura Liya hai, (Yaadon Ki Baraat), Piya Tu ab to aaja, (Caravan), Mera Kuchh Saaman, (Ijaazat), and two Bengali songs.
The album is produced by the California-based quartet group, which is made up of David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jennifer Culp (cello).
Also nominated for Grammy are the two Shankar daughters: Norah Jones and half-sister Anoushka Shankar.
Jones was picked in category 8 (best pop collaboration with vocals) for the song �Virginia Moon� from the album �In Your Honor� with the Foo Fighters and Shankar in category 73 (best contemporary world music album) for the album �Rise.�
The 48th annual GRAMMY Awards, set for Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, will be broadcast live on CBS TV from 8 to 11:30 p.m.
For more information on the Kronos Quartet, click on www.kronosquartet.org
KIRAN AHULIWALIA�S ALBUM PICKED IN TOP 20 By NITISH S. RELE - [email protected]
Forget Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar for a change. The two half-sisters may be popular and well known in music circles but perhaps not enjoyable enough as Kiran Ahluwalia for Greg Kot.
The Chicago Tribune music critic picked the self-titled album by the Canadian singer as one of his top 20 music albums of 2005. �The native of India sings in a centuries-old style of romantic song known as ghazal, modernized into rapturous pop confections,� wrote Kot, while offering his reason for the 10-track album pick.
The 10-track CD, which mixes ghazals with Punjabi folk songs, is Ahluwalia�s first international release. Previously, she has had two CDs released in Canada. �I am quite happy that even people in Tucson, Arizona are buying my CD,� she says. �It�s very exciting to notice this as I continue to perform at concerts in places such as Boston, Chicago, and Madison, Wisconsin.�
A native of Bihar, Ahluwalia has studied classical music since she was just 7 years old. After immigrating to Canada with her parents, she spent nearly a decade visiting India off and on to learn classical music and ghazals from such maestros as Padma Talwalkar and Vithal Rao. �I had earned an MBA and even began to work as a bond trader in Toronto before I quit my job to become a full-time student of music,� she says.
Singing ghazals for Bollywood down the road has crossed her mind. �Sure, why not?� she asks. �Anyone who is Indian would say yes to Bollywood since the Bombay film industry offers a huge exposure. Besides, I am always open to any new experiences.�
Story provided by Krish Seetharaman
India Association of Tallahassee sponsored a dance ballet "Neeharika" presented by a group of artistes under the banner of RasaJhari, on Oct. 2 in R.A Gray auditorium. The proceeds of the show were donated to Katrina Relief fund.
The theme of the dance ballet was appealing in that the wisp of a cloud "Neeharika" questions the all-knowing Sun, about the purpose of life. The ballet represents the five elements of nature, sky, earth, wind, fire and the water. All these elements are constant while the emotional entanglements are fleeting.
Neeharika learns that her attraction to the Moon is not love but that her companion in life to accomplish her purpose is the wind. These two together in the finale shower to give life to the earth beings.
The music by Srinivas Kishore of Tallahassee is electronic and scintillating. The choreography by Subashree Narayanan of Jacksonville was appealing in abhinaya and succeeded in bringing out the simple and elegant lyrics in Hindi by Dr. Uma Eyyunni of St. Augustine.
The dancers traveling from Atlanta, Jacksonville and Tallahassee, (Gayatri Vasant, Sasi Arun, Manjula Chandran, Sangeetha Subramanian and Preethy Pynadyth) with supporting budding artistes, mainly based on Bharat Natyam style, offered a visual feast. The highlights of the show were the costumes, which had a touch of novelty added to basic Bharat Natyam style.
The electronic props and the animations provided by Sankar Krishnan and Krish Seetharaman of Jacksonville made the presentation appealing. All in all the show was short and sweet with a novel yet universal theme. RasaJhari is looking to perform in other cities of Florida in Hindi at present and in Telugu/Tamil and Kannada by the early part of 2006.
The ballet was re-staged in Jacksonville on Dec. 10 as part of fundraiser for Hindu Society of Northeast Florida. It was well received by the audience and everybody praised the show.
For show details, contact Dr. Uma Eyyunni at [email protected] or Krish Seetharaman at [email protected]
DANCE COLUMN SPOTLIGHT ON BHARATANATYAM: DANCE COMPRISES OF NRITTA, NRITYA AND NATYA By JYOTHI VENKATACHALAM
Bharatanatyam is an artistic yoga for revealing the
spiritual through the corporeal. It is the most widely
practiced of classical dance forms in India, which are
based on Natya Shastra the Bible of the classical
dance forms in India.
The term "Bharatanatyam" was introduced in the
mid-�30s by E. Krishna Iyer and later spread by
Rumkminidevi Arundale, and is thought to derive from
the four syllable BHAva (_expression) Raga (music)
TAla (rhythm) NATYAM (dramatic act or dance).
Bharatanatyam comprises of three aspects.
1. Nritta (pure dance, i.e. rhythmic elements);
2. Nritya (combination of Nritta and Natya);
3. Natya (dramatic art, _expression through gestures,
poses, mime).
Bharatanatyam used to be and is still mostly performed
by women dancers. In the first half of the 19th
century, Bharatanatyam was revitalized and redefined
by the contributions of four talented brothers known
today as the Tanjore Quartet: Chinniah, Sivanandam,
Ponniah and Vadivelu. They organized the basic
Bharatanatyam movements of pure dance into a
progressive series called Adavus.
A student first learns these adavus (basic) steps,
which are then combined into Jatis. Today, a recital
commences with the rhythmic utterances of voice and
drum in the invocation the Alaripu, both of blessing
and of welcoming. The dancer offers namaskar
(salutation) to the Gods above the head, the gurus in
front of the face and the audience in front of the
chest. This also is a warm-up piece to prepare the
body for the following hours of Bharatanatyam
performance.
Next, the dancer dances to the mood of the music in
the Jatiswaram in varied ragas with the swaras and
jatis in combined patterns. From the rhythm, she
swiftly moves into abhinaya or _expression in her next
dance called the Shabdam.She is now beginning to
transcend the technique. Through this Bahinayam or
facial _expression, she tells the tale of Rama or
Krishna or Shiva, but it must be told in a measured
and disciplined manner. It is in the Shabdam that the
dancer begins to show her knowledge and all that she
has assimilated.
It is after mastering this discipline that she dances
the Varnam, which is a living river that holds
together movement and interpretation. The Varnam is
the most important dance in a Bharatanatyam
repertoire. It is here that the dancer is tested for
her capacity to perform both abhinaya and nritta and
also for her tremendous strength of emotional
_expression and physical exertion required to perform
this piece. Because of the depth of thought necessary
in this item, the more mature the artist, the more
exciting it is to watch. The artist who is more
experienced will bring a fresh wealth of ideas to the
composition. It becomes so personal and intimate an
_expression that the one who sees often becomes the
one who seeks.
After the Varnam, the tempo of the performance slows
down. In the Padam, the dancer narrates _expression of
divine love or pathos or pangs of separation in love.
Padams have Nayak (Heroes, Supreme lover, Divine Lord)
and Nayika ( Heroine, The yearning soul). The heroine
will talk to her friend Sakhi) and narrate her
feelings towards the hero. Expressions are given
foremost importance while narrating these Padams.
The Tillana is usually the last item in any
Bharatanatyam performance where the dancer abandons
herself purely to rhythm and movement. It is full of
complicated movements and postures. It is mainly an
Nritta piece which might have meaningful lyrics at the
end for which abhinaya is shown.
With a prayer called the Mangalam, the dancer ends the
recital.
Training for Bharatanatyam took seven years under the
direction of great well- learned and dedicated Gurus.
If we approach Bharatanatyam with humility, learn it
with dedication and practice it with devotion to God,
the great beauties of this dance can be portrayed with
all the purity of the spirit.
Jyothi Venkatachalam, director of Abhyasa School Of
Dance, Club Tampa Palms, offers classes in Bharat
Natyam, traditional folk dances, Indian percussion
instruments (Mridangam, Dholak, Ghatam, Kanjira,
Morsingh and Konakol). She can be reached at (813)
977-9039 or (813) 404-7899 or via e-mail at
[email protected]
|
Contact Information
Anything that appears in Khaas Baat cannot be reproduced, whether wholly or in part, without permission. Opinions expressed by Khaas Baat contributors are their own and do not reflect the publisher's opinion.
The Editor: [email protected] Advertising: [email protected] Webmaster: [email protected] Send mail to [email protected] with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright � 2004 Khaas Baat.
Khaas Baat reserves the right to edit and/or reject any advertising. Khaas Baat is not responsible for errors in advertising or for the validity of any claims made by its advertisers. Khaas Baat is published by Khaas Baat Communications.
|