Coming full circle - Part 2

Mother's side of the family is musical.  All daughters of the house were given lessons in Carnatic Classical music.  Amma was also trained in playing the Veena, considered to be one of the hardest instruments to master.  Amma would often quote her guru saying that it was "kabbiNada kaDale".  She reminisced how thatha (her father) loved to sit on the veene peTTige (box used to keep the Veena when not in use) when she took lessons or practiced.  I know what you are thinking: 'sit on the box'!?  Yes it is a very sturdy box made of teak wood, not like the flimsy ones we get these days made of plywood.  When I got a Veena for my home here a few years ago, I was thankful that the veena reached home in one piece, given how the lid of the box was misaligned and the nuts and bolts already off, but then it had to be something lighter to bring on the plane anyways.  I digress . . . the point is that we grew up listening to Amma's everyday songs.  I remember Appaji enjoyed listening to his sisters-in-law sing.  He even had a few favorites like "shubha nuDiye shakunada hakki", and "nityotsava".  Although there was little scope for Amma to continue her music in her married life, the bug had been successfully passed on to the next generation.

We children came in quick succession and it took a few years for Amma and Appaji to make the move to a town from the village happen.  Grateful for Amma's persistence to move to Shimoga for the sake of  children's education.  It was actually right after the move that I was born, the last one of four.  Being born and to grow in a town that is culturally that rich was a blessing.  I was enrolled for classes in light music around age 7 or 8, started off with "gaNapati neeDalu abhayaa, kaaryagaLella vijaya" followed by many other bhaktigeetes, bhavageetes, desha bhakti geetes and jaanapada geetes in the next few years.  I tried my hand at playing the Veena for four years, training under Guru. Prabhakar in Shimoga. 

Almost every summer was spent with cousins.  Mother's younger sister's residence in Mysore became summer home of sorts.  Chikkamma and chikkappaji are both connoisseurs of the arts.  Chikkappaji is a huge proponent of Hindustani Classical music.  Naturally their son was training in tabla and daughter(almost the same age as me) in vocals.  I used to enjoy sitting through their lessons whenever I was there.  "Eri ali piya bina" in raag Yaman still brings back gushing memories.  I remember asking my cousin one time, if I could be her saathi during her concerts when we were all grown up, only to be disappointed to learn that you need to be trained to do that too.  I realize now what a privilege it was to bring  coffee, tea and snacks from chikkamma's kitchen to the large living room, to the many legendary artists during the whole night concerts that were arranged at their house.

Fast forward a few years . . . if you read Part 1 already, you can fill in what happened in those few years.  M was 6 and S was 4.5 years old, when I brought them to Smt. Kumkum Sanyal for music lessons.  Strict disciplinarian that she is, Kumkum-ji agreed to take them, on one condition!  They would be on a probation, especially S because she was so little.  She said she would continue only if she found that S can sit through the class, hold the attention and respond in a favorable way.  S was by then used to sitting through and watching M's hour long dance classes, and she did that with intent, so I was confident.  She went on to become one of Kumkum-ji's favorite and affectionate students.  She couldn't read yet, but she could sing.  Every time she sang, Sa, Ve (yes, that is how she pronounced it at the time), Ga, Ma in perfect tune, I felt a lump in my throat and my lips automatically stretched to a smile.  That is how the Tuesday evening commute to Marlboro began.  It  went on for the next 4-5 years as the girls practiced and explored Raags Bhupali, Yaman, Alahiya Bilawal, Khamaj etc . .  Thanks to organizations like NEKK, VSNE, and local temples, they had plenty of opportunities to perform and showcase their learning and get performance experience.



Early learning days, Boston, 2005

In 2011, life brought Surmani. Sri Dattatreya Velankar in our path and 'commute-less' music lessons via Skype was what was in store.  One of the most generous and spirited souls I have met, he takes interest in the overall upbringing of the children in addition to teaching them music.  This past summer was an incredible time for the girls filled with dance and music.  Thanks to him, they had a unique opportunity of recording a CD of sixteen vachanas, Kannada verses by notable 12th century Shiva Sharanas.  We were able to give back to the family what we had received from them.  The same vachanas we had listened to in our elder's voices were now on the CD in my children's voices.  Chikkappaji also arranged for a small concert, with their guru accompanying them on the harmonium.  So grateful that the girls got to sing in front of chikkappaji, chikkamma, akka's family, friends and music lovers and most of all, nirODy couple!  Truly blessed!

Concert in Mysore, INDIA, 2014

Coming full circle - Part 1

There were a few dancers in the family for inspiration: an aunt (mother's younger sister - Dakshayani/Daksha chikkamma), a cousin (mother's older brother's daughter - Sudha/akka), another aunt (father's younger brother's wife - Shakuntala/Shaku chikkamma) and another cousin (father's older brother's daughter - Indira/akka).  I remember seeing Daksha chikkamma dance to "aaDa pogoNu baarO ranga".  Sudhakka  had given me her baitale boTTu that is made of all white stones.  I have treasured it, the metal is rusty now.  I remember Shaku chikkamma getting ready for a performance in Shimoga, she was a mother of three little boys.  Indrakka had done my hair and makeup for a performance in the ganapati penDaal in Chennappa Layout Shimoga..  I had performed  Ganesha Kautukam and Jathiswaram.The sonTada paTTi she gave me during my last  trip to India finds home in my  treasure box. 

Many connoisseurs of the arts in the extended family and growing up in the Malnad area, rich in culture and heritage all played a role in paving the way.  I am also told that I owe it to my older siblings for noticing the talent in me and urging the parents to enroll in formal lessons.

State Level Competition in Tarikere

Dance School Annual Day in Shimoga

My training in Bharatanatya started when I was six, under Guru. Sri. M. R. Krishnamurthy in Shimoga.  He taught me the rigor and discipline, laying a clean and solid foundation with adavus.  Classes were three to five times a week.  I walked 15 mins each way to class at his humble abode in BasavanaguDi from Jayanagar 1st cross where we lived at that time.  He was old and lost his eye sight, but, I remember, he would hit the cane with such precision, just inches away from our feet if there was a mistake.  I must have had this good fortune for about three years, by when he passed away.  Training continued under his daughter Pushpa for another year.  Later I joined Guru Sri. Ravi Datar's well established dance school in Shimoga, with role models like Smt. Usha Datar and Geetha Datar who are my Guru's siblings.  This time it was a 15 min bicycle ride to class with uniform, green salwar and white dupaTTa.  Many performances, travel opportunities, prizes, accolades, myriad  experiences, some wonderful, some not, all happened in the following years.  But what remains etched in memory is the pure joy experienced while dancing.  Every summer, as the extended families all got together, it was dance that I brought to the mix at the family talent shows.  After about ten years of dancing, like it was for most students back then who entered 10th grade, academics took precedence over everything else.  Somehow dance never came back on the fore front since then,  until . . . . .

My newly wed husband reminded me to pack the few pictures that were there of my dance journey as I left home to take flight into a new world with him.  He believed more than I did that I would resume dancing.  On his insistence, I danced for him to "mella mellane bandane" on the Sakur Plateau in Lonavala on our honeymoon :-)  We were quick to connect with people with similar interest in the far away land and find opportunities to rekindle the dancing spark.  Made some wonderful dancer friends and rehearsed for occasional performances, albeit far and few between, since I was also pursuing a Masters Degree, starting a career in Engineering and starting a family.

Two little angels entered our lives!  It was but natural that I did not want to deny them the bliss I had experienced with pure dance.  To want something is one thing, but then for it to actually happen, the universe has to want it too.  Or perhaps like Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."  We found Guru. Smt Sridevi Thirumalai.  Thus started the 45 mins drive each way to Natyamani School Of Dance, twice a week.  And watching hours of practice at home.  The children developed liking for the art form.  They were willing to do what it takes to consistently train for about 8-9 years and blossom into mature dancers as they gracefully did the Rangapravesha this past summer in Mysore, India.  In a state of the art auditorium, the stage decor was simple and elegant with hanging diyas and strings of real jasmine flowers!  Lord Nataraja was watching over them from one side and the musicians and the Guru supporting them on the other side.  As I watched them perform the Pushpanjali, Jathiswara, Thillana in perfect sync and execute their guru's intricate and creative choreography, narrate stories like pros in the Varnam, Padams and Javali, my heart overflowed with joy and gratefulness.  All dancers in the family I mentioned earlier, except for Sudhakka watched them perform.  I'd like to believe she did too, from up there.

The stars all aligned and we were in Shimoga for their performance on a cool monsoon Friday evening, in Kuvempu Ranga Mandira.  A week prior to their performance, I heard of another program, Noopura Utsava 2014, organized by Pushpa Performing Arts, where the students of my first Guru's daughter's dance school were performing.  I brought the girls to watch Noopura Utsava where I saw this with the rest of the decoration on the stage.
 

Guru Sri M. R. Krishnamurthy

On the same stage, a week later, the girls performed in the presence of my parents, many relatives and friends who reminisced about my performances decades ago and blessed my daughters all the same.  The children have a stories of their own now and I hope they will write so I have them to read when I am old and frail.  Who knows, some day my grand children might chance upon this blog post and find it amusing :-)

Nrutya Sambhrama @ Kuvempu Rangamandira in Shimoga

A well spent Sunday afternoon

Inspiration this time came from a friend at work who collects blankets for projectlinus.org  A couple of friends and their daughters joined hands with me and my daughters this past Sunday and we made four no-sew fleece blankets that I will be dropping off later in the week.  Thanks to all of them!

Bonus!  M and S baked and decorated this cake for us to enjoy at the end.

Circle in a square pillows.

 

 

I loved this pattern available on the Red Heart website.  I used the same colors specified in the pattern and was very happy with how they turned out.  It added a splash of colors to the family room.  Quoting a friend's comment "The cushion covers are very vibrant colors welcoming warmth and happiness in your family room!"

 

M had fun weaving in the ends, joining the pieces and tucking in the pillows once the squares were done.