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Jiving to baby's day out
True stars of Mother's Day were the Indian kids of Atlanta, writes Meeta Chaitanya Bhatnagar.
Jiving to baby's day out
We may be on the threshold of Mother's Day weekend but true stars of the day were the young Indian guns of Atlanta, who regaled their parents and friends with their own brand of nifty creativity as they chimed in the momentous day at Atlanta's famed Georgia World Congress Center on Saturday, May 7.
The evening of dance and music, organised by Kumud Savla's Nritya Natya Kala Bharti, is part of an annually held programme that showcases the enormous talent and diligence of students of performing arts in one evening. The widely anticipated event began at 7.30 pm in Sydney J Marcus Auditorium amidst enthusiastic shouting and cheering.
This year's show was doubly significant because of the thematic fabric that held it together. With the mammoth backdrop of wrath and wreckage caused by the tsunami that altered the course of many lives in South India as also our neighbouring countries, this year's programme focussed on 'water' as the underlying premise of the presentation and meted out vast interpretations on water as purifier, water as nectar and water as the ultimate destroyer.
True to form, however, this strain was explored effortlessly and as a thought that imbued the individual pieces only marginally. In doing so, the organisers managed to retain the zealous spirit of the show and the hearty joviality of piecemeal performances, most of which were by children, five years and above.
The programme was divided into two individual segments, in sync with the mood of the evening. Amitabh Sharma, who emceed the event in part, led audiences into the day's events without much ado with the traditional diya ceremony that paid obeisance to the Gods. This was followed by performances in the pre-intermission first segment. The act was divided into four parts, the pre-intermission classical dance and contemporary dance performances, and the post intermission music and tabla recital, contemporary dance and the theme performance.
The first half was especially scintillating, thanks mainly to the enthusiasm of the children who graced the stage. A small group of tots danced to the classical montages, viz, Ganesh Vandana, Sakhee Madhur Madhur, Jhananana, KathakSargam, Kathak Tukda and Astha Naika with as much vim and ardour as can be expected of them. Adding electricity to their charged antics were their respective sets of parents, who were contained from jumping out of their seats and onto the stage, only just.
This happy mayhem went well into the contemporary dance performances, with the audience humming popular tunes as Mera babu Chhail Chhabeela, San sanana, Time to disco and Rang de as readily as the kids that jived to them.
The set of cheerful performers, too huge a multitude to be named here, drew strength form the support they received from a keenly receptive audience and went on to give some of the most nicely crafted and even deliciously ingenuous stuff.
It wasn't surprising, therefore, to see an 'artist' pose happily for his mom's shutterbug, much to the dismay of the rest of the troupe that, in any case, was looking out for its own kith and kin. Similarly, some renditions, such as Time to disco were applauded so heartily that performers refused to bid adieu to the stage and had to be ushered out by the emcees. The kids, who lost their belts and missed their steps, were chided but only by co-performers who invested their all in living a routine of a lifetime. The audience, of course, was more than bowled over by these naive mishaps, as cameras clicked and laughter roared.
Aside from the occasional hiccup, such as the lights going out at the exact moment the kids rolled in, or the frightfully funny lip sync faux pas by the 'master of ceremony' or even the warring (for the best vantage point) parents, the evening was memorable because of the tremendous effort that went into its making.
And for those members of the Diaspora, who worry about tragic loss or separation from their roots - this was a beacon that reassured them of a legacy that was being lived everyday by their kids, some of who haven't even set foot in India.
Finally, the 'boon and bane of water' theme that formed the edifice of the entire show remained what it was meant to be -- a soft undercurrent of gratitude for those that enabled the healing process, and a prayer for those who suffered the most as a result of the killer waves. What if not art can plumb and lay bare the duality of lack and excess, ambrosia and abyss in one evening, one performance, and one truth.
