The 6th of August 2017
will be cherished for a long time to come. What started out as a desire a few
years ago saw the light of day yesterday. As lovers of art, Arupa, Radhika and
I had been thinking of ways and means in which we could develop more ‘rasikas’
amidst us. With the population of art lovers progressively diminishing, we felt
a dire need to do something that would enable people, particularly the youth to
imbibe it in their lives. Slowing down to absorb the countless hues of its
eternal beauty will provide the ideal way to balance the frenetic pace of a
digitized world. Faced with the trials and tribulations of our humdrum daily
existence, the only refuge we can seek is in our rich cultural heritage of art
and tradition. It is only when we lose ourselves in its splendour can we truly
find ourselves.
All great ideas come to fruition
in the midst of great company and good food. So over the most delectably sinful
tiramisu at our favourite jaunt, Elma’s , we crystallized our idea by commencing
an Art appreciation series. Rasa Aparupa ( the name embodies the essence and
beauty of art and it also has our names Radhika, Arupa and Aparna in it)
endeavours to expose our attendees to different forms of art once a month. The
artist will not just demonstrate but also interact with the audience to explain
its many facets. Celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer, Ragini Chandrashekhar
kickstarted our monthly series with a scintillating performance at the Sangeet
Shyamala centre for arts.
Spurred by a noble idea but with minimal
experience in event management, we faced many teething troubles. With just two
weeks to plan; our biggest worry was to get an audience going. From knocking on
the doors of nearby schools to embassies and active facebook promotion, we left
no stone unturned. Thankfully there were about 60-70 eager students and parents
in the audience. Director general, ICCR Mr Amarendra Khatua was kind enough to
grace the occasion. He was constrained to leave early but not before according us
glowing compliments for the initiative and the first two presentations by
Ragini.
We were keen to start our show on
time at 11am. At 930am the open air auditorium was a mess. The floors were
dirty and the stage had not been set up as per our request. Clad in our saris
Radhika and I were about to pick up the broom; when the lady arrived, flummoxed
as to why there was such urgency. Till 10:30am there was no sign of the light
and sound technician and we were getting restless as the testing had not been
done. We had assumed that he would be
able to manage the stage set up but at 1045am he announced nonchalantly, “ laptop
nahin hai CD ke liye”. Once again Radhika and I scurried around looking for
one. A parent, waiting in the lobby for his daughter ; was keying in furiously
on his Mac. Both of us pleaded with him to lend us his laptop for an hour.
Seeing us flustered, he very sweetly consented to giving us his machine. Just
when we were heaving a sigh of relief, the technician announced that the aux
cable to connect to monitors is missing. With no time to even give him a piece
of our mind, we had him racing to the nearby store to buy one. This was at 11am
when we were all set to commence. Quite nervously I had to tell Ragini that we
might have to do a lecture demonstration without music. Had I been in her
place, I would have hurled a host of expletives for poor planning; but she kept
her composure. In the sweltering heat the audience was getting impatient. Arupa
, charmingly took to the stage with our inaugural address and held their
fascination for as much time as she could before inviting Ragini. I must have
chewed up all my nails in sheer panic of running the show without music. I had
visions of how shame faced we would be among our fraternity of artists and
aficionados. I prayed desperately for a miracle.
Ragini started by explaining her
piece. With Janmashtami round the corner, Krishna took centre stage. The
children looked at her with such amazement. Her abhinaya of an impish Krishna pleading
with his mother, Yashoda to go out and play; reminded them of disagreements with their parents.
“ Krishna
is actually bhagwaan but also like us na didi" one of my kids remarked on our
car ride back. “So if we have to be like him we can be both naughty and God
like.” I was quite tickled by this response as also her desire to learn this
dance form.
Just as Ragini had finished her
introduction and turned to go back stage, I saw the technician charge into the auditorium,
sweating profusely but excitedly flashing the cable in his hand. We had our
hearts in our mouth as he plugged in the cable. The monitors came alive and the
melodious notes of the pushpanjali filled
the auditorium. I sank into my chair now with relief and began to enjoy the
performance.
As I reflect on the session
yesterday, it gives me goosebumps. The arrival of the cable just in the nick of
time was definitely a miracle. It was as if a higher force had supported our
endeavour and magically stepped in to save the day. It is no coincidence that
both our technician, Radhe Shyam and the helpful parent, Krishnan embodied the
spirit of Krishna in times of distress.
The deluge of compliments that
followed for the artist as well as us made it all worthwhile. It had left us
exhausted but also very pleased at the thought of a new beginning. Planning such events
requires a lot of effort and an eye for detail. Krishna may not be there to
rescue us each time but I’m sure our learning from yesterday will help us
from the next session onwards. Here’s hoping that what we commenced on
friendship day will grow from strength to strength in the coming months.
