The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
It isn’t often that I write about
events on the blog, and even rarer that I announce events that are yet to take
place. But this is a special one. Most of you who read my blog, have, at some
time, heard me rave about my sister, Kanthi, who is an accomplished dancer. She
is proficient in both, Bharatanatyam and Kathak, which speaks volumes of her
talent, and those of you who follow my Facebook page would certainly have seen
her photos at some point or the other. It is because so many of you have asked
me about her forthcoming performances that I am writing this post. That, and
the fact that this is a special performance.
The Sanskriti Academy of Fine
Arts, Thane, is where Kanthi has honed her skills. She has been a part of
Sanskriti ever since its inception, and the fact that she has evolved from a
student to a teacher there is something we are all proud of. We have enormous
respect for the founder, Smt. Asha Sunilkumar, who herself is an amazing woman,
who has succeeded in passing on, not just her proficiency in dance, but also
her passion, to her students.
This is the 15th year
of the Academy, which makes it a special one. However, what makes it even more
special is that the Academy has, this year, conducted its 25th
Arangetram, and 50 of their students have so far performed their Arangetrams
over these 15 years. All the more reason to celebrate, isnt it?
The event is meant to be a
celebration of all that they have achieved, but they have chosen to take the
celebration a step forward. They choose to call it ‘Sannimitam’ – Art ‘For a
noble and worthy cause’, in an attempt to give back to society for all the
blessings that have been showered on them. This is thus a charity event, with
all the proceeds going to Prem Daan, a non-profit charity in Navi Mumbai, that
works relentlessly to give a home to the homeless, health to the sick, and love
to the unloved.
Dedicated to Mother Teresa and
her Missionaries of Charity, Prem Daan is a home for the destitute, sick and
terminally ill. The Sisters of Prem Daan
are specially trained to take care of those women with mental illnesses. They
ensure that the women feel safe, secure and stable within the premises of Prem
Daan, before administering medicines and restoring them to health.
The programme
itself has been conceived with these ideas in mind, and, along with a
repertoire of traditional Bharatanatyam performances, it also includes a dance
ballet which depicts the resurgence of the inherent power of women. I had the
pleasure of having a brief glimpse of this ballet, and I can assure you it is impressive.
I can’t wait to see the performance in its entirety!
I will be attending the event,
and will post photos later. Posting videos might be more difficult, so I would
suggest you please try and attend the event and see it for yourselves, especially
if you live anywhere near.
Information:
Sannimitam will be presented at Gadkari Rangayatan,
Thane West, on Saturday, 7th December, at 11 AM.
Passes are available for the event, though they
are fast running out. Rs. 50 for Balcony, and Rs. 100 for ground floor. You can
contact Kanthi on 9820851925 for passes.
You can also write to Sanskriti at sanskriti.programmes@gmail.com
for any further information, or query regarding donations. They are accepting
donations in cash as well as kind. Kanthi can also give you details if you are
interested.
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