Sure steps to fame

This is the age of the brainy child. They are, everywhere, eyes wide open, ears perked up, brains working double-time. The metro toddler fortunately is not forced to pick threads in carpet - weaving with his or her delicate fingers, but is willingly sucked into a number of skills that have caused wide-eyed amazement in all adults.

For me, the most intriguing of course is the toddler brigade in Bharatanatyam. Every few years pundits have shaken their heads and said... this sacred and ancient dance is seeing its last days. Modern day dilettantes who could not comprehend the beauty of dance, prophesied the death of classical dance. Yet, dance teachers, unfazed, continue to produce these amazing talents who can learn an entire margam (the basic repertoire which is structured for performance) in just two years and immediately take the stage for a smashing debut performance. These lovely darlings are the apple of their parents' eyes and who can fault them, when they appear like dolls, and smile innocently stretching their arms to fit Bharata's exacting demands.

I am firmly of the theory that in ancient India only children danced. The greatest sculptors have chiselled their perfect bodies in striking poses all over temple walls. Beyond their late teens, the temple dancers were fully engrossed in bearing children and rearing families. Of course those in the employ of royal courts, stopped dancing to become poets, courtesans and politicians. Such was the demanding nature of the technique of the dance that it seems reasonable to doubt if the strength of the dancer was ever tested beyond the age of youth and beauty.

When I visited the magical island of Bali where dance beckons you every night with the sound of the gamelan music, I was moved to see little boys and girls, staying up late at night, to dance for tourists. There the system works perfectly. The child goes through training for three or four years, and then he or she is asked to perform just one dance which they have mastered. A girl would be contacted ... we need a Legong dancer tomorrow night at such and such village. And off she would go with her mom or dad on a two wheeler, costume in hand to take part in an event. A young boy would do the Baris dance, with a small dagger, displaying martial movements with power and grace. I talked to those children and they seemed to be enjoying their outings, with no pressure put on them. They earn small amounts for their "work" and do not seem to be aware of any of the prima-donna syndromes that usually accompany dance and dancers everywhere.

In recent years I have been rather un-moved by events like dance conferences. But once, a small band of six and seven year old boys were brought to the Krishna Gana Sabha from Orissa. They were dressed up in girls' costumes, and they were the original Goti Puas ... the temple dancers. They danced like angels, their torsos curving in chiselled perfection, tapping their young feet in assured rhythm. It was a rare moment when time stood still and our minds were in the sacred spacers of Orissa.

Summer is usually the time when I am deluged with invitations to the debut of the little brigade of dancers.

I would rather not discuss with their parents the whole gambit of aspirations they have for their kids. But I did take the trouble to talk to teachers.

It is not easy to handle children, especially in an age when the distractions of city life are too many to mention. School and home work are other factors which deter all extra -curricular indulgence. Says Ranganayaki Jayaram, a well known teacher who specialises in group debut performances: I myself take them only at age six and above. But it is such a pleasure to watch little ones dancing with such enthusiasm that we must overlook any technical imperfections''.

A new entrant to the field of training young ones is Suma Mani, a young twenty something dancer, student of Shobana. Recently she put four sprightly kids on the stage and needless to say, they stole the hearts of the large number of invitees.

Says Suma, who seems to have the knack of handling children: ``Their grasping power is great ... with the steps and adavus, I have no problem. But with abhinaya (the expressional part) I have to repeat several times. However they cooperate without any hesitation ... I enjoy working with them ... the parents just leave everything to me ... and I am evolving a method of teaching which will keep the children's interest alive ... '' Aishwarya, Samskriti, Sanjana and Thwishaa, sat around me on the floor, smiling, unmindful of the loss of their milk-teeth. Each one had her favourite piece in dance. Sanjana, with a natural flair for music, began to sing ... Bhavayami Raghuramam ... assurance. "We enjoyed doing the Ramayana story .. we know it ... ", they say in unison. These children worked hard for months before the arangetram. What about homework after school, I ask. "We did our homework quickly and went to dance class ... " they say. Any time to watch TV, I ask. "Only Cartoon Network ... " they giggle. Their arangetram went smoothly ... did any of you make mistakes on the stage, I ask. With a shy smile they admit .. "a few ... but we saw each other on the stage and just continued .." How did the parents react to your grand performance, I ask. "It seems they started crying ... they were so happy ... "

Apparently the standing ovation the audience gave at the end of the concert, was a moving experience for all. Grandmothers often quote a Tamil proverb: What you learn at five will stand you in good stead when you are fifty.

No amount of reading can replace the hands on experience in art. And the few schools which see this point clearly should be emulated by others.

After distributing chocolates to the children I bid them adieu ... my thoughts went back many years to recall the faces of beaming parents, a young 20-year-old teacher named Kausalya, and a seven-year-old girl doing her debut performance at the Rasika Ranjani Sabha, as I flipped through the family album.

LAKSHMI VISHWANATHAN

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