Greetings Mutineers! I am Nayagan and I am guest-blogging here to fight the good fight for pittu, sodhi and the thosai which embraces us all in it’s fermented glory.
Listen up desi parents: Bina Menon, a classical dance teacher from West Orange NY, has the magical cure to all your ‘heritage preserving’ needs. Indeed, according to the New York Times, a turn in one of her stage productions (portraying an animal of the forest) will do wonders for lifting the Vestern pop-culture cloud which descended over your child’s eyes as soon as he/she exited the womb.
Yes, I know, the reporter attributed the sentiment to Menon’s students, but what exactly could these young ‘uns have known about a heritage which was supposedly out of their grasp? Could this deep knowledge be imparted by scratching one’s arm-pit repeatedly? Or perhaps by miming the grooming ritual so fancied by wild-life photographers? Whatever the standard, this reporter unwittingly added fuel to the “All Things Come From India” fire by attributing an honorific desis know all too well
dancing with Bina-Auntie
to the Hindi crowd:
employing a Hindi term of endearment all her fellow dancers used for Ms. Menon
Okay, to be charitable to the reporter, and without sounding the Lemurian call to arms, perhaps this was really all about the dance. The one student who went on record, seems to confirm this:
“My parents brought me into dance when I was 5, and at first I wasn’t that into it,†said Teena Ammakuzhiyil, a lithe 20-year-old from Union who will play the wise monkey in “Ramayanam,†a production that 25 senior-level dancers from Ms. Menon’s Kalashri School will present on Jan. 27 at the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown. “But it brought me back to my roots, dancing with Bina-Auntie,â€
But the ‘roots’ return and the question bears asking, now that she has ‘found’ her roots, what’s left? Branching out into choreography? Founding her very own dance school? Perhaps she had better think twice:
The Kalashri School employs no other teachers because, as Ms. Menon says: “I haven’t seen anyone who can teach as well as I can. And I really want my students to be good at what they’re doing.
A display of bravado (apparently all the other teachers toiling away at instructing recalcitrant students better hang ’em up) tempered by weak equivocation–sounds like the ‘heritage’ is being taught by example. Turning aside from the arrogance, I wondered:
What exactly constitutes ‘respect’ for your heritage?
Can a clumsy portrayal of a monkey mean that you’re disrespectful of said heritage (given that your chosen medium of ‘respecting’ is dance)?
Why do we entrust such an apparently important task, this cultural education, to strangers?
Bharatanatyam is suffused with Hindu mythology and the pieces are often set to Hindu songs and bhajans–what is it like for non-Hindu desis to be told that Muruga and Hanuman constitute your ‘heritage’ and that the creatures portrayed in the Ramayana will show your child all that you wish to impart about this ‘heritage’ that any honest teacher could not easily define?
The article continues with a few references to platitudes we’re familiar with, “fosters community,” “it’s so much more than dance,” and “Indian Dance feels more comfortable than…” These are the buzz-words, the talking points that classical dance instructors often use to describe and justify what is usually just another extracurricular activity for application-filling, college-going, high-school students. What does it mean to you?
This sums up all my earliest experiences with ‘my culture’. 1) parents take me to some strange building (the Gandhi Center in St. Louis) to learn about Hindu mythology 2) child goes through the motions, memorizing prayers and songs verbatim 3) parents meet with other Indians in the community, argue whose son is more praise-worthy 4) child leaves, confused and slightly concerned about his culture, resolves to teach his own kids about ‘what it means to be Hindu’ by subjecting them to the exact same vaguely cultural events.
Which brings us back to d’oh.
vanakkam nayagare!
I am a DBD and when I was in my 9th standard, whenever the whole class showed interest in acting in the school play, my Kannada teacher used to suggest Ramayana as the play. That way, he said, we can enact the attack of the vanara army scene and the added bonus is that we didn’t have to practice! Of course it took a few seconds for everyone to realize what he said, get disappointed and then laugh at it (in the first second, everyone got disappointed that they had to play a monkey and that the teacher had just me a monkey but immediately afterwards in the second second, everyone started laughing – at someone else – thinking that the teacher just called him a monkey). Our brain is wonderful!
This isn’t just a phenomenon in Morristown, but in every desi enclave across the United States. And frankly, I think it’s up to the individual to decide what their heritage is and what it means to them.
Hanuman was more than a mere monkey. Like when people want to mock Hinduism or the Ramayana, they say, “yeah you people worship monkeys”.
First of all, Hanuman is not worshipped as Bhagavan, Ishwar, the SUPREME LORD, God or whatever. Rather he is honored for being the representative of complete bhakti (devotion) and surrender unto God and Goddess, Rama and Sita, in their earthly incarnations.
It’s easy to mock people. And there’s certainly a lot there to mock if you’re so inclined. But what are you offering in its place?
Nundri! Nundri!
This Nayagan?
And I think we need a Gurinder Chadha inspired study of the unique melange of South Asian assimilation, conformity, dance, and drive for achievement in her new movie, Strictly Bhalle Room!
Ouch. What do you have against our Lankan brothers and sisters?
Nayagar ayya… Neenga nallavara, illa kettavara? 🙂
8 · Rahul said
Rahul,
I Yam Hero I Tell You!
sneering is only the beginning. I asked what it meant to you all and hoped that someone could reply without deploying the platitudes to which I referred. Is anyone up to the task?
9 · Blunt said
You’re an expert on haterade, Hillside/Gautham, so you would know. Don’t feed the troll, people.
Wonderfully hilarious post! Thanks! As a Bharatanatyam-trained performer and theatre artist, and especially in the enlightenment I have got after a recent, long tour of the US, I am disgusted by this ‘tradition’ and ‘roots’ discourse even here in Chennai, let alone the diasporic arts communities whose love for tradition and roots had me choking over each morsel of food. This sort of a successful nationalization of a regional and religious art form and giving it such airs of antiquity when it is – as any of us with a sense of 20th century Indian history would know – a ‘revived’ and ‘reformed’ version of ‘Sadir,’ performed primarily by Devadasis of south India. some 70 or 80 years back, it was not a tradition any of the middle classes were even peripherally proud of, let alone practice. Was it Derek Walcott who wrote “I am not a tree with my root in the soil”?!
Don’t worry. For every Teena Ammakuzhiyil who learns Bharathanatyam to get ‘back to her roots’, there is a Supriya Jindal who likes to be portrayed as follows.
From: Louisiana’s new first lady is mom and MBA
So, this word literally means “In mom’s pit” (whatever that is) in Tamil. Does it have a different connotation/meaning in Malayalam?
Don’t be hating on my hero’s wife! Baton Rouge is worth a mass. 😉
16 · Rahul said
teehee!
I think -kuzhyil refers to the particular [town?] of origin. It’s all matrilineal – which makes Ammakuzhyil pretty ambiguous, but I guess that’s what happens when you get to the diaspora, eh eh?
17 · rob said
zing!
Nayagare where’s the problem in that? When there is no compulsion in this matter, pupils’ parents admit their minor children at Bina Auntie’s dance school of their own will. Right? And of course if your ancestry can be traced to the Indian subcontinent, this is a part of your heritage. You may accept it or reject it. But it still is.
I reject the word “Auntie” as part of my Hindi heritage.
21 · Rahul said
HA HA HA !
20 · jyotsana said
Jyotsana,
From the legal perspective, they do accept the status quo when they enter the school. Legalities, however, do not a feeling make nor do they satisfy my thirst for honest replies from those affected. I asked that question because performing arts are often marketed as vehicles to cultural re-education, but what education is this? For most items outside of mostly natya Thillanas and mostly natya Jathiswarams, most items (padams, varnams, kirtanams etc.) are all about Hindu mythology–stories that largely do not address the histories of other religious communities which have ebbed and risen over time (there may certainly be songs/bhajans about this diversity/practice of tolerance but aside from Vaishnava Janatho, I know of none that have been choreographed into items). You should also know that Bharatanatyam, in particular, draws a very diverse student population–it’s not all about desis anymore.
I really want to hear from students /teachers/performers/admirers/critics of classical indian art forms who did not travel the easy route via acculturation in Hindu mythology.
nayagare, you have given the answer yourself…desis indulge in this way of hindu cultural education/acculturation/connection because other ways are more difficult. this is the easiest way out…
First you should define what you mean by ‘culture’ and then take offense to the use of Hindu “mythology” (why the term mythology is used and not theology) in spreading the Indian “culture”. So is it Ok if they claim to impart “Hindu culture” instead of “Indian culture” when advertising “bharathanatyam”. I don’t think anyone is forcing any non-Hindu kids of Indian origin to enroll themselves in “Bharatanatyam” classes.
Rahul,
Thanks for the “lollu sabha nayagan”. I was ROFL.. Are you a DBD?. I doubt if any ABD could get the “jokes”/ even the “slang” used.
Naan adichaa nee sethuduve. Now be nice to the guest, at least until his second post.
maan pola vanthavane, yaar adichaaro?
do non-hindu desi indulge in these hindu activities ? not sure they do and if not then your question is redundant.
Yaar adichaaro, yaar adichaaro.
Yes, there are non-hindu desis indulging in classical indian performing arts. Was this actually a question?
English only please. This is America.
So that’s their choice, they have to accept whatever baggage comes with it. No one forced them to join those classes. If they can separate those elements that alienate them from those that attract them, great. Or if they can keep clear in their mind not to get too carried away with the Hinduness of it, great. But it’s not the responsibility of the teachers or the classes or whatever. They and their parents have to sort that out themselves.
31 · Rajni the Monkey said
please excusing.
maan pola vanthavane, yaar adichaaro?: you who like a deer came, who hit-o you?
32 · Amitabh said
So that’s their choice, they have to accept whatever baggage comes with it. No one forced them to join those classes. If they can separate those elements that alienate them from those that attract them, great. Or if they can keep clear in their mind not to get too carried away with the Hinduness of it, great. But it’s not the responsibility of the teachers or the classes or whatever. They and their parents have to sort that out themselves.
I hear hints of Jyotsana in your comment which I answered above. Again, i’m not making the argument that anyone needs to be responsible for ‘warning’ anyone about the content of these pieces, that is generally common knowledge among those who take the classes, I’m asking what it’s worth is as a vehicle of cultural education for non-hindu desis and desis not brought up on Hindu mythology.
This is all a private sector effort, they can do what they please. It’s not like the government is forcing this on anyone. There’s certainly nothing wrong with your offering criticism or examining it, but there’s nothing you’re offering in its place (so far).
From what in my piece were you inferring that I wondered about an alternative to Bharatanatyam (I think you are supplying a question that I never asked)? I think it’s wonderful but that there are problems which need to be unpacked in order for it to be of more utility to all of us.
I’m going to assume there’s not a whole lot of Muslims in these classes. There may be some Jains, and at most a few Sikhs. Also possibly some Indian Christians. Now, on the one hand, you seem to imply that these classes are poorly done and ineffective in their main goal…which is to transmit Bharatnatyam. If that’s true, isn’t it also likely the heavy Hindu imagery is also failing to get through? Mostly people take these classes because their parents force them. I doubt many of them take it that seriously to really delve into the hinduness of it. But I could be way off.
I think it’s more interesting that so many northern Indian families in the USA adopted this southern Indian artform as a vehicle of cultural transmission for their kids.
the fact that he is keeping track/tab of the “news” and doing a critical analysis is nayagar’s offering. otherwise he wouldn’t be caring a dime about tammy’s exposition on a purely hindu activity.
Nayagan, peace. I just felt like you were mocking an easy target, classes which busy, harried parents cling to in a desperate attempt to instill SOMETHING into their kids… but I see that your heart is in the right place. I just feel this whole issue could be looked at a bit more compassionately.
When you make that many assumptions in one paragraph, you’re eventually going to run into that problem.
not what I was shooting for, but if you have some meaningful insight–do share.
not related to the post at all. just a segvay off the author’s nom-de-plume. i was traveling to bangalore in an inter-state bus some time back. it was an overnight trip and we were tearing into the night – a private bus company – nothing fancy but clean and comfortable. the music was on. i was enjoying the ambience and the proximity of people. this song came on and it was just magical. totally mellowed out the whole bus. Oi love people 🙂 next time you go to india folks, lose the cell phone and just take a trip – anywhere. g’nite and hope yu enjoy the song.
Touche. Anyway apologies if I came across too heavy-handed.
This was a very interesting and well-done post, and I look forward to future ones, but I must confess that I’m getting a bit confused here. If a Hindu-infused cultural practice is problematic for “all” of us, why should the necessary “unpacking” focus on the cultural practice, rather than on the socio-political construction of the “all of us” (i.e., desi/South Asian). I cert. have no objection (and see some advantage) to using, in general parlance, those terms, but it strikes me as a bit odd to reify them to the extent that they provide a principled critique of classical dance (yes, I know it’s not so central, etc. as post #14 points out). Or am I missing something?
I don’t understand how it’s the ‘easy route’? What else are you looking for? There are a lot of people who don’t give much thought or respect to bharata natyam as a dance form or spiritually and just think of it as a weekly hanging-out-with-friends session or another extracurricular activity, but there are quite a few people who are very dedicated and talented. Dedicating yourself to this for most of your life is a whole lot harder than joining the bhangra team in college, that’s for sure.
I know some Christians, Jains, and Sikhs who learn bharata natyam. (The diaspora group that’s really taken it up based on what I’ve seen, though, is Indo-Caribbeans, which is interesting, to add on to what Amitabh said about how north Indians are taking on this south Indian classical dance.) It’s a difficult situation when our idea of what our ‘desi roots’ is so intertwined with Hindu stories and symbols. It’s easier for Hindu parents in this way, I guess, but if non-Hindu parents have a problem with it, it’s up to them to find or provide other avenues of ‘discovering roots’ for their children.
You think this thillana is tough? Try this thillana!
I think nala hits upon the root of the conflict here.
Imo, the problem is with the colonial definition of hindiusm as a religion. Whether you are christian or muslim or sikh or jain of Indian origin, historically, your ancestors were associated with many of the art forms that are now called “hindu”—and it is even likely your ancestors contributed to them. There is no reason to disown them just because some foreign guy with a short attention span decided it wasn’t yours a century back. And conversely, someone who is “hindu” and doesn’t care for bharatnatyam has no right over it as well.
I have said it before on this site, but again—art, especially fine art of the caliber of bharatnatyam, belongs to whoever claims and wants them. To argue this is a hindu only and getting offended is as ridiculous as someone arguing Pasteurization is catholic and getting offended by it (if you didn’t know, Pasteur was a die-hard catholic, and his motivation behind the discovery of this process was religious).
To see carnatic/hindustani compositions as prayer is again narrow-minded and plain silly—given their depth and musical intricacies, it is like missing the forest for the trees. You should go by Sheik Chinna Moulana, Ustad Bismillah Khan, and several other stalwarts like them for why the “divinity” in music and art is common to all.
Besides bharatnatyam is expression. Nothing stops anyone from using it to tell stories from the bible/koran/pastafarianism (agreed in the last case, you may have to invent some mudra for pirates).
I fully agree. Bharatanatyam is truly wonderful. An evening filled with mellifluous music and nuanced moves of “screwing the light bulb” and “feeding the chickens” has often helped to cure my spells of insomnia.
ducking to avoid nayagan’s capoiera moves
C’mon, now–quotes are necessary??!! This blog is going to wind up pushing me to affiliate with the BJP!
48 · Rahul said
I can’t capoiera. Not even after downing a few capirinhas. Aren’t you referring to a certain former management consultant and one of the best stand-up routines currently running?
Bytewords, Nala, I will get to your points/questions on the morrow (after I dispose of the marrow.)