Panchatantra
stories through Bharatanaatyam
Friday
October 3, 2008.
Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red
rose apples. He was very happy. One fine day, a crocodile swam up
to that tree and told the monkey that he had traveled a long distance
and was in search of food as he was very hungry......."
Such and many other stories from Panchatantra captivated
the audience of a brilliant dance performance by Ms. Pavithra Sriniviasan,
a renowned Bharatanaatyam dancer. She is affiliated to Arsha Vidya
Gurukulam, an institute for the traditional study of Advaita Vedanta,
Sanskrit, Yoga, Ayurveda, astrology, and other classical Indian
disciplines.
The dance performance started with a brief explanation
of the origin of and the spiritual symbolism behind the ancient
art of Bharatanaatyam. Ms. Srinivasan explained how in its simplest
form, Bharatanaatyam is a dance form to communicate different human
actions and emotions through body movements and drama, while at
the same time, it is a celebration of the eternal universe or the
Brahman through the celebration of the beauty of the material body.
She then moved on to depict stories
from Panchatantra through Bharatanaatyam. Be it the story of crocodile
and the monkey, or that of the crow and the peacocks, the classic
tales narrated through dance movements enthralled the audience due
to its grace and beauty. An art form which upholds the essential
beauty in every aspect of nature depicted even the most villainous
crocodile through artistic and graceful hand and leg gestures.
Language of Bharatanaatyam
On public demand, as a follow up event, we are planning to host a workshop on the lines of Language of Bharatanaatyam.
Workshop
will teach ‘how to use gestures as a way of communication without
words’. Participants can either observe or participate actively.
DESI will be able to organize this event only if there are at least 30 participants.
So
if you
Or fill up the feedback form at: http://www.studentorg.umd.edu/desi/feedback.htm (Suggested Comment: I am interested in ‘language of Bharatanaatyam’ workshop.)
Date and venue for the event will be decided after we have 30 participants.
Suggestions are most welcome.
Registration count as of 10/19/2008:
3
Bihar
Flood Relief
This event was organized as part of DESI's effort
to spread awareness and encourage people to donate for Seva Bharathi,
a NGO working for victims of the 2008 monsoon flood on the
Donations are accepted at http://www.sevabharathi.org/contributions_e.html
Helpful Links
For pictures & details of the event: http://www.studentorg.umd.edu/desi/Events/20081003_Pavithra_FloodRelief/
DESI: http://www.studentorg.umd.edu/desi/
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam: http://www.arshavidya.org/
Seva Bharathi: http://www.sevabharathi.org/