Theobserver, iijnm

The Observer An IIJNM Publication

Vol 18, Issue 16

Food vans will extend Indira Canteens reach They won’t choke roads, says BBMP Joint commissioner

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Pracheta Panja

SIMILAR TO INDIRA CANTEENS: The 24 mobile canteens will function on similar lines as Indira Canteens. After collecting food and water from centralized kitchens, they will travel towards where BBMP has not been able to find land to set up canteens | Credit: Rimjhim Gour workers, will be at its designated place the same time when Indira Canteens function.

The BBMP’s South zone has been allotted 10 vehicles because the acquiring land is particularly difficult there; the West and East zones will have six each. There is one van each for the Bommanahalli and Mahadevapura wards.

Chandrahasa, an autorickshaw driver, said: “These canteens provide good, inexpensive food. Having mobile canteens will be good for us as we travel all across the city.”

The officer said the BBMP would “take care” of the waste generated by the canteens.

Anish Banerjee, an IT profes-

sional, didn’t seem convinced.

“There are already mobile food vans in the city. These canteens will add to the waste in the area which will be cleaned once a year,” he said.

Indira Canteens have been a huge success in Bengaluru, prompting the Congress government to announce construction of such canteens in all districts.

An Indira Canteen was inaugurated in Mysuru on January 12. The canteens, announced by chief minister Siddaramaiah in his budget speech last year to cater to the poor, are used by the middle class as well. They have overcome teething problems like shortage of food. rayan.m@iijnm.org

Were trees sacrificed for Queens Rd Indira Canteen?

Residents say they were sold after being chopped G. Manashaa

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n its haste to build an Indira Canteen in Sarvagnanagara division, Queens Road, the BBMP allowed a large portion of huge tree to be cut, some residents of the area say. Smaller trees that were chopped along with the bigger tree were sold later.

The construction of the Indira Canteen, adjacent to the Government Veterinary Hospital, began about two months ago.

Earlier, the canteen was constructed near a railway bridge but forced to shift because it was on railway land.

Suhail Ahmed, revenue officer of BBMP ward 63, informed The Observer: “Many trees, including a huge one, were chopped where the canteen is constructed now. It was earlier used as a parking spot. Owing to the construction work, we suffered dust pollution as our office is close to the canteen.”

A huge portion of a large tree was cut during the construction of Indira Canteen, according to residents of the area. | Credit: Manashaa G “What is the need for an Indira Canteen in a place that is surrounded by government offices?

We all bring lunch from home.

No one will eat there,” Ahmed said. Asked where the chopped tree was translocated, he said: “Since I joined recently, I do not know the details.”

The revenue officer did not have the exact number of trees that were allegedly cut.

However, Sreenivas, the contractor who built the canteen said: “The work started two months ago and was completed on time. No trees were harmed during the process.”

A BBMP corporator who re-

quested he not be named said: “Only a few small trees were cut to clear the space around the canteen. No huge tree was cut.”

The owner of a tea stall opposite the canteen said a huge tree was cut, but gave no details M. Ravi, a resident of Vasantha Road, said: “Trees were chopped to build a canteen here. The road looks different now without trees.” A similar complaint was posted on the website ichangemycity.com. “BBMP has uprooted a big tree in the corporation office on Queens Road to build Indira Canteen,” a person who identified himself as Guru said. manashaa.g@iijnm.org

@theweeklyobserver On the web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/the observer

Steel bridge to link Majestic Metro with bus stations Three bodies will share cost, finish work in 45 days

Rayan Mitra head of the Karnataka assembly elections, the BBMP plans to put into service 24 food vans to serve as Indira Canteens.

Acquiring land to set up Indira Canteens in all the 198 BBMP wards has been a challenge for BBMP. The 24 mobile canteens will deliver and serve food in areas where the municipal corporation has not found land to set up Indira Canteens.

The inauguration of the mobile canteens — which will, like Indira Canteens, serve breakfast for Rs 5 and lunch and dinner for Rs 10 — is scheduled for the Republic Day. Asked whether the parked canteens would not further congest Bengaluru’s roads, BBMP joint commissioner in charge of Indira Canteens Venkatesh informed The Observer: “The canteens will move in the different parts of the city and will not affect traffic.”

Each mobile canteen, with five

Thursday, January 18, 2018

The Observer

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steel bridge will connect the Kempegowda Majestic Metro station and the adjacent bus station, making walking between these places easier for commuters.

UP Vasanth Rao, chief public relations officer of BMRCL, informed The Observer: “The decision to build a footbridge has

Green line intersecting there.

A person walking from the bus station to the Metro station, and vice-versa, has to traverse a road where arriving buses turn in. Autorickshaws and hawkers block the road that leads to the Metro station. The potholed road gets worse when it rains. The elderly find it difficult to walk on the road.

Late last year, BMRCL workers launched a signature campaign to demand the construction of the bridge.

“Passengers are willingly signing,” a BMRCL worker who requested he not be named had then told The Observer.

MUCH-NEEDED SOLUTION: Buses arriving at the BMTC bus station pose a danger to pedestrians crossing over to reach the Metro station.

The bridge promises to make their life easier | Credit: Rayan Mitra been taken by BMRCL, BMTC and KSRTC…. The project has been approved and the work process is about to start.”

After a detailed discussion, the three transport corporations decided to finish work within 45 days.

“The expenditure of the project will be divided among the three corporations,” Vasanth Rao added.

Hundreds of buses, both city and inter-city, leave and arrive at the Majestic bus station, the largest bus terminus in the Karnataka capital.

The Kempegowda Majestic station is one of the busiest Metro stations, with the east-west Purple line and the north-south

Priyanka Prakash, a BBA student who travels by bus daily to catch the Metro from Majestic: said, “It will, of course, save my time and effort.”

Another commuter, Moumita Banerjee, welcomed it, saying: “When it rains, the bus stand area becomes horrible with mud and water. A footbridge will save us the inconvenience.”

About 2,000 BMTC buses travel to and fro from the semicircular bus terminus every day, making nearly 21,000 trips.

One side of the bus station is used by BMTC buses, and the southern side by long-distance services of the KSRTC and other bus operators. pracheta.p@iijnm.org

The Observer Team Editor: Athul. M News Editor: Rayan Mitra Copy Editors: Rachel Priyanka Dammala, Pracheta Panja Photo Editor: Ayushi Singh Page Layout: Manashaa G., Manikankana Sengupta Supplement Page Layout: Anjana Basumatary, Saket Tiwari

Arts & Culture

The Observer SUPPLEMENT

Thursday, January 18, 2018

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Lord of the Dance It’s time the classical dance form of Bengal got its due, argues Barnana Hemoprava Sarkar

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ntiquity doesn’t always mean oblivion. While several Indian dance forms like Cham (the 1,300-yearold mystical dance of Tibet), Ojha (the religious dance of Assam) and Domni (a folk dance drama from Maldah) are gradually declining in popularity, Gaudiya Nritya is gaining in both reach and recognition. Although unrecognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) as one of India’s classical dance forms, it is increasingly acknowledged as the classical dance form of Bengal.

Shashtriya Nritya, can be traced back to Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit Hindu text written by Bharata Muni between 200 BCE and 200 CE. The text details the various requirements of a performing art: composition, structure, design of the stage, acting and its genres, body language, ornaments, make up, costumes, musical scales and notes.

The text distinguishes parts of the Indian classical dance form including the theory of tandava (Shiva’s dance), rasa, bhava (Expression), postures and movements. The SNA recognizes eight

forms to be the classical dance forms of India-Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam.

Over the past four decades, however, Gaudiya Nritya has emerged as a strong contender to be included in this pantheon of

its recent revival. She says that the sculptures of dancers and musicians at Ananta Vasudeva Temple in Hoogly district triggered the existence of the classical dance form in Bengal.

In fact, multiple references to the dance form are seen in Matanga Muni’s Brihaddeshi (the

tra. The origins of Gaudiya lie in the regional folk forms of Audramagadha like Chau, Gambhira, Gajan, Bratachari-Raibeshe, Laghur Nritya, Natua, Jhumur, and Kirtan. Its Bengali connection is evident in various other art forms like literature, sculpture, andpaintings. For instance, in Be-

Ananda Tandava or the dance of Shiva, on which the basic structure of the form of Gaudiya was established. The devdasi tradition of Bengal saw an upsurge of the dance form during the time of Pala Dynasty from Ramcharita Kavya. In fact, it is known that Padmavathi, wife of poet Jayadeva was a classical dancer. he dance moves need to be poised and fearless, light and acrobatic yet balanced invigorous sequences.

In certain pieces like Dashavatara or Ashta Nayika, a dancer enacts multiple characters while performing a solo act which might range from 45 minutes to an hour.

While Prof. Mukherjee is working on reviving the dance form, her husband Amitava Mukherjee is bringing back the songs and music which were earlier composed to accompany the dance in the particular items to be performed.

The songs mostly follow the structural pattern of the Hindustani Ragas, while the lyrics are mostly taken from the works of Sri Bhavaprithananda Ojha, Asvaghose and various other ancient texts.

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Gaudiya Nritya Bharati students perform Desh Alaachari at Kolkata dance. It’s acknowledged as one of the oldest dance forms of the country, evident in temple sculpture from 18th century.

Mahua Mukherjee, HOD of dance at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, has been key to

Sanskrit text dealing with classical music), Sarangadeva; Sangeet Ratnakara (the musicology on Hindustani and Carnatic music) and regional texts like Abhinayachandrika (an ancient treatise on Odissi) by Mahesavara Mohapa-

hula, from Vijaya Gupta’s Manasha Mangal Kavya, there is a scene where a housewife, known to be of Bengali origin is performing classical dance in the court of Indra.

There is also a mention of

Kathak’s Descent into the Abyss Kathak has evolved over time but not always in desirable ways, writes Ritika Gondhalekar

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ulture evolves with time and that’s so true of Kathak, one of India’s oldest dance forms. If the Mughals transformed Kathak from a form of worship into a preferred style of courtly entertainment, Bollywood has, in keeping with the times, debased this classical dance form by making itlittle more than a cabaret.

“The Mughals regarded dance as only a form of entertainment and didn’t consider it a form of worship,”says well-known Kathak dancer Shama Bhate.“Although women, accompanied by male singers, continued to perform Bhajans and poetry that depicted scenes from mythology, the spiritual essence was lost.”

Bollywood has played a major role in popularising Kathak through movies like Pakeezah and Mughal-e-Azam in the seventies but, overtime, commercialization has come at the cost of authenticity.

Says Uma Rele, principal of Nalanda Dance Training Centre and a renowned Mohiniyattam dancer, “The incorrect presentation of Kathak generally reduces it to a mujra sequence in a movie, something that should never be the case.”

Varada Pandit, another Kathak exponent in Mumbai, rues that “There are many parents

and students who are under the impression that the Kathak showed on screen in Bollywood films is its purest form, which is dangerous as it is not.” When you start with a misconception, you’re unlikely to be willing to suffer its rigours.

She says that often students leave the class within two months saying they’re getting bored.

“They are enrolled by their parents who tell them they’ll soon be able to dance like Madhuri Dixit.

The most common query we en-

counter from parents is how often would we be able to arrange stage shows!”

Pandit says that girls who grasp technique fast or have a liking for dance often lose interest as learning classical dance forms need immense patience as the process is slow.

In Bollywood’s imagination, Kathak consists of many chakkars (spins) and a lot of tatkaar (footwork).

That, metaphorically, corresponds to its portrayal of this dance form in a

persistently negative light, by associating it with fallen characters.

Bollywood has maligned classical dance forms because it has singularly failed to understand their essence.

This is evident when we look at the portrayal of the courtesan in Kathak. Even though the nayika (courtesan) is popular, people are unaware ofhertrue nature or all the dimensions of her character.

Films such as UmraoJaan have created the impression that-

Kathak dancers performing at Krishnaleela concert at Mumbai

courtesans were just prostitutes and simple objects of pity in the eyes of society. But, in reality, thecourtesan was highly educated and deeply conversant with art and literature.

“Due to such a bad portrayal of Kathak, people prefer to enroll their kids in Bharatnatyam or Odissi which are referred to as ‘respectable’ dance forms,” says Narang, founder of Sharada Sangeet Vidyalaya, an institute in Mumbai that imparts classical dance education. et, Kathak is becoming increasing popular. Says Swapno, who’s in charge of Indian classical dance programming at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai,“All our shows go house-full. Sometimes we even have to request the performers to repeat their performances to satisfy audience demand. I don’t understand what are our Indian dance forms lack, why do we prefer to learn Western dance but not our own?”

Today, although Kathak has evolved as a dance form and has gained a far wider audience than it has ever enjoyed, people do not seem to accept it for it for it truly is - a perfect blend of music, dance, poetry, stories and acting that reflect the entirety of India’s cultural heritage.

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