Suhasini Koulagi took the Indian
classical art world by storm when she released her dance video
“Poromboke/Bharatanatyam” in early August 2019. A Bharatanatyam dancer with 15
years of training, Suhasini took her art forms to the landfills and urban slums
of Bangalore to bring attention to the issues of unsustainable development, waste
management and pollution. Dancing to the tune of Carnatic vocalist and social
activist TM Krishna’s Poromboke song (released in January 2017 to bring
attention to pollution in Ennore, Chennai), she has received much appreciation
and praise for her willingness to mould Bharatanatyam’s aesthetic to shed light
on pressing issues of the day. She speaks to Yashasvini Rajeshwar on the
thought processes, inspirations and convictions that led up to the project.
Why is it important to use art forms like
Bharatanatyam as a platform for social activism?
Bharatanatyam
has long been seen only as performance art for entertainment or for religious
and spiritual purposes. But I believe that the whole purpose of Bharatanatyam
is activism. Since Bharatanatyam is one of the most influential art forms, it
makes the perfect platform for activism.
Has your use of Bharatanatyam as a platform for social
activism been criticized? What were some of the voices of dissent you heard and
how did you engage with them?
Yes,
my attempt has been criticized by some professional dancers who see Bharatanatyam
only as a religious practice. It is hard for some dancers to even think of
taking Bharatanatyam to common people. While some really gave some feedback on
the initial video’s dance and choreography, others said that it shouldn’t be
done. Since I am only taking baby steps
in my attempt, I couldn’t really answer any of the criticisms that were shoved
at me. I had to ignore and look at the positive side of my attempt. This
attempt itself is a response to those critiques and if am able to succeed in
replicating this process with other dancers in the future, then that will be the
biggest proof that Bharatanatyam is more than just a form of entertainment but
rather can be a platform for activism.
What were the
thought processes and motivations that resulted in this dance video?
I
have been practising Bharatanatyam for 15 years now and for the last few years,
I have been searching for a break to explore how Bharatanatyam can be more than
what I have been taught so far. When I first saw the video of TMK in 2017, my first thought was that this was that break.
TMK had put Poromboke out there with so much impact and I knew that
Bharatanatyam would add another layer of visual impact to an already impactful
video. For two years, we searched for a team who would volunteer to take my
first step towards using Bharatanatyam as a tool to address today’s social and
environmental issues.
What is the
takeaway you would like from your video? What are the calls to action you
wanted to communicate?
Most
of the Poromboke song is pointing towards the unsustainable development in
Chennai. This is also the same in case of Bangalore or any other major city
across India today. One thing which is common in all Indian cities today is the
unsupervised use of the Poromboke lands (tanks, graze lands etc) and its
effects on the people who rely on these resources for their livelihoods.
Through this video, I wanted to convey this to not only people who are affected
but also to those taking advantage of unsustainable development.
Personally,
my goal for this video was to see how effectively Bharatanatyam can be used and
set an example to show that this kind of interpretation of the dance is
possible. The other important
realization for me was that the aesthetic of Bharatanatyam can be altered as
well. I always thought that performing Bharatanatyam needed makeup and costumes
to adhere to societal beauty standards. For this choreography, that just didn’t
make sense. The whole thing was performed in khadi saris with no makeup and
simple jewellery.
You have
regularly spoken about coming from a socially conscious family. What do you
think is the impact of family in your work?
Having
a socially conscious family has definitely played a huge role but that doesn’t
mean that it is a prerequisite for a dancer to think out of the ordinary. This
is why I would like to work towards providing the opportunity for more dancers
to see the world as I see it and act on things that need to be addressed.
With
regard to my family though, I grew up seeing my grandfather, my father and now
my brothers working together with others to create a just world. It taught me
that we might not be able to change the whole world but we can change our world.
That is exactly what I am trying to do with this video.
Bharatanatyam
itself is not just a tool. It is a form of expression that has a unique history
associated with it. How much do you think this influences your decision on the
voices you represent?
How
Bharatanatyam influenced my decision to represent unsustainable development and
poromboke land is not something with a simple explanation. It is a thought
process that developed over time.
Any
study that engages with the use of Bharatanatyam as a tool for social activism
shows that many artistes have addressed issues like gender inequality, social
insecurity, women rights, freedom of expression, pollution and unemployment.
Since the environmental damage has become so widespread, the responsibility for
raising awareness and adopting proper mitigation measures to protect our ‘home’
becomes a matter for everyone. Art has the ability to adapt very easily to
different times and needs and has always been considered a “cool” way for
people to express themselves.
Art
is defined as “the imaginative tool of human expression that is applied through
the creative skills of individuals or a group of people.”[1] In the past, art
has been considered to be many things - a fussing activity, a pursuit only for
a few fortunate ones, or even a pastime for the lazy ones. As times changed,
the belief of what art meant also changed, alternating between something that
is really important at times and the exact opposite. After all, it is not a
secret that the arts existed more or less as long as humans existed.
Dance
is an art form that usually combines acting and music. It serves as a tool to
create an interactive platform for people to socialize, exchange information
and learn more about each other. According to Pounds article, “in performance
art, the body of the artist is the one that while presented it becomes both
stage and the subject of issue”[2]. This is why dance activism presents such a
powerful platform. One can find many examples of dance being used as a tool to
raise awareness on important subjects. African slaves are said to have used
dance to preserve their identities and traditions while fighting colonialism.
Today we see plenty of examples of dance being used to fight everyday matters
such as discrimination, HIV/AIDS, poverty, etc.
Bharatanatyam,
by itself, has several origins in history. What was once considered a dance for
entertainment became a spiritual and religious practice for so-called upper-class
society and now it has been embraced as a space for activism. Dance is part of
an evolutionary process and what is traditional today was once perhaps modern
and revolutionary. Relevance is not something that can be made or forced upon
society; it happens as part of an organic process over time.
This
is not the first time dance has seen as a platform for activism, to name some, Chandralekha
Prabhudas Patel, with her productions such has Angika, Lilavati, Prana,
Sri, Yantra, Mahakal, Raga, Sloka and Sharira, has been an exemplar of modern
Indian dance, based on her premise of the indivisibility of sexuality,
sensuality and spirituality. Mallika Sarabhai with her solo theatrical
work, ‘Shakti: The Power of Women’ uplifted women rights. Lata Pada’s
Revealed By Fire brought acts of terrorism on to the stage and was
appreciated across the world. Malavika Sarukkai has several productions,
but her latest one “Thari – The Loom” has brought the sights of weaving on to
the stage. Anita Ratnam pushed the boundaries of Bharatanatyam through
her choreographies including Seven Graces, Ma3ka, A Million Sitas and Neelam. Karuna
Sagari of Bhakti Natya Niketan with her productions like ”Noyyal”
and ”Thunnal.” There are just some examples of dancers and choreographies that
were inspirations for me to embrace Bharatanatyam as more than what mainstream
dance sees it as today.
How different is
it to perform Bharatanatyam live and for a video? How do you see the
intersection of technology and dance as influencing social activism?
I
have performed Poromboke in several places in front of small audiences. Even
though the reach is small, the effect has been powerful. However, the best
thing about the video and using technology is that the reach is immense. It can
be taken to everyone against the backdrop of the actual site of the crisis. This
makes it easier to convey what we are trying to say to people.
While the lyrics
of the Poromboke song by TM Krishna are by themselves evocative in their starkness,
your visuals elevate them to a whole new level. What was the experience of
dancing this classical art form in landfills and amidst such pollution? What
prompted you to decide that was the direction to go visually?
We
had to work hard to meet the benchmark set by TMK and his team. We couldn’t
settle for anything less than this. I was inspired by the original song. It
represented not just the problem faced in Chennai but also the unsustainable
development across India. To make sense of this in a city like Bangalore, we
had to film in the places we did. Dancing in these places is the reason we need
to dance. If dance can’t be something that can be performed anywhere to anyone,
representing something that needed to be represented, then it is just not an
art to be practised. Now I feel like more of an artist than I felt before. Every
art form is activism of some kind. What we choose to do with it is what matters
the most.
References:
[1] Oxford
Dictionary of English. Dictionaries, O. (2010).
[2] Pounds, K.
C. Performance Art, Political. in Encyclopedia of Activism and Social
Justice 1106–1108 (SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007).
doi:10.4135/9781412956215
