Following the trend of the time, from an early age, I started to attend weekend dance classes and took private lessons at home. Calcutta, or Kolkata as it is known now, in those days was a fertile ground for many exciting cross cultural dance experimentations. As one of modern India's greatest poets, writers and educators, Tagore's songs, dramas and dance-dramas defined the cultural and aesthetic values of that society. He also had invited and encouraged many Gurus of different classical dance styles to come, teach and settle in Bengal. In his infinite wisdom he recognised that spirituality of the dance could come from his texts but what it lacked was the rigour of technical discipline of classical dance. He encouraged students to learn various classical dances and hoped that the received knowledge would remain in the background to help them to find a bold new approach for creating dances that could speak for it.
As Tagore opened the door, more and more exponents of classical dance came to settle in Calcutta. They brought with them rich traditions of classical dance styles yet were often engaged in productions of Tagore's work. As a result, new works were being created on a regular basis reflecting evidences of cross fertilisation in different degrees. Perhaps it is this early exposure to such a rich variety of creative work that has given me a taste for community dance, where I see flexibility as a strength and not a compromise, change a positive response to a challenge, not a surrender to intimidation.
Two very special women have left lasting impressions in my life and have been the architects of my world of dance. They are both pioneers in their own rights. Amala Shankar was the dancing partner and then wife of Uday Shankar, the genius dance artist who initiated and established the Indian creative dance movement, and Manjusree Chaki Sircar the founder of Navanritta - a new dance genre of Indian dance. In their own different ways they have taught me not only to perform, but also to mediate a dance. As I continue to dance, my personal life and my professional world of dance merge more and more into one another. While I was busy negotiating my journey through life I did not notice that age was creeping up. Along with that came a sense of liberation too. Also it meant that there was less pressure to prove oneself, fewer domestic responsibilities around children and home and a greater freedom for taking risks.
When I turned fifty I decided to create a new dance for myself. I was looking for a dance that could relate to the contemporary world around me. A dance that would not simply fill the stage with pretty decorative movements or perpetually pine over lost love.
I strongly feel that within the tradition of creative dance we need to create a body of new work that can satisfy the intellectual integrity of a mature dancer. I came across a poem by Rabindranath Tagore called Nagar Sangeet. The poem was a commentary on the harshness of the city life. Suddenly it appealed to me. Out of the nine prescribed moods of classical Indian dance, the least popular is the mood that depicts grotesqueness. I felt a desire to tackle it.
On my request, William Radice kindly translated the poem for me. My next move was more unconventional. I did not go to any famous dance gurus from India or my previous teachers, instead crossing the generation gap I asked Shobana Gulati, an artist years junior to me, known at that time more for her work for film dance with young people, to choreograph the piece for me. Only when I heard the comments of some friends and my peer group did I realise what a radical step that was. Some said ARE YOU MAD? Some kept quiet; others took the view that I must be desperate. However I had no doubt that this was one of the best decisions of my life.
I gave Shobi a challenge to make a dance that was not for the young bodies that could move the way she would like them to but for an aging body with its limitations. In this instance the dance had to be developed building on the specific strengths of the dancer. Within the world of South Asian dance there are no platforms similar to 'Growing Old Disgracefully' or 'Beyond the Tea Dance'. So I knew that this would have to be a dance that could fit easily within the ethos of general programming of dance.
In this dance we wanted to move away from the usual convention of literal translation of the poem. The dance starts by giving an abstract interpretation of being in the middle of a busy city, The expression moves from bemused bewilderment to a feeling of being overpowered by the noise, chaos and the massiveness of the city. Then it gets back to the mood of the first line, to the comfort promised by the 'mighty calmness'. All the way through the dance is punctuated by this search for a 'beautiful kindly world'.
The rhythm and the arrangement of the words lend itself well to express a sense of frustration, anger, meanness and conflict. William keeps the rhythm of his translations close to that of the original. This translation is no exception. He once described this dance as 'she dances to its pounding, menacing rhythm.' In addition to that, Shobi made up a few new rhythmic chanting such as "hoosh, hiss, sigh" and "PUSH, PULL, GRAB, STASH" to boost the energy/dynamics of the dance.
As we continued to create the piece I started to discover ways of using my body to meet the demands of the floor work and the transition of getting from one level to another. At this stage in my life I want to remain truthful to the way my body moves. Time leaves unmistakable marks of dancing - in the joints, in the muscles and in the bones of a dancer. A mature dancing body should know how to retrieve that information and present it with a new kind of sophistication. Sometimes the loss of youthful agility can lead to the discovery of newfound sources of power. One learns to express more with less.
Chris Davies made the music for the dance incorporating the sounds of saxophone with the recitations in English and Bengali by Shobi and myself. The whole process of developing the piece evolved around the intense discussion amongst the team of collaborators. Shobana made me a powerful dance. She made me move in a way that I could never have pushed myself to do. The dance is titled Song of The City. (I hold such special regard for this dance that I have managed to get it notated by a student from Surrey University. The choreography is now available in Labanotation.) At the end of this choreographic venture, I have not only got a dance that stretches me both physically and emotionally, but also have gained a friend who can ring me late at night to say "if you feel low don't forget I am here."
A great advantage of adding years to life is that one can count more friends in this world of dance than enemies. The other reward of this process of progressing through life must be having students/shisyas to whom one can pass on one's dreams.
Since we no longer function within the framework of the old system of guru - shishya parampara (lineage) we need to create new ways of communication across the generations. The modern trend is to walk side by side rather than to teach from the pulpit.
I do not think anyone will call me his or her guru. I only have a new breed of young friends, colleagues and collaborators who may or may not have been formally taught by me but have allowed me to influence their learning process. We share the closeness of the fellow travellers of the same path. They are not my Shishya, I call them 'pieces of my soul' and I count my blessings. Once when one such person could not contact me in person, she left me a note to say "I meet you every time I dance."
Bisakha Sarker can be contacted on bisakha@ukonline.co.uk
Nagar Sangeet
Rabindranath Tagore
Translated by William Radice
Where has it gone that mighty calmness, new and pure and graceful greenness, edged by the sky's resplendent blueness - beautiful kindly world?
Enormous profit thumping crashes sky-polluting foul dust-flurries, whipped by the sun into swirling eddies, soiling heaven and earth.
It is like a ritual bonfire leaping elephants trunks of fire flailing scrabling and scratching the sky with raging hunger for more and more.
Fame and wealth and status and power are not the slaves of any owner. The river of time takes all. But for a few days and a few nights only let the clashing and crowded city fill the glass of my life completely with churning foaming wine.