March
22, 2002
A
Little Bit of India at MHC: Evening of Classical Indian Dance
and Music Set for March 29
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Divya
Mathur '03
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Looking for a way
to experience some of the best of classical Indian performing
arts but can't leave South Hadley? Then your'e in luck. On Friday,
March 29, at 7:15 pm, Pratt Hall's McCulloch Auditorium will come
alive with classical Indian dance and music and the talents of
two student performers. Divya Mathur '03 will perform bharata
natyam, the major classical dance style of South India, and Hampshire
College senior and renowned musician Arnab Chakrabarty will perform
Hindustani (north Indian classical) raga music on the sarod, a
north Indian stringed instrument. Mayookh Bhowmik will play the
traditional tabla drum. Says the event's organizer Indira Peterson,
professor and chair of Asian studies, "This performance will
cover a wonderful range of India's diverse classical music and
dance traditions and will showcase two excellent young Five College
student performers."
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Arnab
Chakrabarty
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Peterson is a scholar
of dance and dance drama in the courts of the Tanjore kings in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and is currently writing
a book about a major dance drama form in bharata natyam. She is
also a performer of classical South Indian music. At the event,
Peterson and Mathur will introduce and demonstrate the intricate
"language" of bharata natyam. Based on the canon established
nearly two thousand years ago by Bharata in Treatise on Dance
and the Theater (Natya Sastra), bharata natyam in its present
form represents ancient techniques portrayed in manuscripts and
temple sculpture, and stylistic developments from the South Indian
court of Tanjore in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Says
Peterson, "At its most complete, bharata natyam is a complex
fusion of pure dance, gesture, and mime. The dance is characterized
by vigorous movement and rapid, rhythmic footwork, interlaced
with vivid narrative sequences and lyrical explorations of mood.
In the lyrical compositions, the solo dancer aims at capturing
and evoking a dominant mood—love, heroism, compassion, and
so on—by using a finely nuanced vocabulary of hand gesture,
body movement, and facial expression. The major narrative themes
of bharata natyam dance are drawn from the stories of the gods,
goddesses, and heroes in Hindu mythology."
The Performers
Divya Mathur '03
Biochemistry
major Mathur, who is from New Delhi, received most of her bharata
natyam training from Jyotsna Shourie at the Dance Centre in New
Delhi and made her professional debut (Arangetram) in August 1999
in Delhi. Before coming to MHC, she performed with her teacher
in various dance recitals, such as the dance drama "The Birth
of Jesus." At the College, she has performed at the student
dance concert Variasians, sponsored by the Asian Students Association,
and the Festival of Diversity. When she is not dancing, Mathur,
who plans to pursue graduate work in biochemistry and molecular
biology, can often be found in the lab. She has been doing independent
research in Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Craig Woodard's
lab since the second semester of her sophomore year. She is also
an active member of the Asian Students Association and the International
Club.
Arnab Chakrabarty
Chakrabarty , who is from Bombay, has studied Indian classical
music for about twenty years, having been put under the tutelage
of some of India's musical giants by his parents before he was
three. He owes his early success to his mentor Pandit Buddhadev
Dasgupta, a legendary figure in the domain of Hindustani
classical music. By way of his discipleship of Dasgupta, Chakrabarty
traces his musical lineage to the inventors of the sarod. In recent
years, he has emerged as one of the foremost sarod players of
his generation. He has performed globally since 1995, giving numerous
recitals as a delegate of the government of India through its
cultural wing. Chakrabarty is the recipient of the 1996 President's
Award for excellence in the arts (New Delhi) as well as the 1997
National Junior Fellowship of the Ministry of Human Resources,
and a Hampshire College/Ford Foundation scholarship award, which
is enabling him to attend Hampshire.
Mayookh Bhaumik
Bhaumik, a prominent tabla player from Calcutta, started his professional
career at age thirteen and earned a reputation as a studio artist
while still in his teens. He has made hundreds of recordings for
film, music, and commercials, as well as performing in traditional
concerts, both solo and as an accompanist to some of the greatest
Indian classical musicians. A graduate of the City University
of New York, Bhaumik is the youngest-ever Asian member of the
Grammy Awards Committee. In 1997, he turned down a place at the
Juilliard School to return to India and pursue traditional studies
in tabla. He is the cofounder of an experimental rhythm
ensemble, called Time Travil, and has also established Black Coffee,
a movement to bring Indian classical music to the streets.
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