An Odissi dancer teaching her craft in a village in South India is a story not to be missed. And hence, we decided to listen in to Rekha Tandon and her musician-writer husband Michael Weston who have made Auroville their home in the last five years. Tandon teaches the art form at the Pitanga Cultural Centre in the green campus. “I have five to seven students from Auroville, and another small group from Edayanchavady village, two of whom are teachers themselves. I also constantly have people from out of Puducherry and even the country, staying here for two or three weeks for one-on-one intensive classes,” says the student of Madhavi Mudgal, Guru Trinath Maharana, and Kelucharan Mohapatra.
Tandon has come out with a book on Odissi’s connection with Yoga, called Dance as Yoga: The Spirit and Technique of Odissi . The writer-dancer was in the city at a book launch organised by Prakriti Foundation last weekend.
Dressed in an elegant cotton maroon sari and sporting a bindi , Tandon explains Odissi to me, occasionally striking Tribhanga, the typical tri-bent pose. “Looks easy,” I declare to myself. And, she quickly warns: “This requires you to become still, quiet and aware of your own body. Dance is about consecrating space and its constant intention of making the body sacred.”
About its connection with Yoga, she says, “Yoga has been the fundamental building block of Indian art for centuries. In essence, it is the union of matter and spirit. The process of refining any dance movement and aspiring for excellence is by its very nature ‘yogic’ and all Indian classical dance forms embody this knowledge,” says the artistic director and co-founder of Dance Routes, established with Weston, whom she met in London in 1994.
Before the Puducherry chapter of her life, she was settled in Bhubaneswar, where she managed Dance Routes for 13 years, with folk performers from around Puri. These were the practitioners of Gotipua — precursor to classical Odissi dance. The Gotipua dance was codified into Odissi classical dance by veterans like Mohapatra. “The Gotipua dancers were young boys who used to dance in the courtyards of the Hindu temples since 16th century. Once they become fully mature at the age of 14 or 15, they stopped dancing. So much skill was invested in 10 years of their life. However, they eventually were jettisoned from this tradition and had to find alternative sources of income. Our work involved developing their skills further and creating productions that could be staged in cities.”
As collaborators of The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), she along with Weston, documented, researched and produced DVDs in connection with the art form. “We have this interesting history folk tradition being revised as classical tradition. And, it would be tragic to just tap into the final product of Odissi and not look back at the elements that went into it. The focus of the hour is while learning Odissi, being aware of the resources that went into building it right from the beginning.”
Divine providence is what she calls her decision to settle here in Edayanchavady village, in the outer green belt of Auroville. The long-time volunteer in Auroville recalls how it was a chance tea session with Michael and three local boys that led to their decision to settle in South India. “They took us around Auroville in their bike and we instantly fell in love with this place. At that time, we were involved in a three-month long residency here. By the end of it, we had bought the land,” she smiles. “We have been staying in our home Skandavan for the last five years. It is named after the monastery Skanda Vale in Wales, which Weston was closely associated with.”
Around Auroville, there are many mini universes like Adishakti, a theatre laboratory, says Tandon. “So many artistes are drawn to this hyper belt around Auroville. This outer universe is as active and fast growing as Auroville itself.”
Dance Routes is now based at Skandavan, near Auroville. For enquiries, mail rekha@danceroutes.com or visit danceroutes.com. Her book is available on amazon.in.
A dancer’s guide to Auroville
Best places to eat:
Tantos pizza, Bread and Chocolate and Auroville Bakery.
To shop:
Auroville Visitor’s Centre. Favourites are Kalki for essential oils and candles and Mira boutique for scarves and loose, comfortable clothing.
Take a walk:
Pitchandikulam, a 70-acre forest, is a hidden treasure. A wilderness created by naturalist Joss Brooks, it houses indigenous trees, and flora and fauna.
Auroville Botanical garden, 40 acres of butterfly trails, is another spot.
Cultural spaces:
Pitanga Cultural Centre, with a lovely romantic tree in the garden, and Bharat Nivas in the International Zone of Auroville, which has an auditorium, art gallery and library.
