Protima Gauri (Bedi) established Nrityagram, dance village at Hessaraghatta, near Bangalore on May 11, 1990. She passed away on August 18, 1998. Before she went to the Himalayas, she handed over the institution to her colleague and lights designer Lynne Fernandez.
With Surupa Sen, Bijayni Satpaty and Pavitra Reddy, three dancers and as a manager, Lynne took over the responsibility to carry on training of students, performing, choreographing and running the institution, a dream Protima had cherished. Twenty five years is a landmark in life of any institution. Nrityagram underwent many changes in terms of offering courses in different dance forms. Protima had visualised an institution far away from the madding crowds to train dancers in seven classical dance forms and two martial arts. Though during her life time, training was given in Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam, after her demise Lynne, Surupa and Bijayni decided to concentrate on Odissi. Today Nrityagram dancers – Surupa and Bijayni – are world renowned Odissi dancers and Pavitra also joins them in national and international performances.
On May 11, 1990, Protima and I had published a newsletter which was released by the then Prime Minister V.P Singh. Protima had written in that inaugural issue, “In March 1989 I put my suitcases a white marble Nandi, a gift from Maharana of Udaipur, a cheque for Rs. 2 lakhs in my red Maruti car and drove from Bombay to Hessaraghatta! The land was dry and barren, infested with snakes and scorpions. I had stood in the middle of nowhere and wondered how and where to start. I realise now, that I need not have worried. Nrityagram had its own longings, its own desires. I was and am, a mere tool….a slave, ready and able to do its own bidding. All hurdles simply melted away and miracles started taking shape, before my bewildered and astonished eyes. People simply started arriving, offering their skills, goodwill, interest and support…Suddenly like the Goddess Kali, hundreds of arms materialised from my being. I was everything. I was telephone operator, typist, planner, fund raiser, office bearer, peon, post-office, driver, and labourer!’’
“We organised festivals of music and dance, to raise funds, to continue construction. The renowned and revered musicians, gurus of dance and music contributed with free performances, to see a collective dream materialise.” The rest is history.
A month before the celebrations, I attended a 15 days workshop they conducted for aspiring dancers, who were not professional dancers but young girls who had joined workshop out of curiosity. Bijayni and Surupa taught on alternate days to the batch of 20 registered young girls from diverse backgrounds. They learnt how to sweep the floor, practice yoga, do warm up exercises, footsteps, recite shlokas from the Natyasastra, movements known as Bhumi charis, earth bound and Akashi charis, aerial, a set of movements based on karanas, dance units mentioned in Natyasastra, which were based on their study of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam’s researches.
On Sunday, nearly 50 to 60 children from nearby village attend free classes. They range from five to 15 years. Surupa and Bijayini go to two schools in Bangalore to teach Odissi on select two days. They travel within India and abroad and as Surupa puts it, “We do dance 24x7 and enjoy. We travel a lot but we have made arrangements that in our absence, the classes continue.”
To let Bangaloreans understand what happens at Nrityagram, Surupa and Bijayini presented a batch of five to 15 years old girls in basic exercises but in a choreographed manner. One after another the gradual development of a dance number was presented in a manner that the audience could see how through such exercises a dancer masters the technique. For instance, the square position ‘chowka’, three body bend known as ‘tribhanga’, the transfer of weight from one part of the body to another which gives the body a fluidity and grace were demonstrated with recitation of mnemonic syllables. All these looked like dance numbers and not as a class room work.
Interspersed with this were dance items for which Surupa and Bijayini have won critical acclaim. A nritta, pure dance item like Batu, in which dancers depict a variety of musical instruments, playing upon veena, manjira, pakhawaj and flute, inspired from the life-size three dimensional sculptures one sees on the parapet of Konark temple, revealed the genius of the late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.
Enchanting pallavi, set to Basant raga, was followed by Gita Govinda ashtapadi Lalita Lavanga Lata Parishilan, creating the mood of spring showing Krishna dancing on the bank of river Yamuna. Set to five rhythmic patterns, Panch Tala Pallavi, re-choreographed by Surupa was followed by their piece de resistance item Vibhakta.
This Ardhanarishwar composition by Shankaracharya excels in describing the union of feminine grace and virile aspect of male, representing Parvati and Shiva in one body.
When Bijayini in a standing pose raising arms like a hood of serpent stood over the bent body of Surupa, the visual created was stunning and astounding. Such perfection is rarely seen.
If they received a standing ovation, one felt Protima, wherever her soul was, showering flowers on her disciples!
Nrityagram dancers succeeded in showcasing their art as a tribute to Protima and one felt that her dream was fulfilled not only by Surupa and Bijayini but also by a new generation of dancers receiving training at Nrityagram.
