The sound of Saraswati Vandana echoes through the auditorium hall and listening to the melody, an inner peace descends upon you. It feels like your soul is absorbing the warmth of the vocals sung by Abhinav Arora with Sameer Khan playing the tabla. Placed on the other end of the stage is a sleek black piano where Shalom David plays a joyous tune which slowly jumps into a dramatic tune followed by a few notes of melancholy.
The inaugural showcase of Jindal Art Institute began with a series of art forms. Dressed in a bright yellow outfit, Kathak dancer Era Dogra narrated a story with beautiful hand gestures but what captivated one the most was the abhinaya of her eyes which transcends the barriers of language. It takes you on a journey where you lose yourself and yet find yourself.
Realising her dream
Founded by noted Kuchipudi dancer, Shallu Jindal, JAI hopes to create amazing dancers, musicians and instrumentalists. The celebrated Kuchipudi exponent has been dreaming about opening an art institute for the past five years but the right space wasn’t available. “I always thought it was wishful thinking and I would never get the chance to do it since it is quite difficult to find a place in Delhi.” But one day, her husband, noted industrialist and former Member of Parliament Naveen Jindal, found this space in the Qutub Institutional Area and when she saw it, she fell in love with the area and her dream finally transformed into a reality.
She strongly believes that learning any art form enriches our life and enhances our ability to observe and grasp what life throws at us. “I think art inculcates values like hard work, commitment, passion and resilience in an individual. In today’s world, we need these values to take on everyday stresses of life.”
JAI offers an array of classes in the field of performing arts such as Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, Bollywood semi-classical choreography, lyrical contemporary, theatre, Hindustani vocal, Western vocal, tabla, flute, guitar, piano, yoga and Zumba under the guidance of some of the best instructors and gurus. With 20 art forms under one roof and many more to come, including fine arts, Shallu wants to develop something that hasn’t been done before. “I wanted to open an institute where adults and children can come and enjoy a variety of performing arts. Each individual would have the opportunity to try out different things and then stick to what they really like.” It is this flexibility that is one of the core ingredient at JAI where she has tried to replicate art institutes found abroad.
The interiors are artistic and have a comfortable vibe with Victorian windows, hardwood floors and bamboo rods forming an arc on the roof. When you step into the room, you feel like tapping your feet even if you are not a professional dancer.
The institute has already started the process of collaborating with various NGOs to teach underprivileged children for free. “Anyone who is eager to learn would be trained with due diligence and the JSPL Foundation will look after their financial needs.” Her main objective is to promote art and culture and help as many individuals as possible to realise their dream.
As she is a dance exponent herself, Shallu Jindal follows purist traditions in her Kuchipudi repertoire but with JAI she wants to explore and experiment with dance as we know it. One day, she would want to do a dual recital where she would be performing Kuchipudi in jugalbandi with a Flamenco dancer. She was fortunate enough to find her true calling at 31 when she met her gurus Raja, Radha and Kaushalya Reddy through a chance encounter at Tirupati. Since then, dance has taught her great life lessons and she wants others to experience the same. Now, she wants to give back to the world as much as she has received.
