When Raya Sarkar, a Law student put out a list of men accused of sexually predatory behaviour in academia, there was a lot of skepticism about the #Metoo movement. People expressed their concern over naming and shaming without an accountable narrative attached to it. The recent second wave of #MeToo began with survivors not only calling out men in media for sexually predatory behaviour but also sharing their personal narratives around abuse while unpacking the power structures in which these incidents are situated. It was no less than opening a Pandora’s box. Women and even some male survivors from every professional field jumped into the movement and came out with their horrifying stories of being subject to abuse and harassment.
Cadets of the National Cadets Corp (NCC) perform a traditional Indian dance during a parade in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010. Founded in 1948, NCC is a tri service organization, comprised of the army, navy and air force, who works to groom the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
#MeToo for the classical arts
With the massive proportions the movement has assumed, even the classical arts community has finally decided to break the historical silence that shrouded abusive culture in these fields for generations. Sexual harassment and abuse runs so deeply in the field that not only has it been normalized, but yielding to “favours” demanded by those in power is seen by many as an unavoidable step to move up the career ladder in dance and music. While the #MeToo movement is led by the likes of T.M. Krishna and Swarnamalya Ganesh in Chennai, there has been little collective talk about it in Karnataka dance and music circles. In fact, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, the other bastions of Carnatic music and dance, has also been quiet. Some artistes from the fraternity share their thoughts about #MeToo movement and its relevance.
According to Masoom Parmar, a Bharathanatyam dancer and an Arts Manager, “#MeToo brings in the value of accountability to the field of classical dance. It holds the person in power or with privilege accountable to the trust that parents or students put in them. It is important that we know who these artistes with predatory instincts are, so that we’re able to safeguard children, women and others who are under potential threat.”
Anuradha Venkataraman, Bangalore based Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer says that she has been following the Metoo movement closely especially the one gathering momentum in Chennai. Speculating about discussions of Metoo in Bangalore, she says “I am actually very surprised I am not hearing anything from the Bangalore dance circles. I’ve been thinking why people are not opening up and talking, even among closed circles. Maybe because Bangalore doesn’t figure as a hub of classical arts like Chennai or as a power centre like Delhi.”
Shades of Struggle
Kathak dancer Mridula Rao says that many times dancers are not in a position to say ‘No’. She says: “The relationship between a percussionist, often the tabla player and the Kathak dancer is power laden. For some reason, a percussion instrument is seen as a mathematical instrument and is most often played by a male. The on stage power play of who owns the rhythm, spills off stage too and sometimes takes on abusive colours. To think that abstract dancing is genderless is not true. You have to pull yourself so much and almost become a man while dancing to rhythm and this experience is connected to the relationship between the dancer and the musician.”
Sumana Chandrashekhar, a ghatam player, recognises that not many musicians are still comfortable about speaking in public. She is shocked at the extent of abuse, and says: “In the Bangalore classical music circles, people are talking, but in whispers to friends. But none have spoken about it publicly or openly. I think a lot of people are following what is happening closely. Maybe people are speaking up in Chennai because there is a support system that is built, also there are people who are leading this movement. That is why people are feeling empowered to speak about it. Where as in Bangalore it is still in progress, I wouldn’t want to say everyone should speak up at once because one has to feel confident about these things. There are many things to consider. So I am willing to say that Bangalore is going through its process and I do hope that at certain point people here will begin to speak up.”
Why are only younger musicians are speaking up? “The reason probably that older musicians are not speaking up, even though some are sharing privately, is because they have a lot more at stake than the younger musicians. They have families with spouse, children, parents and in-laws. No matter how well accomplished they are, they have a lot of this at stake. However, in Chennai, there are some who haven’t spoken publicly but have supported their students to come out and share publicly. But it’s important to acknowledge that there is a huge culture of silence.”
Speaking of the movement in the context of Odissi circles, Odissi dancer Meghana Das says she has not had any personal experience of abuse. However, she believes that Metoo is a valuable movement because “many people have started talking about what is appropriate and what is not in any relationship. Even in Bangalore there might not be discussions with teachers per se, but a lot of people are speaking to peers. ”
Praveen Kumar, a Bharathanatyam dancer and teacher has a sceptical take on how far this movement can go. “This is not new”, he says “people have been talking about it for years. Though it is good that with social media platforms these issues are finally getting visibility.” Similar to several women artistes who have expressed themselves on social media, Praveen also seems to be of the opinion that it takes two hands to clap.
What constitutes a #Metoo story?
For Mridula, this movement is no more about sexual abuse or harassment alone, she says “Personally, Metoo has alerted me to power structures in my own dance class. Even as a woman teaching other women, I now think of how much right I have over their bodies and their stories.” She goes on to say “when the student loses her voice in the student-teacher relationship, is when one can draw a line.” Masoom too asks what constitutes a Metoo moment? “If a dancer doesn’t want to pay money to a Sabha and is rejected from performance, is that a Metoo moment?”. However, for Meghana Das, Metoo is specifically about sexual abuse not any abuse of power.
Close up image of a silhouette of a woman singing to a microphone.
To come together to discuss issues of abuse and share experiences seems to be the way forward. In Mridula’s opinion. “The problem is that we still think of ourselves as individual dancers who’re into independent practice. We haven’t learnt to take responsibility for our field. When we come together we talk about examinations or competitions or shows. These talks seem to divide us, I think sharing of these other kind of experiences will help us come together.” Anuradha also strikes a similar chord, she says that “dancers need to come together for reasons beyond networking”.
With more faith that the survivors’ stories would be believed and supported, the journey of these artistes can be reclaimed from the hands of the powerful few to include diverse voices.
