Performing art
From the mouth of a celebrated Manipuri dancer
Novera Deepita talks to Sharmila Bandyopadhyay
Uday Shankar Indian Culture Centre used to arrange dance festivals that would continue for days together,' recalls Sharmila Bandyopadhyay, 'It was during one of those days that I sat among many of the candidates who went there for interview. We were all asked to do something creative on the basis of which the selection was to be made. Internationally acclaimed dancers Amola Shankar and Ananda Shankar were there to evaluate our performance. I gathered all my courage and stood up and performed a dance, which was an instant composition of mine. Amola Shankar appreciated my innovative movements to an extent that she said I could dance even with my seniors. It was an inspiring and unforgettable moment of my life.' With her parents' encouragement, Sharmila began to dance at a very early age. Sharmila recollects, 'Since my childhood days I loved to dance and it was an extra curricular activity of mine. I started to take my very first dance lessons from Chunilal Sen and Anil Mitra. Later, I joined the Bulbul Lalita Kala Academy of Fine Arts, tutored by Baburam Shil. My emotions and creativity were further enhanced when I went over to Udayshankar India Culture Centre and watched the creative dance of Amola Shankar. I realized that dancing is more than an art, it is worship, love and devotion. I felt that it is a great pleasure to perform classical dances.' Sharmila completed her graduation in Manipuri dance at the Shantiniketon Bishwabharoti and it was then that she took dance as a profession. Sharing the experiences of Shantiniketon, Sharmila continues, 'I always feel at home whenever I go there. It is like being at my own place when I walk through the green meadows and trees. The ashram is a peaceful abode and very different from the rest of the places I have visited so far. Very often the tune of music comes floating with the wind. The arts building and music section are found side by side. The whole environment is so inspiring and an ideal abode for art and culture.' 'Our classes would begin at 6:30 in the morning, which was like devotion for us. The enchanting tunes of Tappa, Bhairab and other raagas going on in the music classes next door honed my musical instincts and helped immensely in my performance. Dance as we all know, is the combination of musical instrument and movement. To prepare ourselves as good performers it was important for us to listen to the tabla and other instrumental classes as-well.' About the performance of the Bangladeshi students Sharmila says, 'The Bangladeshi students, being quite a big group, spent a very interesting time there. Many eminent artistes of today- Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya, Saadi Mohammad, Shampa Reza, Hashi Charobarti and Shukla Sarkar were there then. The students and teachers of the institute were very co-operative. The performance of our batch was satisfactory and well appreciated. We seemed to dominate all the programmes,' she smiles. Comparing the Indian and the Bangladeshi dance Sharmila says, 'We can't compare the two because they are quite different. First of all, besides classical dances there are some folk dances in India, which are typical of the region with unthinkable variations. In comparison, our folk dances are fully "created" and are not performed by the people of the particular community. Our past generation has paved the way for us and the age-old barriers are now fading away. The classical dance has now gained recognition and occupies a special place in our country.'
|
Sharmila Bandyopadhyay depicting a Manipuri mudra |
