In conversation with Geeta Chandran -The iconic doyenne of Bharatnatyam
Delhi Public School Varanasi, Nashik, and Lava Nagpur hosted Geeta Chandran, the iconic doyenne of Bharatnatyam, in a webinar on 23rd May 2020. The webinar was seventh in the series titled BREAKING BARRIERS. Breaking Barriers is an initiative to present varied thoughts and perspectives and promote creativity and learning among the students of the three schools.
Mr. Mukesh Shelat, the Principal of DPS Varanasi, introduced Ms. Chandran in an innovative way. Prarabdh Bajpai, a student of DPS Varanasi, used mudras and abhinaya to portray every word of Mr. Shelat. Ms. Chandran is a celebrated artist, a star performer who skillfully weaves abstract notions into fluid movements. She engages in a strategic range of dance-related activities and some of her niche interests include environment protection, art education, and gender sensitivity. Ms.Chandran is the recipient of the Padma Shree (2007), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and is the Tagore National Fellow for the year 2020.
Ms. Geeta Chandran spoke about the immense potential that dance as an art form has. Dance and music, she said are very basic to human nature and everybody can dance. Dance can be therapeutic, cathartic; it can make a person more communicative as it has a profound effect on one’s body language, aura, and personality. Dance has its roots in philosophy, mythology, spirituality, literature, poetry, music, craft, and sculptor; in fact every dance form gives the audience a peep into the culture of its place of origin. Each dance form is unique.
Ms. Chandran urged students to first understand why they want to learn a particular art form and then immerse themselves fully; this passion is what will enrich them and make them better human beings. Reality Shows, could bring quick fame but are also recipes for quick disaster, they destroy the artist and her creativity for TRPs.
In the post corona times if Art and Education join hands, it will become a powerful tool that will nurture resilience and help students tide over the difficult times and its stresses. She urged schools to identify talent and create ‘rasiks’ who will value this rich heritage. Students need to seek a Guru who will train them, put them through the rigor and make the process of learning more meaningful.
Ms.Chandran depicted the Navarasa in the context of the current pandemic. Her eloquent eyes spoke volumes and gave the audience a tiny glimpse of the iconic doyenne that she is.
Arshi Shaikh of DPS Lava, Simran Kaur of DPS Nashik and Saumya Vetal of DPS Varanasi brought their questions to the forum and represented all the student admirers of Ms. Geeta Chandran.
The webinar unraveled yet another perspective, another way to breaking barriers that stop us from realizing our potential.
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