In Reply to: What is "shortcomings" in one's opinion may turn out to be "pinnacle of perfection" for others posted by Kamna on January 15, 2006 at 11:49:06:

 Hi Kamna,

Thanks for taking time to share your views. First off, to be frank with you, I want to mention that, in general I love to share my views and also hear about others'. It is a huge learning process for me and I value that. So, in other words, I'm not a biased person at all and am equally open to different views/opinions in any matter.

But somehow, the points that you have laid out do not convince me. (Maybe that wasn't your main intent anyway...you were merely addressing your points of view vs. mine). But sure enough, different perspectives make this world a more interesting place! I think both of us will agree on that one alright!

I have had a chance to view many of Medha’s recorded performances, and if you're interested I would like to refer to those and provide some reasoning for my points more exactly later on. (At the moment, I am tied down with some exams).

But here are some of those points taht I'm still yet to understand from your explanation:

1. You mentioned that Medha is naturally "cute & sweet".....yes, I agree.....but have you noticed the extra 'cuteness' that creeps in when she is striking a pose of say, lord Muruga or Shiva or dancing Ganapati? Have you noticed the continuous eye fluttering in her attami and side glances?

2."Sringara bhava dominating her dance is unique and wonderful"... again, I fully agree that it looks beautiful when Medha portrays it....but what about the part of sentence I stated later on....."Medha's Sringara dominates even in bhakti-soaked sahitya".... do you feel that's how the Legendary Balasaraswathi portrayed Bhakti rasa in her padams and melted millions of hearts?

3. I have read the article by A. Vasudevan and yes, I understand......traditions change and that's a quality of tradition. (Like a river that drains other tiny streams). But does an artiste deviate from tradition with an only purpose to caste a spell over the viewer??? If yes, then I admit I will give in to you on this one.

4. Regarding relevant expressions or not, I take back what I said, because I think that it would be asking too much from young Medha at her age. But I still would not agree taht she is always faithful in portraying the MEANING of Sahitya. (If you view her padam "aadadhu ashangadha vaa," maybe you can get a glimpse of my viewpoint...)

5. What about the completeness in her Theermanams and her "dit dit thai's??? Regarding Angasuddham, I was refering to movements of her upper torso and arms (and not to her feet and araimandi,etc. She maintains stunning neatness with her feet positions).

I also would like to add that I'm in no way longing or grieving that I cannot perform like MH and criticizing her just for the sake of it or because I feel insecure or any such thing. If I'm not mistaken, you are indicating that people who cannot dance like someone else resort to criticizing the person. In this case, this is an incorrect presumption.

Personally, I admire numerous aspects of MH's dancing and like I mentioned in an earlier post, I really have no doubt that she can soon enough prove her caliber as a top dancer.

However, as of now, I will not call her a ‘flawless’ dancer or an "APSARA" as many people do. I fully accept the fact that every being has its own shortcomings and I think it would be unacceptable to blindly make these shortcomings look like unique gems of reverence.

Overall, yes, I want to also say that I fully agree with your point that it is MH's 'unique' style that sets her way apart. And Again, thank you for taking time to share your viewpoints and calling to my attention, another different way of looking at this matter.

Shruti

PS ~ Just for your info, I have had years of training in Chennai from dedicated gurus and also a vast experience of viewing performances, before recently moving outside of India. So, you can't assume that I haven’t a clue of what dance is! To tell you the truth, I came across some similar views of criticism from a few experienced dancers in Chennai who, according to your theory, perhaps share views of what is "relevant/irrelevant" similar to yours as India-based dancers (?). But again…....I guess I'll conclude on the note that different perspectives make this world a more interesting place to live in...!
 
 

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