Indian Newslink Feb 15, 2016 Digital Edition

February 15, 2016 ARTLINK-with Ratna Venkat
25
Persistence gets into the groove of music
Footsteps on the sands of time along a colourful journey
Second of Three Parts
Wenceslaus Anthony
Ratna Venkat’s foray
into the world of fusion
began in 2012, when
she met the Auckland
based band ‘Gurus of Groove.’
Her suggestion to collaborate
with them seemed unusual in
the first instance since the band
had no previous connection
with classical dancers and were
focused on playing Hindi and
Western melodies.
However, the band, convinced
of their own need to diversify
and add variety to their performances,
agreed to change their
tune to the née concept.
“When I introduced this idea,
they were a little uncertain as
this was an entirely new concept.
But after careful planning
and countless rehearsals, we
came together and inaugurated
our fusion acts at the ‘Indian
Newslink Indian Business
Awards 2012’ in Auckland, at
which the Guest of Honour
was grandson of Mahatma
Gandhi and Chakravarthy
Rajagopalachari and former
West Bengal Governor Gopal
Krishna Gandhi.
“The response was overwhelming.
The audience just
loved our innovation as most of
them had not seen this kind of
fusion before,” Ratna said.
Dance, like music, transcends human barriers- Ratna presenting a semi-classical dance
Featured Artiste
Her collaboration with the
band significantly changed
people’s views about classical
dance and since then, she
has been receiving regular
requests from many national
and local government agencies,
multinationals, large companies
and cultural organisations to
perform both traditional and
fusion dances at their events.
Following ‘Gurus of Groove’
of which she is now the
band’s featured dancer at
the annual ‘Indian Newslink
Indian Business Awards,’ Ratna
collaborated with ‘Idhayam,’
a Carnatic fusion group based
in Wellington in 2014, and is a
member of the newly formed
‘Sargam Fusion’ band in
Auckland, comprising musicians
from Carnatic, Hindustani
and Western backgrounds.
She has also worked with
international artistes including
an exclusive music-dance duet
with Tabla maestro Avirbhav
Verma in 2013.
Foot-Bell Percussionist
Ratna’s dancing abilities led
her to make her mark as a
musician too, notably as ‘footbell
percussionist’ thanks to her
training in the Maharashtrian
folk dance Lavni, and the North
Indian classical dance, Kathak.
Footwork is the hallmark of
these two styles.
“Lavni and Kathak dancers
are skilled in controlling the
sound of their ghunguroos
(ankle bells) and executing
complicated rhythms on stage.
Inspired by their dexterity, I
Fusion helps to project traditional values-
Ratna presenting Lavni, a folk number
wanted to incorporate this interesting
element into my shows.
In addition, I could contribute
myself musically as a foot-bell
percussionist to the band, and
this has been welcomed by my
co-artistes,” she said.
The Scribe
Besides her outstanding dance
work, Ratna is a talented writer
and an orator, and holds a
graduate BA degree with double
majors in Linguistics and Asian
Studies from Massey University,
New Zealand. She is Editor of
‘Artlink’, a section that she runs
in Indian Newslink.’
She is also a part-time model
promoting various hair care
and beauty products.
Interestingly, she has merged
her academic qualifications
with her dancing ambitions,
Let there be light and brighten hearts and
minds- Ratna at BNZ Diwali 2014
adding another feather to her
already elaborate cap.
“My love for exploring
cultures, languages and songs
from different parts of the
world has been apparent since
my childhood, and now with a
degree in Linguistics and Asian
Studies, I have found ways to
bridge my Indian dance styles
with music styles from different
cultures,” Ratna said.
Wenceslaus Anthony is the
Chairman and Managing Director
of WAML Group. The above is the
second in a series of three articles,
which appeared in ‘Indus Age’
Australia, reproduced with the
permission of the publication.
This Dreams thing seems to be real
A vivid spectrum of colours
The visions of a dream
Sunshine glow
Praneeta Kochhar is a young thinker who writes on subjects that
we only dream about and fear to dwell. She lives in Hamilton.
Praneeta Kochhar
Photographer/Visual Artist
Humans are dreamers.
Our dreams take us
to places we have
never been, and help
us achieve things that seem
impossible in the world of logic.
Years ago, people talking on
the telephone was a fantasy,but
today, mobile phones have
become smarter, and are taking
over the communication and
audio-visual industries with a
bang.
Freudian Philosophy
There are many notions in
different cultures about dreams
and their interpretation. Father
of psychology, Dr Sigmund
Freud based his school of
thought on human dreams and
their interpretation.
While the views on dreams
and their interpretation have
been varied, no one has ever
refuted them as irrelevant.
We have all seen, admired
and witnessed many dreams
coming true, in our own lives as
well as that of others.
Dreams work
But one fact always prevailsdreams
do come true.
But how do they work? Are
dreams a part of our intuitive
ability, or a future vision that
we have, or are they a mere
manifestation of our desires? Is
it just a matter of wishing upon
a star, or is it a true calling of
our soul?
The questions are many, and
the possibilities are endless.
Parallel World
I believe that a dream is
nothing but a reality of a
parallel world. A world where
you either want to be, or where
you have already been.
But, Dreams are also a funny
reality. They show us a world
that we never knew existed,
and it makes our mind work
towards it.
They show us a vision and
suddenly it all looks more real
than the world we live in. They
reveal our deepest desires, and
express our worst fears, yet
they are mere illusions. The
dream world is more real than
the world we live in, as it is the
world created by us. It shows
us what we truly want, how we
truly feel and what we really
want to say.
Dreams guide your path and
help you in understanding your
deepest expressions. And it is
only in dreams, that we truly
live and express.
So, the question now
is,“Which is truly the real
world?”