Can someone answer
these questions for me...
1. What is the importance of arangetram?
2. Is arangetram such a grand event
that the expenses should be almost like a marriage?
3. Why has arangetram become a mere
qualification to add to a marriage CV?
4. Is it a short-cut to keep in
touch with the Indian culture?
5. Why is knowledge of Indian culture
connected to arangetram?
6. Is arangetram the termination
of the learning phase?
7. Once arangetram is over, students
think that they are experts. Why?
8. What can be done to save the
real ethos of arangetram?
- Priya
(March 27, 2008)
1. Just an official debut performance.
Like a premiere of a new film. The difference is that your arangetram is
going to be watched ONLY by your relatives, your parents' co-workers, neighbors,
your schoolmates, and a couple of chief guests who do not understand anything
about arangetram but who will deliver long and meaningless speeches in
the middle of your arangetram so that half of your relatives would have
enough time to sneak out and run away, away, away from that boredom!
2. If you have more money that you
can spend, you must spend as much as you can. So, for 1 bottle of water
you can pay Rs.10 or Rs.30000, depending on how much needless cash you
have. If people buy a little stone for Rs. 50 lakhs, they can spend two
times more on the arangetram.
3. The more formal qualifications
you have, the happier your marriage will be. This is at least what all
stupid people think. After all, your husband will not let you dance after
the wedding is over.
4. Is it a short-cut to keep in touch
with the Indian culture? Yes, also it is a status token.
5. If your child does not know anything
about the India culture, you can boast to your neighbors about her arangetram.
6. Is arangetram the termination
of the learning phase? Of course! Now you can start your own school and
send your expensive guru to hell!
7. Once arangetram is over, why do
students think they are experts? This is what their gurus try to convince
them about. Otherwise, the students would ask, "Why on earth have we spent
so much of money, time and effort, and still have not learnt much????"
8. Just be a proud Indian. If anyone
asks you why you are proud, tell him that we are just like that - proud,
and that's all.
Why didn't you ask, "What can be
done to save the real ethos of Bharatanatyam"?
- K Meera
(March 29, 2008)
Arangetrams have become an easy
announcement of a daughter ready for marriage.
Arangetram factories all over the
world give the impression to a student that they are ready to conquer the
scene.
As long as there are innumerable
teachers finding a living through arangetram and parents ready to spend
money, let this business flourish.
True art, involvement, dedication
etc. can wait till a proper guideline is drawn by experts and those who
manage art in Government.
Don't worry. Let the sabha secretaries
have a cold coffee with a young dancer in their old age. Let the musicians
get a new sari on the occasion of arangetram. Let the guru get a lump sum
amount.
Long live parents - long live arangetrams...
- G S Rajan
(March 30, 2008)
I would like to respond to the 'Roses
and Thorns' debate on 'importance of arangetram.' Here are my answers:
What is the importance of arangetram?
An arangetram is a graduation ceremony.
As with any graduation ceremony, it denotes the attainment of certain skills.
In the case of Bharatanatyam, it denotes the successful completion of a
series of dances.
Is arangetram such a grand event
that the expenses should be almost like a marriage?
Yes. An arangetram is such a grand
event that the expenses should be almost like a marriage. It is a time
for one's family and friends to acknowledge the hard work and dedication
that has gone into learning the dance. However, one must remember that
weddings can be both expensive and inexpensive. There is no reason that
an arangetram needs to be expensive. There are many ways that one can cut
down on arangetram expenses just like one can cut down on wedding expenses.
Why has arangetram become a mere
qualification to add to a marriage CV?
Just like graduating from anything,
the arangetram shows one's dedication and hard work. Plus, dance is healthy
for the body, looks beautiful, and teaches self-confidence. Wouldn't anyone
like his/her spouse to possess these characteristics?
Is it a short-cut to keep in touch
with the Indian culture?
Studying Bharatanatyam is a way
to keep in touch with the Indian culture and the Indian community. It is
not a short-cut though. Studying Bharatanatyam takes much dedication and
hard work.
Why is knowledge of Indian culture
connected to arangetram?
Knowledge of Indian culture is connected
to arangetram just like it is connected to learning Bharatanatyam. It is
easier to show the appropriate expressions when one understands the dances,
and the dances often represent Hindu characters and stories; therefore,
it helps to understand Indian culture to perform the dances well.
Is arangetram the termination
of the learning phase?
Just like graduating from anything,
the graduation is not the end but only the beginning - with regard to dance,
there remains much to learn pertaining to choreographing, improvising,
and teaching others.
Once arangetram is over, students
think that they are experts. Why?
Not all students think they are
experts after the arangetram. Just like not all students think they are
experts after graduating from any other program.
What can be done to save the real
ethos of arangetram?
The real ethos of arangetram can
be saved by underlying the main principles and focusing on those principles.
Examples include attitude, etiquette, practice, dedication, devotion, selfless
service, promoting the dance, preserving the dance, learning the dance,
teaching the dance.
- Joy
(June 10, 2010)
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