Understanding life through art is vital for an artist – Jyotsna Narayanan

Pune, March 5: “An artist must understand the life through his art. His ultimate aim is to have that divine experience and share it with his audience. Thus experience life through art is essential for every artist” said Jyotsna Narayanan, a Bharatnatyam dancer and a yoga teacher. She was speaking at a workshop organized by ‘Sankhya Dance Company’ and ‘Mudra Centre of Performing Arts’ during3rd edition of ‘Sindhu Mahotsav’ a 2-day dance festival.

Speaking on the occasion Jyotsna said, “Yoga is an extension of life and a dancer must make Yoga his ‘Lakshya’. It means uniting the essence of body, mind and creativity. Practicing Yoga will not only add to a dancer’s persona but will also help him or her to grasp that divine experience. Through ‘Tapas’, ‘Sadhana’ and ‘Shraddha’ one should burn their body to remove all the unwanted things and impediments that clutter your path to reach the divine.”

Leela Venkatraman, a scholar, writer and a renowned dance critic also spoke about ‘Tradition and Transition’ in Indian Classical dance. “Tradition means inheriting certain legacies from our past. With all the transitions that Bharatnatyam has gone through,  Margam still remains and is even more significant in today’s world because it tells you to burn your ego and kill the ‘I’ in ‘You’” mentioned Leelaji.

This was followed by a lecture demonstration by Vaibhav Arekar and his disciples. He presented dance pieces like Mallari, Shiva, Abhang Rang to unfold his journey through dance for the audience.