Wederzijdse muzikale beïnvloeding suggereert een bepaalde harmonische richting, die in strijd zou zijn met de strikte wetten van de harmonieleer: een soepele en melodieuze combinatie van zelfstandige stemmen (contrapunt).
De muziek van onze tijd volgt deze wetten niet meer. Maar ook vroeger voelden meester componisten zich maar zelden aan vaste regels gebonden.
[ … ] Er is vast geen betere plek dan Israël om de onderlinge relaties tussen oosterse en westerse culturen te verkennen. Want daar komen drie krachtige stromingen bij elkaar: etnische groepen afkomstig uit Afrika, Azië en Europa. Ze geven een indruk van complexiteit en aantrekkingskracht, het resultaat van een wisselwerking tussen verschillende modellen. Daarom is dit boek meer dan een wetenschappelijk document, even actueel als boeiend, gebaseerd op eigen ervaring.
Europa heeft zijn wilskracht bijgedragen, en het vermogen om veel te synthetiseren wat zijn oorsprong in Azië heeft: van Mongolië in het noorden tot India in het zuiden, vervolgens in Hongarije verenigd in de muziek van de Magyaren en zigeuners [Sinti en Roma]. 1
[…] De opgave van onze tijd is een genuanceerd beeld van de onderlinge relaties door gebruik te maken van het vermogen waarover alle volkeren en culturen beschikken, namelijk de kracht om te geven en te nemen, van elkaar te leren; want we zullen elkaar altijd nodig hebben. Het vergt wel enige nederigheid om het best mogelijke te bereiken – en het ergste te voorkomen – in tijden van toenemende afhankelijkheid van elkaar. – Yehudi Menuhin (Londen, januari 1977) 2
Vrij vertaald uit: Musik zwischen Orient und Okzident: Eine Kulturgeschichte der Wechselbeziehungen von Peter Gradenwitz S. 390-392 | Details: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1046379134
Participation in Indian music means much to me – urging in sequences which will never be repeated the savoring of each note; heightening the ear’s perception of the notes, the rhythms and the flexible tensions between them Yehudi Menuhin in Unfinished Journey (London, 1978, p. 343)
Toelichting voor de niet langer gebruikelijke, want denigrerende term “zigeuner” en de behoefte aan nuance, die pas na de publicatie van dit boek in 1977 tot verandering heeft geleid (hier vrij vertaald zoals volgt):
“Zigeuner is een stereotiep woord, alleen gebruikt door de meerderheid, maar wordt door de minderheid als discriminerend afgewezen; want deze minderheden noemden zichzelf altijd Sinti en Roma. Dankzij de Duitse burgerrechtenbeweging vanaf de eind jaren zeventig werd een bewustzijn gecreëerd wat vooroordelen en uitsluitingsmechanismen betreft die met het woord “zigeuner” verbonden zijn. [ … ] De termen Sinti en Roma zijn geenszins “politiek correcte” uitvindingen van de burgerrechtenbeweging maar al in documenten uit de 18e eeuw aantoonbaar. [ … ] Dus het woord zigeuner zegt meer over de fantasieën, angsten en verlangens van degenen die het gebruiken dan over het leven van de Sinti en Roma.
“Humility is a quality often associated with self-deprecation. But by championing our achievements while also acknowledging our weaknesses, we could see benefits in many areas of our lives – and even increase our attractiveness.” – Introduction BBC podcast All in theMind (accessed 1 November 2023) [↩]
Vaitari, A musical picture book from Kerala Song for page 13
This colourful book creates opportunities to enjoy making music together without any prior training in Indian music on the parts of teachers and their pupils. “Making music together” means nothing more or less than using half an hour in a constructive manner without lengthy preparations, equipment, or instruments. In our approach, the use of voice and hands are wholly sufficient to participate; and pictures serve to get children involved and motivate them to draw and paint themselves before or after each lessons. But if time is limited to a single session, teachers are offered plenty to choose from and make those shared moments memorable and enjoyable.
More information about Vaitari, A musical picture book from Kerala is found on the project website: www.sam.mimemo.net (English) | Deutsch >>
Ludwig Pesch shares some thoughts during the book presentation for Mudra the language of Kutiyattam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam by G. Venu on 16 April 2023. The views expressed are entirely those of the speaker.
Published by Natanakairali, Irinjalakuda (Kerala, India) 1st ed. March 2023 (Rs. 3000) Inquiries: abhinayakairali@gmail.com T: +91 98464 52933
A compilation covering the contributions by all speakers (duration 2:11:42) is found here: https://youtu.be/gIDgpX47u1s >>
Transcript
Already at first glance its sheer scope is impressive: 1341 hand gestures rendered in minute detail. As “non-specialist” I feel free to explore it from various angles, some interrelated in surprising ways. Much looks familiar for someone like me having seen several of the productions it discusses. To a degree this also applies to the teaching methods even if in need of being adjusted to the talents of individual learners.
These factors sensitize us to universal principles that connect the arts beyond language, creed, or social status. As for the challenges involved, let me refer to a publication that addressed my own doubts as a beginning student of Carnatic music in Chennai: in Beyond Culture, anthropologist E.T. Hall describes how and why he “developed a cultural model that emphasised the importance of nonverbal signals and modes of awareness over explicit messages. These insights proved invaluable in studying how members of different cultures interact and how they often fail to understand one other.” 1
What struck me then was an observation that seems self-evident only in hindsight:
“In a sense … man’s relationship to all the art forms is much more intimate than is commonly supposed; man is art and vice versa. There is no way the two can be separated. The whole notion that the two are separate is […] probably an aberration of Western culture.” 2
Hand gestures would naturally have been the first choice for overcoming this separation from time immemorial.
Venu G has been a pioneer in this regard, as witnessed by many (including myself) during intercultural symposia and a research project on Kerala’s cultural practices, widening our respective horizons in unforeseen ways. This would have been impossible had he sacrificed his freedom as independent researcher and practitioner, ever since he and Mohiniyattam expert Nirmala Paniker founded Natanakairali at Irinjalakuda, then still a semi-rural environment.
While reading this new book it dawned on me that their collaborative efforts may be compared with an ancient custom locally known as kāvu (“sacred grove”) 3. Formerly widespread, it provides multiple blessings including that of a biotope.
All over the world similar places are now endangered due to urban sprawl even as scientists have demonstrated how indispensable they are from the point of view of biodiversity – safeguarding water supplies and providing clean air in harmony with local conditions. In other words, such places ensure food security and the possibility to develop new, often lifesaving medicines. 4
As for the cultural equivalent of a kāvu which I now associate with Natanakairali, we see references to the natural world as part of new productions, research and documentation projects; and also in the daily practice as mentors for those who (like myself) have marvelled at the infinite possibilities of exploring our relationship with forces beyond our control, namely by artistic means. No doubt this is food for thought, an unmeasurable but real contribution to social development in times of ever increasing uniformity.
Without development and cultural participation entire communities become alienated from one another, leaving rural communities behind while prompting their youth to leave in search of new opportunities.
Fortunately these trends are being noticed by scientific minds and educationists calling for new priorities; so also the United Nations as part of its “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” programme. Such heritage needs to be fostered within and beyond the communities to whom credit is due, an approach long advocated by Venu G. As evident from his new book, a “born researcher” gladly acknowledges exponents for their part in a precious heritage in need of being passed forward.
If this is a cause for celebration, it is because here we become aware of two realms that flourish in close proximity; and this not just as “resources” as they cannot be gauged in terms of monetary value or prestige alone.
We owe this new awareness to a wealth of details and their systematic presentation: several specialized branches of the arts are mutually connected, marvelling at their diversity from multiple perspectives like ecology, psychology, history or other disciplines; and as a result, we realize that an art – any art – needs to be rediscovered, protected and redeveloped by each new generation.
Nobody to my knowledge has expressed this more succinctly than Rabindranath Tagore:
“A most important truth, which we are apt to forget, is that a teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself. A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame.” 5
Yet going by a letter to his Dutch translator – the writer and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden – Tagore was weary of vanity:
“The superconscious self of mine which has its expression in beauty is beyond my control. […] The body of the lamp is dark, it has no expression, only its flame has the language.” 6
As evident from Venu G’s writings, lectures and personal communications, an artistic education is not merely a question of authority, success or entitlement but one of sensitivity to social development and dignity that must not be taken for granted.
His new work also demonstrates the scope for reaffirming such values and – equally important – provides a context that emboldens readers to seize every opportunity to convey a sense of purpose through their chosen art.
To illustrate my personal interpretation on these lines, let me point out a few mudras rendered in notation as found in this book.
The Glossary is equally helpful as it includes brief synopses and information about the characters figuring in some of the plays covered; this in addition to glimpses of the situations or dilemmas they face within a given scene – details local audiences would have been familiar with not so long ago.
There is nothing vague or mysterious about the language of gesture when applied to the function of specific subsets of mudras; now shown in a handsome work of reference wherein each gesture conveys moods, actions and even memories; some relating to daily life (though in kutiyattam as if mirrored rather than projected).
This differentiation resonates with a rhetorical question posed by Marcel Marceau, known as the world’s “Grand master of mime”:
“Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words?” 7
In this sense, Kerala’s “shared vocabulary” is more than suited to engage in the intercultural dialogue to which Venu G has contributed consistently for half a century:
doing justice to “the most moving moments of our lives” requires universal (mundane) just as stylized (culture-specific) vocabularies effortlessly travelling between the present, the past and possible futures that depend on choices made as part of a given story.
While contributing to Festivals of India held all over the world Venu G discovered:
“Like spoken language, Kathakali gestures offer a complete vocabulary for communication. It is very often possible to express our thoughts and emotions more forcefully with mudras than through words.” 8
With Abhinjana Sakuntala, his critically acclaimed Kutiyattam adaptation, Venu G could test this premise in India and other countries. The tension between urban civilization and communities devoted to alternative lifestyles may be viewed as a theme that connects our time with the ancient world inhabited by Kalidasa. And, as convincingly put forward by Professor Romila Thapar, the inherent tensions from which the famous poet derived inspiration, have resulted in a tapestry of cultural relations that has inspired artists from antiquity:
“In writing this play Kalidasa selected a theme from the epic, but the sub-themes may well have come from folk literature. […] Elaborating on the origin myth of the Bharatas constituted a deliberate turning to the past, possibly with the unstated thought of drawing some parallels with the present“.9
Viewing Venu G’s creative and scholarly work from this angle, and taking note of the rich store of experiences on which it is built, makes me confident that it will continue to facilitate opportunities for a dialogue on eye-level wherever needed; within and beyond India as envisaged by Tagore who anticipated the modern idea of “resilience”.
Educationist Maria Montessori, who spent more than seven years in India during and after World War 2, pondered and acknowledged the insights she gained from young children and their parents. These may well be the quintessence of all transformative experiences as part of lifelong learning. So I trust that her belief in the future of humankind was not misplaced:
“Only the collaboration between the children and the adults will be able to solve the problems of our time.” 10
*
Much of the media contents included in the present video clip were created for educational purposes, partly in the course of an interdisciplinary research project titled “Sam, Reflection, Gathering Together!” hosted by Natanakairali in collaboration with the Bern University of the Arts. Music, dance and drama lecture-demonstrations and performances were presented by many artists and students of Natanakairali and Natanakaisiki as well as visiting artists during the “Sam” workshop held in Kerala in 2006. The name of this research project points to a common denominator in the otherwise differentiated teaching, interpretation and performance practices of South India’s music, dance and drama traditions. As for the events during which many of the photographs and audio recording were created, see “Sam, Reflection, Gathering Together!” https://sam.mimemo.net >>
“Despite their decline, they still serve the purpose of reminiscing the past where people worshiped nature together with their deities, conserving biodiversity along with the culture. They exist even today, amidst human settlements and urban areas and are rich in biodiversity that has been protected by local people for their religious and cultural beliefs. The groves have different deities and varied legends associated with them.” – Haritha John in “Sacred groves of north Kerala: The last refuge for biodiversity amongst urbanisation”, Mongabay, 29 January 2019 <https://india.mongabay.com/2019/01/sacred-groves-of-north-kerala-the-last-refuge-for-biodiversity-amongst-urbanisation/>[↩]
“Though Harsh Berger used the term Ethnobotany only in 1895 this was the practising knowledge of the tribals and aborigines from time immemorial. Traditionally transmitted knowledge about plants, their medicinal and other uses and also their cultural significance are the three levels of ethnobotany. Now this branch has grown to the level of collecting and codifying the knowledge traditionally transmitted through centuries by the tribals. Ethnobotany tries to study the relation between human beings and nature. Ethnic people are knowledgeable and their world view about the sustainable life practices is now studied in modern context. […] The granaries of the knowledge in the memories of the indigenous people, in folk forms, should have patent rights for which people all over the world are fighting.” – C.R. Rajagopalan in “Indigenous knowledge – The CFS Experience”, Summer rain: Harvesting the Indigenous Knowledge of Kerala, Thrissur: Centre for IK/Folklore Studies, 2004, p. 12 <https://worldcat.org/en/title/255522477>[↩]
Nous nous engageons à promouvoir la collaboration interculturelle et la créativité par la musique. Nos activités musicales ont enrichi la vie des enfants, des jeunes et des adultes pour qui la musique n’était jusqu’à présent qu’un rêve lointain: une musique mélodieuse et basée sur des rythmes envoûtants. Nous y plongeons avec aplomb, joyeusement et spontanément mais toujours ensemble.
La musique carnatique met l’accent sur la structure et l’improvisation. Elle est construite sur le râga, l’ensemble des notes utilisées, et le tâla, la rythmique utilisée. La tradition musicale de l’Inde du Sud est très ancienne. | Wikipedia >>
Ludwig Peschspecialiseerde zich op de Zuid-Indiase bamboe dwarsfluit, toen hij studeerde bij Ramachandra Shastry aan de Kalakshetra kunstacademie in Chennai. Samen met zijn leraar gaf hij concerten bij talrijke gelegenheden. | Lees verder >>
