Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
Tuned to Indian rhythms
|
The haphazard movement of vehicles on Indian roads is a bit like dancing, says Odissi exponent Sharon Lowen
|
Sharon Lowen: `My 17 years of training in Western ballet enabled me to take up the physically demanding Chhau form of dance.' — Photo: R.V. Moorthy
DRAPED IN a sari, sporting a large bindi and a pair of ethnic earrings, Sharon Lowen looks every inch an Indian. Her black hair is loosely rolled into a puffed bun a little above the nape. What is striking about this brown-eyed, Detroit-born Indian classical danseuse is her beauty, grace, and sinuousness about which a lot has been written. But things little known about this well-known Odissi dancer are that in her 31 years of stay in India, she has remained undaunted by the scorching heat, finding the "pleasures of summer" in Rooh Afzah, mangoes and sleeping on mats; that she is still surprised by potholes on roads without notice boards; that she finds the haphazard movement of vehicles on roads "a bit like dancing". There is a certain rhythm, she feels, in the way traffic moves in India, and the sense of timing that prevents collisions amuses her.
On a balmy afternoon, sitting on a cushioned floor, set in a traditional Indian style of dining, Sharon shares her likes and dislikes about food. "I am not addicted to the kitchen, though I have rolled a chapatti or two. At best I can only stir-fry vegetables. It is quick, easy and light," smiles the Michigan University dance graduate.
Spicy food
A fish lover, she doesn't care much for chicken or any other kind of meat and prefers regular dal-rice. As a Fulbright scholar, when Sharon landed in Delhi in July, 1973, to pursue Manipuri dance, her experience with food was "rugged". "It was watery dal, old chapatis and no vegetables," she says, recalling her early days as a paying guest here. Spicy food, though, was not much of a problem for her. "Americans are accustomed to Mexican food," she says, a tad surprised that Indians are not as adventurous with food like most Americans.
Having started her dancing career with Manipuri, she picked up Odissi on the way two years later, "just as an academic interest", she reveals. "And my 17 years of training in Western ballet enabled me to take up the physically demanding Chhau form of dance," adds the first woman solo Chhau dancer. Though logistical complications have compelled her to move away from Chhau and Manipuri, she has not given them up totally. "I am continuing with Odissi because I love the abhinaya. There is a constant growth in this form of dance... I get a kick from the fact that coming from outside, I am able to represent and give a total aesthetic experience to people and touch their hearts."
Plenty of trials and tribulations have come the way of this daughter of a chemical engineer father and clinical psychologist mother. But Sharon says that connecting with people through love, truth and beauty of her dance is a path she will not swerve from. She decided against a career in legal studies and later puppetry to choose this path. She describes it as "love that is metaphysical, spiritual and not religious, truth that is real and not saccharine, and beauty that is sublime and not aesthetic". She sums up on her stay in India: "I will stay as long as what I am doing is of value and is valued."
URMILA RAO
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
