Cultural Appropriation!

 

Friday evening. The entire office is in a spin. Loads of people are working across different conference halls over an important ppt! Madam isn’t happy yet with how the presentation prepared to be made to the bigwigs was shaping up. Phone calls from the HQ were relentless. “Is the ppt ready? The Big Man wants to see it before you guys present it tomorrow”. More flurry of activity, more screams and shouts follow. 

I gently intervene - so as none gets offended - and get the ppt finalised as is. I was getting antsy as we all had to dinner too, post work. I possibly would have skipped the invite but for two facts. My boss had ensured I would get an invite and had several times inquired if I was joining. Didn’t want to disappoint her.  Two, I was going to have the company of a good friend and colleague so I could suffer the company of the ‘bigwigs’ visiting the town to conduct their study across different organisations.  

My friend and I make it to the venue of the dinner - the Leela - just in time, despite traffic and detours. The hotel is plush, well decorated, and gently nudges you to say it is upscale. Doesn’t scream like its counterparts in Delhi! We learn that the guests have already arrived and are seated. The dining hall gives me a strange feeling. People from different organisations are seated at different tables, with little to no efforts to meet and greet each other up.  Like islands in the sea. No contact. When eyes meet there are no smiles, just cold stares.  We too occupy a table, along with other colleagues (invites are limited to a select few from each organisation, keeping in mind the dignitaries and the dining hall’s size). Soon, the starters begin to be served. Sanskari dinner. So, no alcohol. 

An MC takes over the mic and announces that the cultural programme will soon start. She says the troupe will present classical dance forms from across India, that celebrate our ancient culture. Two ladies begin the show with a performance of Mohiniyattam. It is followed by other dances, including Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi. We even witness an energetic performance of Kalaripayattu, Bihu, Bhangra, and Yakshagana. All these are rounded off by the troupe matching steps to the peppy ‘Jai Ho’!

To be fair, the troupe of dancers and performers were good. They were skilful. Each pair danced in tandem and rarely missed matching steps with their partners. Even when a technical glitch stopped the audio and the background video the kalaripayattu expert didn’t miss a beat, and continued with his performance like nothing had happened. That is the best I could say about the entire concept. The rest of it was completely filmy!

One, they used the film song from ‘Kantaara’ for the Yaksha Gana performance, and it was more like watching Bharatanatyam in a folk dance costume! Mohiniyattam performers weren’t dressed in the traditional attire of the dance. Bihu performance too was made to an Assamese film song. They even danced to the popular Ila Arun-Sukhwinder number, ‘Dholna’.  I didn’t realise Jai Ho was some unifying anthem until I watched it the third time now! 

This isn’t the first time I watched a medley of performances comprising of various dance forms. I was treated to such shows at a few other places, including Kevadia and Delhi, when I had attended some conferences. Back then too Inhad wondered why these shows were put up and whose ideas were these!

In our hurry to promote ‘Bharathiyata’ and ‘Parampara’, we have put ourselves on the slippery slope of adopting Bollywood as the template. Or, arriving at a least denominator that kind of represents the four corners of the country. Faux integration of the nation over some film tunes! True, Bollywood and all regional cinema too are part of our evolving culture, and nothing has made the rest of the country relate to each other like cinema. But, is this what we want to put out there as the window to explore our rich culture?

In the name of promoting Indian culture, we are dumbing it down, and assuming the patrons to be dimwits! I am still wondering what the message is behind such programs. Whoever is behind such ideas, need to stop for a moment and think who they want to reach out to with these shows and performances, and what they want to convey. Than putting up mechanical set pieces in the name of rich Indian culture! 

Tailpiece:

The best thing of the evening? Three actually! One, food was thankfully not insipid like the performances! My friend loved the mutton biryani. I agree with him, even though I do not eat red meat! I gorged on some delicious rabdi and jalebis!

Two, someone who I had met over two decades ago recognised me at the party - suddenly! He and his colleague said, “He was inspiring then, and he’s inspiring now too’. Earlier, it was because I had cracked the Civil Services, and influenced others to write too. Now, because I wear earrings and giving fashion goals to the retiring people! What a journey of inspiration!

Lastly, I got to dress up, wear a suit and feel good. Feel good because I have lost a couple of inches over the last few months, and I could wear a suit that was impossible to get into last year. Below is a picture of me preening over this little factotum!