Saturday night in Chennai
ChennaiPosted by Steph 2009-10-07 22:48:19Bharatanatyam is surely not everyone’s cup of tea. Many of my Indian friends had warned me that it’s pretty boring. But since it is THE traditional dance of Tamil Nadu, i had to see it. So on October 3rd i went with Dairiima, my friend from Mongolia (the only Mongolian in whole Chennai!) to Kalakshetra to see a Bharatanatyam recital.
Kalakshetra is a college for Bharatanatyam dance and Carnatic music. The campus is located in Thiruvanmiyur area, near the beach, and the moment you enter this peaceful green spot in the middle of the city, you immediately escape the hectic and the noise of Chennai. Many foreigners come here to study Bharatanatyam, and it takes 4 years to complete the course. We were told that anyone can visit the campus any time, get a pass at the main entrance and wander through the allees or – on weekdays – have a look into the classes.
Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance of Tamil Nadu where the dancer verily embodies the story of a song. Still it is not easy to fully understand the story, but it’s very nice to see. On that day we saw two performers, a lady, Ms. Nidhi Misra, and then a man, Sri S. Jayachandran. Bharatanatyam is an amazing mix of motionless expressions, rapid sequences of movements, and facial mimics (especially the eyes play an important role). The great thing about a Bharatanatyam recital is that you attend not only a dance performance but also a concert of carnatic music, and that for free.
Free are also the mosquitoes : since the beautiful Bharata Kalakshetra Auditorium in koothambalam (Kerala) style was meant to be in harmony with the nature, it is all open and so there is no A/C. Surprisingly, there is no fan either (except a few standing fans, far away from the seats). After 2 ½ hours our feet were covered with mosquitoe bites... Fortunately we didn’t come across the “Big Kalakshetra Ant”, whose bite is said to cause heavy swellings and which can be found only on the Kalakshetra campus.
http://www.kalakshetra.in/index.html
After the recitals we went to Bella Ciao, an italian restaurant located in Kottivakam area, very near to the beach (there’s another branch in Nungambakkam but you can just forget about it) The place is gorgeous and the staff is good, the food is “ok” and not too expensive – here comes the exotic salad...
We ended up in Dublin, in Park Sheraton on TTK Road, for the “Chennai colour nites”. Of course it was fully crowded and the ambiance was just awesome. And i eventually came on a picture in the here so famous "Times of India - Page 3" :)
Who said that Chennai is a boring place???
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