Radhe Jaggi, an accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer herself, answers nine questions on the exciting new Project Samskriti, which is going to be offered online.
Radhe: Project Samskriti is a means to allow Isha Samskriti to express itself. We have dancers, performers, Yoga practitioners, musicians, and kalari[1] students. Their whole way of life from the time these children join Isha Samskriti at the age of six or seven is completely different. Their upbringing and exposure have been different than children from regular schools. So, Project Samskriti is a way for them to express all the things that they have learned.
[1] Kalaripayattu, an ancient Southern Indian martial arts form
Radhe: Right now, we are starting with online offerings. The very first one is a chants module where the Samskriti children will be teaching chants. They will teach it similarly to how we conduct programs. It’s not just about learning the words. Many people outside go for chanting or bajan classes, and they just learn the bajan and come back. But the way our chanting classes are structured is that we also have Sadhguru speaking a little bit about the impact of sound, the quality of the chant, and the different ways in which a chant can affect your seeking.
The Samskriti children have been doing this since they were very young. They chant not just as part of their class, but also when they are doing certain activities. So, it has become very much a part of their system and something they naturally do.
Radhe: To have them teach it partly comes from experience and partly because they understand Sanskrit. They are able to differentiate pronunciation, but they also have some understanding – both experientially and academically – of what it means. So, we are starting now with the chant module. After that, we will start offering small devotional songs, something that’s common, maybe something that Isha meditators know. And slowly, we will start opening it up so that people can learn classical music, dance, and maybe even classical kalari.
Radhe: We also have a performance wing of Project Samskriti. All these performances that they have been putting up, spectacular shows on Mahashivratri as well as Yaksha, will be part of it. The performance company needs many things to support it, such as a space within Samskriti. They will be creating many things – performances with a little bit of kalari, music, dance, maybe some theatrical productions. We want to ensure that whatever they do, they have a platform on which they can express themselves.
We are quite protective about Isha Samskriti students because they are brought up in a slightly different way, and we want to be careful about who has access to them. We have wonderful musicians and wonderful dancers who come and teach, but the general public doesn’t have access to them, and rightly so, because they are very young. So, this is one way of including the public, our Isha meditators, and whoever wants to participate in certain aspects of their life.
Radhe: The alumni will share about how it was growing up in Isha Samskriti. Their sharings are quite unique because even if they are eighteen years old, they share like someone who has been seeking for a long time, which is wonderful to see. This is because their sadhana is a daily process. It is something that they have been doing since they were children, and it has become very much a part of them.
Radhe: I have always wanted to work with the Samskriti children, but until recently, it was just not possible for various reasons. In my own career, I’m traveling and dancing, and some time ago, I also got involved in Cauvery Calling. So, I never got to commit enough time to Samskriti. Last year, because of the lockdown, I spent a few months teaching one of the batches in Samskriti. From there, I’ve just slowly become more and more involved, as people do in the ashram.
Radhe: I hope that when people do the program, they are able to see what these children are capable of – and they are capable of a lot. It’s one way for people to be more open to them. Because now, as these students are completing their time at Isha Samskriti, they are going to need some support as they start building the rest of their lives.
Let’s say some of them want to become solo performers. We need to be able to provide a platform where they get enough exposure but are also able to take some responsibility. If they want to learn under specific people, Isha Samskriti will help them find a particular teacher. If they want to be teachers, then Project Samskriti is one platform on which they can be teachers. If they want to be performers with us, then they can perform in the performance company that will be formed as part of Project Samskriti.
So, Project Samskriti is one way to bridge that gap for Samskriti students, because it will support them until they are able to go out and do something on their own.
Radhe: I think classical music, dance, and even chants have never been offered in this setting before. If you want to be a classical musician, it takes many, many years before you can even consider yourself as someone who has mastered the basics. We want to offer it in such a way that even if you are not going to become a great musician but want to learn a couple of devotional songs or hum a tune, Project Samskriti is an opportunity to take those first few steps.
Right now, it is just to let people know that this is something beautiful that can become part of their everyday life. Art as a culture should enter everyone’s everyday life. Today, only a small group of people are interested in these classical arts; there is only a small group of people who want to listen, and who can pay attention. And the nature of classical arts is such that you need to pay attention.
These children can pay attention. Even the way they sit or stand is very different from others. Because they have been trained from when they were very young, they also have this ability to make it relatable to others. So, Project Samskriti is a way of making all these cultural aspects they have done every day growing up a small part of everyone’s daily life.
Radhe: The children are incredibly capable. I think it’s our responsibility now to provide them with a platform that matches their capability, and that we hold ourselves, the support team, to the same standard that these children are capable of delivering. They are excellent dancers, they are wonderful musicians, they are incredible kalari practitioners. It’s for us now to ensure that when we offer their abilities to the world, we do it in a way in which you can really see them shine.
