Project Samskriti: How Isha Samskriti Reaches Out to the World Part 3: Behind the Scenes of the Bharatanatyam Module

An Offering Beyond Oneself

Bright, graceful, and sharp, sitting in the afternoon sunlight, Sayujya and Srimalli speak softly about a tremendous wave that is gathering momentum. Both have imbibed Bharatanatyam – one of the most intricate classical Indian dance forms – since they joined Isha Samskriti at the ages of nine and ten. Now, through Project Samskriti, they are offering it to the world.

At first, neither of the two dedicated and accomplished dancers was very inclined towards performing arts. “Everybody chose dance, so I also did,” Srimalli shares with a laugh. But as they purely focused on dance and music for almost eight years, their experience grew and transformed. Srimalli adds, “At the outset, it was not easy. It needed a lot of strength and stamina. But later on, I realized there’s something more beyond that. You get to be something that you cannot be otherwise, and it gives a certain joy. The most challenging part is we have to always look at everything anew – only then are we able to give our best.”

Speaking about her experience of Bharatanatyam, Sayujya says, “For me, initially it was just about the visuals and the colors. But as I kept practicing, I realized I feel really free when I dance. It lets me explore, and I find that really beautiful and inspiring.” It’s this spirit of dance, the joy, and the subtler experience of life that they seek to share with the world through Project Samskriti – a one-of-its-kind platform.

Complex Dance Moves Made Easy

Project Samskriti is an endeavor to offer classical Indian arts in their purity and make them accessible to everyone who is willing. The dance module is one of the first steps towards this. Despite such an immense undertaking, carrying such a rich and valuable culture in their step, the young students are serene and calm when they impart classical dance to participants from around the world. Srimalli explains, “Teaching is not new to us because from a young age, we took dance classes for the younger students.”

The first two modules in the Project Samskriti series – Nirvana Shatakam and the Kalaripayattu – allowed them to learn from previous efforts, and gave them an essential structure from which they could work. However, the different technical aspects of the course required a lot of thought and attention. Unlike for the young Isha Samskriti students, who commit to studying dance for several years, and live immersed in the culture, certain aspects needed to be explained in detail for the audience to grasp over a short period. And all this had to be done online – a medium they were completely new to.

“For example, we have movements with traditional names,” Sayujya shares, “That’s how we would teach the children. We would just show the mudra (hand sign), and they would pick it up. But here, we have to go into detailed instructions. For example, we had to tell them to press the tips of their index finger and thumb together.”

Srimalli elaborates, “Generally, for this art, you just observe and you imbibe. But for the online module, we had to tell the participants exactly what they should do.”

“To prepare for the actual online program, we conducted mock sessions with people who had no prior experience of Bharatanatyam. We’d give instructions, and then we’d realize that what was obvious to us wasn’t always so for them,” Sayujya explains with a laugh. Trying to make everything as easy, clear, and pleasant as possible for the participants, the script, videos, and visuals were constantly modified and revised, until the last minute. Even little details such as how much the camera had to focus on the mudras to make them easy to grasp were looked at and discussed.

Dancing Into Their Hearts

The classes are held over nine days, and each session is an hour long. Over these nine days, participants learn dance movements for Shiva Dhuti Bhairavi Nandanam. It is choreographed so that anyone can do it, and is taught step-by-step so that everyone can get the hang of the basic movements. So far, over 200 people have participated, with over 50 of them from overseas, a majority of them from Europe and the USA. The online students are enthusiastic, surpassing many expectations. Srimalli shares, “We reduced the number of repetitions because they were getting it faster than we expected.”

The care that was poured into the classes did not go unnoticed. Nadia participated in the first class and shares her glowing experience of the module: “The classes were full of inspiration! Every detail, from teacher outfits to the choice of videos, ignites the fire of dance in you. The song and the choreography filled me with devotion. I really felt like, step by step, they were passing on the greatest art form.”

Speaking Through Movement

Participants aren’t only taught Bharatynatam as a way of moving, or as a fixed choreographed dance. The course aims to impart as much of the spirit of classical Indian dance as possible across the nine days.

“Bhava, ‘emotion.’ Raga, ‘melody.’ Tala, ‘rhythm.’ Basically, dance is a combination of these things: emotion, melody, and rhythm,” Sajuya explains. “The hand gestures have meanings, and you can show different things with each gesture. So, we introduced how they could make day-to-day conversations using gestures because Bharatyanatam is like a language.” During the program, participants can develop the ability to express themselves in new ways and explore different possibilities through dance.

“We explain the meaning of the composition and also the movements. So, we would say, ‘You do this like you’re plucking a flower or you’re offering something,’ because otherwise you cannot emote, and you can’t express unless you know the meaning. We also talk about facial expressions, where there is no specific way of doing it.” Over a period of time, participants can get a feel for the expressions, and incorporate them according to their own interpretations of the meaning.

Roma Kashelkar, whose childhood dream of learning Bharatanatyam recently came true, shares, “The way the program was offered, it was not just another dance – it was something more profound, especially because it was an offering to Devi. Though it is impossible to totally imbibe an intricate dance form within such a short a time, at the end of the program, I was hugely gratified to have learned a complete dance piece. It gave me a new understanding of various mudras and postures. Now, when I watch a Bharatanatyam performance, I can easily tell what story is being narrated, just by observing various postures of the performers.”

Dancing Into the Future

As with the other students involved in Project Samskriti, Sayujya and Srimalli appeared a little coy when we asked them about the future. For now, they revealed more songs and perhaps more advanced classes, but their knowing glances suggest surprises are in store.

Sadhguru wishes to take Project Samskriti to the global stage, and offer these rich Indian art forms to the world. Not as an aloof culture to be admired from afar, but rather as something everyone can participate in, relate to, and weave into the fabric of their lives.

Project Samskriti will soon be gracing international stages as part of Conscious Planet, sharing their joy and the fruits of their dedication and devotion. Keep your eyes peeled.