Dr. Divyatha Arun, a Bharatanatyam Dancer who has appeared on the stage for over 100 performances in leading Sabhas in Chennai, is an alumnus of PSGIMS & R and was recently awarded the ‘Yuva Kala Ratna’ by PSG & Sons’ Charities. She proved herself to be dancing prodigy by completing her Arangetram when she was only 6 years old, back in 1990.
She has drawn applause from many quarters and in spite of her responsibilities of being a mom and a wife as well as a doctor, incredibly, she manages to find time to dance and teach kids Bharanatyam, the art of her passion.
“It all began when I was 4 years old, thanks to my mother, for identifying my talent at an early stage. Later it was my guru (Late) Kalaimamani K.J.Sarasa, who took me to the next level,’ said Divyatha, acknowledging her guru’s efforts.
Nonetheless, Divyatha, a Diabetologist, who now lives in Bangalore, is concerned about the lack of interest among children in learning the South Indian classical dance. She feels that it the responsibility of the parents to make their children understand the importance of this ancient art.
“I see that children of the current generation have the tendency to join Bharatanatyam, without much passion and quit it without much thought to join western dance, for the sake of their friends, which is disheartening. This culture has to be changed; parents should interfere and persuade their children rather nod to their choice,” said Divyatha.
She is really disappointed at current trend among children, who feel ashamed of calling themselves Bharatanatyam Dancers. “Why is there so much hatred towards this divine art?” she asked in anger.
“Not many dance forms would require discipline both in physical and mental state. But, to become a Bharatanatyam dancer one must require both these qualities, which will make us to look at life in a different plane,” she added.
According to her when a child learns Bharatam, she must depict the dance with a mythological story about god and calls it ‘Varnam’, a main piece of the divine art. Such a way of learning can mold her very character and bring about a sea change in the way she perceives the world,” Divyadha said.
“Reading and doing research on such stories will make children better human beings and also give them a better understanding of our history, people and our culture,” said the doctor. She herself recently had a similar experience of learning one such story, which was about Tiruvarur Thyageshwar. After reading the history of the temple, she had become awestruck at the way our ancestors were able to build such a colossal temple in those days.
“After reading the history, I wondered how I had missed visiting such a great temple all these years. Surely, I am planning to visit it soon,” smiled Divyatha.
There are countless reasons for the decline in interest among people to learn Bharatanatyam, the prime one being the dearth of professional gurus who know the art thoroughly. Unlike olden days when there used to be professionals, now there are only very few available. Divyatha is pained to see the ancient art being reduced to an extracurricular activity in some schools.
“It is saddening to see some schools teaching Bharatam, an art that needs discipline and devotion, as an extra curriculum activity. It is not at all possible. This practice has a bad impact on children, which has drastically reduced their interest too. It has to be stopped immediately,’ urges Divyatha.
However, she is happy with the fact that at least foreigners are more interested in learning our traditional dance than the people of Tamil Nadu. Since the age 6, she has been performing regularly in Chennai Margazhi Music Season. There is wide belief that it is people from other countries who show more interest in watching our performances.
“I myself have seen foreigners coming to India to learn Bharatam. When they return to their country, they start teaching our culture there,” said Divyatha in irony.
“It is awful to witness our people ignoring our iconic art? When foreigners can learn our tradition and custom, why can’t we? Bharatam is not just a divine dance but a form of Yoga, which, when we do it in the proper way, would make life a bliss,” said Dr. Divyatha.