Chennai: Bharatanatyam on Wheels

Express Features
Last Updated : 18 Jan 2012 08:35:12 AM IST

CHENNAI: The Ability Unlimited Foundation is all set to stage Bharatanatyam on wheel chairs and Sufi Dance on wheel chairs – a unique dance performance by a dance group comprising physically challenged dancers on January 23 and 24 at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre in Chennai.

picutre: Bharatanatyam on Wheels: A freewheeling performance (Source: Santabanta Forum)

For the first time, Chennai will witness the dance troupe perform two unique dance forms with precision. The dancers are to perform unique feats such as spinning their wheel chairs at a speed of around 200 km/hr with precision.

These shows have captivated thousands of people and have had packed houses across the globe. The troupe is all set to now enthral audiences in Chennai.

Sources close to the troup claim that the performances are bound to transport the audience to a different place, beyond the familiar world of televisions and films. The physically challenged artistes’ innovative, and aesthetically crafted dance-theatre performances are being termed educative, motivating and entertaining by sources who also claim that it is the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

The show will be performed at Chinmaya Heritage centre on the January 23 and 24 at 7 pm. Free passes to the shows are available at all Landmark stores in Chennai. (For more details, contact, Santhosh at 98416 38757.)

(Source: 01/18/2012 – expressbuzz.com | Cities – Chennai)

Comment (by Forum user “007RIKY“): The merit of Ability Unlimited Foundation (Delhi) — as Pasha’s group is known — lies in the fact that the dancers master these traditional forms, but also go beyond them and create new idioms of dance. This fact comes to the fore in Yogajathi where they work yogic postures — including advanced ones — into bharatanatyam moves. Pasha, who hails from a medical family that ministered to the kings of Mysore, explains his dance productions are designed to heal mind and body, and that aesthetics is a by-product.

While introducing an experimental dance production that fuses bharatanatyam and yoga, Syed Salahuddin Pasha pauses to look to his left and right. With a knitted brow and eyes that have turned into tiny slits, he appears to be watching out for intruders. “I do this as a matter of routine. My dancers are self-reliant, and don’t take kindly to people helping them on to the stage,” he tells his bewildered audience, and in the next instant, Pasha’s performers enter on wheelchairs.

All through the programme — “Bharatanatyam and Sufi Dance on Wheels” at Chinmaya Heritage Hall — Pasha reminds his audience that these performers resent being pitied upon. During another interlude, he says: “Judge them by the standards that are applied to able-bodied dancers of the same stripe, and you will see they have merit.” A little later, he belabours the point: “As dancers, they are second to none.”

His dancers don’t let him down — they prove wheels can replace legs. Each of the moves they make was first perfected by Pasha. For 15 years, he spent around six hours daily on wheelchairs, to understand the dynamics of performing these dances.

(Source: 01/30/2012 – Santabanta Forum / Thread: Bharatanatyam on Wheels: A freewheeling performance)

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• A freewheeling performance (thehindu.com)
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Protest: SOPA/PIPA Blackout….. Wikiedia.org is down for 24 hours…

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Why is Wikipedia blacked-out?

Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18, Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout will not be able to read the encyclopedia. Instead, you will see messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, encouraging you to share your views with your representatives, and with each other on social media.

What are SOPA and PIPA?

SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA is an acronym for the “Protect IP Act.” (“IP” stands for “intellectual property.”) In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one. The EFF has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.

Why is the blackout happening?

Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people’s access to online information. This is not a problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will affect everyone around the world.

Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won’t be effective at their stated goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

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Isn’t SOPA dead? Wasn’t the bill shelved, and didn’t the White House declare that it won’t sign anything that resembles the current bill?

No, neither SOPA nor PIPA is dead. On January 17th, SOPA’s sponsor said the bill will be discussed in early February. There are signs PIPA may be debated on the Senate floor next week. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. In many jurisdictions around the world, we’re seeing the development of legislation that prioritizes overly-broad copyright enforcement laws, laws promoted by power players, over the preservation of individual civil liberties.

How could SOPA and PIPA hurt Wikipedia?

SOPA and PIPA are a threat to Wikipedia in many ways. For example, in its current form, SOPA would require Wikipedia to actively monitor every site we link to, to ensure it doesn’t host infringing content. Any link to an infringing site could put us in jeopardy of being forced offline.

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Contact your local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will affect sites outside of the United States, and actions to sites inside the United States (like Wikipedia) will also affect non-American readers — like you. Calling your own government will also let them know you don’t want them to create their own bad anti-Internet legislation.

Is it still possible to access Wikipedia in any way?

Yes. During the blackout, Wikipedia is accessible on mobile devices and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by disabling JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page. Our purpose here isn’t to make it completely impossible for people to read Wikipedia, and it’s okay for you to circumvent the blackout. We just want to make sure you see our message.

I keep hearing that this is a fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Is that true?

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In carrying out this protest, is Wikipedia abandoning neutrality?

We hope you continue to trust Wikipedia to be a neutral information source. We are staging this blackout because (as Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustee Kat Walsh said recently), although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not. For over a decade, Wikipedians have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Wikipedia is a tremendously useful resource, and its existence depends upon a free, open and uncensored Internet. SOPA and PIPA (and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States) will hurt you, because they will make it impossible for sites you enjoy, and benefit from, to continue to exist. That’s why we’re doing this.

What can I read to get more information?

Try these links:

• Wikipedia’s articles on SOPA and PIPA
• Statement from Wikipedia editors announcing decision to black out
• Wikimedia Foundation press release
• Blog post from Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner
• Electronic Frontier Foundation blog post on the problems with SOPA/PIPA

As of midnight PT, January 18, Google has 3,740 articles about the blackout. Here are a few:

• Why is Wikipedia staging a blackout and what is SOPA?, from the National Post
• Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves, from the British Broadcasting Corporation
• Wikipedia blackout over US anti-piracy bills and FEATURE: Websites blackout over ‘SOPA censorship’, from Al Jazeera
• Wikipedia, Craigslist, other sites go black in SOPA protest, from the Los Angeles Times
• Google Rallies Opposition to Murdoch-Backed Anti-Piracy Bill, from BusinessWeek
• SOPA protest: The Net strikes back, from Politico
• Wikipedia goes dark on piracy bill protest day, from MSNBC
• Wikipedia blackout a ‘gimmick’, MPAA boss claims, from the Guardian
• Wikipedia 24-hour blackout: a reader and Why we’re taking Wikipedia down for a day, from the New Statesman
• Wikipedia, other websites go dark in anti-piracy bill protest, from CNN
• Internet-wide protests against SOPA/PIPA are kicking up a storm, by the Hindustan Times
• SOPA, PIPA: What you need to know, from CBS News

(Source: 18th January 2012 – Wikipedia.org)

DE – Raga CDs des Monats (01/12): Nachmittagsragas (early & late afternoon) …

Eine instrumentale Ragainterpretation zielt mit dem zur Verfügung stehenden Notenmaterial, den Shruti-s (22 Mikrotöne), darauf ab, die menschliche Stimme zu imitieren.

Der Instrumentalmusiker sucht im Rahmen der technischen Möglichkeiten des Instruments die gleichen Modulationen, die gleichen Verzierungen nachzuahmen, wie sie der Stimme eigen sind. Gleichermaßen wird die menschliche Stimme in der indischen Musik wie ein Instrument gehandhabt. Sie wird als grundlegendes Instrument angesehen.

Sendetermine …

19. January 2012 – 21:00 Uhr CET (03:00 pm EST) @ radio multicult.fm (DE)
(premiere: 28. August 2006 @ Tide 96.0 FM)
broadcasting plan | streaming (Internet Radio & Mobile Radio) | podCast

Die Gesangsstile Indiens sind unterschiedlich ausgeprägt, verschiedenste Kompositionsformen definieren eine eindeutig festgelegte Tonfolge und ihre Verzierungselemente.

Neben dem Alap, der ohne Wörter frei und erzählenden, aber auch schwierigsten Form der Improvisation, existieren noch heute Gesangsstile, die bis ins 13. Jahrhundert zurückreichen, wie Dhrupad, Dhamar, Tarana, Tappa, Thumri, Ghasel und Khyal, dem “bel canto der indischen Vokalmusik.

Bereits die August-Sendung 2006 von IMC – India meets Classic präsentierte Beispiele von einigen der berühmtesten Sängern des Khyals – einem brillant und reich ausgeschmückten, mit schwierigen Vokalisen überladenen Gesangsstil der indischen Klassik.

DE – Raga CDs of the Months (01/2012): (Late) Afternoon Ragas

The correct time of day and night for a performing ragas is one of the centre rules of the raga system. Early morning ragas are performed between 03:00 and 06:00 a.m. …

An instrumental raga interpretation and it’s basic material of notes, the shrutis (22 micro tones) target at imitating the human voice. Within the techniqual possibilities of an Indian instrument (e.g. Sitar, Sarod, Santoor, Tabla …) an Indian music maestro looks for the same modulations, the same ornamentics which are typical for the human voice.

In Indian Classical Music the voice is being treated as an instrument in the same way. – It is the fundamental instrument of Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) Music.

date of broadcasting …

19th January 2012 – 09:00 p.m. CET (03:00 pm EST) @ radio multicult.fm (DE)
(premiere: 28th August 2006 @ Tide 96.0 FM)
broadcasting plan | streaming (Internet Radio & Mobile Radio) | podCast

The vocal singing in India has progressed into different styles. Many forms of compositions define accurate scales of notes and their ornaments. Beside the Alap, a free narration and the most difficult form of improvisation till today exist vocal stiles, which can be dated back to the 13th century like Dhrupad, Dhamar, Tarana, Tappa, Thumri, Ghasel and Khyal.

Already in August 2006 the broadcasting show of IMC – India meets Classic had it’s focus on the Khyal, performed by some of Indias legendary vocalists. It is the bel canto of Indian Classical Music, a brillant and gloriously embroidered stile of singing, loaded up with difficult vowels.