Kathak dancer Manjari Chaturvedi says religious differences in a country cannot define its culture and people. And despite being stopped from performing at a concert midway, she kept her message alive. By Chahak Mittal
Aasha se bhasha na mile to, iss ka matlab phoot nahin,
Ik daali par reh kar jaise, phool juda hain paat juda,
Bura nahin agar yunhi watan mein, dharm juda ho zaat juda,
Apne watan mein...’
This song from the black-and-white era film, Didi (1959), stands relevant even today and makes one feel proud of the vast diversity of our country, that is resolutely battling the naked ambition of the political class. Kathak dancer Manjari Chaturvedi, who is set to open at the Jahan-e-Khusrau Sufi Music Festival 2020, believes the same. She says, “Religious differences will never cease to exist but that doesn’t mean they can define the people of a nation. They cannot determine its culture and identity. We have to find a way out towards harmony. Which is why, I believe, it’s very important to talk about love and also, breathe it — not only here but all over the world.”
Recent examples are evidence of how political upheavals and communal differences have affected art and artistes in many ways. One of the biggest one being the banning of Pakistani artistes and films in India and vice versa. An incident also occurred with Manjari when a month ago, her performance was stopped midway in Lucknow. She alleged that they didn’t want qawwali to be played there. Recalling the row, she says, “My concert was stopped for a reason but I don’t believe that there is anything wrong in performing qawwali. For me, it is as spiritual as any other composition. But it did not appeal to some people. So, I turned around and told them that it was unfair to stop the show. But did I stop performing as an artist? No. I will continue to speak about the message of love.” She adds that over the past 25 years that she has been in the industry, “governments have come and gone. But my work has been the same. Hence, the work of art is not defined by the political ideology of that moment. It is what we call our sanskriti, and our culture is defined by its people, not their differences.”
Manjari will be performing on the poetry of Rumi, “one of the most loved poets,” interpreting the core emotion. “Even though I had been trying to work on this since a long time, the Rumi project is new. It talks about how the human soul is separated from the universal soul, which is the Almighty. It is aspiring to meet it, which is like ‘Atma ka parmatma se milan.’ There are also English translations of it recited by Murad (Ali) because people might not understand Persian but they need to know what poetry is saying as dance is not just a performance, it also communicates. It is about a singular entity and not particularly a story. It is about the universal soul. It doesn’t have a face, name or shape to it. It’s just a soul that’s being explored through dance and music. It’s abstract,” says she.
Why did she only choose Rumi as her muse? The reason is ‘Ishq.’ She says, “Today, we need to talk about love as much as we can. Because what else do we need? We don’t require hate. We have to actually bring it to every platform. I believe the English term — love — is very limiting. And there’s no right translation of Ishq. It is that level of love where you forget your own identity and in which you burn. Ishq is something that burns you and I find that the intensity is higher in the term as compared to ‘love.’ ‘I love you’ is very easy to say but to burn in that intensity is different. And that is what Rumi experienced.”
Social media is witness to how Rumi has been quoted by so many — irrespective of which generation one belongs to. But Manjari feels that its right meaning has still never been completely understood or felt. Says she, “Rumi’s poetry gives us the possibility that ‘that’ kind of love does exist. It is musical, it is magical. And I am just exploring the probability of that kind of love which he had felt.”
It’s her travels to different parts of the world that has made her explore a variety of artforms and cultures. Which is why she believes that festivals like the Jahan-e-Khusrau are very important. “I have travelled to 35 countries in 20 years. And nowhere did anyone ask me about how many malls there are in Delhi. Instead, they asked me how do I perform kathak? What is Krishna’s philosophy? How do you find your music? How do you plan your performances? The question about how many malls are there in your city sometimes becomes irrelevant if you don’t have your arts and culture alive. Sanskriti is important. Otherwise, there will be no difference left in a mall in Vasant Kunj and a mall in Dubai. The difference is in the essence of a place’s culture,” she points out.
Manjari has been known for her “Courtesan Project,” through which she has talked at length about how gender discrimination has prevailed in art. Through her performances and concerts, she has recreated the lives and magic of courtesans — who have time and again, been the muse for poets, painters, sculptors, artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and the creative thought at large. How much has people’s perspective changed since the time she started the conversation around them? “Very much!” she says and adds, “It’s been nine years since I started the project. And because I was already an established artist even at that time, when I started talking about it suddenly, there was an unhealthy buzz. People were making comments like, ‘Oh! Look at her. Now she’s going to do this.’ ‘This is what kathak is going to be reduced to now.’ ‘She’s going to start doing Mujra now.’ But now, I see, a lot has changed. They have started to understand what I am saying.”
She explains that her only point of debate was that one cannot discriminate art on the basis of gender and explaining this took almost a decade. She adds, “The men performers are called ‘Ustads’, whereas women performers are called ‘Nachne-gaane vaali.’ The judgement needs to be limited on what has been performed and that whether it is right or not. How can you decide that a ghazal is good or bad depending on the gender of the performer? It was the first time in 100-200 years, even post-independence, that there was a conversation about tawaifs. Why do women performers only have to be linked to sexuality? It is very easy for patriarchy to bring a woman down. And this is one of my projects through which I have actively questioned gender inequality. And today, I could say that people are understanding my point of view and agreeing too.”
However, she also feels that such a thought came to her due to a realisation — “I come from a privileged background.” Being a Brahmin and an educated person, she has had many privileges. She says, “Initially, they would laugh at me when I began the Courtesan Project. I realised that I was born with these privileges and I am grateful to it. But not everybody was born with them. So if I don’t do something for the ones who don’t have the privilege, what is the point of having it then?”
(The festival starts from March 6 to 8 at 6.30 pm at the Arab Ki Sarai, Humayun’s Tomb.)
