Dance of Birds

I saw the WWF invitation and noticed that Rama Vaidyanathan was going to dance after Ranjit Lal's talk. I had come across Rama At one of Museologist Harish Vikas' talks. She was comparing Nayikas in Dance and the Nayikas in miniature Indian paintings. I realised that here was a traditional dancer who knew other arts was multi-disciplinary and more importantly could relate very well with people from other fields and collaborate.

I was going to take Lakshmi. The event was brilliant. The dancer and the silhouette in the large moon behind were enthralling. She was a tree in one, was making friends with a bird in another and walking like a peacock in a third. The review is here. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/05/01/stories/2009050150320200.htm

The next day she had a workshop for children where Rama was teaching bird movements in Dance.
The walks of a peacock, swan and a penguin. Tha takeoff and a gliding of a bird. A bird couple building a nest and chicks hatching out. Lakshmi still remembers the nesting and hatching out bit and the walk of a peacock and the mudra for a swan. Here was a teacher who could grab attention of little children who thought they could dance already. What a presense! She looked like a graceful bird herself.

At the beginning of teh workshop Arshiya Sethi who had organised the workshop asked Lakshmi what bird she was and she replied "Eagle". So she walked around the whole afternoon wearing a tag which said "Lakshmi Viswanathan, Eagle". In all her stories she is either an Eagle or a Vulture. I like to think that she likes these birds because of their easy flight!