In conversation with Ashwani Garg for Sewa International

Write up by : Ashwani Garg, volunteer at Sewa International and a coordinator for the Boston Chapter 

Part 1 – About the Organization

Q. What is Sewa International?

A. Sewa International is a community service organization. It is a nonprofit charitable organization registered under US IRS Code 501 (c) (3). All donations to Sewa international are tax deductible in the US. Sewa International was incorporated in 2003 and got its nonprofit status from the IRS in 2004.

Q. What are the goals of Sewa International? What does it want to achieve?

Sewa International is a humanitarian organization. We have broadly three goals:

a.      Promote volunteerism among people and increase the civic engagement in developmental needs of the community. Sewa is a platform which motivates, and provides opportunities, specially for youth to take active part in community development despite time constraints.

b.      Aid local communities by performing local service projects.

c.      Support disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts worldwide. Also development projects worldwide.

Q. What are the guiding principles of Sewa International?

We are inspired by the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. Our volunteers perform community service in a selfless manner without expecting any rewards or recognition. We believe every living being has the same divinity inside, and we serve them with an attitude that we are serving the divine. Swami Vivekananda explained this as Nar Sewa, Narayan Sewa. Since we believe that the same divinity resides in all beings, we consider the whole world as an extended family. We serve all irrespective of their race, color, gender, religion, or national origin.

Q. What are the domestic programs of Sewa International in Boston area?

A. At present we have two main projects going on. We work with the Bhutanese refugees in greater Boston area and help them in resettlement in USA. We call it BRE program. We provide them coaching for skills development, organized events for them and help them in integration with the mainstream community. Other project we have is “Feed the Hungry”. We go to soup kitchens like the one in Lawrence and cook meals for hungry and homeless. Next year we will be expanding into other areas.

Q: What kind of disaster relief work does Sewa International support?

A. Sewa International supports disaster relief efforts in two ways – If we have Sewa volunteers at the location of the disaster then they directly work with the local authorities and participate in the relief efforts. We invariably always raise funds whenever there is any major disaster in the world and make them available to a credible organization directly serving the disaster hit areas. In case of recent flood disaster in Uttarakhand Sewa International partnered with UDAPSS and together we had several thousand volunteers working on the ground. In case of Tsunami in Japan in 2011 we partnered with Ram Krishna Mission who was serving there directly. In case of Haiti earthquake in 2010 Sewa International sent a team of doctors from USA to serve the victims.

Q. What is your overhead?

A. Most of the work is done by volunteers therefore our overheads are very nominal, less than 5% including all administrative and bank fees.

Q. Does Sewa International serve only a particular religious group?

A. Sewa International serves all. Sewa International does not discriminate based on race, color, gender, religion, or national origin.

Q. Does Sewa International work with other organizations?

A. Yes. Sewa USA is open to working with any organization that furthers its mission.

Part 2 – About the show

Q. What is this Laser show about and why are you doing it?

A. This laser show is an hour long documentary on life and works of swami Vivekananda. This year is the 150^th birth anniversary of the swami Vivekananda. We want to celebrate this occasion by taking his message of Nar Sewa Narayan Sewa to masses. We are therefore doing that in an innovative and fun filled manner via a Laser Show which I am sure will attract a lot of people. As I said before, Swami Vivekananda is a role model for our volunteers and we believe that his message is more relevant today than it ever was.

Q: What is special about this laser show?

A.      It is a unique Laser show in many ways. It is prepared by world famous Laser Manick Sorcar, who has won several international awards. He is son of famous magician PC Sorcar. Manick Ji will himself come and host the show. It is an indoor show and there will be five live dancers who will enact in front of the laser show.

It is the longest laser show ever made on a human being.

The content of the show is absolutely miraculous. You will see the main events from the life story of Swami Vivekananda and how he introduced Indian and its philosophies to America in 1893. How a simple monk from an unknown country became a celebrity overnight and became a center of attraction for the most intellectual and biggest industrialists of that time. You will see how his message of Nar sewa Narayan Sewa is relevant in today’s world.

Q: Has this show been hosted before anywhere?

A.      Yes, Manick Ji hosted this show in Rama Krishna Mission in Bellur Math, and the New Delhi ashram last year. Swami Jis in both ashrams appreciated the show very much. In US this show has bveen hosted in Denver, Houston, and LA in last 4 weeks by Sewa International. Sewa International has plans to host it in 17 cities in US this year.

Q: What is the date and time of this event

A.      The event is on Sunday October 6^th in Collins Center of Andover High School. Program will start at 3 PM with a poster and books exhibition on Swami Vivekananda. It will be very educational specially for children and youth. After seeing the exhibition we will invite everyone to participate in a quiz on Swami Ji.

The show will start at 4 PM in the auditorium.

For the convenience of our guests, we have made arrangements for delicious food and Kulfi which will be served by restaurant.

Q: Seems like a fun and inspiring event I would not like to miss. How can one buy the ticket for the event?

A.      The tickets are available on line. You can bo to boston.sewausa.org and buy the ticket on line using your paypal or credit card. Tickets are $25, $50 and $75.

 Part 3 – Conclusion

Q. I am inspired. How can I become a volunteer?

A. Contact any Sewa volunteer and we will be happy to have you join the sewa team.

Q. How can I contact Sewa International ?

A. You can contact us by the following means:

·   Call 508-635-1610

·   Visit our Web site www.sewausa.org/boston

·   To buy the ticket on line boston.sewausa.org

Q: Would you like to say anything to our viewers

I request every viewer to please come and watch the Laser Show on Swami Vivekananda on October 6^th in Andover High School. Get inspired and find out how you can make a positive impact on the community you live in.

Chat with Mr Indra Deb and Sudeshna Sen

Transcribed by : Divya Mendiratta

Gauri :  Hello everybody, Welcome to The Foundations TV. Our guest tonight is Mr. Indra Deb from ‘Prabasi organization’, which is a Bengali organization. Welcome to Foundations TV Mr. Indra Deb.

Indrabrata  : Thank you for having me.

Gauri :  It’s a pleasure, it’s absolutely a pleasure. So why don’t we just dive right into the organization. Can you share something about it, what is it, when it was stated and what is the mission of it?

Indrabrata :  Definitely. Actually the ‘Prabasi organization’ started even before I came in Boston in 1981. What I heard that Prabasi started Saraswati Pooja in 1973. And after that it has grown so much, that we have done Sarswati Pooja, Durga pooja , Kobi Jayanti and few other events. When ‘Prabasi organization’ started there were few members, but now we have about 500-600 members. What we do, is what I was saying, we do Saraswati Pooja, we do Durga Pooja and Kobi Jayanti. Kobi Jayanti is to celebrate all the poets in India. Other thing we do is of course the picnic. And besides that, we have done few other events. Anything else you want to know.

Gauri :  So basically what I’m hearing is it’s all about keeping the heritage, keeping the traditions, keeping the cultural aspects going. Giving it to the next generation as well. Is that the mission?

Indrabrata :  That’s right. Definitely. The cultural and the religious. The Bengali heritage, with some religious things just to keep up. And that satisfy ourselves also.

Gauri :  Absolutely. Mr Indra deb is the chairman of the board of trustees of the organization. That does gives us a lot of good information, and leads us into our next section of this interview. So thank you so much for being with us today.

Indrabrata : Thank you.

Gauri :  Our next guest tonight is my very dear friend Sudeshna Sen. Welcome to Foundations TV Sudeshna. I’m so happy to have you here. And there is a very nice and exciting show coming up, so that’s what we are going to be talking about tonight. I want you to tell our audiences about that show.

Sudeshna :  Sure. We are very excited to host the Babul Supriyo concert on Saturday, Oct 5^th. Babul Supriyo is a Bengali who made it in Bollywood, so we are very proud of him. He is a kind of a contemporary of Shaan, and people know who Shaan is, and they are friends. Babul Supriyo came to America in late 80s with Kalyan ji Anand Ji. Did a tour, got his break that way and then by mid 90s he was doing a lot of songs in Bollywood. And some of the songs and movies that he is famous for have been featured in movies like Fanna, Hum tum, Agneepariksha, Hello brother and Kaho Na Pyaar hai. So he has done playback for lot of famous stars like Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Amir Khan.

Gauri :  Yaa, and when I found out about Babul Supriyo coming here, to Boston, I actually went of You tube and I started to look at what he has done. And he has done some brilliant live performances with Asha Bhosle and other renowned singers as well. So I really enjoyed. So he not only sings his own songs but he sings very melodiously some other songs as well, right?

Sudeshna :  Right.

Gauri :  So Sudeshna our next question is, from what I understand this is a combination of the Durga Pooja as well as the Bollywood aspect, where Babul Supriyo will be singing. Is that right?

Sudeshna :  Absolutely Gauri. Durga Pooja is the biggest function of Bengali’s for the year. And we like to host good cultural event. So we decided this year we would invite Babul Supriyo               . Who is not only Bengali but has National appeal, and I think has universal Appeal. People who like music will enjoy him. So we are very excited. And we really hope to see a full audience. So we are really hoping we’re going to completely sell out, which we are on our way to doing. And have a wonderful time.

Gauri :  So people are going to be able to Dance along?

Sudeshna :  Absolutely, it’s going to have full Bollywood flavor, dhamaka and masala, and dancing and everything.

Gauri :  I’m so going to this one. This is going to be so much fun. A little birdy actually came and told me something really - really exciting, specifically for our female audiences. Now can you elaborate on that little bit?

Sudeshna :  Yes. So Babul Supriyo is looking to find a female vocalist to sing with.

Gauri :  Ahhh.. Oh my god. That is awesome.

Sudeshna :  Yes it is really awesome. It is a wonderful idea. And actually it is very generous of him to have someone of his caliber to be willing to sing with somebody he doesn’t know and hasn’t practice with. The way to do it, if you are interested, female audiences, is you send an audio and visual to a place and a site which Gauri will inform you. And you will be screened, that’s your audition, there are judges to pick, and you will be informed. On that evening it will be announced, so you’ll have to come to the show. And you will be picked from the audience to sing with him. Of course we will give you little prep time, so it’s not completely cold, you’ll be comfortable. And it’s going to be a fantastic experience. We are so excited about that.

Gauri :  Boston is full of talented , singing females. I’m sure they’re going to be flooding over. We are going to post this information on The Foundations TV tomorrow morning.

Sudeshan :  Thank you.

Gauri :  Absolutely. It’s such a pleasure to work with ‘Prabasi Organisation’. It has been a very nice experience from the beginning till now and going forward as well.

Sudeshan :  For us too.

Gauri :  That’s speaks so highly of the organization. So we’ll have all that information on the site, and we’ll also be posting information about tickets. Did you want to talk about it right now?

Sudeshan :  Yes. The tickets are $40, $70 and $100, they are pretty reasonable. We have all my ticketing agents, and again Gauri will post it. You can go online and buy. Tickets are also going to be available may be on that evening. But that is little risky, because we are hoping to sell out and have full house. So it’s much better to go online. And thank you Gauri for posting that information.

Gauri :  Yes , I would highly recommended that people go ahead of time and reserve their tickets. Because you never know if it’s sold out ahead of time then they will be disappointed.

Sudeshan :  They will miss a nice evening.

Gauri :  So that’s super exciting.

Sudeshan :   We are very excited, we can’t wait.

Gauri :  I know.

Sudeshan :  Counting the days.

Gauri :  Yaa, that’s great. Thank you so much first of all for choosing Foundations TV as your media partner for this program. We are super excited. And you being such a wonderful friend mine too it’s even more special.

Sudeshan :  Thank you Gauri. It’s been a pleasure.

Gauri :  Yes it’s been a great time with you. Thank you for coming.

chat with team Kitab-e-Dil

Transcribed by : Sunayana Kachroo

किताब-ए-दिल

Gauri - बहुत-बहुत स्वागत है आप सबका Foundations Tv में। हम हैं आज अपने एक नए स्टूडियो में हैं और हमारे साथ है बहुत ही खूबसूरत मेहमान और कुछ खूबसूरत लोग जो आपको बताने वाले हैं एक बहुत ही खूबसूरत और बहुत  ही हसीं शाम के बारे में, तो चलिए मिलते हैं हमारे मेहमानों से।

Siraj - किताब-ए-दिल ....

Swathi - किताब-ए-दिल ?

Gauri --क्या है यह किताब-ए-दिल ?

Kumkum --एक शाम ग़ज़लों के नाम ।

Razia --ग़ज़ल?? कहतें हैं ग़ज़ल उर्दू शायरी की आबरू हैं।

(Siraj and Swati )- Indian सिमेना की चंद selected ग़ज़लें जो हम लेके आ रहे हैं।

Gauri:-यह आप लोग किस दौर की बातें कर रहे हैं ?

Razia - यह दौर है 50's से 80's  तक का , हिंदुस्तानी सिनेमा का black and white दौर।

Kumkum -वह गजलें जो आज भी हमारे दिलों में जिंदा हैं।

Siraj- रूह-ए-साहिर, चौपाल और मधुबाला के बाद आपके लिए एक और नयी महफ़िल।

(Song लिख दो किताब-ए-दिल पे कोई ...)

Gauri : चलिए जानते है Siraj जी से की इन्हें यह खूबसूरत सा ख्याल आया कहाँ से?

Siraj : दो चीज़ें। एक तो यह है कि मैं बताना चाहता था कि गजलों ने Indian Films में क्या role अदा किया हैं ? दूसरा मुबारक बेगम जो कि बहुत ही Senior Singer है और इस वक़्त काफी difficulties में है, तो मुबारक बेगम को इसमें ......तो दोनों चीज़ों को इसमें connect करने की कोशिश की हैं।

Gauri : बहुत ही नेक ख़याल हैं।

चलिए जानते हैं हम Razia Ji से कि यह जो नाम हैं किताब-ए-दिल ..कितना खूबसूरत सा नाम है, दिल तो छूने वाला नाम है तो उसकी क्या एहमियत हैं इस कार्यक्रम में?

Razia :शुक्रिया गौरी आपने हमें इतना chance दिया यहाँ पे आज भुलाया और इतने खूबसूरत program के बारे में यह महफ़िल मुनाकिद की। असल में हिंदी Cinema में उर्दू शायरी ने जो grace दिया था हम उसको celebrate  कर रहे हैं। Off-course आपको पता ही हैं की यह मुबारक बेगम जी के लिए हैं पर उसके साथ-साथ हम उर्दू शायरी को भी stage कर रहे हैं।  इसी लिए हमने इसका नाम किताब-ए-दिल रखा है जो खालिस उर्दू में हैं।

Gauri : बहुत प्यारा सा नाम हैं।

Razia : Thank you so much.

Siraj : तो आईए चले Kumkum से जानते हैं, मालूम करतें हैं उनकी दिलचस्पी इस program में कैसे हुई ? Kumkum हमे बताएंगी आप please ?

Kumkum: Siraj साहब आप और हम जब program में जातें हैं या घर पर गाने सुनते हैं वह हमारे ज़हन में उतर जातें हैं मेरे लिए सबसे ज़रूरी हैं "लफ्ज़" The words of the song.

मिसाल के तौर पर साहिर साहब की यह कुछ Lines सुनिए "चलो एक बार फिर से .." उसमे देखिये दो lines हैं "वह अफसाना जिसे अंजाम तक लाना न हो मुमकिन --उसे एक खूबसूरत मोड़ देके छोड़ देना अच्छा” । तो यह छोटी सी दो Lines में उर्दू शायरी ने ज़िन्दगी और रिश्तों की कितनी एहम बात कह दी, यही मेरी दिल्चापसी हैं।

Gauri : चलिए जानतें हैं Swati Subramaniam से की उनका क्या role हैं और आपको कैसा लग रहा है, Swati बताईए हमारे दर्शकों को  ? 

Swati :बहुत बढ़िया लग रहा है और वैसे मुझे बड़ी ख़ुशी हैं कि मैं इस शायराना महफ़िल में शामिल हूँ और यह मेरा पहला तजुर्बा हैं and I would hope कि आप सब आयें किताब-ए –दिल ।

September 28th Saturday evening at 6 Lexington Street, Burlington , See You There . 

Gauri : Very Nice, और यह सारी जानकारी आपको मिल सकती हैं किताब-ए-दिल के facebook के event पर या Foundations Tv के facebook page पर। ज़रूर आईएगा। हम सब आपको मिलना चाहतें हैं और चाहतें हैं की आप सब उतना  ही  इसमें enjoy करें जितना हम enjoy कर रहे हैं।

Siraj : तो बहुत खूब!  खवातीन-ओ-हजरात मैं आपसे गुज़ारिश कर रहा हूँ कि आप आईए इस महफ़िल में और बहुत से शौरा का कलम आपको सुनने को मिलेगा जिसमे Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhyanvi, Shakeel Badayuni,Mirza Ghalib , Jaan Nisar Akhtar, Gulzar, Rajendra Kishen और बहुत सारे शौरा इसमें शामिल हैं और मुझे उम्मीद हैं की आप आएंगे और बहुत enjoy करेंगे 

Gauri : तो जितने दर्शक हमारे देख रहे हैं इस प्रोग्राम को वह ज़रूर आना चाहेंगे , किताब-ए-दिल मैं तो please उन्हें बताईये की उन्हें tickets कहाँ से मिलेंगे ?

Swati : बस Gauri , Tickets किताब-ए- दिल के लिए पूरे Boston में सिर्फ एक ही जगह से मिल सकतें हैं वह है Boston Desi Connection.

Gauri : क्या बात हैं!!!!!!

For the video interview of this one please click here
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Chat with Founding Members of MERU Education Foundation for VISTAAR

Transcribed by: Divya Mendiratta

Gauri:  Welcome everyone to the Foundations TV. Our guests tonight are the founding members of the organization MERU Education Foundation. We have Vanita Shastri and Shekhar Shastri. Welcome to the Foundations TV.

Vanita :  Thank you.

Gauri:  And we also have Pallavi Nagesh here with us, who is the artistic director of the same organization. We are very happy to have you here. And we are very interested actually to know about your organization, when it was founded, why it was founded? And also about the name, I’m very intrigued by the name, so elaborate a little on that, please.

Vanita :  Sure. Thank you Gauri. It is wonderful to be here. We started the MERU Education Foundation is 2002. The mission is simply to promote arts, culture and languages of India, for audiences in Northern America. The word MERU, and the name that we choose was short and small for the American audience again. But it is very symbolic of Eastern philosophies. It signifies the Mount MERU, and it goes all the way from Sumeru in Persia, to the Buddhist philosophy, and the Jambu Dweep, which signifies the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that this is really the center of the universe. And in the body, MERU is signified as the spinal cord. So it is the center of your own being. When we started the organization the philosophy was to understand the grammar behind our arts, performing arts and the esthetics. What is the underlying code or analytical basis of this? When we listen to a Raag, why does it connote a sunrise or a sunset? So, that grammar is something that is our mission to explore and explain to our students who are learning about our arts here in North America. That’s how we choose MERU. It is short and it also has a very deep meaning. So if you want to really dwell deeper you can go there as well.

Gauri:  I totally loved the way you explained everything. It’s very nice, very deep, and very interesting. There is a reason behind every single thing that you have chosen to do, from the start to now. And that actually leads us to our next question. What all have you chosen to do since you started? May be Shekhar Ji can elaborate it a little on the events and the programs that you have conducted in the past.

Vanita :  Sure

Shekhar :  MERU conducts educational programs, as Vanita mentioned. For a large range of audiences, we conduct programs in schools. In Massachusetts, in New Hampshire, we have conducted teacher training, on how to teach topics related to India, the arts culture and languages as Vanita mentioned. In addition, we have prepared modules that have been taught and are being taught in universities and colleges as well. And for popular audiences we take the core of Indian culture in a form that is very engaging and entertaining.

Gauri :  Excellent. So there’s two different things I’m hearing: one is the education part through the schools and the teachers and if anybody is interested in knowing more about that, they can get in touch with you or go on your website and find out more about how to reach out to you. And also there’s some entertainment aspect. I believe there has been an event, which I remember attending, Raaga Rang. It was one of the most intellectual event, even though there was music and entertainment associated with it, but the whole theme was very intellectually driven too. There was the Raag, there was a knowledge flowing through the music to the audiences. I think that was a beautiful event.

Shekhar :  Thank you.

Gauri :  Going straight into the next event, that is coming up, which is actually the focus of our discussion today. This is actually a dance event, and may be Vanita ji you can talk about who the dancer going to be, and what is special about this particular dance?

Vanita :  Sure. We have brought artists and scholars in the past. We have done summit MERU, which is one of our programs, along with the theme, the branding of a program. Under the summit MERU we bring a scholar who talks in depth about a particular topic. In the same format, we also bring artists who perform and may be talk about the dance as well. I’m really excited that in about three and a half weeks on Sept 14^th, we will be presenting Vistaar, which is a classical performance of Odissi Dance. Performing this dance will be Madhavi Mudgal and her troupe from India, the Gandharv troupe. They are based in New Delhi. Madhavi also happens to be my dance Teacher. I remember watching Madhavi way back in Delhi, and I just decided that she is going to be my guru. I went up to her and I said, “you have to teach me” , and she was not a teacher at that time but she was just a performing dancer. So, I’m really her first student. She has been my mentor and my friend, and I’m so excited that I have the honor for hosting her and presenting her. To me Madhavi symbolizes really the combination of modern sensibilities with the classical ethos of the Indian performing arts. Often we hear that this is a traditional arts form, as this is a classical dance. And I think Madhavi’s philosophy is that if I’m doing it now and I’m a modern person, this dance is modern or at least I’m able to bring my abilities from the current to decorate this very interesting performing art. And Odissi as some of you may know is a very very graceful, lyrical dance style, from the Eastern part of India of the state of Orissa. And it is very circular the way it was reconstructed. It takes a lot from temple architecture, so as you watch this dance you can see some of the Murtis that you may have in your home come alive.

Gauri :  Very Nice. You have described the dance form so beautifully and also you relationship with your teacher. Now I’m a little curious though. I’m going to ask you a little question here. You said that you saw her performing and you went up to her and reach out and said you wanted to be her student and you were her first student. Was she your first teacher as well? Is that when you started learning?

Vanita :  No, I was learning off and on with other people, but I was mostly doing dances from films. And my one stint with classical dance didn’t go very far because the teacher wasn’t very exciting.

Gauri :  It does depend on the teacher. Totally understand that. Do you still dance? Do you still perform?

Vanita :  I don’t perform as much, but I’m really a scholar of dance. I keep up the practice, but I talk lot about it, and I give lecture demonstrations.

Gauri :  You must be so excited to have her here and come and perform here for your event.

Vanita :  I’m really looking forward to that. She is on a US tour. And it’s really nice that she’ll be able to include Boston in her travels.

Gauri :  Beautiful. I have nothing to do with Odissi dance at all, I have no association with the Odissi dance. But I have friends who have watched her in India, and once they knew that I’m going to be promoting this event, they came back and told me that they are excited to see her here. So that itself speaks volumes about her capabilities. That’s really good. Sept 14^th is Vistaar and this is in Lexington, so I’m really excited to watch the dance with all of you. Do you have anything else to add?

Vanita :  I also wanted to just added quickly that for this particular one we are partnering with the America India Foundation. And we are doing this is as a fund raiser for the flood victims in Northern India, that were affected by the Himalayan Tsunami recently.

Gauri :  There is a Cause as well. It is entertainment plus the genuine cause. That is of course one side of the story. Now I want to hear the other part of the story. As a member of the audiences, if I come in what can I expect, Pallavi, from a show like this?

Pallavi :  Everybody from every walk of life will get something or the other from this show, and I can guarantee that. Today seems to be a day for coining words. I’m going to coin another word, may be it’s already coined, Edutainment. MERU is probably the premier institute that provides true edutainment. It’s entertainment with a nuance of education in it. Like Vanita said, we have summit MERU, which has brought many programs that both entertainment as well as education. And you brought up Raaga Rang. As one of the producer of Raaga Rang, I can say that although a lot goes into producing it, a lot comes out as well. We are so fortunate to have such an educational entertaining dice here in Boston. I think Shekhar touched a little bit upon the education and he glanced over the entertainment, but entertainment is a big part of MERU, and we hope to catch all the audiences out there. Plus, this for a noble cause, people will come because they are going to be supporting these floods that happened in Uttarkhand, which is a very nice cause. And there’s the ideology of Vistaar of the space, as Vanita touched upon it and I hope Shekhar will elaborate it a little more, on how Madhavi uses spaces. And that intellectual aspect will appeal to lot of people. For dancers, whether you are a novice or you are an established dancer, there’s always something to learn from Madhavi’s Choreography, and her expression of a story in her music. Again, I’m sure Shekhar will elaborate a little bit more about that. If you want to learn more you can always go on to our website, which is imeru.net. You can get more information both about MERU and about the event, and you can buy tickets to the event which in on Sept 14^th at the Lexington Heritage Museum. And you can buy the tickets on Sulekha or on Lokvani and you can get more information on our website which is imeru.net.

Gauri :  Thank you so much, that was very useful, I’m sure for everybody who is listening. As she said Shekhar Ji, would you like to elaborate on dance style a bit?

Shekhar :  Certainly. Madhavi is the premier disciple of Guru Kelucharna Mahapatra, who hail from the Eastern state of Orissa. And Guru Kelucharan is considered the architect of the modern form of Odissi dance style. Madhavi is the fore bearer of that tradition. When I say the tradition, as Vanita touched upon briefly also, the challenge for an artist is to take the tradition into the future. And that’s where she has excelled. She comes from a family of classical musician. She is an architect, as well as a premier dancer. So she is able to bring together the physical spaces, and the internal spaces. Also the rhythmic and the melodic structures and create sculptures there, dynamic sculptures. So this particular choreography, Vistaar that she is talking about, starts from a core and then elaborates in many different dimensions. And when it elaborates the task is complex but the result is perceptible. The audiences are touched, and that’s when it becomes beauty in pure form. In fact , Alastair Macaulay the dance critic for the New York Times said that Madhavi Mudgal is legend. And he has stated, ‘today on the planet if there are three dancers that he is absolutely in love with are Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sara Rudner and Madhavi Mudgal.’

Gauri :  Excellent . And to add to that I think there was a list that was shared with me before we started recording, of the awards that she has received. To all the substantial information that we’ve shared today, through this interview, is also a number of the awards she has credited to her name, including the Padma Shree, the Sangeet Natak Academy Award and Chevalier De L'ordre awarded by the Government of France. That’s very commendable. It’s very nice to see that MERU Education Foundation is bringing such an accomplished artist here for the Boston audiences. Did you want to add anything Vanita, before we end?

Vanita :  I just wanted to Thank you, Gauri for hosting us and doing this. I also wanted echo Shekhar’s point that she has now actually trained a whole set of dancers.So really taking the classical form into the future because there are many dancers you’ll see in the troupe. It’s not just a solo performance, it will be actually in a group performance. And when you see classical dance in a group setting that dynamic impact and that esthetic experience, I think, will be something which is breath taking. And I invite you all to come and be part of this event on Sept 14^th at the National Heritage Museum.

Shekhar :  I would like to also add, that I knew Madhavi for some time because her father was my music teacher. I learnt music from him and I use to see these Odissi performances. I must admit I was young at that time, I fell in love with all of Madhavi’s students. And I ended up marrying one of those.

Gauri :  Oh my god!. That is amazing.

Pallavi :  There are many such stories that you can find in the dance. Not just Madhavi’s dance but in any dance. But in particular Madhavi’s dance, and Vanita said, is very rich in storytelling and it’s something that you must all come and experience for yourself. And I’m going to throw in one little challenge, both Vanita and Shekhar touched upon the fact that the choreography emulates temple architecture. So for the people in the audience, I’m going to quiz you after the show of how many pieces of temple architecture you saw or you found during the dance.

Gauri :  Awesome. So not only are we exited to see the beautiful dance performance we also has something really fun to look forward to.Thank you so much all three of you for joining us tonight. I for one, I’m going to be there for the show, and I invite all my friends and all the viewers who will be watching this video. I think this is a lot of good information that we shared tonight. So please do come and watch the show Sept 14^th at the Lexington Heritage Museum. We’ll look forward to seeing all of you. Thanks so much. 

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