Author:
Publication: Malaysia Today
Date: June 5, 2008
URL: http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/8420/1/
At the beginning of every Bharatanatyam performance,
artistes of this famous South Indian classical dance pay obeisance on stage
to a statue of Lord Nadaraja.
The Bharatanatyam was performed at the Taman
Budaya on condition prayers to Lord Nadarajah were not carried out on stage
as is the common practice at the start of the performance. - NST picture by
Ikhwan Munir
This common practice is also carried out to
invoke the deity's blessings so that the dancers perform well without any
obstacle.
However, on Monday night, a group of Bharatanatyam
dancers performed before a full gallery at the Taman Budaya public auditorium
without the customary on-stage pooja (prayer) to Lord Nadaraja.
This was because the owner of the venue, the
state Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Department, permitted the dance on
condition they did not install a statue or portrait of the deity and offer
their prayers on stage.
For the record, this is not the first time
that dancers from the three Bharatanatyam schools of Nrityakalanjali, Natyakalamandir
and Anandanarthana Choodamani in the state had performed at the venue.
In the past, the dancers were allowed to offer
their prayers on stage, said P. Sasikumar, who acted as the spokesman for
the three dance schools.
"This time we were not allowed because
the department imposed this condition.
"This is ridiculous. The pooja is an
integral part of the performance and has been practised for hundreds of years,"
he said before the start of the Bharatanatyam performance at Taman Budaya.
He said the practice of paying obeisance to
Lord Nadaraja was important because the deity was worshipped as the king of
dance.
In defence, the department said the organisers
were informed beforehand of the conditions and chose to go ahead with the
performance.
The department's public relations officer,
Shaliza Azlin, said the organisers had agreed that the prayers would be performed
backstage to respect the sensitivities of the audience, who also comprised
Chinese and Malays.
"We did not stop them from doing the
pooja. We did not want them to do it in public."
Shaliza said the same conditions had been
imposed on other cultural groups.
Perak state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar,
who was at the performance, said: "The prayer is very much part of the
cultural performance and should have been allowed on the stage."
He said he would bring the matter up with
the state government as well as his party so that such "intolerant behaviour"
could be nipped in the bud before it became widespread.
