Online performances have been leading the way in elevating humans from feeling hemmed in during this time. By Suman Doonga
It seems like the collective fight against COVID-19 is here to stay for a while now. We need to be more patient within the comfort of our homes to flatten the curve of the spread. With most of us spending so much time online, as we follow the lockdown rules, one can’t miss the trend of art presentation and appreciation on the digital platform. There is more of new music presentations, dance performances, painting works, poetry renditions, storytelling, memes, comics, graphic works, animation skits, photo stories and short documentaries prepared to create awareness on health and wellness.
The majority of us across the world are trying to add positivity to our lives by occupying our minds with new interests, experiencing sharing and new learnings along with the much-needed daily dose of yoga and meditation sessions. To add an element of leisure, many artists are coming online from all over the world and streaming their live performances for the audience globally while overcoming technological and aesthetic issues.
In these times of social distancing, Spic Macay (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Among Youth) has launched the Spic Macay Rendezvous Series for all age groups to interact online with some of the greatest exponents of Indian classical music, dance, arts and crafts, cinema and yoga.
The society has already hosted online sessions with bansuri guru, Pt Hari Prasad Chourasia, Indian classical vocalist, Pt Jasraj, Mohiniattam dancer, Dr Neena Prasad, carnatic vocalist, Sudha Raghunathan, cinema and theatre actress-producer, Nandita Das and MK Raina, as well as an interaction with social activist Vandana Shiva on the Earth Day theme. Spic Macay has been posting announcements of the forthcoming online programmes under the series via its website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter handles along with WhatsApp alerts for inviting more people to get inspired and appreciate the experiences.
This lockdown has brought back clean air to our metro cities, granted us the freedom to re-imagine our lives and engage with our personal interests. However ironic as it may sound, it has provided us the freedom to rediscover relationships that were almost forgotten. It has given us the freedom to pause and rewind so that we can be human again. Everything appears more organised. Stars seem more visible at night. An unplanned grand experiment has changed earth.
We have taken up an initiative calling to ‘Save the Artist’ with digital social networking. Artistes from Indian classical music, dance and folk arts are uploading their videos that share their perspectives on how they think we can save various art forms. In unique ways, one can also support young artistes in this difficult time of deadly pandemic. The time is now to encourage people to use this period for their personal development.
One of the oldest and well-known Sankat-Mochan festivals of Indian classical music, which, over the years has been inviting some eminent artistes of India to Varanasi, is now streaming digitally for the first time.
Indian classical dancers abroad are taking online classes to beat lockdown blues. Arunima, a trained Kuchipudi dancer from UK, plans to take performances online too, under her banner ‘Dance Karona’. While entertaining people all over the world with their digital and online concerts, artistes are also raising funds to support frontline health workers. The initiative is to supply them with masks, hand sanitisers and PPE kits.
Another encouraging story comes from the Hyderabad Art Society, lead by artist Ramana Reddy, which has launched a new initiative to paint their perspective on ongoing COVID-19, a positive step to motivate youngsters to express their thoughts. He shares, “As an activity, arts give strength where they can reveal their inner feelings and respond to the current situation.”
Globally, many popular museums are inviting people to explore their shows and exhibits virtually. Administrations and governments are also announcing support to the artistes’ community. The Rajasthan state government has announced support to the folk artists with the ‘Chief Minister’s Folk Artist Encouragement Scheme’. The scheme intends to encourage the solo folk artistes living in rural areas of the state to shoot a 15-20 minutes video performance at their homes and send the same to the government, so that it can be appreciated through the digital social media platforms.
(The writer is the Director, Media, of Spic Macay.)
