2B —Thursday, October 12, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COURTESY OF SAHANA
COURTESY OF SAHANA
Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi: Preserving
a tradition on a college campus through dancing
B-SIDE LEAD
As global citizens in this
day, interdisciplinary thinking
has become more important
than ever, and places that bring
together
multiple
disciplines
are crucial. At the University
of
Michigan,
the
Michigan
Sahana has combined culture
and performance art of classical
Indian origin to create a unique
collaborative space.
Michigan Sahana is a student
organization founded in 2003.
Originally formed as the Indian
Classical
Dance
and
Music
group on campus, the focal
point has been on classical art
forms of India. The members
work throughout the school
year to showcase student talent,
educate members of their own
culture and spread awareness of
the diversity of classical Indian
music and dance forms. Styles
presented by Michigan Sahana
include Hindustani and Carnatic
music, as well as dance forms
like Bharatanatyam, Kathak and
Kuchipudi.
Michigan Sahana has three
pillars that drive its mission
of
cultural
and
community
enrichment: cultivating talent,
mounting performance concerts
and creating a safe space for
people to come together.
LSA
senior
Shalini
Rao
is the current president of
Michigan
Sahana.
She
said
the organization has a breadth
of resources available to its
members, which is a strong point
of the group.
“It really does allow you to
cater to your own interests and
prioritize whatever aspects of
Sahana you want to prioritize
—
whether
it’s
bonding,
performance or a little bit of
everything,” Rao said. “It does
fulfill a cultural role for me and it
also fulfills an arts role. … One of
the ways I can stay in touch with
my culture is through practicing
and learning more about this art
that I’ve been doing since I was 4
years old.”
As the president of Michigan
Sahana, Rao emphasized her
goal to provide these resources
and networks for other members.
Since January, she has worked to
maintain and broaden the scope
of this support system.
“Whether that means giving
them particular performance
opportunities
or
connecting
them with local teachers, if
they’re here for that purpose of
improving their performance
and their art form, we want to
be able to fulfill that,” she said.
“There are people that are really
passionate
about
spreading
awareness — I want to make sure
that Michigan Sahana can grow
its campus presence.”
Along with the wealth of
resources, the organization is
unique in its approach to the
performing arts.
Business junior Manasvini
Rao is the treasurer for Michigan
Sahana, and a longtime Carnatic
violin player. She spoke about
the group’s commitment to the
traditional performance form,
something that sets Michigan
Sahana apart from other cultural
groups on campus.
“I think we’re one of the few
organizations that stays really
pure in terms of the arts — we
don’t do any Bollyfusion, we
don’t combine with any modern
interpretations, we try to stay
true to our roots,” she said.
Manasvini’s
years
of
experience in and appreciation
for classical Indian performance
art
is
not
uncommon
for
members of Michigan Sahana. In
fact, many members carry more
than a decade of training before
even starting college, such as
LSA senior Naveena Thota..
“I’d always liked dancing
along to music. When I was
little, my parents noticed that
I really enjoyed dancing on my
own,” Thota said. Subsequently,
Thota’s parents put her in
classical dance classes to learn
a popular style among the
diaspora.
“I feel like a lot of parents feel
like it’ll bring their kids closer to
their roots,” she said.
Thota spoke about her lifelong
commitment to classical Indian
dance until college. Her story
aligned with other members
who
also
traveled
far
and
dedicated extensive hours to
rigorous
training.
However,
Thota mentioned her dedication
faltered in college with the busy
lifestyle.
“It’s been a struggle trying to
keep it up, but again, because I’m
passionate about it, I’ve kept it
up as much as possible,” she said.
“I think what’s more important
to me is being associated with
arts and the art form in general
— understanding that even if I
can’t be dancing all the time,
I’m understanding other things
about
classical
dances
and
classical music and
I’m learning about
the
history
and
significance.”
Manasvini
also finds ease in
maintaining
her
Carnatic
violin
practice
with
Michigan Sahana.
She
explained
her family’s rich
history
with
classical
arts,
ranging
from
singing
and
dancing to visual
arts.
“I wasn’t sure
about
my
skills
and if it would
be up to par with
what
Michigan
Sahana
produces
in
concerts,
but
I
found
such
a
supportive
group
of people who were
willing to put me
in,” Rao said. “I
think
because
I
kept playing, I had
my
one
artistic
outlet in college.
Honestly,
I would probably go insane
without it.”
As a student in the Business
School,
Manasvini
spoke
about her everyday life being
immersed in quantitative or
qualitative work, rather than
the humanities or arts. For her,
Michigan Sahana is a break from
the regular obligations of school,
but she is not alone in finding
freedom in Sahana.
Engineering senior Raghav
Muralidharan was also exposed
to Indian classical music at a
young age and joined Michigan
Sahana,
following
his
older
brother. Even before college, he
knew he too wanted to be a part
of the community of friends the
organization provides. Now in
his final year, he finds in joy in
mentoring newer members and
helping them find their roots in
the Sahana family.
“Arts
in
general,
musical
expression,
is
a
rest
from
school,”
Muralidharan
said.
“They complement each other
in a way. In music, there’s a lot
creativity and improvisation, a
lot of working with other people.
While the feelings and actual
expression is different, a lot
of what I do in engineering is
similar in those themes. I feel
like it has made me think better
as an engineer.”
The interdisciplinary nature
of Michigan Sahana doesn’t end
there. The organization is an
active collaborator with other
cultural
groups
on
campus,
performing in at least one large
colloaborative production every
year.
“Even
though
this
title
as being an Indian classical
organization, we do welcome and
accommodate a lot of different
people from a lot of different
backgrounds.
I
think
that’s
something we can all take away
as a lesson from Sahana, that
being inclusive is always a good
thing,” Thota said. “You can only
learn from being inclusive and
getting to know other people.”
Given the current political
climate
and
recent
racist
incidents
on
campus,
this
inclusivity
is
perhaps
more
important than ever. Michigan
Sahana’s
president,
Shalini
Rao, reiterated this openness
and acceptance as a start to
dissolving tensions on campus
and healing the afflicted.
“Personally,
it
is
very
important because we are a
student organization primarily
composed of minority students,”
Rao said. “We want to make
sure that not only our students,
but every student who may be
experiencing similar challenges
on this campus, know that
Sahana is at least one place they
can find that solidarity with
fellow community members —
whether or not they look like us,
dance like us, sing like us. We are
that space.”
Krithika
Balakrishnan,
Shalini’s collaborator and vice
president of Michigan Sahana,
echoed these sentiments on the
group’s unique campus presence.
She said Michigan Sahana’s dual
role as an arts and culture group
allows it to facilitate dialogue
on campus through music and
dance.
“Even
though
different
types of performance arts from
different countries or cultures
are vastly different in how
they appear on stage, there’s
still
commonalities
within
the
music
or
movements,”
Balakrishnan said. “It’s this
common medium where people
don’t necessarily need language
to relate to each other. Because
it conveys emotions and feelings,
something
that’s
universal
across so many cultures and so
many people, it’s a unique way to
bring people together.”
Balakrishnan also spoke about
her own goals as vice president.
Although
Michigan
Sahana
already emphasizes diversity,
she is constantly working to
bridge the gap between different
cultural groups on campus.
“I want to do a lot more collage
with other organizations and
bring about more discussions
about diversity on campus,” she
said.
Even
though
the
organization’s
work
on
expanding its campus identity is
ongoing, the unwavering bonds
within Michigan Sahana are
apparent from the continued
emphasis on a sense of family.
“As a person of color, the social
climate and campus climate has
been disconcerting. I’m glad that
I have a community and I’m glad
for others to express what they
need to express,” Muralitharan
said.
However, the profoundly deep
effects of Michigan Sahana go
beyond the University campus
and local community.
Michigan Sahana members
share an interest in classical
Indian performance art, but their
exposure and experiences with
it vary significantly. There are
Indian-American members who
have been raised exclusively in
America, international students
from India itself, those who
don’t have any prior exposure to
Indian culture and everything in
between.
“With
globalization
and
having
immigrated
and
assimilated into new cultures,
I think it’s really important
that cultures don’t get lost
somewhere in the mix,” Thota
said. “Just because everything
is globalizing and everyone’s
getting to know other cultures
doesn’t mean that we need to
become one big mainstream
culture.”
Despite
this
diversity
within
its
members,
a
common theme in
their stories is a
deep appreciation
for their roots.
“Growing
up, it was really
important to my
parents and to me
that I didn’t lose
any aspect of our
culture,
because
it really is who I
am,”
Manasvini
Rao said.
She
described
her life speaking
her mother tongue
while
growing
up, eating Indian
food,
dressing
in
traditional
clothing
and
celebrating
national holidays.
However,
Rao
said music was the
easiest medium for
her to talk about
with
relatives,
especially
her
grandparents
in
India.
“For me the reason why
roots are so important to stay
connected with through Indian
classical music and Michigan
Sahana is because it’s the best
way for me to keep a part of
myself intact and not lose it in
the business and craziness of
school,” Rao said.
Balakrishnan
echoed
these
sentiments
of
finding
deeper
connections
with
distant
relatives
through
performance art. Balakrishnan’s
grandparents played classical
Indian instruments and sang as
well.
“That
is
something
I
remember
a
lot
from
my
childhood. Every weekend I
would call up my grandma and
sing a song for her,” she said.
“I’m Indian and we talk and
have friends who are Indian, but
at the same time, looking back
at my culture, Indian classical
music helped me do that because
I don’t live in India and I don’t
see the rest of my family,” she
said.
There is something unifying
and special about the medium
of performance that allows for
deeper connections to form —
even with those who are not
physically present to watch, like
many of the members’ relatives
still residing India. There is
something in practicing an art
form to achieve a perfection
that doesn’t exist, and passing
down this work ethic that seems
to strengthen the bond within
families.
“When talking about today’s
climate, when so many people
aren’t open to diversity and
are saying things about illegal
immigrants,
I
think
a
lot
of that fostered by a lack of
understanding of culture and
people. By using the arts or
poetry, I think we foster an
emotional
connection
that’s
deeper,”
Manasvini
said.
“There’s more of an emotional
connection, which is why I think
organizations like ours can get
such a multicultural audience
to come to our shows because
so many people can enjoy it,
whether they understand it or
not.”
And beyond the pure joy that
is elicited from live performance,
it becomes clear that Michigan
Sahana cultivates a profound
empathy — from encouraging its
artists to look back to their own
heritage
and
simultaneously
looking to their present and
future
community.
LSA
sophomore Sunanda Adibhatla, a
Sahana member, said connecting
to her culture is important
because it helps her stand out.
“Staying with your roots helps
you explore other people’s roots
and understand other cultures
as well. It’s important to me
because
it’s
something
that
makes me different,” she said.
“Learning about my culture and
my roots is a way for me to know
more and also be able to teach
more to other people if they’re
interested and spread the beauty
of Indian music.”
YOSHIKO IWAI
Deputy Statement Editor
COURTESY OF SAHANA