Blending incisive comedy with Hindu mythology and a dash of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnu is an intimate and compelling view of an unforgettable world.
The event opened with a welcome from Honorary Chairperson Dr. A. V. Srinivasan, primary founder of the Connecticut Valley Hindu Temple Society in Middletown. Dr. Srinivasan spoke about the value of bringing a solitary pastime, reading, into a community setting. He spoke about how sharing this book can connect us with each other and help us to become comfortable being with people of similar interests even though our opinions may be wildly different. (The wild difference of opinions was apparent at the book discussion held at the end of the day!)
Dr. Srinivasan invited us to consider a universal theme developed in the book, and reminded us that this theme can be played out anywhere, even Hartford: How does society deal with the Vishnus among us who live their lives in degradation and wretchedness, but who share with us the same desire for life, levity, and the fulfillment of dreams?
After we were welcomed, David Nelson, ethnomusicologist and Artist-in-Residence at Wesleyan University presented a workshop on solkattu, spoken syllables that are used to teach rhythmic patterns to musicians, drummers and dancers.
He taught participants basic talas, movements of the hands that create specific patterns and bring both performer and audience into the meter of a song. While we struggled to measure out talas with our hands (clap, pinky, ring finger, middle finger, clap, back-of-hand, clap, back-of-hand), Dr. Nelson beat our complex rhythms on his mrdangam, which he had primed with some water and farina (otherwise known as Cream of Wheat).
When asked, Dr. Nelson told us that in India, musicians, especially drummers, have resisted the rush to writing down notation for these rhythms because notation takes flexibility out of performance.
He asked us if we had noticed making mistakes while measuring out our talas. Of course we had!
If you put your learning into your body instead of writing it down, he told us, you know immediately when you've made a mistake. True for many things, I think.
At the conclusion of Dr. Nelson's workshop, participants admired the wares offered by Noor Beauty Supply and Body Oil of Windsor and Black Yak Trading Company of unknown provenance. Food was provided by Taste of India of West Hartford.
Bracelets were particularly popular, abundant, and affordable. Some were only 25 cents!
Kathak Dance was our next subject. Renowned dancer Rachna Rayma Agrawal explained the origins of this 2000-year-old form. Kathak, a North Indian classical dance, was initially a temple dance, but became a popular court dance after the Mogul invasion of India.
Kathak is distinguished by its use of ankle bells - 150 for each ankle, made of copper and zinc, and weighing two-and-a-half pounds per strand.
The feet are used to make a variety of sounds from the bell, from the sharp jangle of a flat foot to a shuddering wave of sound as the toe is dragged across the floor.
After demonstrating a series of standard movements in a fluid dance, Ms. Agrawal performed an expressive, 2000-year-old temple dance describing the beauty of God. The dance has three parts. The first part tells the story of Krishna stealing butter (!) and his mother's reaction. The second part tells the story of a village being devastated by a hurricane. Krishna lifts a mountain with his pinky and uses it as an umbrella to shelter the village. The third part tells the story of Krishna teasing the most beautiful woman in the village, Radha, who ultimately becomes his lover.
Ms. Agrawal's face melted easily between Krishna's stern and disappointed mother, an irritated Radha, and Krishna himself, looking happy (butter!), chastised, benevolent or coy.
The audience was invited to participate in a North Indian folk dance, and a group of brave women of all ages rose to the challenge. The dance involved flowing, jumping, spinning and flirting. It was fun and invigorating. We were also taught hand movements that represented a flower, a bee, a butterfly turning into a bird, waves and (what else?) Krishna petting his cow!
The day concluded with a book discussion led by Elizabeth Davis of the Hartford Public Library.
As this was the Kick-Off Event, it was expected that participants would not necessarily have read the book, but many already had. Opinions varied widely among the group. Some loved the book, while others were happy when it ended. Many were thrilled to learn about Indian culture for the first time. Some found the characters unsympathetic and others found them comical.
The conversation continued over chai tea in the library's soaring Atrium.
As the library closed up for the evening, participants chatted until they reached the street.
I need to recruit all the soldiers
All of God's soldiers
We at war
We at war with society, racism, terrorism, but most of all we at war with ourselves...
To the hustlas, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(Jesus walks with them)
To the victims of Welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
(Jesus walks with them)...
(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that I pray is that me feet don't fail me now...
On the way back, Tom Petty:
Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises...
No comments on my musical taste, please, but man that sh*t was freaky!
This exhibition is a contemporary commentary about race and its impact on the development of Black identity in America. The words of poets and musicians, such as Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, Marvin Gaye, and Lupe Fiasco, guide viewers through the exhibition and remind them of the genesis of this present-day conversation. The artists in this exhibition question common understandings of the concept of "Blackness" and the boundaries associated with them... Bare Walls, No Boundaries is witty and sometimes biting. It is an observation about the various conflicts and triumphs that have shaped and continue to shape the consciousness of many Americans. Most importantly, by examining America's painful past and imperfect present, it looks toward a promising future with no boundaries.