I spent the last three months in Europe and India, traveling and performing Nautanki to diverse audiences. I also worked with my father on Nautanki Mission Suhani to expand the script and add new scenes for our performance at CounterPULSE this October.

I first traveled to Paris, where I stayed at the Théâtre du Soleil (http://www.theatre-du-soleil.fr), a theater founded by the famous French director Ariane Mnouchkine. I watched their latest production, Les Naufragés du Fol Espoirs, and thoroughly enjoyed it. During my stay, I trained actors at the theater in Nautanki. Along with them, I gave a presentation about the Nautanki tradition and performed scenes from Nautanki Sultana Daku, which I had directed for numerous shows in the Bay Area in 2008 and 2009. Sultana Daku depicts the life of a Robinhood-like bandit who plagued the rich and helped the poor and became a symbol of resistance against the British in the early 20th century. The reaction to our performance was overwhelming. All the actors at the Théâtre du Soleil who watched the performance really liked the Nautanki form and wished that I should come with my full Indian Nautanki troupe to perform in Paris. I also informed them about my upcoming production of Mission Suhani at CounterPULSE, which is based on a contemporary social issue.

In the Théâtre du Soleil, everyone talks, walks, and lives theater. Not only that, but all the people in the theater collaborate to create new performances, which means that they have a lot of dialogue about any new piece they want to create. This ambience at the Théâtre du Soleil inspired me to think in new ways about how to make my upcoming Nautanki production Mission Suhani longer and more effective.

I first met Ariane Mnouchkine while on a research trip to Delhi, India, during which I participated in a seminar sponsored by the Asian Heritage Foundation. The seminar focused on the situation of traditional art forms and artists in the contemporary global world. I was invited to talk about improving the living conditions of community performing artists, artisans, and craftsmen in South Asia, and to give a Nautanki performance. At the seminar, I interacted with Ariane Mnouchkine and several other top scholars, performers, and intellectuals from South Asia, Europe and America. Ariane invited me to visit her in Paris to perform and collaborate with her at the Théâtre du Soleil.

Devendra Sharma participating in a seminar sponsored by the Asian Heritage Foundation in Delhi, India along with the world-famous French theater director Ariane Mnouchkine and renowned Indian cinema scriptwriter Shama Zaidi

After my visit to the Théâtre du Soleil in Paris, I traveled to India. As always, my India stay turned out to be wonderfully enjoyable. The scents, food, and sensibilities of India enrich my soul so much and inspire me artistically. The most amazing part of my India stay was to work, perform, and learn from my father, Pundit Ram Dayal Sharma, who is one of the most renowned Nautanki artists and gurus in India. Every day, I learned little things from him that helped me understand the nuances of tradition and elements of experimentation in Nautanki more and more. One of the highlights of my India stay was traveling with my father to Bombay to perform in the annual National Theatre Festival at Nehru Center. This was a very prestigious event where only select renowned theater groups were invited. My father and I performed as two of the main characters in the world-renowned folk play Agra Bazaar, written and directed by the late Habib Tanvir. Eight hundred people came to watch the performance, and it was a very enjoyable experience.

Throughout the summer, I worked very closely with my father to develop the Mission Suhani script in much more detail than its previous version, at the levels of both plot and characterization. Several very helpful suggestions from the audience during previous shows of Mission Suhani at CounterPULSE and at UC Berkeley inspired and guided our script development. For instance, one of the helpful suggestions that came from the audience was that the relationship between Suhani and Devesh (when Suhani travels to the US to find her husband) could be developed more and clarified in much more detail. Of course, in the previous avatar of Mission Suhani, we had to restrain ourselves to a half hour time limit so we could not show the relationship between Suhani and Devesh in detail. Now, since we have more time for the performance, we worked to bring more nuance into the interaction between Suhani and Devesh. Another wonderful audience suggestion was that Suhani could take more initiative in how she interprets her relationship with Devesh. Using these suggestions, my father and I created a new scene between Suhani and Devesh where Suhani’s strong character becomes even stronger and more empowered.

Another exciting feature of the new script that my father and I added is a spicy, entertaining, as well as meaningful song which Suhani sings when she remembers her husband and longs to meet him while she is waiting for him in India. In a very simple way, this song captures the emotions of a newlywed bride who is naïve and idealistic in her love, oblivious of the fact that there is a cruel world out there. The song also provides a contrast between the two Suhanis—the innocent Suhani in India, before she realizes that she has been cheated by her husband, and the tough Suhani that emerges after this realization. I hope that all of these additions and enhancements will enrich the performance at many levels and make the new avatar of Mission Suhani even more appealing, entertaining, and thought-provoking for audience members. Working on the Mission Suhani script with my father has been such an exciting experience for me, and I really look forward to the first Work-in-Progress show to get everybody’s feedback on this fascinating and interesting work.

Nine years ago, events occurred that changed the way many people looked at the rest of the world.  On September 11^th, 2001, the whole world watched in horror at the catastrophic events that changed the meaning of this day for many people, especially Americans.  As time moved on emotions and memories of this day still exist, and people have learned to cope with life and find happiness again.   Psychologists found many patterns to the human emotional behavior.  Tragedy resulted in shock, anger, grief, and eventually acceptance.  As a country grappled with moving on, one can explore the emotional journey that many faced.  From another perspective, the impetus behind the attacks may be led to emotional origins by the terrorists.  Can they be explored as human natural tendencies as well?  Human nature has a  tendency to emote and produce action as a result of emotion.  Can the emotions that led up to 9/11 just be as important to remember?  Yes, they can and should be considered.

Human life is an entity that is given shape by events that occur throughout our lifetime. What makes life interesting is how extraordinary happenings create opportunities while balancing good and bad.  The one thing that is common to all beings in this life is what is evoked as a feeling within us, how we respond to them with our emotions, and how that subsequently becomes a part of our internal life.  Indeed, life can be thought of as a continuous sequence of emotions that arise in various contexts and circumstances. These emotions, or rasas, are what give life different hues, shades and colors.

Thus it is not surprising that most performing art, which tries to present to the viewer a slice of human life focuses precisely on these rasas, or emotions in order to appeal to the audience. That rasas are the mainstay of performing art, or natya, is a fact that has been well-recognised for centuries now. The NatyaShastra is an ancient Indian text dated between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD which analyses all aspects of performing art. It is often called the fifth veda because of its importance. In it one finds a thorough exposition on the rasas, or emotions that characterise Life as well as Art. The NatyaShastra describes nine rasas or NavaRasas that are the basis of all human emotion. It is useful to keep in mind that a rasa encompasses not just the emotion, but also the various things that cause that emotion. These two things go hand in hand and are impossible to treat separately. This duality is part of every rasa to varying degrees.

These  ideas are explored through a performance this Saturday at CounterPULSE.  Bharata Natyam, a classical Indian dance form, utilizes a very important aspect of it’s art form, called Abhinaya, to relate to the audience.  Through facial expressions, story telling, and drama, Bharata Natyam seeks to give the audience various rasas (taste) of the experiences that have unfolded in our history and mythology.  Nava Rasas refers to the nine emotions that are glorified in Bharata Natyam.  During this performance, Priyanjali dancers will present the nine emotions or navarasas as they are known.  They are:

(In Sanskrit)

Sringaram – Love in any form.  Love of a mother, husband, wife, sister, friend.  Attractiveness and Beauty.   This is the emotion used to represent that which appeals to the human mind, that which one finds beautiful, that which evokes love. This is indeed the king of all rasas and the one that finds the most frequent portrayal in art. It can be used for the love between friends, the love between a mother and her child, the love for god or the love between a teacher and his disciples.

Arputham– Wonder and curiousity of the world, marveling at nature, mankind, and the environment.  In awe of news.  The curiosity of man regarding the creation of the world and all its wonders, the astonishment caused by seeing something unusual and magical. The appreciation of a marvel that goes beyond the routine and the mundane.

Beebathsam – Disgust and loathing, nausea. The emotion evoked by anything that nauseates us, that revolts or sickens us. When something comes to our notice that is coarse and graceless, beneath human.  Not surprisingly, this emotion is usually represented fleetingly. It usually acts as a catalyst for higher and more pleasant emotions.

Rhoudhram – Anger and destruction.  Anger and all its forms. The self-righteous wrath of kings, outrage over audacious behaviour and disobedience, the fury caused by an offense, the rage evoked by disrespect and anger over injustice are all forms of Rowdra, probably the most violent of rasas.

Bhayanhakam – Fear and sadness in fear.  The subtle and nameless anxiety caused by a presentiment of evil, the feelings of helplessness evoked by a mighty and cruel ruler, and the terror felt while facing certain death are all aspects of bhaya. The fear for one’s well being and safety is supposed to be the most primitive feeling known to man. Bhaya is the feeling evoked while facing something that is far bigger and more powerful than oneself and which is dead set on one’s destruction. Bhaya is the feeling of being overwhelmed and helpless. Dread, cowardice, agitation, discomposure, panic and timidity are all aspects of the emotion of fear

Viram – Pride and heroism.  It represents bravery and self-confidence. Manliness and valiance are the trademarks of a Veer or a fearless person. Courage and intrepidity in the face of daunting odds is heroism. Boldness in battle, the attitude with which martyrs go to war, and the valour with which they die are all aspects of heroism.

Karunam – Compassion and empathy for people, animals, the environment. The feelings of unspeakable tragedy and despair, utter hopelessness and heartbreak, the sorrow caused by parting with a lover, the anguish caused by the death of a loved one are all Karuna. So also, the compassion and empathy aroused by seeing someone wretched and afflicted

Haassyam – Laughter, mirth, joy, and playfulness.  All is well with the world, there is joy all around and all are of good cheer.

Shantam – Peace from within and practicing peace in life.  Serenity and peace. It represents the state of calm and unruffled repose that is marked simply by the lack of all other rasas. Because all emotions are absent in Shanta there is controversy whether it is a rasa at all. According to Bharata, the author of NatyaShastra, the other eight rasas are as proposed originally by Brahma, and the ninth, Shanta, is his contribution. Shanta is what the Buddha felt when he was enlightened, when he reached the higher spiritual plane that led him to salvation or nirvana and freed him from the cycle of life and death. Shanta represents complete harmony between the mind, body and the universe. Sages in India meditate for entire lifetimes to attain this state. In music it is often represented through a steady and slow tempo. Shanta is a clear and cloudless state. Shanta is untroubled steadiness. Shanta is the key to eternity.

Please join us as we celebrate life by exploring the rasas and pay tribute to our loved ones on September 11^th.

It started off as a ringtone that made me laugh. It became an ironic reflection of how

I broke in Ghana. An upstairs neighbor of Counterpulse threw empty 40 ounce bottles

from the window down onto the sidewalk of 9th and Mission the day we practiced

at the bus stop. We were playing our shakers too loud. We had to run. There was glass

everywhere. That part wasn’t on youtube or in the pictures. Afterwards, we went inside

to perform our Work -In-Progress showing to the sound of shattering glass. We ran

again. It wasn’t our best performance, but we learned a lot and made ”Ampey!” better.

We had some great shows. That was the beginning and the middle  … we hadn’t even

gotten to the game yet. I’m on my way there now, to the end … but I don’t know how

to tell you the story of  how I’ve paid to be possessed and lost fingers along the way.

I cut one off for ailing me, the other fell. I expect a third will soon. I’m waiting for the

fourth to come back. The sound of shattering glass is the best way to describe what

happens inside my heart when I look up and see the PD advertisement with my name

on it at Civic Center Station. Wow. My spirit and spirit have worked are working to

stay clear. I’m not sleeping well from worry. Blurry rainbows go away.

Nov 11-21, Thurs-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 3pm
Tickets: Purchased online before 9/30 – $14 (Members $9)
Purchased online after 9/30 – $19 (Members $14)
Purchased at Door – $24 (Members $19)

“Ampey!” is a multidisciplinary theater, music and dance piece that explores the spiritual, emotional and physical disconnect between African-Americans and Continental Africans. Choreographed and written by performance artist Adia Tamar Whitaker, “Ampey!” breaks open the paradigms that each culture grasps onto in regards to identity and social construct.

Fri. – Sun., October 8, 9, 10, 8 PM, $20-25
*CounterPULSE Members receive $5 discount

RasaNova presents the North American premiere of
Dancing on Glass by Ram Ganesh Kamatham/ Directed by Vidhu Singh

A dark comedy that takes a look at the flip side of the fast paced IT world, Dancing on Glass is an emotionally explosive theatrical ride.

Megha works nights at a Call Center. Shankar is a software engineer.

Her hormones are all over the place. He is constipated.
And in the technojunkiechilledoutlaidbackfastexpanding PARTY ZONE life is really crazy for the cyber-coolie!

Photograph: Mark Lazaro