Without a Song or a Dance What Are We? – NCPA Mumbai makes plans for a safe reopening
With a blend of events curated for in-person attendance and online viewing, and staff that will be fully vaccinated soon, the NCPA is as ready as it can be for its safe reopening.
By Snigdha Hasan
‘Art is the breath, smiles and tears of all mankind,’ said Dr. Farokh E. Udwadia as he introduced the theme of his discourse for the 2021 edition of the Jamshed Bhabha Memorial Lectures, organised in honour of the visionary founding father of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai (NCPA). The statement is true for all times, but it resonated deeply with the audience that watched the lecture on the NCPA’s online platforms in view of the crests and troughs of the pandemic instead of being seated in the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre. The lecture was broadcast on 21 August 2021, the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhabha.
“I am intrigued by what would have been the reaction, and certainly the response, from Dr. Bhabha to the present problems, particularly for the performing arts. The importance of art in our everyday life was keenly understood by him and what a wonder that Dr. Udwadia suggested the same subject when he agreed to speak at the memorial lecture. There could be no better person than him to explain the importance of art in everyday life,” said Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA, in his opening remarks.
If the thousands of views that Art and Mankind continues to garner are anything to go by, it is perhaps safe to say that the pause on live performances has only underscored the inseparability of art and human existence. The civilising impact of the visual and performing arts, and the humaneness that they nurture are some of the key ideas that shape the ethos of the NCPA, and Dr. Udwadia, eminent physician, teacher and author, addressed them with great eloquence and erudition, sprinkling them with poetic interludes.
Dr. Farokh E. Udwadia spoke eloquently on an array of themes under ‘Art and Mankind’
Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA, presents a token of appreciation to Dr. Farokh E. Udwadia, eminent physician and author
Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook gives his opening remarks
Keeping audiences culturally engaged through webcasts of lectures, workshops and performances was part of the NCPA’s digital outreach initiatives even before the world made the switch to virtual programming. However, in the absence of live performances, greater diversity and innovation in online curation has been a key focus area of the senior management and heads of genres.
One such recent initiative is Call for Composers, which invites Indian composers to send in compositions, to be performed by musicians of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) and the SOI Chamber Orchestra, by 12 September 2021. SOI, India’s only professional orchestra co-founded by Mr. Suntook and violin virtuoso Mr. Marat Bisengaliev, has also launched Prelude, an introductory music education programme designed for children aged five to seven years. It aims to build strong foundational knowledge of Western classical music through structured lessons. The positive response to the launch has paved the way for the introduction of regular online batches with plans in place for classes to be eventually held at the NCPA too.
Children are taught to play the recorder during a session of Prelude, an introductory music education programme by the Symphony Orchestra of India
After the successful completion of the multidisciplinary Monsoon with Meghdoot workshops based on Kalidasa’s immortal text, a series of online workshops tailored for professional dancers and dance enthusiasts have been launched this September and October. Celebrating Devi includes a Bharatanatyam workshop by Priyadarsini Govind, an Odissi workshop by Aruna Mohanty, featuring Rahul Acharya as guest speaker, garba raas by Avani Shah, and a workshop by Anita Ratnam on mythical stories of the Mother Goddess.
Bharatanatyam exponent Priyadarsini Govind will conduct a workshop
While we wait for the world to be a safer place, the NCPA has adopted a two-pronged approach for its preparations for reopening. The various genres have been curating programmes with the logistics worked out for both, in-person attendance as well as online broadcast, in keeping with the government guidelines on the day of the event. Promising artistes from Indian music, for instance, will perform on 8 October 2021 at the NCPA. In the event that the audience is not allowed, the recital will be recorded and webcast at a later date. This, in addition to an online workshop on the temporal and rhythmic aspects of Indian music by tabla maestro Suresh Talwalkar on 23 October 2021, to be webcast live.
Another area of concern has been the safety of employees. After vaccines for protection against Covid-19 became available in India, the NCPA took it upon itself to assist the vaccination of its staff. With all employees having received their first dose (with the exception of those with specific health conditions) and many of them now fully vaccinated, this is a significant step towards the NCPA’s readiness for reopening.
“Our regular season will commence soon and we sincerely hope that our bête noire lets us function normally,” said Mr. Suntook. “It’s time we took this wretched virus on with our own antibodies since allied with vaccines, we can surely overcome. The important point is to ensure that all of us get vaccinated as early as possible.”