Thursday, January 26, 2017

Who is to blame for Tamil music and dance fading out in Mumbai?

There were three distinct events last week which provoked me to write this post

  1. The lament of the Mulund Fine Arts Society that they had to cancel their annual program because of inadequate contributions to fund the extra expenses due to unavailability of the usual rented hall which is now undergoing renovation. The Society has three main revenue streams, music/dance classes(~40% of revenue, but hardly 10% of this revenue is a surplus), minor entry fees/subscriptions(~15% of revenue) and interest income(~45% revenue). Total budget ~Rs 2 Mn. For a place like Mulund with a sizeable population, this is a pity. That too in a place where stand up comedy/multiplexes routinely fill up despite costing ~1000-2000 for a family. 
  2. My wife's dance senior from Chennai had a Bharatnatyam performance at Chembur FineArts society (a premier hall). Despite this being a free performance (thanks to Mahindra Finance which sponsored it), the hall was just 1/3rd full at starting time, though it did fill up to capacity by 30min into the show. This would not have happened in Chennai.
  3. I read a book on how memorizing is important, and why distributing our memory to the cloud makes us struggle to remember. I connected the dots and realized its implications for performing arts, which needs time devoted AWAY from the screen along with memorizing dance steps
I suppose addressing this topic needs conceted actions from community organizations, venue owners and citizens. Those further interested in this topic can see
https://www.quora.com/Are-Indians-forgetting-their-culture

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