Indian Classical Music and Dance in South Louisiana By Andrew McLean Introduction History of Indian Classical Music Arriving in Louisiana Cultivating Transcendental Music Honoring Sarasvati: The Goddess of Music Priyo Majumdar performs "Raga Kafi" on his sarode Saraswati Song Sung By Ramabai Shenoy Meera Seth performs "Bhupali" on her sitar Producing Concerts of Touring Indian Artists Extending the Sense of Musical Community Storytelling Through Dance Conclusion Storytelling through Dance South Louisiana's classical Indian dance practitioners have also developed an eye for the local community. Padmini Chari, who comes from her Houston home on a semi-monthly basis to teach classical dance in Metairie, arranged a benefit program after hurricane Katrina which raised money for the Habitat for Humanity. During the 25 years she has been coming to the New Orleans area, Chari has taught dozens of young Indian students Bharatnatyam: the modern classical dance form originating in Tamil Nadu in South India, which is a 20th century reconstruction of Cathir, an ancient art of temple dancers. Though a taskmaster with high expectations for her students, Chari is adored with affection and respect from her students and their parents alike. Her students routinely commit an entire day (6-10 hours) if not a whole weekend (2 days) to the rigors of this disciplined art. In one class, four students memorized hand and facial gestures as well as a pattern of syllables that must be recited in coordination with every step while a pre-recorded melody wrapped around a complex ten-beat pattern. Each student, of course, must also spend adequate time in between classes practicing the material for the next class. Under Chari, several students have completed their Arangetram, which signifies six years of intensive training and is marked by a lengthy recital in full costume and decorative makeup. Monika Roy performs Bharatnatyam, a form of Indian classical dance, at the 2008 Saraswati Puja in Kenner, Louisiana. Photo: Sadie Ordes. A strict, rhythmically sophisticated and dramatically decorative style, Bharatnatyam is accompanied by the classical Carnatic music indigenous to Southern India. In south Louisiana however, there are no available practitioners of Carnatic music. Chari's students have, therefore, grown accustomed to using pre-recorded music in their training and performances. Though it yields a less intimate relationship with Indian classical music, the static nature of pre-recorded music does help establish a reliable consistency that sets the framework for the nonverbal storytelling to unfold. While classical music presents cultural values via more abstract sonic structures, classical dance clearly delivers cultural content in a more narrative form. The stories depicted in these dances usually feature popular characters and episodes from India's two major Sanskrit epics: the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. For many students and parents, in the absence of the naturally re-enforcing cultural elements that would be present in India, the stories they learn to tell through classical dance give them their most direct connection with the mythical landscape of their ancestors that informs and re-enforces their identity as Indians while here in Louisiana. For a few years beginning in the late 1990's, south Louisiana was fortunate to have Sunanda Nair, another south Indian dance instructor who lived and taught in Kenner. Like Chari, she taught Bharatnatyam, but she also is a renowned practitioner of a rare and nearly extinct classical dance form from Kerala in south India called Mohini Attam, the "Dance of the Enchantress." She arrived in Louisiana with a strong reputation and was able to attract live musicians from outside Louisiana to accompany her students' on occasion. After Hurricane Katrina, however, she and her family eventually relocated to Houston. Though Hurricane Katrina has dealt a strong blow to the momentum of her dance program, Chari's successes in Louisiana and her determination to continue teaching in the area are unshakable. Keeping things in perspective, she remains confident about her students' potential in the coming years. India has come to the mainstream now. Everyone appreciates what is Indian. So, they don't feel ashamed. I remember 25 years ago, the kids were embarrassed to do dance in the schools. Now they're proud to do it and that's a big change. It's very sad in Louisiana. It was booming, but because of Katrina everything has gone dull now. Next year we'll do a really big production! It's been a very satisfying experience, otherwise I wouldn't have come after Katrina. It's just the dedication of the students; the parents and the students make me come. It's like a second home. (Chari 2008) Conclusion Maintaining cultural traditions in a foreign land is a complex and personal matter. Some Indians focus on cuisine, others on the popular film factory known as Bollywood. Still, for others it is in the temples or other community centers that they feel most connected to their home culture. As the musicians, dancers, music organizers, and other members of south Louisiana's Indian community interviewed here have articulated, classical music and dance are salient practices as resonant sources of all Indian culture. Whether it's practicing or teaching these arts, participating in private ceremonies or public performances, giving cultural demonstrations or engaging in cross-cultural exchanges, these classical arts, though abstract and symbolic, convey deeper cultural significance beyond the capacity of words. Because it is generally considered spiritual and not necessarily religious, it has also been more accessible to non-Indians. As a result, Indian classical arts have taken on an unexpected and special significance in the lives of many Indians as they establish their identity in the context of Louisiana culture. Sitarist Meera Seth's husband Kishan Seth has an interesting perspective. He has witnessed four decades of Indian immigration in south Louisiana and he believes that we have entered a new era of acceptance of Indian culture. Actually, in 1970 in Baton Rouge, some people only knew that India had cows and snakes and elephants. Of course, the whole world has become a very small place. If they didn't have the Indian M.D.'s and software engineers today, in a lot of places America could not survive. Now things are improving and people are learning. (Seth 2008) Indians in Louisiana are more confident and enthusiastic than ever about themselves and about contributing to the plurality of Louisiana cultural life. More Louisianans in turn are obviously becoming more open to Indians having recently elected the first Indian governor in the history of the United States of America. His election begins a new era for Indians in Louisiana. For those who participate in the maintenance and performance of India's classical arts, we have much to look forward to in South Louisiana. Andrew McLean is an ethnomusicologist and professional musician who specializes in Indian Classical Music. He is based in New Orleans, Louisiana where he performs and teaches the guitar and Indian tabla (drums). Recommended Reading and References Beck, Guy L, editor. Sacred Sound: Experiencing Sound in World Religions. Waterloo Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2006. Beck, Guy. Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1993. (reprinted in India: New Delhi, Motilal Danarsidass 1995). Beck, Guy. "The Magic of Hindu Music" Hindustani Today Kapaa, Hawaii: Himalayan Academy, 2007. http://www.hinduismtoday.com *This entry has an excellent description of the instruments used in Indian Classical music. Cooder, Ry and Vishva Mohan Bhatt, A Meeting by the River, Water Lily Acoustics 1993. Neuman, Daniel M. "Indian Music as a Cultural System" Asian Music. Vol. 17, No. 1. (Autumn - Winter, 1985), pp. 98-113. First Page viewable at the following address: http://www.jstor.org Neuman Daniel M. The Life of Music in North India: The Organization of an Artistic Tradition. University of Chicago Press, 1990.

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