Indian classical dances contain profound meanings. (Photo: VNA) The show series, which is co-hosted by the Indian Embassy and the VietnamMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, aims to celebrate the 50th anniversaryof diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The presentation was choreographed by the great scholar and seasoned artadministrator Dr Sonal Mansingh, a Member of Parliament of the Upper House ofthe Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha).
The performance comprised three main themes; Ardha-nareeshwar, a concept thatrepresents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe andillustrates how Parvati, the female principal of God is inseparable from Shiva-the male principal of God; Dashavatara, a description of the evolutionary cyclefrom the Indic lore which shows 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu and VandeMataram, a salutation to the Motherland of India through an evocative poemwritten by patriot-poet Mr Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in early 20th century.
“We are celebrating our 50th year of the diplomatic relationship,” Subhash PGupta, Deputy Chief of Mission in the Indian Embassy to Vietnam told VietnamNews. “So this dance performance is actually important. This connects ourpeople to people and our cultures.”
“This is a symbolic expression of love and affection between these our twosocieties,” he added. “We exchange our practices and enriched appetite and thisis a mean to convey our good message to our Vietnamese respect.”
Dr Mansingh has been unique among dancers by mastering multiple Indianclassical dance forms from different parts of India such as Bharatanatyam,Odissi and Chhau. She is a great scholar and seasoned art administrator who hasperformed, lectured and conducted workshops in 90 countries around the world.
“Indian classical dance is unique in the world, which uses the whole body everypart of the face, every finger, and which pertains to life in a huge beautifulperennial eternal weight,” she confirmed. “It teaches us about love, devotion,goodness and it also tells you what you should not do: you should not bearrogant, you should not be devious, you should not be jealous…so many things thatwe learn in the books of religion. It is a living dancing religion.”
This is her third visit to Vietnam. The first time in 1983, when Prime MinisterPham Van Dong came to see her performance and she was awarded a FriendshipMedal; the second in 2012.
She has received various honours like the Padma Bhushan prize (1992) and PadmaVibhushan prize (2003) from the Indian President.
“The audience here is so wonderful, that’s why I come again,” she said.
Nguyen Hanh Lien, a Hanoian learner at Swami Vivekananda Culture Centre in Hanoi,praised the show in Hanoi on December 1.
“I could feel the Indian spirit and culture in the show,” she said.
Lien said she has taken a course on Kuchipudi, an Indian traditional dance atthe centre. She knows that Indian classical dance has various branches, whicheducate people about love, gratefulness for their country and other goodcharacteristics of Indian people.
“Indian and Vietnamese folk dances share various same features on music,rhythms and spirit of dancers sent in the dance,” she noted. “All the dancescontain the beauty in the art and the goodness of each people.”
The performance was an effort to bring Indian culture and art forms to theaudience in Vietnam and is sponsored and facilitated by the Indian Council forCultural Relations, New Delhi.
Besides the show in Hanoi on December 1, the repertoire group will also visitthe provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan and Tay Ninh from December 4-9to perform./.
VNA
