Altar for the Artists

Recently I went to celebrate Deepavali at a friend's house. She was throwing a Deepavali party and had invited a wonderful tabla player and her cousin an amateur singer to perform at her house. The place where this performance was to take place was marked out by a carpet. House parties and home entertainment are always a tough act to follow. It is very difficult to get the guests to sit and pay attention since they are there to "party" and socialize. Secondly it is very difficult to focus the energy on the makeshift stage as not everyone recognizes it to as a performance space. Thirdly most people don't come for a show - they come to eat and be merry. So combining the two in an Indian context and outside India can present certain challenges.

At my friend's house a shabby carpet with wires crisscrossing all over it to support the mike and related sound equipment for the tabla player and singer was the designated "stage." Needless to say this was not apparent to many folks especially when the singer and musician were not sitting and performing on it. So a little kid with shoes made the mistake of running across the carpet. And the host exploded. And the father of the little white kid was taken rather aback and so were some of the other non-Indian guests as they didn't understand why a carpet commanded such a reaction.

For Indian artists and in particular Indian classical artists the stage is holy ground - a deeply sacred space. It is like an altar. Stepping onto the stage with shoes is like stepping into the temple with shoes. Its is deeply offensive. An Indian stage is where sacred arts are showcased to please the Gods. It is not merely a functional space. This obviously is in sharp contrast to the Western notion of stage and the treatment of performance venues.

I love the way the Indian artists look at the stage and treat it with such reverence. Such an attitude enhances the experience for both the performer and the audience. The fact that the stage is a sacred space is an idea worth spreading and exploring deeper. It also could help explain why Indian classical artists are incredibly reticent about performing at certain venues like clubs and other rowdy spaces where they feel that the spirit of the sacred is missing. Hence many traditional artists feel deeply offended if alcohol, meat or drugs are consumed in the vicinity of their performance space. All these are considered major pollutants which lower the vibration of a person and the space that he inhabits. The ideal venue for many traditional indian artists is the temple and similar sacred spaces. Many artists also feel that they dishonor their lineage, their guru and their beloved art if they perform in certain venues and for certain occasions which they deem unsavory. This is a deeply personal and values-ridden matter and the views about Indian artists vary broadly with commercial pressures often dictating their choices especially for lesser-known Indian artists who are trying to break into the big league.