I am open to jugalbandis: Sonal Mansingh

bangalore: art is not meant to crush but to liberate and padma bhushan sonal mansingh is perhaps the best living example of both creative and interpretative forms of dance. though a renowned exponent of bharatanatyam and odissi, unlike most other classical experts of her stature, mansingh is not averse to the idea of mergers and `jugalbandis'. fusion? after whispering "you mean confusion?" with a laugh, she went on to say gaily, "i am open to everything because how do you know what something is until you try it out? then, something new brings with it a wider outreach.it also poses a challenge otherwise you are tied to the same `khoota' day after day." sonal mansingh is in the city to celebrate with an odissi performance the inauguration of `tillany', the fine arts museum and gallery that is going to be the george foundation's gift to bangalore city. coming to bangalore is always a nostalgic pleasure for the dancer, whose best known dance piece is her own imaginative interpretation of draupadi, the heroine of mahabharata. it was in this city that the lady with a face which in the words of a fan, is "beautiful like the autumnal moon" had her `arangetram' forty years ago. her grandfather mangaldas pakvasa was at one time governor of bangalore, and her guru prof u.s. krishna rao also hails from this city. asked where karnataka stands in the field of classical dance, the prima ballerina who has been described to be "supple as leaping fire" said in measured tones, "bangalore has always been considered to be more cosmopolitan than chennai, more forward-looking than hyderabad, and well, lets forget about thiruvanantapuram in this context. "though dancers from karnataka have yet to make a great mark because "until recently, they were not pushers", ms mansingh remembers the mysore school of dance and all the wodeyars of yore who were great patrons of art, especially the father of the present-day maharaja. and "how can we forget ram gopal, the architect of modern dance, who hails from this state?" asked to elaborate on the notion of dancers having to be pushers, ms mansingh said, "the contemporary being of any artist includes the whole media dance, letting people know you are there __why do you think hussain and ravi shankar have to drive themselves so hard even now?__ and kannadigas are softer, gentler people, not made in that obsessive mould." in a profession that is choked with fumes of competitiveness, it comes as a surprise to hear sonal mansingh say generously that there are scores of dancers with promise on the horizon today. the centre for indian classical dances was founded by her in delhi, in 1977, to keep alive the rich heritage of indian dance forms. her students, including swati, pranita jain, ketaki narayan and shantanu chakravarti have become dancers in their own right, performing in india and abroad. by tradition, classical dancers wear their talent with the solemnity of a mourner, the gravity of a mask of tragedy, and the dedication of a rotary badge. you are told of the great sacrifices they have had to make to get where they are. sonal mansingh breathes out a "bah" to the world `sacrifice.' "to me, sacrifice is a negative word, especially in the world of art. you do something because you love doing it and have the passion for it. if you don't like it, don't do it," she said with finality. she is going to travel with a friend to italy next year, and would also like some day to visit africa which is the only continent she has not been to. other ambitions include "new creative endeavours" and "becoming the president of india." she loves "poor, villified delhi" which has taken over from saturated mumbai. though she can live in any part of the country because "i have no property of my own anywhere; i live in a rented house", she fancies delhi where her friends and her musicians live. also because __this is added with a mischievous twinkle__ "my lovers live there." in beethovan's sonatas, chopin's preludes, and schubert's impromptus, there was a hidden world of love, gentleness and wonder, light as a cloud and startling as a butterfly wing. in sonal mansingh's `abhinaya' with its ecstasy of movement born of the rapture of unending creativity, there is the timeless exposition of the rich cultural fabric of classical arts which has made india the envy of all nations.