I would like to commence this blog with the powerful quote “When the student is ready, the teacher arrives”.
I refer to this as a powerful quote, as it has had a profound impact on me since my childhood. My love for performing arts was noticed by my parents since my early days into this world. I have heard them saying that any sort of music or dance would capture my attention immediately and that I was never shy of demonstrating my skills at any given point of time. The love and passion for dance, music & theatre kept blossoming in me as time passed by and my thirst to dive deep into these art forms has been never ending. The digital source to reference of performances in these art forms at that time (I am talking of early 1980’s) was close to nil, at least the access to them. I would try and attend as many live performances that were staged in Quilon, a small city in Kerala, where I spent over 5 years of my middle school time. Unlike, as in Trivandrum & Cochin, Quilon would get only fewer performers as it was considered a tier 2 city. I vividly remember travelling to Trivandrum, just to watch the legendary Shri. K J Yesudas perform live at the Surya Festival. I thank my parents who facilitated every single occasion of witnessing a performance.
There was an unscripted learning that subconsciously seeped deep within me at every single performance that I got to see. Most of these performances would leave me sleepless at nights. I would be in awe of the performers, not just for their very fine display of their skill, but also the way they would keep their audience in rapt attention right from the beginning till the end of their concerts. At that point of time, I honestly was not able to exactly understand what I was learning precisely out of each of those performances nor was I attempting to document some learning out of them. I was just enjoying the moment with a free mind.
Gradually over a period of time I realized that my practise hours had increased without additional push from others and my understanding of what I was performing paved way to immense joy while performing. I guess that was the transition for me from being just a student to a student who was ready to receive. The bliss of practise and performance opened my doors to great teachers, the right opportunities and to what I do today.
I would like to endorse the important point that, observation is the greatest teacher in the world and only with observation you can appreciate, relate, practise & improvise. The more your children get to sit and watch live performances the better the impact of the art will be on them.
Believe in yourself & the world will believe in YOU!
