Art, Expression and ‘Deep Thinking’
“The world lies in the hands of those who have the courage to dream and who take the risk of living out their dreams – each according to his or her own talent.” ~ Paulo Coelho
I always wanted to be in the position to express my thoughts and feelings exactly as they were planted and developed in my mind. From pain, joy, anxiety to fear. Lately, I’ve come to feel… No words could ever match up to the depth of the mind. It could be worded to form a novel, poem or a Facebook/Twitter status update. Nevertheless, the depth is subjective and perceptive to those who read it and think about it even further. Something my mom refers to as ‘deep thinking’.
‘Deep thinking’ reminds me of art lovers. Those who visit galleries that hold the most unusual pieces of so-called ‘art’. I stepped into London’s Tate Gallery back in 2007 in search of a piece by Jacob Epstein and discovered another (cannot remember the artist) that had at least 25 people standing to look at it. I was pretty amused at the popularity this piece seemed to gain, for I failed to recognize the message behind a – dare I call it a creation? It was a framed piece of jute material (like a sack that was cut out and framed) with a slit through it. That was it, really. I had always wondered how much that piece would’ve been auctioned and bought for. Going back to my point of deep thinking and expression. One man’s expression is another man’s new purchase. Provided he understood its depth as conveyed by the artiste or perhaps in a way that directed a person touch to the recipient of such an art piece.
Art elevates us all in many different ways. Art of many kinds – music, dance, paintings, sport, cooking, love-making (yes that’s an art as well!), the list goes on. In my case, music is what elevates me the most. Since last Aug (2011), I’ve been working quite intensely in performances of Carnatic (South Indian classical music) nature, mostly incorporated with Bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance). My first ‘performing for live dance’ experience commenced with Birmingham-based Chitraleka Dance Company which threw me into the deep end on the first show itself, with 120 Bharatanatyam dancers on stage. It was extremely daunting, knowing that my voice is what all these dancers were going to be moving and expressing to. As responsible as I felt, I also felt free. To me, singing for dance is a beautiful opportunity to truly express my voice through those who can visually express what I’d release from my heart. This makes watching the dance as I sing even more beautiful.
Here is a video of my recent performance with a young, beautiful and talented Bharatanatyam dancer Anaya Bolar – this piece is called “Beat Him At His Game”, composed by my Guru and father Violin Chandru (www.bollywoodstrings.com) that amalgamates elements of soul and Carnatic music. Set in Raga Hemavathi and dance choreographed by Chitraleka Bolar to visually amalgamate 2 different styles of music and expression.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YY958xvjQA&feature=share
Photography by Sharad Bolar @ Midday Mantra April 2012 with Anaya Bolar, Hemanth Jois (piano) and Luke Szoltysek (drums). In association with Sampad Arts.
As my Guru and father would say to me – “Nothing is too great to accomplish. It’s a matter of taking action. You either do it or you don’t. Nothing seems easy until you get the hang of it.” These words have taken me from the deepest end of the ocean of music to the beautiful coral reefs of Carnatic music. Yet, I know, deep down – the coral reef is but a drop in the ocean of music and I have many more hidden treasures to discover.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ As quoted by Nelson Mandela
We fear not of the object or subject at hand, nor our own weaknesses or our forethought into failure, but that we fear most of our strengths and what we are capable of achieving. I think it is vital to achieve and settle with a peace of mind knowing that there is nothing greater than strength – no failure, no fall, no curse, no war and no hate could overpower strength. It takes a few moments of ‘deep thinking’ to realise and accept that believing in the power of our strengths could actually help us achieve whatever we want to achieve. On that note, I shall leave you with this short poem I wrote.
’Tis not the eyes that watch me I fear,
‘Tis not the ears that hear me I fear;
Those who want to see will see,
Those who want to hear will hear;
A billion light years from now, I’ll still be here,
Knowing I was here today discovering my best;
A billion light years from now, I’ll smile from ear to ear,
Knowing that fear could never overpower the blessed.
Indioul 
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