By Puja Gupta
New Delhi– Dance and fashion come together for a worthy cause as Fashion designer Sanjay Garg and kathak dancer, Aditi Mangaldas, collaborate to raise funds in support of artistes and their families, who have been left without any source of income.
Raw Mango’s Garg is known to support initiates which focus on artisans and traditional expressions of creativity. Together with the danseuse, a curated film series titled ‘Within…….from within’ that comprises short videos, urges patrons and art enthusiasts to come forward and support the artiste community.
IANSlife spoke to Garg and Mangaldas to know more about the collaboration and how they aim help them. Excerpts:
How did the collaboration come about and what is the whole idea behind it?
Garg: Aditi’s performances have always been an expression and exploration of the times, the way she has re-imagined and questioned the norms within Kathak is inspiring. She depicts the art’s evolution over time, shown in a continuum with the present and link to the future — there is a strong connection between our narratives in this regard.
During a conversation with Aditi, she mentioned many artists and performers have been left without a source of income during this time, and importantly without knowing the timelines of future where theatres and cinemas are open.
‘Within…from Within’ is a series of performances that bring together original work from Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company and The Drishtikon Dance Foundation. Each piece reflects the dancers creative impulse, from within the confines of their homes. Raw Mango and Aditi Mangaldas join hands with Teamwork Fine Arts Society to raise funds for the artists who have been left without any source of income during the pandemic.
How are you aiming to support the performing arts community?
Garg: In India art, design or fashion were never seen as separate entities – you can’t see them in a compartmentalised silo. ‘Kala’, is a by-product of all forms of artistic creation: one should support the other. I am very glad to be supporting this project by contributing and sharing it through our platforms. We must reach a wider audience to raise awareness and generate funds to support the community.
With no events happening at present, how hard is it for performing artistes to earn a livelihood?
Mangaldas: I belong to a small number of privileged artists who can think of artistic endeavors for which I am very grateful. There are many wonderful artists in India who are struggling for their survival. Our classical dances are simultaneously shared experiences, dance requires proximity to other musician and dancers and unfortunately remains an organized sector. With the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown all performances came to a grinding halt.
Theatres will not open in a hurry, audiences will not go back till a sense of safety permeates society and for this it will take a very long time. So artists, whom often we hold up as ambassadors of our culture are in a terrible state. Institutions which were made to support them, have been lacking in positive stimulus that is needed now. It will be a matter of too little too late- how will their art survive? (IANS)
