I have selected this play for my simulated teaching. This play is written by Mahesh Dattani. It is about an old couple reflecting upon their life as dancers and their long struggle against the stigma attached to Bharathanatyam, in the 1940s and 1950s, as the dance of the devadasis, compounding the problem for the male dancer.
Throughout reading this play, I noticed that the phrase “be a man” is being repeated. It indicates that a man is suppose to behave like a man and should not learn the art of Bharathanatyam. Jairaj, who is interested in bharathanatyam, was being controlled by his father, Amritlal. Amritlal wants Jairaj to be man, as he thinks that is where a man’s happiness lies. However, I believe that he does not understand that his son’s happiness lies in the dance he loves most, and dancing it makes him happy. I also notice that Amritlal looks down on the dance and believes it’s a dance for prostitutes. In my opinion, he should actually uphold the bharathanatyam dance, which is one of his tradition and encourage both Ratna and Jairaj to pursue the dance.
This play also reminded me of a man named Vishnu. He is a Malaysian. He is a classical bharathanatyam dancer, who participated in ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’. His conflict was more less same as Jairaj. His passion towards bharathanatyam was disliked by his father, and lead to his father to disown him. However, with the help of his sisters, he was able to learn this art from a ‘guru’. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete his final stage due to financial problem. Nevertheless, he was a great bharathanatyam dancer.
Thus, I strongly believe that there should not be any stereotyping or prejudice on which gender should learn bharathanatyam. There is no harm if a man learns bharathanatyam. I have also seen male bharathanatyam dancers. One of the examples is Ramli Ibrahim. He still is being a man. So, what is wrong in learning this art? If we ourselves do not uphold our own root, who will?
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I have came across of those people who have the mindset that guys should not learn traditonal dances because it wil make them be more feminine.What kind of stereotype is this? People do not actally keep it to themselves but they do influence others on this matter.Many guys give up their dancing practices halfway because they could not face th pressure from the society who look down upon them.In my opinion, traditional dance is not a factor at all which make a man to be a man.It is all depends on the parents.If parents can guide their children and help them to build their characters, learning traditional dances would not be a problem at all.Dance is for everyone and it is apart from their gender differences.I really hope society will change their perception towards this matter.
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