Too Long, and too many things to recount I say!

When this first started, it was like a craze that had hit everyone like a plague, yet 6 months later, i can smell the putrid stench of rotting decaying BLOGSPOT, with flies hoevring around like vultures on freshly killed meat!Ok so a little morbid perhaps?:P hhahahhahaha... can u tell I've just had a lecture in plastic surgery involving WAY too many disgusting images of flesh?:p

Well, as this is my first post (or any of ours for that matetr) after freaking FOREVER, I'd like to start by paying trbute to what dance does for me.... because sitting here in this Godforsaken WINTER country at the moment, I'm unable to reach deep within myself and push myself to practise, for now anyhow (is usually just lasts a week or so, and probably exacerbated by the damned cold). So, most importantly, Bharata Natyam is like PILATES for Indians, and the musically-inclined. I even went through a little exeriment, and for a week went to the gym everyday, and worked out, and still lost NO weight, but 2 days of dance and i was a new person. ANd of course there's the endorphin release, which is better than oh-soooo-many things I can think of right now (though perhaps rivalled only by chocolate).

And I gotta say, the final thing I miss about dance is how it bonds a groups of seemingly different people together as one. My mother, my dancer-sister friends back home.... sigh my family. On top of everything else, Sutra and KL. (sniff sniff)

Ok, im done... now someone else!

India Tour 2007

hey jan, nishah and others who are reading this..


Right this moment mei mei, shantona, divya, and i are in the internet cafe in Arya Nivas, Jaipur. we arrived early at 4 this morning from jodhpur by train. we are yet to be checked into our rooms as they can only check us in at 10... errrrr... so gami's doing what she does best, sleeping. while master's writing an article on his lappy and shiva and guna anne are just lying down.. 9actually sitting on a chair n the living room area. SO anyway, the performances has been well received by all so far and we've met some really interesting ppl. one that would command all our attention is the actress who was at the Maharana of Udaipurs birthday (our first show). Mei mei was almost in tears. hhahahahah... she falicitated us. Zakir Hussein was there too but i missed him by seconds when i went to get my food. damn it! The Maharana is such a down to earth person. made us feel really comfortable. Oh, i have to mention this as well, the palaces are surrounded by lake and one has to get from one palace to another by boat. the palace we performed is called the 'Pleasure Palace' heheheh... Rose was with us which made things even more fun. Shes' really cute.

The next city we went to is Jaipur. No performance here so yes, we SHOPPED. bags are pretty heavy already.. shantona and mei mei bought gorgeous jil-jill saree. gami and divya made new punjabi suits with the material they bought. nice. i'm yet to find anything... (for now anyway). Rose had to leave so we were on our own. thats when Mukesh comes into the picture. oozing with lust for guna anne. hehe.. He is our driver who'd go on to be with us while we covered the other cities of rajasthan. Funny fellow. Next stop is Bikaner which is a 10 hour ride.. (ass hurt) and when we reached Bikaner, Oh WOWWWY... we stayed in a palace-turned-resort. BEAUTIFUL i tell you. As we arrived late evening, (its dark by 5.30) we were ushered to a performance by the local performers..... IT IS COLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. So they set a bon fire and put chairs around it and they we sat like majestis while the performers sang and danced for us. room was nice too with a fire place and all. next morning was photoshhot. It was good. then came the show.... very very very cold. and it had to be an open area venue la. so yes, toes were numb from start to end but it was a very good show.

The next city is Jaisamer(the golden city) its suposedly one of the most romantic places in the world.. i think i was expecting a little too much cos all i felt was the outgoing of finance with great shopping places there... no romance. but i think mukesh and guna anne felt it. hhahahahahahah.. the fort was ok ok here but very interesting stuff to purchase.. so much so we went there twice on the same day for the next 3 days. my bag is bursting right now. haha.. and the show in jaisalmer was ok only. guess the shopping has to take a backseat. the next day we left to Jodhpur to take our overnight train ride back to jaipur where we're schduled to performe on the 27th. to spice up our Christmas, i came up with a brilliant idea of exchanging gifts. as in only i'd know who i'm getting gift for.. get me?? haha... JAN JAN, meery christmas!!!! i missed u so much one day i decided to call u but i guess ur hapily vacationating with Sanjeev.. good good! as for nishah, i'm looking at ur birthday pictures now. naughty naughty gurl you! so, we're preparing for christmas... once we get a room and sllep for some time and then gain energy to shop again... muahahaahhah.. yes u may call this an extra relaxing tour. we leave to Coimbatore on the 28th.. get to see my bebe then i hope.=( hehe.. oh karthik's coming to KL for 4 days.24th to 28th. so Nish, see him for me! Bangalore comes after that.. here is where work starts cos its with live music. then chennai and back home!!!!!!!!!!!! love you guys.. and PAPATHY, SHANTONA , DIVYA,GAMI, GUNA ANNE, SHIVA, MASTER and IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII send many many many kisses back home. craving for nasi lemak. update on whats going on there k.

*revathi tamil selvam*

Destiny Stormed...

Wow, one day post the 'Storm', and i still can't sleep! I'm exhausted beyond description, but exhilarated. The same positivity i felt during the Arangetram, and even MORE in fact, if elt these last 3 days. And HUGEE thanks have to go out to Tan Mei, for coming the earliest and leaving the latest just to dress me:P, To Revathi, who's calm demeanour and hug always pulled me together before the show, To darling Nisha, whose face itself exudes positivity,a nd who brought her darling niece to brighten up my 2nd day when the dehydration was taking its toll:), thanks for the MC-ing on fri too Jan, i know ure stressed, but u made time to come!! woohoo! Div sweetie, i knew i could count on u, and it was so totally worth having u around to help in everything. Knowing you guys were taking care of the kiddos was a huge load off me! Geethu, man the sweat wiping and hand massages were so totally necessary... and Nalina for all the little things ud come and do with ure sunny smile:P im so glad the same faces were there for both the arangetram and this show. It was reassuring to say the absolute least!

So, as i struggle through lack of sleep and a sudden overwhelming realisation that my year is really and truly almost up, what better way to spend the arvo than blogging rite:) Im not sure where to start or where to end, and the truth is, there never really is an end. Sutra is and will always be a journey, for each and everyone of our paths to cross. And as we get older and our fates reveal where our niche will lie, its the memories of SUtra that will always keep us together. The one thing Sutra does best is come together. And when we come together, the results are explosive. Taught by the very best, and trained with so much positivity can only yield the very best from each of us. SOoo... as the days dwindle on, and our lives get busier...and i finally end up in my lonely little room in SYdney, i want all of u guys to know that most of the most memorable and amazing experiences this year has been shared with u guys...there's something about the SUtra family that makes us all sisters, regardless of race, colour, or personality. U couldn't get a bunch of more diverse girls than us!!! So if I had champagne in my hand (which i definately shouldn't have at 3.30 in the afternoon!), i would make a toast to my sisters, my friends, my makeup artists, my fellow gorges dancers, and wish all of u the very very ABSOLUTE best in everything and beyond your hearts' desires.
Shantona

appreciation..

Rev.. u can only think of my SNAKE DANCE ah.. *sob sob* haha.. I agree rev.. some items belong to certain people.. let me add one more.. ‘rageshree’ is so rev.. hehe..

Jan n I went to nishah’s house at bkt. beruntung on 2nd day of deepavali to watch Spellbound together.. we were so excited.. but at the same time we were a bit worried dat we will look ‘oversized’ on TV.. hahaha.. cos u know.. 3 of us were the not-so-thin ones *blink*.. but hey.. we all look the same on tv what haha.. who said we are f-a-t?

We were screaming throughout the programme.. yes.. screaming.. kept on saying “oh wow.. SO NICE..” I know.. very the perasan rite.. haha.. we all were almost in tears towards the end.. clapping n jumping like small gals when it was over.. cos seriously.. it was really really GOOD.. wish to watch it AGAIN.. we agree rev.. it is astro's best production so far la.. hehe..

It has been a long journey.. from the 1st spellbound in langkawi to istana budaya, s'pore, india, canada n europe.. yah.. it is NEVER ENDING.. n so much memories.. Thank u master.. thank u siva.. thank u nish,jan,rev,shan.. n of course all the kutties who got ‘bashing’ from us .. THANK U ALL.. ~m2~

Under the Spell

wow.. spellbound is awesome.. no wonder people keep wanting to watch it again and again. i think its astro's best production so far.. haha.. spellbound is an amazing journey. [now can say that la]you see the cast evolving, the items cut short[haha,ashta nayika], the tremendous feedback.. i guess it is one of sutra's best full length program yet.. but if only we did another program.. err,like nishah said, spellbound has been around for so long dat we don't even think of the sequence anymore but we multi-task..we watch the other younger 'stars',keep note and bash them up later on about it. hehee.. today was[day's almost over u c] shantona's 2nd day of Storming Destiny... she did really well.. she's like an over-flowing dam..sweats like crazy la. i love her 'chekavane'.. think only she can pull it of dat well.. some items belongs to certain ppl i think.. wat do u'll think?? for instance, hari haro is so jan. and navarasa is so nalina.. and dasamahavidya is guna annai's. nishah?? let me think..ashta nayika man... haha... and tan mei,hahahhahahahahahha... i got a really really good one.. her SNAKE DANCE....=]Anyway back to shantona, nishah and i were talking about how crazy it'll be to go back to full time studying again... but i guess our india trip will take care of that. and sutra is a never ending journey.. never ending.. =revathi=

Spellbound

So this year, instead of seeing Divine Encounters again, we get to see SPELLBOUND on astro for Deepavali. A repetoire we have been doing for almost 3 years EVERYWHERE. I mean EVERYWHERE!

Hardly a quarter of the original Spellbound cast is in the Astro version. But i did think of all those who werent there during the astro shoot as they made Spellbound what it is today.

Nothing can beat the experience in Istana Budaya with all the high tech back-stage mumbo jumbo.So many incidents, gosh i dont know which one to tell.

Hey guys, lets share any experience that has got to do with SPELLBOUND.From the moment it was created up until now..

I think mine would be doing Spellbound for the first time on the beach in Langkawi. Wearing new sarees that felt like paper to the body and gliding through the sand to go up the stage...How ridiculous we felt at that point, but im sure for the audience it would have been simply beautiful with real SUN SET BACK DROP..

Dont forget to watch Spellbound on Astro channel 201 (i think) on the second day of Deepavali at 10.00am.. No matter how much the dancers grumble about doing Spellbound again and again and again and AGAIN, we still love it..

(nish)

me.....a peacock?

Rev...i hope me being a peacock is a compliment(the head jabbing up gave me a headache)..that session was soo intense(jan @ pandi kutti escaped it)...the workshops we have been having this year has been rather interesting... other than madhavi mudgal, the other teachers taught us the raw quality of their dance forms..and that is where the intensity lies..

Sometimes i guess we just need to loosen up and let the body take us through the flow.. we have been so controlled and our expressions are so "poised" that it is just so so so hard to let go..

For those who have studied in sutra and those who have watched Sutra performances,dancers from ages back until now, have a certain GLANCE.. im sure all of you know THAT glance.. haha!when i had the deepavali photoshoot, i automatically had that glance for the photographer...unfortunately for commercial use,it really didnt work...

I dont think the add campaign wanted mystism of the dancer, they just wanted big happy ronald mcdonald smile.. it was a struggle for me at first, having the perception that mysteries glances are always the best..

So this means, dancers in general must learn how to switch on and switch off.. that proves to be a challenge for me..what about you guys??

Thanks to the encouragement given by mei, rev and even my mom...i am slowly using less kajal for my eyes(hoooray for me)..its hard to break old habits... and rev, thanks for not pulling out my fake eye lashes, cause the make-up artist freaking GLUED IT to my eyes... OOUCCH...

sudhesh, thanks for that lovely poem..your contributions to this blog will be appreciated even when you are thousands of miles away from KL...

(Nish)