| When Stephanie Bernier's mother came from Paris to visit Chennai last year, Bernier was the only tourist guide she needed. Bernier, a French national-turned Bharatanatyam student, showed her mother nooks and corners of Besant Nagar, a locality she knows like the back of her hand, got her to sample authentic Indian food and generally gave her a feel of the city she now calls home. Born to French parents, Bernier went to high school in Mexico, completed her higher secondary education in the UAE and Malaysia, and graduated with a degree in psychology, philosophy and art history from Sorbonne University, before landing in Chennai in 2005.
"I know it sounds weird but when I came here, I felt that I was coming home," admits Bernier sipping her masala chai. "Today, I feel more comfortable here than I do in Paris."
Dressed in a yellow and maroon salwar kameez, hair neatly pulled back in a plait and a fiery red bindi on her forehead, Bernier epitomises that burgeoning breed of foreigners which is winging its way to a city that is rightfully called south India's classical capital. What's in teresting is that from a mere summer sabbatical or winter d estination for a small group of c lassical aspirants, the city has blossomed into a much sought after haunt in which visitors can soak in a rich and resonant heritage of the classical genre.
Bernier's quest began sometime in 2003, when she watched city-based Bharatanatyam dancer Priyadarshini Govind perform in Paris. "I was awestruck," she recalls. So much so that she convinced the globetrotting artiste to take her on as a full-time student. Which Govind did, eventually.
When Bernier packed her bags to head for Chennai, she knew she was making the choice of a lifetime. "I didn't have the patience to wait for another year to get an ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) scholarship; I felt I was too old to wait," says the 30-year-old, ho is gearing up for her arengetram this year.
Besides dance, Bernier learns Carnatic music, Sanskrit and Kalari. All this, she believes, complement her understanding of Bharatanatyam. Fortunately, despite not having a scholarship, she manages to live (and fund) her passion, courtesy the rent she earns for her studio apartment in Paris. Like Bernier, Sandrine Bommelaere too is self-sustained. Also from France, this 35-year-old, who works as a freelance translator, identifies with Asian sensibilities (having lived for 12 years in Hong Kong) and was attracted to all things Indian. Three years into her training, Bommelaere, who is a student of A. Janarthanan, former principal of Kalakshetra, defines the medium as "a sophisticated tool to reveal spiritual concepts".
Ask her about living in Chennai and she says, "Honestly, you live here, you can live anywhere in the world." Fortunately, she had a smooth landing and found an Indian family who took her in as their own. In terms of dance, Bomme laere has no specific agenda. "I just want to stay here and make my stay worthwhile," she says. For Julia Matlok from Germany, "studying dance, especially in Chennai, is a very fruitful experience." This arts graduate whose initial training in Bharatanatyam began in Frankfurt two years ago is here for a three-month stint. "I have attended many concerts, met and interacted with so many people and even given singing a shot.
All this has helped me absorb the culture here." Matlok found comfortable paying guest accommodation close to her dance and music classes, and her roommate happened to be a German. "It's been an eye-opening experience," says Matlok packing her bags for Berlin and making plans to return in January 2008. "I have realised Germany and India are more similar than I thought."
There are others like Sara Wicheloe, a Bharatanatyam dancer from England and a frequent flier to Chennai, who can put any Indian to shame in her understanding and interpretation of the medium. Particularly when she describes the reverence in which she holds Shiva: "He gives me the courage to embrace the unknown, acknowledge fears and keep the faith. Amid the chaos of our lives, he personifies inner strength. He is real because people believe in his power. And Bharatanatyam is the language that enables us to transport Shiva's presence and experience to those living outside this country." To translate this emotion, Wicheloe has choreographed a classical piece, Bhole Nath, that captures this king of dance through the use of the body with elements of yoga thrown in (though she is yet to perform it on stage).
A qualified yoga teacher and a student of Anusha Subramanyam (in London) and C.V. Chandrashekar a nd Manjari Chandrashekar (in Chennai), Wicheloe says: "The moment I step on to the Indian soil, I feel motivated to dance. It's pure joy to wear a cotton sari, put jasmine in my hair and to wear chappals and whiz off for an early morning practice session on my bicycle." Still, the Indian interlude has not spelled pure romance for all.
Some classical aspirants from around the globe have had to contend with myriad issues of daily living in an unfamiliar setting. "From the way people nod their head (sideways) to the language problem, the challenges are many," says Win Thang who has Asian roots but grew up in France. "But I'm happy as far as my progress in dance is concerned," he hastens to add. "When I first came here three years ago, I didn't have any Indian friends and finding a place to stay was a struggle." Yet, Thang didn't head back home even after his scholarship ended early last year. "The city is growing on me," he says dressed in a dhoti and a sleeveless tee. But unlike Thang, 25-year-old Dasa Raimanova from Slovakia is just waiting to wrap up her Indian affair in August (when her ICCR scholarship ends) and head to her favourite city, London.
Raimanova is a seasoned traveller, nurtures a passion for all things novel, and has her hand pretty much has in every pie. Her first brush with India came in 2002 when she trained under Adyar Lakshman. "That was a great experience. My guru was very motivated, my feet would bleed with too any hours of practice." However, when Raimanova returned two years later, India didn't hold the same magic. After her arangetram in Vienna two years ago, she got an ICCR scholarship to specialise in Nattuvangam (art of conducting a classical dance recital) from Seetharaman Sarma. "I didn't want to be a performer, so I opted to study the ragam and talam system in music and dance," she says. Her periodic stints in the city have helped her unravel many ths about Indian classical forms. For instance, today she no lo nger empathises with the romanticism in Bharatanatyam. "In that sense, I find Kalari more honest," she says.
On the difference between Indian and foreign students, Janarthanan says: "Art is not a foreign language, it is a philosophy. It doesn't matter if my student is Russian or Romanian." Food for thought?
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