Bengaluru: The thunderous acclaim showered on the cultural show choreographed by a Kannadati, Mayuri Upadhya of Bengaluru, staged to promote Prime-Minister Narendra Modi’s much touted ‘Make in India’ program at Germany, sadly failed to generate for its creator, the much deserved recognition from the Karnataka state and or the mainstream media.
The cultural event was organized in order to promote the union government’s much hyped ‘Make in India’ program during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral visit to Germany. The aim of the event was to attract foreign investors to show interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India.
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Mesmerized audience
The packed audience at the opening ceremony of the Hannover Messe trade fair, was enthralled by the exuberant dance performance which showcased 14 diverse Indian dance genres. The performance staged by 94 artists brought them to the edge of their seats. The German audience had a single word to utter post show- ‘WOW’, while NRIs (Non Resident Indians) pronounced “We are proud to say that we are Indians after witnessing this act.”
Hard Work
Critical as it is for any passionate artist to receive applause and for his/her work spelled Mayuri Upadhya choreographer of a cultural show at Germany. She spoke to Newskarnataka.com on her team’s efforts and the perfunctory appraisals carried by some sections of mainstream print media which they had disappointingly relegated to their back pages.
Mayuri runs a Bengaluru based Indian contemporary dance company, Nritarutya (dancing tree). She has worked with renowned Kannada director Yograj Bhat, M S Sathyu and Agni Shridhar, though she did not spend much time with Sandalwood.
The duo of Mayuri and Madhuri Upadhya, (Mayuri’s sister), were approached by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce through a company Wizcraft. Following this, Nritarutya set out to travel around the country to source dance perfectionists from across the country. “We personally traveled to various places to source skilled dancers in various forms trained under veteran teachers.” Both, Mayuri and Madhuri were involved in the choreography of contemporary dance performance presented at Germany.
Mayuri passionately explained that after sourcing young dancers to match the concept of union government’s, ‘Make in India’, a progressive idea, spent over month to plan the performance in minute detail. She explained, “The planning was meticulously done and minute details like which shade of color could be used for the attire, what kind of border would be a match for the dress and use of technology and lights.”. She added, “I and my team of dancers hardly slept for 4 hours during the 7-10 days of rehearsals in India and abroad”.
Meager recognition back in Karnataka
Back in Karnataka, after the stellar performance, the response to the show, in terms of recognition and reporting has been poor, Mayuri lamented. “It is critical for any artist for his hard work to be recognized along with the economic aspects to survive and grow in his/her field”
She clarified that her ego was not dented due to the minimal promotion of her team’s performance in Germany. Upadhya opined that recognizing the efforts of a Bengaluru based company in staging a show that wowed an international audience abroad, would generate awareness and interest and in turn inspire many. “When I gave the news item to some mainstream print media, next day I was pained to find that the news was relegated as a page filler in the paper”, she rued.
When asked whether Kannada and Culture Ministry of Karnataka contacted her to congratulate her on her achievement, she said she has not been approached.
However on the other hand team’s efforts were lauded by netizens.
