Today my Chinese galfriend and I went to the Chettiar temple at Tank Road to partake in the Navarathiri festivities. It was wonderful to be the temple which was beautifully decorated with little ferry lights and devotees who were watching the dance and music performance. I also saw a number of Western tourists from New Zealand and Australia come to watch the performance. The unfortunate thing is that they had no context or background to access the temple culture or its traditions. They were outsiders and none of the temple priests or devotees were really interested in giving them an insider's view. So, I decided to help decode some of the dance anad performances for them. I explained the significance of having artists celebrate and glorify the Lord and how in olden days many dancers were attached to temples and danced and sang at temple puja every now. Now this is no longer practiced. In Singapore part-time dancers fill this role. The dancers we saw tonite were all quite junior dancers and looked like they were students who were also pursuing dance on the side. That is the reality of learning the arts outside of India. One cannot pursue it professionally and full-time. There isn't that level of demand to sustain an artist. Also the great masters are all still in India and hardly travel to other countries. So on the supply side too - it is difficult to find instructors and costumers and other specialist professionals who can help a dancer attain high standards. In the olden days in Tamil Nadu, the great kings who built temples were also the patron of the arts and they ensured that they supported the temple dancers very generously. Today unless foundations and other donors come forward and offer scholarships and financial support the art form remains a rich kid's hobby. Both within and outside India.
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