CHENNAI: A meeting with renowned Bharathanatyam dancer Zakir Hussain is a very casual affair. Dressed in a simple shirt and veshti, he makes you feel right at home with his affable nature. His reputation as a performer par excellence is bolstered by his impeccable credentials as a choreographer and teacher (he runs the Sripaadham Academy of Dance) in the city. At this stage of his career, Hussain has chosen to embark on a higher path and follow his bliss. He will be speaking about this at Blisscatchers, curated by Avis Viswanathan, at Odyssey Bookstore, Adyar today.
CE caught up with him ahead of the event for a quick Q&A. Excerpts follow....
You have entertained audiences enough and your reputation precedes you – what is Zakir Hussain the dancer up to these days?
The joy of dance has its own limitations. If audiences receive you in good taste, that will give you the energy to perform. When you are more experienced and start dancing with bhakti, you will feel that appreciation is maya, an illusion. True bhakti will lead to a state of complete bliss; dance and music are only steps leading you in that direction. However, for that to happen you have realise that beyond dance and music there is a bigger shakti — the true bliss I am in search of.
That is understandable from a performer’s point of view — but will the audience be able to gauge this state of mind?
Dance and music are a form of entertainment; if you do that part very well, audience will appreciate you for sure. But self-realisation is completely different from entertainment for the masses. My journey towards self-realisation started now — I don’t see dance as part of my career, but a way to reach my destination.
How do you draw satisfaction as an artiste if you forego appreciation?
An artiste can never be satisfied (laughs)! Whatever work I do, I will only be say 80% satisfied. The remaining 20% satisfaction I get in my next performance, but that never happens. Like I said before, it’s an illusion! It is the quest to attain that 20% that pushes you to undertake challenges. Of late, I have been doing a lot of reading in the pursuit of the elusive bliss. If I ever attain this bliss, I don’t know what will happen — I may stop dancing and abandon my career as well.
So have you caught momentary glimpses of this bliss anytime in your career?
Many times, but I couldn’t stand and savour it at that point. But for that moment to truly come, a lot of things need to be perfect —the choreography, the accompanying orchestra, the make-up, the lighting- everything needs to fall into place.
You mentioned reading extensively as a part of your pursuit of the ‘unattainable’ 20%....what do you read?
I read mostly researched presentations of scholars from India and around the world. I am very interested in subjects like physics, history and religion. I find myself reading history to try to understand what happened, when it happened and why it happened and even connect it to Vaishnavism.
What are your current projects?
Right now, I’m working on a presentation about Thirumangai Alvar – it’s something that I’ve been mulling over for nearly a year. Mostly it will be staged in November. I am also working on upcoming projects for Sri Ramanuja’s sahasrabdi.