Shevlin Sebastian's Blog, page 104

A French Love Affair

Noted Bharata Natyam dancer, Paris Laxmi, who is from France, has embraced Hinduism and married a Kathakali dancer
By Shevlin Sebastian
Photos: By Albin Mathew. Paris Laxmi posing near the pond at the Mahadeva Shiva temple at Vaikom; at her home in Vaikom; with her husband and and Kathakali exponent, Pallippuram Sunil 
Paris Laxmi could feel her heart beating faster. A few minutes into her Bharata Natyam dance performance at the Kerala Kalamandalam at Cheruthuruthy, in Kerala, she could see the Kathakali legend Kalamandalam Gopi make his way to the front. Laxmi became to dance with even more vigour and passion.
45 minutes later, when her performance had concluded, Gopi took the mike and said, “Paris Laxmi’s sincerity and skill for the dance form are clear for all to see. All artistes of south India should appreciate and respect her dedication.”
At her home in Vaikom, seated beside her husband, Pallippuram Sunil, a beaming Laxmi says, “It is the high point of my career.”
It is a windy and cloudy July morning, but Laxmi is shining in her Indian ensemble: a bright red cotton saree, a tear drop of a bindi, a dash of sindoor on her forehead, and a gold necklace around her neck. “I like traditional and ethnic Indian clothes,” she says. “Most of the time I wear sarees for functions and salwar kameez when I am at home.” But the overall impression is of how slim she is, probably the result of the long hours of dancing she does very day.
And when Laxmi speaks English, it is slow, careful, and with pauses. “I like it here in Vaikom,” she says. Although she is quite far away from her own home.
Laxmi grew up in the town of Aix-En-Provence in France. Her father, Yves, is a stage artist and poet, while her mother Patricia is a sculptor. From an early age, Laxmi used to hear stories about India from her parents, both of whom were passionate about the country. In fact, she was named Myriam Sophia Lakshmi, while her brother is called Theo Elie Narayan.
“From childhood, my mother would tell me stories about Ganesha, Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Parvathi and Sita,” she says. “I remember my trips to India in my childhood.”
At age nine, she began to learn Bharata Natyam from French dancers Armelle Choquard and Dominique Delorme. When she grew older, she had training stints at Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam’s Nrithyodaya School of Dance in Chennai, and Dr. Sucheta Chapekar’s Kalavardhini Institute in Pune. Apart from that, she has learnt jazz, flamenco, contemporary, and ballet.
“By learning all these dance forms, I have become a better Bharata Natyam dancer,” she says.
On September 14, 2012, she got married to Sunil. She had seen him for the first time when she was only seven years old during a programme at Fort Kochi.
“Among the group of dancers, he stood out,” says Laxmi. “He had a strong personality.” They met again when she was a teenager. “Later, at 19, we thought about marriage, even though Sunil is 14 years older,” says Laxmi. “We had a compatibility because of our passion for the arts.
A few months before the marriage, Laxmi converted to Hinduism through a Vedic puja conducted by the Arya Samaj at the Mahadeva Shiva temple at Vaikom.
“Dancing is a worship of God,” she says. “And we portray goddesses when we are dancing. So it became natural for me to become a Hindu.”
Today, Sunil and Laxmi run the Kalashakti School of Arts at Vaikom where they teach Kathakali, Bharatanatyam, Mridangam, Violin and Carnatic Vocals. But
Laxmi is a bit disappointed by the attitude of a few parents and students. “Some pupils are only interested in learning items, to win competitions, and not to master the art form,” she says. “So I am looking for students who want to dedicate their lives to dance.”
During their free moments, the couple had developed a classical dance fusion called 'Krishna Mayam'. While Sunil plays Krishna in the Kathakali style, Laxmi plays Radha, Draupadi, Kuchela, and Arjuna in the Bharata Natyam style.
“The programme has been well received,” says Laxmi. In June, they performed at the Sri Jayadev Samaroh festival at Bhubaneshwar (the poet Sri Jayadev wrote the epic poem, 'Gita Govinda'). Later, Paris was honoured with the 'Padmavathi Puraskar' award, while the couple received the 'Sri Jayadev Rastriya Nrithya Prathibha Puraskar'.
Incidentally, Laxmi also did a role as a dancer, in Malayalam films, ‘Big B’ and ‘Bangalore Days’.
Finally, when asked about her unusual name, she says, “It was mridangam maestro, Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam, who told me that Laxmi is too brief a name. He said that in south India, artistes add the names of their hometowns to their names. So, even though Paris is not my hometown, Bakthavathsalam Sir said that Paris Laxmi sounds good. And so it became my name. And everybody likes it, including me.” 
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi) 

A Light In The Darkness

Rakesh Rajnikant was born autistic and blind. But that has not prevented him from having a successful career as a singer of devotional songs
By Shevlin Sebastian
Photos: By Albin Mathew. Rakesh's family: (from left): Mother Kusum, father Rajnikant Ramji and uncle Krishna Kumar 
On the evening of June 3, 2005, a wedding reception was being held for Arati, the daughter of Rajnikant Ramji, a senior bank employee, at the Sumangali Hall at Kollam. “Since it was the first marriage of the second generation, many relatives from Gujarat had come,” says Rajnikant.
There was a suggestion from some family members that Rajnikant's 22-year-old son, Rakesh, should be allowed to sing. Rakesh is autistic and blind, but had been listening to songs from his childhood. “When we gave the mike to him, the first song he began to sing was Kishore Kumar's 'Yeh Sham Mastani' [from the Hindi film, ‘Kati Patang’ (1971)].” About 70 bank friends of Rajnikant who were preparing to leave, stopped and decided to listen to this song. In the end they stayed and listened to the entire set of eight songs.
“That was the turning point,” says Rajnikant. “Thereafter, Rakesh began singing devotional songs in temples.” Some of the temples Rakesh has sung in include the Sree Padmanabhaswamy at Thiruvananthapuram, the Krishna temple at Guruvayur, the Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple at Haripad, and the Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Pune. So far, he has done about 800 performances in different languages: Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Hindi. Rakesh is accompanied by the Kollam-based Adi Shankara orchestra.
“The unusual thing about Rakesh is that he does not know the meaning of the words,” says his uncle, Krishna Kumar, who is his perennial companion. “But he has a tremendous memory. He can learn a new song within a day.”
This memory comes to the fore at an apartment in Kochi when Krishna Kumar tells Rakesh to sing a Mohammed Rafi song. Immediately, Rakesh launches into a song. After four lines, Krishnakumar mentions the name of KL Saigal and Rakesh immediately moves to a Saigal song. Then it is on to Hindu, Christian and Muslim devotionals, all at the suggestion of Krishna Kumar. Rakesh also sings a Lata Mangeshkar song. “It is as if he has a computer chip in his brain,” says Krishna Kumar.
But for many years, since his birth, the family went through turmoil. Like any anxious parent, Rajnikant had taken his son to various institutions all over India in a bid to cure his son. But there was no hope.
Initially, Rajnikant felt ashamed and did not want to take his son outside the house. He was the manager of a branch of the State Bank of India, very close to his home at Kollam. “I did not want my colleagues to know about my son's disabilities,” says Rajnikant. “But, subsequently, I realised that God has given me the chance to take care of Rakesh. He is a higher soul and that is why he is in a family that can take care of him physically, financially and emotionally.”
To keep him emotionally engaged, Rajnikant's father, Giridhar Lal Ramji, bought a tape recorder so that his lonely grandson could listen to music. “That was how Rakesh developed a liking for songs and began imitating all the singers,” says Rajnikant.
However, Rakesh has no other skill. “For all his primary needs, somebody has to be with him all the time,” says Rajnikant. “To take food, my wife, Kusum, has to feed him. He is unable to express anything. If he has stomach pain he does not know how to express it. He will start shouting and get angry. When he is hungry, he cries like a baby. But now Kusum can anticipate all his needs. And she travels with him everywhere.”
But on days when there are no concerts, Rakesh can get fidgety. “He can also become violent,” says Krishna Kumar. “He throws things and bites his arms.” Indeed, there are visible teeth marks on Rakesh's arms.
But now the family has found a way to calm him. “Since Rakesh is afraid of the sound of crackers, we just shake a match box,” says Rajnikant. “Then he becomes quiet because he thinks that we are going to burst a cracker.”
Another eminent singer of Ayyappa songs, who is a fan, is Veeramani. After Rakesh sang a few of Veeramani's songs, during their meeting at Kollam, a moved Veeramani told Rajnikant, “Take care of his voice. And God will come to meet him.”
Meanwhile, at his home, many relatives and friends come to meet him. One friend is businessman Jaylal Divakaran who comes every evening. Their friendship began two years ago, when Jaylal took Rakesh to Sabarimala for a pilgrimage. “Ever since then, there is a connection between the two,” says Krishna Kumar. “Rakesh will wait for Jaylal. When he comes, Rakesh will sing the Ayyappa songs. In case Jaylal cannot come, he will wait for his mobile call telling that he is not coming. Only then will Rakesh go to sleep.”
And while Rajnikant is thrilled at his son's blooming career, at the back of his mind, he has an unshakeable worry. “I always think about what will happen to Rakesh once I die,” says Rajnikant. “Although, I am sure that my brothers and their families will take utmost care of him.” 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram)

An Italian in Fort Kochi

Claudio Rucher, from Rome, makes authentic Italian pizzas that have become hugely popular By Shevlin Sebastian
Photo by Ratheesh Sundaram 
On Christmas Eve, 2014, Claudio Rucher was going through a lot of tension. At his Pizza Italia restaurant, at Fort Kochi, things were spiralling out of control. It was not easy for him to teach the local chefs how to make pizzas, Italian style, and to manage the customers who came from all over the world.
“At that time, I was thinking, ‘I am from Rome, and trying to sell pizzas in another country, even though I have been living in Kerala for several years,’” he says. “I felt dispirited and wanted to shut down the restaurant.”
“Teo and Emma worked from morning till night,” says Claudio. “They helped me to find the ingredients locally, cleaned the place, and interacted with the customers.”
Today, the Pizza Italia is a popular spot and has got rave reviews on Trip Advisor and Zomato. The USP is that Claudio serves authentic Italian pizzas made in a traditional oven.
This oven is made of bricks. There is a gas burner inside which is aimed at the bricks. Once the burner is switched off, the bricks remain hot for several hours. The temperature inside is anywhere between 250 to 300 degrees Celsius. When Claudio places a pizza inside, it gets cooked within three minutes.
Another unique aspect of the Italian pizza is the use of herbs like fresh basil, rosemary, and oregano that serve as the toppings. And, amazingly, whenever Claudio returns from Rome, like he did, a few months ago, he brought 200 kgs of items, which included ceramic cups and saucers, spoons, knives, long handles and herbs to be used in the restaurant.
For the Indian clientele, he has come up with the Pizza Kerala. This consists of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and paneer. To keep the fish-loving locals happy, Claudio has invented the Pizza Fort Kochi. “This has squid and prawns in it,” he says, with a smile.
Claudio had set up shop in Fort Kochi because he expected that the foreign tourists would be his main clients. Indeed, many people from Germany, America, France, Spain and Italy are regulars. “After a while, they get tired of eating spicy Indian food,” says Claudio. “So they are happy to come to my restaurant.” But he is also surprised that many of his customers are North Indian tourists, as well as Malayalis. “I am so happy about it,” he says.
But Claudio is unhappy about the use of ketchup on pizzas by Indians, Germans and Americans. “It spoils the taste,” he says. “In Italy, if you use ketchup, the chef will come out of the kitchen and shout at you.”
So what is the way out? “There is a special way to make sauce,” he says. “We use fresh tomato every day. It is cooked in the oven to remove the water. Dough and water are enemies. Then we mix the tomato with garlic, aromatic herbs and extra virgin olive oil.” 
The end result is that everybody likes his pizzas, including the difficult-to-please Italians. “Do you want to savour a little Italy in Kerala?” says tourist Enzo Bossio from Rome. “Then you can come to Pizza Italia where you will find the people very welcoming and a pizza prepared artfully.” 
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)