On The
Indian Cultural
Scene
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Issue No. 1
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In this issue:

• Yamini Reddy - Of Moves and Moods

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Yamini Reddy - Of moves and moods
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Kaushalya Reddy and Yamini Reddy were recently in Chennai for a Kuchipudi concert. CT caught up with them
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• How do you prepare for a live concert?
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Yamini: It starts with an idea, which slowly acquires a form. We decide on the song, the choreography and the backdrop. The singers get the notations and accompanists add flavour to it. I tell them the mood of the song.
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Kaushalya: I like the modulation in songs as well as the bhavam. We have three accompanists, and we all share a certain level of comfort.
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• Did your dad want you to take up Kuchipudi as your profession?
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Yamini: My parents didn’t want me to dance. My father said that it’s a process of struggle. My mother Radha used to say that I don’t have that power within me. She sent me off to pursue MBA.
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Kaushalya: But she jumped on stage when she was a three-year-old and copied her father’s style! It so happened that the music followed her dancing.
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• You were not so inclined to music…
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Yamini: Radha amma forced me to take up music lessons. I used to get so bored that I used to pass notes to appa during the classes.
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• Who is your guru?
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Yamini: I grew up seeing my parents perform. And that’s when I knew I had to be a dancer.
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Kaushalya: My husband Raja and my sister Radha are my true gurus. Even though I am his second wife, I am more like a student to him.
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• Are you addicted to only Kuchipudi?
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Yamini: Definitely not. It’s just that we didn’t feel the need to adapt to any other form of dance. In fact, my father would jump at every opportunity to do a jive or hip hop in a pub.
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• Do you ever feel your interest in Kuchipudi becoming jaded?
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Kaushalya: I never get bored with it because we keep re-inventing themes…
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• And how do you do that?
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Kaushalya: Three years ago, Yamini adapted the Beatles’ song My Mind and performed Kuchipudi on that. George Harrison’s wife Olivia was moved to tears after seeing the performance. Again, former President Abdul Kalam had given Raja a piece of his poetry for adaptation. Raja gave it to a western playback singer. Kalam was really impressed with the outcome.
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Yamini: Our performance here had a Hindustani classical Veena Vadini Varade. We merged it with Kuchipudi.
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• Do you take artistic liberties?
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Kaushalya: No. We don’t compromise with the Kuchipudi frame. We just add different kinds of music to Kuchipudi.
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Yamini: The idea is to add influences from our times. We use props like fog machine and laser lights in our concerts.
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• Do you ever reach a level of satisfaction?
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Kaushalya: The day you are satisfied with your work, your life as an artiste is over.
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Yamini: My father is known as the ‘black Shiva’, for his Shiva’s dance has not been replicated by anyone. Though I perform the dance in most of my performances, I am still nowhere near mastering it. Every day, there is more to add to one’s performance.
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http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOICH&login=default (Chennai Edition, Page 1)
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