Spring in India

We arrived in the middle of the night, and woke up in an enchanted garden. A beautiful old lady dressed in a yellow sari welcomed us, "Call me Miss June, or Auntie June, or Nanny June, as you like. I can see, you are still shy, - you will soon un-shy here." 

The campus of Nrityagram is a dance school for a classic indian dance called Odissi. Students and teachers live together and practice every day. During lunch Miss June says to Surupa Sen, one of the teachers, "They are curious to see you dance!" Surupa shakes her head,"I am afraid that won't happen." Her foot is injured, an inflammation on the heel had to be cut deep from the flesh. To complete Surupas misfortune, she will not be able to dance on a tour to Hongkong and Malaysia, which starts next week. Pavithra Reddy has to take over her part. 

It's forbidden, to take photographs, but not to draw the rehearsals

The next morning we watch the students practice, their feet are drumming with stumping heels. I found the dance lovely, but a little cramped, - until I saw Bijayini Satpathy. From her first move, I sat there with an open mouth. Her concentration and intensity was total every second. And she and Pavithra were just rehearsing, repeating scenes, stop and go ... this is what I admire the most in the performing arts: the ability to replay a scene over and over again with the same lively expression. 
"I don't see it." Surupa gives Pavithra a hard time, "You have to feel it!" "You have to know, why you are doing, what you are doing!" You tube videos proof, Pavithra is a great dancer. 
Sundays we were lucky to see Bijayini in a solo: She didn't just dance, she was performing a whole mythology playing all rolls by herself. She was a god and a goddess, the rider and the horse, a beggar, a giant bird, an unstoppable force and a shy creature. I instantly fell in love!

We were not here to dance. The Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan invited 8 drawing artists of the german SPRING Magazin to meet 8 indian colleagues in Nrityagram for to create the 2016 issue of SPRING together. And of course have to thank Larissa Bertonasco for her great initiative to realize this project.

Archana Sreenivasan, Kruttitka Susarla, Anpu Varkey, Reshu Singh, Katrin Stangl, Nina Pagalies

with Urvashi Butalia, indian publisher

Tables were rare. Priya Kuriyan, Kaveri Gopalakrishnan 

When the girls were tired of talking, they started drawing in their sketchbooks.

Ludmilla Bartscht found her favorite spot

Prabha Mallya, Nina Pagalies, Kruttika Susarla

me

Stephanie Wunderlich

Stephanie Wunderlich

Barbara Yelin

Barbara Yelin

Whom's sketchbook??

Garima Gupta

Larissa Bertonasco

We prepare ourself for the annual group photo. In the center: Larissa Bertonasco

me (Ulli Lust)

Larissa Bertonasco, Prabha Mallya, Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, Anpu Varkey, Ludmilla Bartscht, Maria Luisa Witte, Barbara Yelin

Garima Gupta, Prabha Mallya, Katrin Stangl, Reshu Singh, Ludmilla Bartscht, Maria Luisa Witte, Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, Larissa Bertonasco, Ulli Lust, Kruttika Susarla, Stephanie Wunderlich, Archana Sreenivasan, Anpu Varkey, Priya Kuriyan, Nina Pagalies, Barbara Yelin; 
The indian girls decided, that I have to be Jesus. What an honor, as far as I don't have to hang half naked on a cross. 

Animal visitors: a Paradiese Fly Catcher

Puppy love time: Mangala, Anpu, Prabha & two beagles

New resident wood worm, Pintu

Prabha is the expert for wild life images

The next village

Men change wheels, girls wait in the shadow

Market in Mysore

 A man, to whom one could not say "No": The last Maharadscha from Mysore.

More attractive men and a traffic policeman in Bangalore

The german version of the SPRING Nr 13 will be released end of may 2016 under the Titel "The elephant in the room". (which is an  english metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is going undressed.)