Once we have utmost conviction in what we do as an artiste, the audience is sure to travel with us
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An interview with HARINIE JEEVITHA, Classical Dance Global Icon
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We all know Harinie Jeevitha, the artiste, whose exceptional finesse and depth as a performer, has made her one of today’s most celebrated young Indian classical dancers globally, a fact complemented by her massive online following. Indian Sounds & Steps is very happy to bring you a glimpse of Harinie Jeevitha, the person – touching upon her thoughts, beliefs and memories.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]EDITOR’S STATEMENT: Harinie Jeevitha is a dedicated artiste who has been learning the art of Bharathanatyam from the age of six under renowned dance Guru Dr. Smt. Sheela Unnikrishnan, Founder of the esteemed dance institute Sridevi Nrithyalaya (SDN). Unyielding faith in hard work and Harinie’s passion for learning has accelerated this journey in which she aspires to imbibe and internalize the intricacies and essence of this art form to the best of her ability.
Harinie is a recipient of the National Bal Shree Award (2009), constituted by the Government of India as the highest scheme of honour for young achievers in various fields. She has toured all over India and a few countries abroad, performing solo as well as with her Teacher’s troupe. She completed her Bachelor’s in English Literature and pursued her Masters in Bharathanatyam. She is also an ‘A’ Grade artiste of Doordarshan.
Harinie is also a passionate poet who has recently published an anthology of her poems -‘Perspectives: An Illustrated Anthology’.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624010429324{padding-top: 3% !important;padding-bottom: 1% !important;}”][vc_column_text]
READ THE HARINIE JEEVITHA INTERVIEW
Could you recount for us your initial days at Sridevi Nrithyalaya? How did your experiences at the institution help you evolve you both as a person and an artiste?
HARINIE JEEVITHA: I began learning Bharathanatyam at Sridevi Nrithyalaya, under Dr. Sheela Unnikrishnan at the age of six. The variety in learning experiences and exposure helped me lay a strong foundation, firstly as an inquisitive student of Natya. SDN and Sheela ma’am have taught me and continue to teach me the importance of hard work, consistency, perseverance, which are qualities that are essential for an artiste to stand the test of time, especially in this fast-paced world.
My batchmates and I spent most of our time in dance class with Sheela Ma’am, almost like a Gurukulam, and today when I look back, I can only say that I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. We spoke about dance; we had fun through dance; we practised dance together.
Sheela ma’am experimented a lot on our batch and she provided us with umpteen opportunities to explore our creative sides. The intense, immersive training sessions with ma’am are the ones I cherish the most and those have been the moments that have made me realise what Dance truly means to me.
The reviews of your performances have always focused on how you immerse yourself into the character (and his or her emotions) you portray on stage? Is there any tips or tricks for aspiring artistes (who look up to you) on how to manage this?
HARINIE JEEVITHA: According to me, the first success of an artiste is convincing themselves. Once we totally believe in and have utmost conviction in what we do, be it a simple Adavu or the portrayal of a character, the audience is sure to travel with us. To build that relentless, unblemished conviction, the artiste has to strive by way of physical as well as mental practice. One has to keep thinking about the character or just the words or the movements and constantly live with it. Then, the expression of it comes from a place of honesty, which in turn, would not only convince the audience, but also make them experience something inexplicable. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row enable_arrows_animation=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1624012669427{padding-top: 3% !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”12015,12019,12016,12017,12018″ img_size=”450×360″ onclick=””][vc_column_text]
CLICK HERE TO WATCH HARINIE JEEVITHA’S PERFORMANCES
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]What’s a typical day like in the life of Harinie Jeevitha? Could you tells us about the efforts you take on physical fitness, practicing, and maintaining the energy level required for the long hours of performances?
HARINIE JEEVITHA: My day-to-day activities are mostly centered around Dance—the physical activities, the in-activities, the naps I take, the books I read, the thoughts that I harbour, the food I eat, the foods I avoid—all of these are subconscious choices made with Dance as the first priority.
It’s not a fixed routine that I follow every day. On most days, I practice early in the morning (as the first activity of my day). I take a brisk walk in the morning sun, and my mornings are usually spent in reading (related to projects that I might be working on/novels/poetry), reflecting/creating, Yoga, practising allied areas of Dance (music, Tala), some quiet time and a nap. From afternoon to late in the evening, I practice and teach at SDN.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1659947112365{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Your dance videos on the online platforms have been getting a massive response, from both accomplished and aspiring artistes? What are your take-aways from this response? Has this response changed your outlook towards dance and social media? If yes, how?
HARINIE JEEVITHA: The nature of the Universe is that it is ever-changing. Change is the only constant. Audiences might like one artiste today, and another artiste tomorrow. Personally, for me, Dance is like my prayer. I try my best not to get carried away by audience’s responses, whether positive or negative.
There is no end to learning an art, and as eternal students of art, it is best that we constantly seek, learn and evolve with the Art and through the Art, without becoming complacent with the name and fame it fetches us.
What inspired you to write ‘Perspectives: An Illustrated Anthology’? How did ‘Perspectives’ take birth and how did it get nurtured and evolved?
HARINIE JEEVITHA: ‘Perspectives’ is a collection of poems that I wrote in the last three to four years. I always had the idea of publishing my poems one day, and when lockdown was announced in March 2020, I spent my time reading translations of Indian literary works (mostly Bhakti literature). I couldn’t help but notice some resemblances that my already written poems shared with works that were decades and centuries old. Reading those works gave me a nudge to go ahead and publish my works.
Each of the poems in ‘Perspectives’ has an epigraph and an illustration. The epigraphs are from Indian literary works and the sketches have been done by Meghna Unnikrishnan, a talented child from Sridevi Nrithyalaya.
The poems coincidentally happened to fall into the categories of Gnana Margam (Path of Wisdom), Karma Margam (Path of Duty) and Bhakti Margam (Path of Devotion), which I realised only after closely observing my poems and working on them for almost 6 months. The entire process, right from the spark of thought, until publishing, took me about one and a half years.
I am thankful to the wonderful team I had who helped me design the book, proofread, edit, and also the language experts and scholars who guided me with the epigraphs. My professor from college, Ms. Latha, had been a huge support in all possible ways.
What, according to you, are the striking similarities or dissimilarities between ‘writing’ and ‘dancing’?
HARINIE JEEVITHA: Writing and Dancing, to me, are two completely different worlds, yet very similar. Writing is not something I do everyday. It is like an unexpected guest that knocks at my door. I don’t force myself into any piece of creative writing. Whatever has been penned so far have been spontaneous outpourings at the least expected moments.
Whereas, Dancing is something that is akin to breathing to me. I am always in touch with Dancing in some way or the other. Dance isn’t a guest to me. It is very much part of what I call home.
I believe that Writing as well as Dancing give me a sense of completeness and purpose. They remind me that it is not the ‘I’ that is doing it all, but a higher force. Writing and Dancing, though different, intrinsically coexist, constantly embellishing each other.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624011263768{padding-top: 3% !important;padding-bottom: 3% !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row enable_arrows_animation=”no” css=”.vc_custom_1474355814165{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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