How India's artists changed international ties
The visit of the Dutch PM to India on June 5-6 received scant media attention in India even though Holland is one the top five investors in the country. He had a tightly packed schedule in Delhi and Mumbai. His trip and the lack of media coverage is of a piece with visits by foreign dignitaries to India these days, with certain notable exceptions.
The number of days spent on Indian soil is limited, programme diaries are chock-a-block, and back to back engagements are the norm. No time to stand and stare! Obama at least had the good fortune of witnessing India's military might and cultural heritage during the Republic Day Parade. He was also treated to a cultural feast a day before where short presentations of five forms of Indian classical dances were exhibited. Many foreign statesmen do not get to have a first-hand taste of our country.
It was different in the '50s.
The visits were of a longer duration and more leisurely. The nation which had just launched industrialisation was proud to show the modern temples - the factories, the dams - to the foreign visitors. The historical past was also displayed with equal gusto. The artistic traditions were exhibited with a swelled chest. All in all, they had the opportunity to peer into the rich Indian kaleidoscope. And their visits received saturation coverage in the press.
The artistic traditions they were exposed to included song and dance. Delhi, being the first port of call, led the charge. What was Delhi like, culturally, in that era?
Delhi was a culturally vibrant city. Post-independence, many classical musicians and artistes settled down here. Those were the heady days of cultural renaissance. Connaught Place was the capital's cultural hub in which were situated many reputed cultural institutions - Hindustani School of Music and Dancing (now Sangeet Bharti), founded by Yogeshwar Dayal in 1936; Sangeet Natak Academy in Regal Building; Gandharva Mahavidyalaya founded in C Block in 1939 by Pandit Vinay Chandra Maudgalya and Triveni Kala Sangam founded in 1951 in a room above a coffee house.
Women played a key role in shaping the city's cultural scene in these early years. Sumitra Charat Ram established the Shri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in 1952. Kamla Lal founded the Natya Ballet Centre, while Sundari Shridharani started Triveni Kala Sangam. Sharan Rani broke the glass ceiling to become the first internationally renowned woman instrumentalist (sarod) in the country.
I, as Usha Bhatia, in my own small way, contributed to the cultural landscape those days. I had learnt Kathak from Achchan Maharaj (Lucknow Gharana), Mohan Lal and Heera Lal (Jaipur Gharana) and Bharat Natyam from Pt Vijay Raghav Rao. I also learnt music from Pandit Maudgalya and Jiwan Lal Mattoo (then working in AIR). It was Mattoo who discovered Rafi accidentally. The captivating voice of Rafi singing in the hair dressing saloon (where Rafi worked) attracted his attention. Mattoo asked him whether he would like to sing for radio. Thus was started the music career of Rafi.
I was associated with AIR for many years as singer, first in the children's programme, then Yuv Manch, and finally n the general "light music" programme. Besides, I was the singer/dancer in innumerable concerts, operas, orchestras and ballets - such as Call of the Drums and Rainbow staged at National Stadium. I was called to sing at the Red Fort in 1948 on Independence Day.
All the artists including myself had the good fortune to perform before foreign dignitaries during their visits to India.
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visited India in 1956 on a three week visit. Historical linkages between India and Ethiopia went back to two thousand years and both countries enjoyed a very close relationship. A sizeable Indian community consisting of merchants, artisans and teachers had settled down in. The Emperor, who acknowledged India's support for the freedom of Ethiopia from Italian colonial rule, had great regards and respect for Nehru.
What did he do in those three weeks? Amongst the innumerable items on his calendar was visiting a cricket stadium in Mumbai, meeting the players and witnessing the match. He also inspected the Naval Fleet Requirement Unit. In Cochin, he presented a carpet to the Jews and declared that his own people traced their descent from the Asian Judeans. He knew of the legend of Saint Thomas's arrival on Kerala's shores and wanted to see those first churches. His motorcade happened to drive at the hour when the roads were thronged with school kids. That sight so impressed him that he hired all four hundred of his first batch of teachers for the new schools he was building across the empire from Kerala.
In Delhi, there were song recitals by me in his honour at Teen Murti House in the rear lawns.
In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Bulganin and Communist Party secretary Khrushchev visited India for 25 days. They travelled to Punjab, Kashmir, Agra, Bombay, Pune, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Madras and Calcutta .This visit heralded a new era of friendship and cooperation between India and the Soviet Union. In Punjab, they witnessed rural games such as wrestling and a lorry being driven on a plank placed over a man. They also visited Bhakra Nangal. In the Nilgiris, they visited a tea estate. In the village of Vadamadurai in Tamil Nadu, Bulganin had coconut water in a farm and the place is called "Bulganin Thottam".
A dance recital was given by me before them in Delhi.
The Chinese Prime Minister, Chou En-Lai visited Delhi and Agra in 1954. It was during this visit that the famous Panchsheel Doctrine was formulated. A reception was held at the Diwan-e-Khas in the Red Fort by the citizens of Delhi attended by over a thousand special guests including Nehru. I gave a song recital at the reception.
I still recall that in his address of welcome, the Chinese leader said: "We have come here with the friendship of the Chinese people for the Indian people. We have come here with the Chinese people's strong desire for safeguarding peace." Who could have known that a few years later the war clouds would loom over the Himalayas and drench it in colour red?
We, as artists, felt very fortunate to showcase our rich and diverse culture to the foreign dignitaries, revealing to them the soul of our nation and making a modest endeavour to foster mutual understanding. And hoping that our performance stayed with the foreign visitors long after joint statements had been signed and deals struck!