The first session of Manthan was a talk on Diversity and Performative Traditions. The talk was given by Professor D. Venkat Rao, Professor of Literature and Tradition, and Ashwini Desai, a fellow of Arohi Research Foundation at the Mangaluru Lit Fest ’19.
The session began with an introduction to understanding art forms as part of Indian culture. D. Venkat Rao lamented that the vocabulary used to describe traditions and art as they are western concepts which are being transcribed to describe social phenomena in an Indian context. He further professed that equating terms such as ‘art’ and ‘kala’ is detrimental to understanding performative arts and traditions in India as the method of communication in both societies varies greatly. European societies follow Inscriptional Communication which involves documentation while Indian societies follow Nemo Communication which relies on vocal and bodily action. The form of communication also determines language and vernacular of the society which can be used as an inferential tool to study these cultures.
The session moved to discuss Indian learning and how knowledge and “community memory” is passed down over generations and how different ‘Jaatis’ in India have different traditions which despite being unique to them also service each other to maintain cohesion in society. D. Venkat Rao argued that abolition of ‘jaatis’ can lead to a loss of traditional knowledge and memory in society. Lastly they discussed the impact of using generalized terms such as ‘folk’ in classrooms which reduces millions of diverse traditions and societies to a single point for the modern learner which can lead to a disconnection of people from their own traditions.
The informative session ended with a brief interactive session in which members of the audience posed questions relating to their own experiences with performative traditions. Professor D. Venkat Rao and Ashwini Desai were presented with tokens of appreciation from Mangaluru Lit Fest.