The Score Magazine - Archive November 2016 issue! | Page 44

SRIRAM RAVISHANKAR
In conversations with
Gayathri Krishna,
the lady behind
Bangalore’s cult
performing arts trust
- Bhoomija.
Changing Things
After the generation of National Centre for Performing
Arts (NCPA), Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural
Heritage (INTACH), Society For The Promotion of Indian
Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC
MACAY), and Kalamandir, it has almost become rare that
you find good performing arts centres/presenters across
the country that have a vision and are being true to their
mission. After 2000, there have been very few organisations
that have let their work speak for them and not the other
way round. Of course, there are numerous sabhas, sanghas,
and other prestigious platforms that are led by a stellar
committee, but not many are doing things differently so as
to keep up with the changing times.
Bhoomija, a performing arts trust in Bangalore, hosts
concerts across venues in Bangalore, India, and abroad.
Having started just four years ago, they have already done
over a hundred shows with a variety of talent ranging
from kids around the age of 6-7 until legends like Dr.
Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, Vikku Vinayakram, Aruna
Sairam, Venkatesh Kumar, Bombay Jayashi, etc. at venues
like Ranga Shankara, Madras Music Academy, Forbidden
City Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, and Carnegie
Hall. Their shows are a wonderful confluence of traditional
performing arts and contemporary presentation in new and
different formats that makes each of their show, a different
experience for audiences.
The Curator
Gayathri Krishna, 48, the brain behind Bhoomija, is an IT
Professional and an arts manager. "I've been with Ranga
Shankara and Arundhati Nag from 2003. So my complete
exposure to arts management comes from my theatre
sensibilities at Ranga Shankara. Aru would envision
a programme and I would run it for her. That was the
combination we were," she explains. Krishna has been one
of Ranga Shankara's mains, putting together the programme
schedules and National and International Collaborations at
the iconic theatre venue. Since then, she wanted to set up
a similar platform for music and dance. Hence, Bhoomija
was born. “There is no science behind why I decided to
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the right way...
call her Bhoomija. There
are these two Carnatic
Kritis-nijadasavarada
and ramachandram
bhavayami which had
the word ‘Bhoomija’ in
their lyrics and somehow
the word stuck along.
Something about the ‘Born
of the Earth’ appealed to
us, Krishna recalls. Her passion for the arts, culture, and
the very process of putting things together is infectious
and inspiring. She goes on explaining, “Our musicians are
not attuned to being marketed or presented in a different
manner. Contrary to my experiences with theatre artists,
I’ve found musicians to be far more reserved. Musicians
come from a sensibility of extreme and toil to become
musicians. But the gap or void between these musicians
at the top and everybody else is huge! The ones on the top
don’t pay attention or have it in their constitution that they
should be presented in a manner that commensurates their
journey. To work around this sensibility and do things
differently is what I’m trying to do with Bhoomija.”
The journey from there on…
From their first concert - “Listening to Life: The Journey
of a Raga” to their latest - “Tribute to Lalgudi Jayaraman”,
Bhoomija’s association with Bombay Jayashri has
been very special. “A few years ago, I was asked to book
Chowdiah Hall on behalf of someone for “Listening to
Life”-a Bombay Jayashri concert. However, the organizer
decided to plug off in the last minute due to insufficient
funds and I decided to take up the show myself. That’s been
the journey from there on with Bombay Jayashri,” said
Krishna.
“One day, my trustees and I were discussing, and I had this
idea of taking Carnatic music to Sydney Opera House. We
wrote to them and eventually hosted Bombay Jayashri there
in the Concert Hall. At that time, Jayashri’s Life of Pi song
had become very famous. A young girl from China wrote to
Photo Credits: Virginia Rodrigues