Perhaps it is inherent in them to see what we cannot. They have transcended the need for sight and achieved proficiency in a visual art form like dance.Five visually impaired men - each of whose stories can serve as inspiration - had come forward to a perform Bharatnatyam at the Anjali Children’s Festival that concluded here earlier this week.The five - Buse Gowda, Guru Prasad, Tharaka Ramudu, Satisha Rao and Shiva Swamy - are all part of Articulate, a Bangalore-based organisation. Mysore B Nagaraj, Artistic Director of Articulate and an established Kathak dancer, describes the organisation as an “event management company with social responsibility.”The five men, who joined the Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind in Bangalore as boys, are expert Bharatanatyam dancers. Their lives are replete with tragic incidents and stories.While Buse Gowda was born with perfect vision, he gradually lost his vision when he fell down and the dust set infection in his eyes, when he was only five. For want of medical treatment in his home town in the district of Mandya in Karnataka, he slowly became completely blind. Neglected by his own folks, he set foot towards Bangalore and perceived his dream to become a Bharatnatyam dancer. Apart from gaining proficiency in the classical dance form, Buse today runs his own travel agency in Bangalore.Guruprasad, the ninth child to a family in Bellary of North Karnataka, was born with defective vision - a defect that was a result of self poisoning by his mother in an attempt to abort her baby. This destiny’s child was keen to pursue music in spite of his limited vision. His joining the Blind Academy in Bangalore was a turning point, where he set his footsteps in dance, and today he performs Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi. Now completely blind and a naturally gifted percussionist, Guru also loves to perform the folk dances of India.Tharaka Ramudu, though born with perfect vision, became visually impaired because of medical negligence while he had typhoid although he was in Bangalore where there is good access to medical care.“My interest is in promoting the stories and talent of these five talented men. We have received overwhelming response from audiences in the country and in the United States as well,” says Nagaraj.“Imagine being able to coordinate without sight,” says Nagaraj and rightly so, as the dancers managed to pull off an extraordinary feat at the Anjali festival.As the five men were determined to learn dance, they were faced with a teacher who was not sure how he could teach the blind.“They themselves initiated dance guru Ashok Kumar, to teach them the complex art. Using the instinctive action of a blind, touching an object to understand, a methodology evolved between the five blind dancers and their dance guru. By brushing aside discouragement, overcoming depressions and with sheer perseverance, they accomplished their dreams. The blind led the sighted - they taught the teacher how to be taught dance,” says Nagaraj.Now they are having a go at Kathak, the classical dance form that is known for its complex and intricate footwork.With more than 1000 stage performances in India and abroad to their credit, their dance left connoisseurs and others appreciate the effort and reflect on their own complaints of inadequacy.
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