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For Indian Americans in general, and to Kannadigas’ (people of Kannada-language origin) in
particular, it is gratifying to see that Kannada Vrinda (*the nonprofit cultural organization) of
Houston, is delivering this unique seminar to propagate and to preserve Kannada culture in
Texas; twin objectives that are far reaching in their rationale and foresight. For the first time to
the participants in Texas, and perhaps also as a “first” in the entire Americas, the seminar
through its content and format of lectures and demonstrations reveals the fine arts and sculpture
of the Hoysala period (Southern India: 1006 AD-1346 AD). Participants will acquire a variety of
action ideas that they can apply in their own artistic and literary endeavors to promote “fusion”
themes and to further enrich the American cultural landscape in the fields of fine arts,
architecture, opera, literature, and artwork.
For the past 30 years, a powerful change has been occurring on the American cultural
landscape through the participation of newer citizens and their American-born children, along
with the social processes of adaptation, acculturation, and absorption. This is particularly
apparent when it comes to absorbing the arts and the culture from India. For example, in the
year 1970, whoever thought that Indian musical instruments like sitar, tabla, santoor,
mridangam, ghatam, and kanjira will be entering the mainstream jazz of today! Tandoori cuisine
and curry seems to be in every major town in America these days; the shalwar-khameez dress
and chai, are routine stuff for the mainstream youth in California and New York. The Hindu
chants and Buddhist bells are being listened to, in wellness therapies and yoga...the Indian
classical dances like the BharathaNatyam and Kathak are being fused into western ballet,
dance-dramas and theatre arts...School children are using western musical instruments like
oboe and saxophone to play Karnatic music from southern India, and fusing Indian folk dances
to depict themes on environment, etc…The mainstream American audience are delighted with
exponents like Anoushka Shankar, Dr. L Subramanian, maestros’ Shivkumar Sharma, Zakir
Hussain and Shashank, and many others…At the same time, the younger generation in schools
and colleges are elated to see these new horizons and peaks on the American cultural plateau.
Soon after delivering the World Millennium Kannada Conference in Houston in 2000, Kannada
Vrinda realized that if the culture from Karnataka* (*the foremost state in India, famed for its
heritage and technology) is to continue and endure in America, then, the components of this
glorious South Asian culture should evolve within the American context. Therefore, the intricate
fabric of such a complex culture must be explained in a seminar- or a workshop-style learning
opportunity, and imparted to the American mainstream through a series of step by step
processes; the current seminar is the first step toward this objective of information diffusion and
propagation in a comprehensive way.
The seminar’s second objective of preservation is to begin to help the various art groups,
students of fine arts and theatre, teachers, and amateur artistes to experiment with creative
ideas that would “fuse” the art forms, imagery, and symbolism of the Hoysala times’ with the
contemporary. The art forms that were created during the Hoysala dynasty surely provided the
stimulus for the later art forms in South Asia and even today continue to spur new ideas in
dance ballets and folk and classical theatre. The Hoysala times’ were indeed the beginning of a
multifaceted “Renaissance” for the entire South Asia.
Students and artistes from Texas are thankful for this timely seminar and congratulate Kannada
Vrinda, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Asia Society, along with the Cultural Arts Council of
Houston / Harris County (CACHH) and the Texas Commission on the Arts, for their joint and
unified support for the seminar, and to the various universities for their participation.
In November 2005, Kannada Vrinda hosted yet another worthwhile Seminar called
SANGAMA which is a confluence of arts, architecture and literature during the Vijayanagara Empire.
Press report on Sangama Seminar 2005
Some of the photos taken during the Seminar:
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