Ever had hormones like oxytocin, glucagon or thyroid strike a mudra and
introduce themselves to you? Or have someone represent the rhythm and
balance that different organs and hormones strike in order to keep you
going like a well-oiled machine? Just one misstep or imbalance could
cause this machine to come to a crashing halt. This is exactly what Dr
Jayanthy Ramesh tried to present through his Kuchipudi dance ballet on
the eve of World Health Day. Organised by Sai Institute of
Endrocrinology in association with Cisne for Arts, this dance ballet
presented various health issues in a creative manner. The blend of
medical science and Kuchipudi dance was conceptualised and scripted by
Dr Jayanthy Ramesh, a practising endocrinologist. "Though it is a
Kuchipudi dance ballet, it was a way to express the importance of
hormones in the body, lifestyle ailments and create awareness about
health issues. I basically wanted to use a platform to drive home the
point to the common man in a language understands," he says, adding , "Each hormone has a specific action and
there is pulse style release, rhythmic action, amplitude, target action
etc. Endocrinology is a dynamic equilibrium. Dance too has similar
factors - pace, rhythm, action. That is why we thought of blending the
two." The entire dance ballet was choreographed by Kuchipudi exponent
Bhagavathula Sethuram, who also heads the department of dance at Telugu
University. "I've been training under Guruji for some time now and after
I penned the script he choreographed the ballet. This was no mean feat
given that he had to express various hormones, their functions and
lifestyle ailments through dance. I don't think anyone else could have
choreographed the ballet as beautifully as he has," says the doctor, who
also performed a portion of the ballet. Thirteen of Sethuram's students
also performed the ballet. Vocal support was lent by Mantha Srinivas, a
software employee. The ballet, which began with an ode to India, a
country of cultural and religious diversity, soon progressed to
introducing the various hormones in the human body and their importance
before moving on to throw light upon the various lifestyle ailments like
obesity, diabetes and cardiac issues that plague young Indians. "We as a
nation are genetically predisposed to diabetes and heart ailment. But
our current lifestyle habits that involve barely any exercise and
changing dietary habits are only worsening the situation and are
responsible for even youngsters falling prey to dreaded diseases.
Through my dance I wanted to highlight these issues and create awareness
among the general public on the importance of staying fit," says Dr
Ramesh, who often has youngsters walking into his clinic with such
ailments. Dr Ramesh, who first performed this ballet in February for an
international medical conference, improvised upon the script for his
recent performance. The medical practitioner who is also interested in
poetry and creative arts says that penning the script happened in
bursts. "Inspiration can strike any time. So I didn't write the entire
script in one go. Lines would come to me while I'd interact with
patients or when watching a music performance. I would make notes on my
smartphone and then put it all together later. While I wrote the script
in Telugu, my wife Dr. Srivalli translated it into English to cater to a
wider audience," he says. Incidentally, the performance included
various audio-visual elements in the backdrop to heighten the entire
experience. Interestingly, Dr Ramesh is not a trained dancer. "I learnt
dance for a couple of years before I joined medical school out of pure
interest. But with medical school and subsequent practice, dance took a
back seat. I've attempted this performance after a gap of nearly 25
years," he grins.
