Celine Schein Das Shares Celebrating World Renowned Kathak Master Pandit Chitresh Das's 50 Years in the U.S. Legacy
Pandit Chitresh Das was instrumental in bringing Kathak to the US and is credited with establishing Kathak amongst the Indian diaspora in America. An inspiration to all performing artists, his passion and legacy live on. September 8th, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Pandit Chitresh Das’s arrival to the United States. His wife, Celine Schein Das, Executive Director of The Chitresh Das Institute, shares her husband’s legacy, the Institute’s achievements over the years, the most inspiring stories she came across, and how performing arts empower the world. Enjoy Celine’s empowering journey below, and celebrate Panditji’s 50th anniversary to the United States with us.
1) Pandit Chitresh Das was instrumental in bringing Kathak to the US and is credited with having established Kathak not only amongst the Indian diaspora in America, but also across diverse ethnic groups. His death in January 2015 left a huge void. His legacy has been carried forward beautifully by you, as a Founder/Executive director of the Chitresh Das Institute (CDI). What have been the biggest achievements over past five years?
I think our biggest achievement has been bringing together a group of teachers, led by our incredible Artistic Director Charlotte Moraga, a senior disciple of Panditji, who are 100% in line with the values that he held dearest: never compromising standards, a commitment to sangha, and cultivating a never-ending learning process.
The first would be never compromising the standard he set for learning this art form. He would refuse to compromise this powerful tradition he taught. That means never lowering the standards, even when it is not good for "business" or parents are pushing for it. There has to be a strong faith that teachers have in the learning trajectory of this art form, and we have a special group of teachers who were all trained by and him and are dedicated to his teachings. It also means, very importantly, maintaining the standard of one's own dance, and that means practicing regularly and intensively. He loved how Sitara Deviji referred to it as "riyaaz mehenat ke sath". He would say, almost on a daily basis, "there are three things one must do to be a kathak dancer, practice, practice, practice." Charlotte-ji has been phenomenal in keeping the standard. He always nurtured her for leadership, and it was not until he passed that I truly understood why. She has put the continuation of his legacy first and foremost, even above her own career, even though she's a brilliant dancer. He also nurtured her as a choreographer and it's been awe inspiring to see her creative forces come to light since she took on the leadership role at CDI. And very importantly, she's nurturing that same creative spark in the next generation.
The second is a commitment to sangha. But what does that mean? It means putting the greater good above one's self. However, when one puts the greater good above one's self, one actually lifts the self higher. Ultimately these traditions are bigger than any one person, bigger than you, bigger than me, bigger than anyone. He himself often said "I like the saying of the zen masters, who said I put my head down as the stone for you, the student to step upon and go forward". These are very powerful words and he not only meant them, he lived them. He often put his students before himself, he prioritized teaching over performing. That is not an easy thing to do ever, but especially in this time of social media where everything is quick gain. He would say so many times "I'm giving you truffle chocolates but you want twinkies". He referred to the study of Kathak as a yoga of life, it cannot begin and end with the stage and self importance, though the stage is a very important and sacred place. Sangha also means respecting elders, respecting those who have gone before you and ensuring that their voices are heard and respected. He spoke often of the Gurusthan, the community of gurus who held the standard and looked out for one another. I and CDI have been blessed to have the support of Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. He is such a great guru. When my husband died, Swapanda was right there supporting on so many levels. My husband and Swapanda had a special bond and I know how grateful he would be to him for the love and care he has given.
The last would be to never stop learning, to always challenge one's self, to never stop being the student. One has never truly achieved in Kathak and that's the beauty! There is always more to learn and different ways to evolve. As one gets older even, the body changes, but then one can shift more in bhao or bhajan because the spiritual understanding and expression grows. He was always pushing, always mind open and seeking. Charlotte-ji is also like that.
2) You have been a powerful advocate for performing arts and artists around the world. How do you think performing arts empower people? What are some inspiring stories/people you came across?
Chitresh Das Institute (CDI) Faculty
The performing arts are grounding and they give people a voice and a connection. In a world inundated with information and images, to be able to step away from any form of media and be one with one's self through the arts is extremely powerful. How often in this day and age, do we sit alone with ourselves? The arts provide that. I see that to be even more pronounced now with the pandemic going on. The registration in classes for CDI nearly doubled this summer from last summer. Why? I think it is because people need this connection to these eternal truths that have remained true since time immemorial. One of the incredible things my husband was able to do was to go deep into Indian culture and not only bring forth these truths, but to communicate them in the most beautiful and inspiring way, and in ways that made you think, made you question. So the performing arts give us the ability to question and seek and go further, and this is true of any path one takes in a very deep and systematic manner.
There are so many stories that inspire me! One of my husband’s students, Snigdha Mishra, lives in Kolkata. I saw her as a child when she first came to study with my husband. When he passed she became cut off because she had no one to study with in India with her guru gone. He had told her to come to California and study with Charlotte, but that was not possible for her. She was in her early twenties when he died and got her degree and became a German teacher. In spite of having no one to study with and working, she got up at 4 am everyday and practiced. I started calling her Ekalavya because of her dedication to her Guruji and to riyaaz. Finally in 2019 Charlotte and I were able to travel to India and she started studying with Charlotte. And now that classes are online due to the pandemic (Charlotte did not want to teach online prior to this) Snigdha is now able to study and is continuing to push her dance forward. It is quite ironic that there are good things to have come out of this pandemic!
I am also inspired by those teachers I talked about previously who are honoring his legacy, and by the students who have continued their dance with honesty and sincerity after going to college. This may not seem like a big, inspiring story, but I cannot tell you how much it means to see these young women who started studying with him and Charlotte as little girls in the Youth Company and to see that rich training manifest in their dance is just beautiful and so inspiring.
Outside of Kathak, I have seen so many people and inspiring stories. I served on the board of Dance/USA for six years, it is the national service organization for dance. One of my fellow board members, Denise Saunders Thompson, is the President and CEO for the International Association for Blacks in Dance (IABD). Seeing her push for change and for recognition while serving on the board of this organization that originally only served ballet and contemporary dance companies was awe-inspiring. I also advocated, but I learned so much from her. When I attended the IABD conferences in 2017 and 2018, I was profoundly struck at how black dance community supported one another and stood for one another. Of course there were politics as there are in any other group, but what I witnessed was they put community and individuals first before art or success. That was a shift in my understanding and really has influenced how I do my work now.
3) Tell us about some of the Kathak fellowships that you have started at your institution, and the goals behind them.
I alluded a little to the Kathak Fellows above, these are young women who trained in Kathak from childhood in our Youth Company and are simply spectacular dancers and representatives of the art form of Kathak. We wanted to find a way to support them in continuing to dance at a time when they are under significant pressure at their universities or just entering the work force. Charlotte-ji is also such a creative force and needs a dance company with which to create new choreographies. Her new work, Mantram, which has music composed by young Maestro Alam Khan, will premiere with the Kathak Fellows performing. We will be announcing a new cohort of CDI Kathak Fellows in 2021, we're excited!
4) September 8th marks 50 years of Panditji arriving in the US. What are some of the plans for the day to mark the celebration? What stories/words do you want to come to mind when we think of Panditji
We are coming out with a beautiful t-shirt with his image on it and a quote that he said all of the time "Dance in such a way that everything becomes one". We will also be featuring photos from that era and interviews with people who were associated with him at that time both in India and in the U.S. While September 8, 2020 marks 50 years since he brought Kathak to the United States, the impact has also been in India. The last 15 years of his life he had returned to India to teach and perform more after taking a long break, and that connection between the U.S. and India is critical. Kathak is not an American art form and never will be. His work must be accessible to the people and future generations of those in India, as well as here in the U.S. and the exchange and relationships the dance builds are essential.
We also believe that the best way to celebrate this milestone is in the work that is done day-in-day-out to maintain the legacy and to carry it forward. I suppose that would be one of the stories and words that would come to mind--while that date is important, it was every day that led up to that day that he came to the U.S., and every day since, that has mattered. He was able to build such a tremendous legacy because of his undying commitment. His getting up and teaching with the same power and enthusiasm everyday, and holding the same standard, whether or not someone was paying attention, whether or not he was being recognized for it. It was passion, it was commitment, but it was also such profound love and care for each and every one of his students. He believed in the potential of each and every student to stood in front of him. Yes he was stern, yes he was intense, he was a very complicated individual--what great artist and guru is not? But he did everything he did with profound love. And he was also such a humanitarian. I was always struck by how he would want the drivers in India to come and see him perform. He valued as much what the people who worked in the households thought as what the critics thought, actually he valued their opinions even more. He was a artist man of the people. He followed his mother's teachings in that regard. He would quote her always saying in Bangla "tui amar noi, tui dosher ar desher", which translates as "you do not belong to me, you belong to the people and to the country." She also told him to "Dance from the gutters to the heavens". What profound words.
5) Please share some future plans with us. What's next?
Chitresh Das, Celine Schein Das, Das Family
As I mentioned, we are excited about the new work Charlotte-ji is creating with Alam Khan. We had originally planned to have the first performance of that in October 2020, but due to the pandemic it will premiere in October 2021. In order to give the public some insight into this exciting performance, we will be working with award-winning director Alka Raghuram to make one of the pieces into a short film that we will release this year. Charlotte-ji is also continuing to expand on dance drama Aranya Katha, inspired by Amrita Devi, the incredible true story of the woman who, in 1730 in Rajasthan, India, led over 300 villagers who stood up to the soldiers who wanted to cut down the trees. This story is so relevant to modern times and it is a history that should be told more, as it is said that not only is this the first non-violent resistance on record, but it also was a defining moment that has influenced movements for the environment to this day. Now we are all so keenly aware that we must do whatever it takes to save our beautiful planet.
Finally, I would like to thank you and your team Manju-ji, for always highlighting those working to uplift the arts and community. My husband's interview with you was just months before he passed, and he expressed such joy and positivity in the conversation that you had. That is a memory that I will always hold dear.
It is truly my honor to have been touched by my husband's great work and to continue to be a part of his legacy and to watch his disciple, Charlotte Moraga, and these dedicated teachers, Anita Pai, Preeti Zalavadia, Asavari Ukidve, Rucha Khisti, and Gauri Bhatnagar work together to light up the eyes and spirits of future generations with this incredible gift from Mother India.