Aneela Nike Post: September 2022

Wednesday, 28 September 2022

All about different Latin Americans dance styles!

All about different Latin Americans dance styles!

Latin dance is a general name, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that originated in Latin America. Social Latin dances (Street Latin) include the popular dance forms like Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Bachata, Bomba and Plena. There are many dances which were popular in the first part of the 20th century, but which are now of only historical interest. The Cuban Danzón is a good example.

When you think about Latin America, you are flooded with the images of the Carnival, music and dance and the Caribbean beats. Latin dance draws inspiration mainly from indigenous American, Iberian, and West African influences. The earliest native root for Latin dance came from the Aztecs, Guarani, Aymara, Incas and Tehuelches among others. When sixteenth-century seagoing explorers returned home to Portugal and Spain, they brought along tales of the native peoples. According to Rachel Hanson, no one knows how long these dance traditions were established, but they were already being developed and ritualized when they were observed by the Europeans. This suggests that these Native influences became the foundation for Latin dancing.

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Indigenous dance was down to earth often told stories of everyday activities such as hunting, agriculture, or astronomy. When European settlers and conquistadors began to colonize South America in the early sixteenth century, they reinvented the local dance traditions, but still preserved the styles of the natives. Catholic settlers merged the native culture with their own and incorporated catholic saints and stories to the dance. The Europeans were captivated by the highly structured, large member dance working together in a precise manner. This attracted them to these dance forms.

After the Europeans brought home the Aztec/Inca influences in the sixteenth century, they incorporated their own styles to the dance. Since the Aztec/Inca dances were performed in a group, many of the European dances were performed by a male and female. This was a new practice because European dances prohibited male and female dance partners from touching each other. The benefits of such a dance style allowed musical appreciation and social integration, which became the form of Latin dance. However, much of the storytelling element disappeared from the genre as the focus moved toward the rhythm and steps, Hanson explains. The movement evolved differently because it brought a certain element of daintiness to the Aztec dance since the steps were smaller and the movements were less forceful. Combining African styles along with the Native and European influences is what truly makes Latin possible. And the result was the popular Latin dance forms.

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The movement and rhythms of African influences left a permanent mark in Latin dance. When the African slaves were forced to Europe in the 1500s, their culture brought styles such as basic, simple movements (putting emphasis on the upper body, torso, or feet) and intricate movements like the coordination of different body parts and complex actions such as fast rotation, ripples of the body, and contraction and release, as well as variations in dynamics, levels, and use of space.” The difference between the African and European styles was that it included bent knees and a downward focus (grounded to the earth) rather than a straight-backed upward focus like the Europeans, and whole-foot steps than toes and heels. These influences from African roots have allowed Latin dance to become what it is today. It’s classic, gentle and fast at the same time and attractive to watch.

The popular dance forms have been appreciated the world over and have even mixed or combined with local dance forms in many countries. The Latin dance forms are as follows:

Waltz: This is a slow dance, with a three beat rhythms. It is normally performed during weddings. It is derived from the German word walzan which means roll, turn or to glide. Even though it was born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the Alpine region of Austria, this is referred to as a Latin American dance style.

Foxtrot: Though this style originated in New York, it’s is considered a Latin American dance. The combination of quick and slow steps permits more flexibility and makes it look sensuous.

Rumba: Rumba is another Cuban dance, but it’s popular in other Caribbean islands. It originated in Cuba. Fast paced and sexy, rumba has sensual hip movements, achieved by transferring the body weights from one foot to the other. This hip movement is combined with very smooth steps, to make it look sensual.

Salsa: The Latin dance list would not be complete without Salsa, one of the popular dances in the world. This dance form originating from Cuba, has time signature of 4/4.

Samba: Samba originated in Brazil and is performed in the street carnivals in Rio de Janeiro. In Samba, three steps are performed on two beats.

Cha Cha Cha: This dance consists of three quick steps and then two slower steps, performed on two beats. It originated in Cuba, and contains both African and Cuban beats.

Jive: Do not confuse it with the jive done by most Catholics. Jive comes from North America. A very fast, energy-consuming dance, it is much more bouncy than the swing. The swing is what the Catholics in India call Jiv.

Apart from the above, one can also come across other Latin American dance styles - Meregue, Bossa Nova and Tango. The category of Latin dances in the international dance-sport competitions consists of the Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Samba, Paso doble and also the Jive of United States origin. Social Latin dances (Street Latin) include Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Bachata, Bomba and Plena.

Perreo is a Puerto Rican dance associated with Reggaeton music with Jamaican and Caribbean influences. Argentinian folk dances are Chacarera, Escondido and Zamba, also tango used to be a popular dance until the mid-20th century. Cueca is Chilean folk dance. Uruguayan folk dances are Pericón, Polka, Ranchera, etc, also Candombe is a common street and parade dance in the cities. Typical and attractive Bolivian folk dances are the Morenada, Kullawada, Caporales and the recently created Tinku. In Colombia, one of the typical dances is the Cumbia.

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Thursday, 22 September 2022

Two flamboyant cricketers ahead of their time!

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Two flamboyant cricketers ahead of their time!

Two cricketers arrived on the Indian cricket scene almost at the same time. Both were natural cricketers, immensely talented, dashing stroke players. In the sixties two young smart wicketkeeper batsmen came on the scene, who changed the style of wicket-keeping for others like Kirmani, Dhoni and others to follow in the later years. One was a street-smart cricketer, a product of Mumbai maidan cricket who had come up the hard way. His father was a clerk in Voltas and not interested in sports. And another was a suave and stylish product of University and club cricket. His father was a doctor and loved sports.

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Budhi Kunderan hailing from Mangalore and brought up in Fort area in Mumbai close to the maidans and the other was Farokh Engineer, a typical Mumbai Parsi cricketer. Before him another Parsi was the Indian captain Nari Contractor and later Rusi Surti. They brought in cavalier and attacking brand of cricket, in both wicket-keeping and batting. In a way they were ahead of their times. Many old fans say, they would have been successful and big names in today’s shorter version of the game. Their keeping was good and batting was assertive putting the opposition bowlers under pressure. They exhibited glimpses of changing the approach of Indian cricket, particularly wicketkeepers. Their brand of cricket was attack from the word go. Two of India's most flamboyant cricketers, Farokh Engineer and Budhi Kunderan, in Lord's 1967; this was one rare occasion when both played together. Otherwise the irony was one of them had to sit out to accommodate the other.

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After the Joshi and Tamhane rivalry which went on till 1960-61, which was the last year for both of them, Indian cricket witnessed another interesting rivalry, between Kunderan and Engineer, both of whom loved attacking batting more than keeping. Both crowd pullers, Kunderan and Engineer drove the fans crazy. Kunderan rose to fame with a run-a-minute, 71 at Madras against the Aussies in 1959- 60, playing outrageous strokes. He also scored a double century on his debut in the Ranji Trophy match for Railways against Jammu-Kashmir.

In 1965, Kunderan left his job in the Railways and played for Mysore and the South Zone. The benefit was that he got a chance keep wickets to the bowling of the famous three of the Indian quartet -Chandrasekhar, Prasanna and Venkatraghavan in domestic matches. Recalled against West Indies in 1966-67, Kunderan scored 79 in 92 minutes in the Bombay Test. It reminds of the famous incident on the field in that test match. Early on in the innings, he appeared to have been caught by Garry Sobers but as the batsman prepared to depart, Sobers indicated that he had taken the catch on the bounce. One Test later, Kunderan again found himself out of the team. The team that toured England in 1967 included both Kunderan and Engineer, but from here Engineer asserted himself as the primary keeper. Kunderan played purely as a batsman in the second and third Tests of the series. When Sardesai retired with a hand injury in the Lord's Test, he opened with Engineer and top scored with 47 out of India's 110 all out. He opened both batting and bowling at Birmingham where India played four spinners. This was to be Kunderan's last Test. Kunderan was not happy with the selectors had made it amply clear in an interview.

He shifted to Scotland and married a local woman. He served as a professional in the Lancashire league and then with Drumpellier in the Western Union in Scotland. In the early 1980s, he played for Scotland in the Benson and Hedges Cup in England. Kunderan lived in Scotland from the turn of the 1970s. His brother Bharat, also a wicket-keeper, played first class cricket for Indian Universities in 1970-71 and later played for Khar Gymkhana. Budhi Kunderan died of cancer at the age of 66. In June 2018, he was awarded with a Special Award by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He was a down to earth cricketer.

Farokh Engineer rose to fame with a seven-catch haul in a Ranji match in 1960-61, Bombay against Delhi game, equalling Limaye's 1957-58 record. Both Engineer and Kunderan were similar in the sense that they had a knack of taking difficult catches while dropping easier ones. The Indo-China war put Kunderan temporarily out of action as the team which he represented, Railways and Services were withdrawn from the competition; he just played one Ranji match. Engineer forged ahead; he even started to open. But in 1964, when England toured India, Kunderan came back following an injury to Engineer, where he had a chipped finger, and scored nearly a double century as an opener (194) and also hit a 100 and 55 to take his series tally to 525 runs. His keeping though slipped a bit. The selectors kept him out of all the three Tests against Australia in 1964, but he was not even replaced by Engineer, he was replaced by K.S. Indrajitsinhji. In England, in a test match, Engineer kept wickets while Kunderan opened the batting and bowling. When Pataudi asked Kunderan, what did he bowl. He humbly replied, I don’t know. He bowled medium pace. Isn’t it unique, a wicketkeeper opening the bowling for India!

Engineer resumed the rivalry with Kunderan in the 1965 series against New Zealand. Kunderan played in only one Test as an opener, with Engineer performing the role of the wicketkeeper. Kunderan's chance came again in 1966-'67 against the West Indies when he blasted 79 runs with 15 fours in the first Test. Next Test he opened and hit 39 in 45 minutes before Hall bowled him with a yorker. The selectors felt that his keeping was not up to the mark and in spite of Kunderan scoring 104 in 120 minutes with 4 sixes and 11 fours two days after the second Test in a tour match against the West Indies, it was Engineer who played in the next Test in Chennai. Engineer silenced the critics and the public outcry against Kunderan's exclusion by nearly scoring a century before lunch (94). He went on to score 109 and thereafter he never looked back at Kunderan, who he had left behind. The game of musical chairs between the two continued till 1966–67, when Kunderan packed his bags and settled in Scotland.

Engineer was born into a Parsi family in Mumbai. His father Maneksha was a doctor by profession, while mother Minnie was a housewife. He studied at the Don Bosco High School in Matunga and then studied at Podar College, Matunga where Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Ravi Shastri also studied and who also went on to play for the country. His father enrolled him in Dadar Parsi Colony Sporting Club where he learnt the nuances of the game from the seniors and later became a regular member of the team. Engineer played his debut first-class match in December 1958 for the Combined Universities side against the touring West Indies, while playing for Bombay University. Farokh Maneksha Engineer played 46 Test matches for India, played first-class cricket for Bombay in India from 1959 to 1975 and shifted to England and played for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England from 1968 to 1976.

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Wednesday, 14 September 2022

What gift a foreign tourist can buy in India?

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What gift a foreign tourist can buy in India?

Travellers, casual visitors and tourists as they go sightseeing, look out for souvenirs and gifts for their relatives and friends. Be it for gifting purpose or personal use – souvenir hunting is and will always be an integral part of travelling and vacation. The human instinct of collecting things that catch our fancy makes a traveller taking time out of his/her tour plan to indulge in some souvenir trail. This blog will make your buying easy.

India, a vast country with innumerable cultures is home to thousands of hand made products that serve as perfect souvenirs. If you are embarking on a voyage in India, these famous souvenirs are what you must by for your loved once. But making the right choice and buying it is an arduous task though it might appear simple and straight forward. It’s not so, believe me!

India is being promoted as incredible India. India is a vast country, almost a subcontinent, stretching right from the cold Himalayas in the north to Kanyakumari in the south touching the warm waters of the Indian ocean with Arabian sea on the west coast and Bay of Bengal on the east coast; and with Gujarat in the west stretching to the seven northeastern states to the east sharing borders with Bangladesh and Burma.

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India is a modern developing country, progressing rapidly and at the same time retaining its old values and ancient customs and traditions which keep Indians rooted to their culture and their civilization. With India’s old traditions like Ayurveda, Yoga, meditation, handicrafts, performing arts, music, painting and ancient texts and literature like Vedas, Upanishads, science and technology are an attraction to foreign tourists. Indians believe in Atiti devo bhava, which literally means – the guest is God.

India was in the news for constructing the highest bridge in Kashmir and recently for commissioning of the made-in-India aircraft carrier and a frigate. And the recent news of India’s GDP growing in double figures and surpassing UK to become the fifth largest economy in the world. Very soon many experts expect India to be in the top three economies in the world. The focus is on India, while many countries around the world are facing issues of slow economic growth, price rise and shortages. This drives foreign tourists to India.

The world is looking towards India and India is growing rapidly and progressing in various fields. Indians seem to be all over with Indians heading international organizations, holding top positions in foreign countries and CEOs in corporate giants around the world. This growth, progress and development are attracting a large number of foreign visitors and tourists, who like to travel the length and breadth of the country. India has become a tourist destination. Medical tourism is also driving many tourists to India.

The tourist and visitors apart from sightseeing look out for gifts and souvenirs. But the problem is what to buy where since India is a vast country with diverse culture. To make your task simple, we give you a list of items from where to get. This will make your buying easy, help to make a proper choice to buy the right kind of gifts or souvenirs for your relatives and friends.

While traveling across India, you can see and witness her diversity and distinctiveness. There is a unique mélange of art and culture in the country and you can view them on your journeys across India. The art, handicrafts, and handlooms of India have found their way in Indian souvenirs that you carry back home as your memory of traveling in India.

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We suggest a list of gifts to buy from India. The best souvenirs to buy in India include traditional clothing and jewelry, artifacts, beautiful paintings, intricate carvings, brass and silver ware – figurines and bowls, handicrafts, locally produced tea, spices, nuts, etc. Below is a list of items one could buy in India.

*Sarees – Sarees can be a great Indian souvenir to carry back home. Indian sarees come in various designs, texture and fabric. Cotton and silk sarees are the most famous ones in India. Banarasi, Mysore, Kanjeevaram, Bandani, Chanderi, Patola, Chikankari.

*Traditional Paintings – Madhubani, Tanjore, Pattachitra, Kalamkari, Kalighat and Warli paintings.

*Tea – Darjeeling tea, Assam tea, Kerala tea and Coorg tea

*Coffee – Chennai, Chikmangulur and Coorg coffee in Karnataka

*Spices – From South India

*Toys – Kondapalli, Channapatna, Nirmal, Thanjavur dolls, etc.

*Jewellry – Traditional and tribal

*Kullu topi from Himachal Pradesh

*Incense sticks, dhoop sticks of various fragrances

*Kolhapuri Chappals from Kolhapur in Maharastra

*Ayurvedic products from Kerala

*Pashmina Shawls and carpets from Kashmir

*Blue pottery from Jaipur

*Home-made candles from Nainital

*Terracotta pottery from Bishnupur

*Sandalwood products from Mysore

*Marble items from Udaipur

*Perfumes from Kannauj.

*Brassware – statues, lamps, figurines and traditional items

India is vast and has 29 states and you can actually pick up souvenirs unique to each of the states. As an Indian, I am sometimes confused about what to buy in India. I am sure it must be as difficult for a foreign traveler or tourist to decide to buy an Indian souvenir. In this blog, I have made a list of a few Indian souvenirs that you can buy in India and have also mentioned the places where they are produced. If it has helped you, do not forget to comment.

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