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India Today, November 23, 1998
Nov 23, 1998

ART CLASSES
New Culture at Work

Holding workshops on classical arts is the latest trend in corporate houses.

By Sheela Raval

New Culture at Work Rapt in attention, the group of corporate executives listen to the speaker, who though armed with charts and sketches, looks out of place in the white-collared gathering. She is attired in a Bharatanatyam costume but neither she nor the audience seem to mind it. This can't possibly be a boardroom meeting or a seminar. So what is it? It's a workshop on Indian classical dance and for Cadbury's senior executives Bharatanatyam dancer Mandakini Trivedi is the guru for the day. As Mandakini's lecture-demonstration elucidates the finer points of Indian classical dance forms, her objective -- to impress upon the participants that classical arts are accessible -- appears to have served its purpose. For, at the end of the session, one executive in his late 30s asks her where he could learn classical dance.

Cultural enlightenment is the new buzzword in the corporate world. Organising workshops or lectures for their employees on subjects as diverse as classical dance forms, western and Indian classical music, art and architecture, Indian mythology and philosophy have become the new trend for business houses. Says HDFC's hrd Manager S.K. Vasant, whose company has included workshops on classical music and dance in its new management trainee induction programme since last year: "We need people who are rounded rather than uni-dimensional."

For high-flying professionals the time spent on learning the classical arts works as a stressbuster too. Cadbury's Vice-President (HRD) G. Shridhar believes Bharatanatyam is essentially an expression of human feelings which enhances one's sensitivity in life and at work. Nikita Dhawan, who lectures on Indian philosophy, feels that with globalisation Indian corporates can't afford to live in a water-tight compartment. This has given a boost to comparative sessions between Indian and western or European art forms. In many ad agencies cultural workshops have become regular affairs as they also supplement and sharpen creative skills. Says Ambi Parmeshwaran, executive director of FCB Ulka: "We draw inputs from the various art forms as most of the young creative directors have grown up on pop culture and music." An Amul advertisement, for instance, was tuned to Indian classical ragas while the one Titan Watches brought out was inspired by Mozart's 25th symphony.

The "cultural enlighteners", on their part, are happy that this back-to-one's-roots syndrome is growing. For most of them, conducting workshops is not a full-time vocation. Anjan Ray is a high-profile executive with ICI who enjoys sharing his knowledge in western classical music with like-minded people. Kirti Trivedi, who lectures on Indian art and architecture, is an IIT professor. Fareed Karmali is a well-known pianist while Devdutt Pattanaik, who holds workshops on Indian mythology, is in the medical profession.

Though such workshops fetch the experts anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000, the desire to spread awareness about the classical arts is also a motivating factor. Says Parag Trivedi, who has conducted over 100 workshops on classical music: "We try to demystify the classical art forms." Vocalist Dhanshri Pandit's workshop presents a simple music module that explains ragas, their significance, the occasion to play them, the intricacies of various instruments and so on. She also provides a glossary of musical terms, an understanding of the main gharanas (schools) and suggested readings. "The challenge for us is to get the required information across to them in a short time," says Dhanshri.

As for the corporate bigwigs, the workshops are an elevating experience. Says N.N. Mehta, senior executive with the JK Group: "I realised that one is not fully literate until one is culturally literate. The music workshop was the first step in that direction."

How far the workshops will actually help improve business may be debatable. But when a musically-inclined client talks about Chaurasia, at least the executive wouldn't break into a sweat and wonder aloud if it is a Soviet republic.

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