The Scape Exclusive: Jordon Pleasant in his Linguistic Journey of Latin to Arabic

by Shreya Das

A Fulbright Scholar, a linguist, a ‘translator’, who spoke about Literature, Cultures, Aesthetics and Jibananda Das. His journey of linguistics started from Latin and also travelled the Nile valley to explore the Egyptian Hieroglyphics. He believes in theories but hardly implement it practically. Shreya Das took the opportunity of his presence at the 35th Kolkata Book Fair to rediscover his journey and experiences.

 

Scape: What inspired you to start translation of Bengali Poem?

Pleasant: Hmmm… actually my inspiration first came from reading Geetanjali that was translated into English. When I first read it, felt so beautiful that I decided if I could do something in my life to learn and study Bengali, to read Geetanjali in original. So it was Tagore who inspired me into Bengali Literature.

Scape: So how does it feel to be part of this ‘Fair’ on Tagore’s 150th Birth Anniversary?

Pleasant: Yes…it’s a huge honour for me to be here. After 150 years, his influence is just as strong if not stronger than it had been when he was alive. It’s a great honour for me to participate in this legacy.
 
Scape: I read that you know 10 languages, and it all started with Latin…

Pleasant: (Laughs) Yeah… as a child I was very involved in literature, particularly in English literature and then the process of studying English literature led me to the process of studying Ancient literature. And the tradition of studying English literature is often linked back to the ancient Roman Literature. I was only ten when I took my first Latin class, and I fell in love with learning languages. After learning Latin I wanted to learn every language of the world. (Smiles) unfortunately that’s not possible but I learnt some of them.

Scape : You have also learnt Egyptian hieroglyphics. So if you could put some light on that…

Pleasant: Well… Egyptian hieroglyphics were interesting. Actually Egyptian hieroglyphics don’t contain any literature for say, both were used for simple documentary purposes. I studied Hieroglyphics more to learn how to change photographic system to lithographic system. Previously the first writing system was pictograms then shortly thereafter they also developed phonetics alphabets, so I even studied that. It was interesting but there’s very literature to study in that.

Scape : Currently which Language are you studying?

Pleasant: I am learning Arabic now.

Scape: You have learnt and still you are learning so many languages, how would you endorse it?

Pleasant: All languages are inter-connected at some point, and are used to communicate verbal things. They all support vast bodies of literature which are wonderful and beautiful. I think most important similarity among all languages is that we can use them to communicate and create some beautiful literatures.

For the entire interview follow the link : http://www.thescape.in/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1812

The undying legacy of Paul Taylor

By Abira Pathak & Shreya Das

Paul Taylor is probably the last living stalwart of the American concept of modern dance. The octogenarian still refuses to accept his age as an impediment and continues to be as vibrant and prolific as ever. Paul Taylor established ‘Taylor 2’ in 1993 to ensure that his works would showcase to audiences all over the world, irrespective of economic or technical confines. Mr. Taylor retrospected on the origins of the Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) of 1954 for the structure of his new company. The six new professionals were envisioned to be endowed with a particular panache for his style. His world renowned dance troupe, Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) is scheduled to perform in the City of Joy after 13 long years. PTDC comprising Latra Wilson, Justin Kahan, John Eirich, Nic  Ceynowa, Christina Lynch Markham, Madelyn Ho, Manuel Sanchez and Ruth Andrien addreses the media during a press meet.

In the first decade of the new millennium, he had censored American imperialism, ridiculed feminism and looked death square in the face. And yet, while his work has largely been renegade, since the very start of his career Mr. Taylor has also made some of the most purely romantic, most astonishingly athletic, and downright funniest dances ever put on stage. If, as Balanchine said, there are no mothers-in-law in ballet, there certainly are dysfunctional families, ex-lovers, fallen preachers, rapists, angels and insects in Taylor dance. In the 1950s, when his work was so cutting-edge that it could send confused audience members flocking to the exits, Martha Graham dubbed Mr. Taylor the “naughty boy” of dance. In the ’60s he shocked the cognoscenti by setting his trailblazing movement to music composed 200 years earlier, and inflamed the establishment by lampooning America’s most treasured icons. In the ’70s he put incest center stage and revealed the beast lurking just below humans’ sophisticated veneer. In the ’80s he looked unflinchingly at marital rape and intimacy among men at war. In the ’90s he warned against religious zealotry and blind conformity to authority. Alana Allende, one of the performers of PTDC 2 on current visit said at a press meet, “I compose a whole story when I’m performing. But, I see a dysfunctional family in the whole group as well.” Corroborating her view, Christina Lynch Markham said, “we actually donot look at each other while performing. It is like an emotional rollercoaster. We start on a very happy note, hopping and kipping like when we were young, but later there is a lot of yearning, a desire to be loved and touched.”

Speaking about their art form, they said, “Everybody here is trained in ballet. Even though it is very dynamic, it needs a lot of body technique. So when dancing, I know how to do the body math. Though it’s a scary feeling… but you have this ‘muscle memory of your body. The body reacts to particular music which is a natural response to the rhythm and the choreography. In ‘Taylor dance’, he very much engages the back to impart a viscous quality to the movement, focusing on the posture, as well. Hence, there is walking, running, skipping, tumbling, hopping….tripping can be a dance movement too. He was never trained in music but he has this uncanny sense of musicality.  In every dance, he tries to create something new, constantly striving to improve. Building trust in a partner comes overtime. We are great friends, on and off stage. We have a great emotional camaraderie. That is what about group ballet. This makes the dancing special.” Allena stressed that “the music has a great role. It is sad, touching and soulful. Another good thing about our choreography is that we are never told how to feel or do… You have the freedom to do your thing. It’s a true inspiration of gestures. There should be complete commitment to the movement…having the correct proportion of exertion and exhaustion.” Ruth reiterated, “Its motion. Not emotion. If you have the correct gesture, the emotion comes gushing in.”

For the entire write up follow the link : http://www.thescape.in/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1910