STAYING TRUE TO HIS CALLING

GUNDU and Shakuntala greeted me at the gate of Ramli Ibrahim's Sutra premises, jolting me with their barking.

The homey abode--which contains Ramli's dance studio, office-cum-residence at Persiaran Titiwangsa--is surrounded by a well-trimmed garden, elevated landscape and water-lilies which are tended to by the dancer extraordinaire.

Waqaf, which means a place to rest, is a gazebo-style structure on the left of the entrance--this is where most of the evening tete-a-tetes take place. It's also one of Ramli's favourite nooks.

This Sutra house has provided the classes, rehearsals and administration for all its activities over the last five years. But the dance company Sutra has existed for the past 15 years. And a Sutra Foundation is being set up, Ramli said.

In the 1950s, the Sutra house was a charming bungalow belonging to Ramli's father, the late Hj Ibrahim Mohd Amin. The celebrated dancer moved in five years ago and bought the house from his family.

In place of the old structure, Ramli created a contemporary-style two-storey house which he felt was more practical. He did not compromise on the traditional ambience though and retained lots of wood carvings and sculpture. He said he spent some RM250,000 on the renovations.

The warm feel inside Sutra, with expressive Indian classical figurines adorning the walls and corners, only confirms that this is the house of a great dance guru.

In person, Ramli exhibits great candour. This Kajang-born dancer is totally open-minded about creativity. One thing is certain: this recipient of the 1999 Fulbright Distinguished Artiste Award doesn't mince his words. He thinks aloud most of the time and the points he makes usually sound rather brash, but that's Ramli.

The youngest of five siblings, Ramli said he had a perfectly normal background.

"I was very much into the arts and was naturally artistic. At eight, I was a cute exhibitionist taking part in the (children's) radio programme Taman Kanak-Kanak which was helmed by Mak Iti (Siti Hawa Zain),'' said Ramli, who used to sing and dance backed by the late composer, Alfonso Soliano.

Ramli had a typical Malay education in Kuala Lumpur, reading and writing in Jawi. When he scored six distinctions in the Lower Cambridge Examination, Ramli was streamed to the Royal Malay College (RMC) in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

His excellence in studies continued right through his secondary years. Soon, he was chosen among the first batch of MARA scholars to do a matriculation course in Perth. After his first year, Ramli enrolled in the Western Australia University and completed a four-year mechanical engineering course.

Although he came from a Malay Remove Class, Ramli achieved a good command of the English language because of his avid reading.

"My artistic talent was suppressed at RMC but I learned endurance while there. So, learning English was a natural process.''

After getting his degree, Ramli wanted to do one thing that makes him happy--dancing.

"I wanted to be a dancer, a unique one, not just any wallpaper dancer,'' said this artistic director of Sutra.

With this resolution, Ramli convinced the director of student programme at Mara (People's Trust Council then) to allow him to do a dance course.

"I am one of those who followed their calling and I'm still on that journey. That's why I never regret what happens,'' said Ramli who took up classical ballet at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne for two and a half years.

"I have never walked on one track; there have always been several tracks, so I decided to also include Indian dance,'' said Ramli who was trained in classical ballet, modern dance and Indian classical dance.

A chance meeting with classical Indian dancer Zamin Haroon, who took the stage name Chandrabanu in 1976, assured him of the integrity of dance.

"I was never his student. I'd like to put the record straight. He inspired me but that's it. I was already a solo dancer when I met him,'' said Ramli who later joined the Sydney Dance Company and worked with the avant-garde choreographer-dancer Graeme Murphy.

Ramli marvels at and respects classical ballet which he describes as "very powerful''.

But ballet dancing alone was not enough for Ramli. He was seeking a psychic wholeness in a dance and this he found in Indian classical dance.

"Indian classical dance gives you the feeling of godliness within you--it's like a therapy session. The mak yong dancers believe that a man's psyche is made up of complex passages of angin or winds, the passage of which must not be inhibited. If not in a free flow, the man can fall sick and (become) psychologically withdrawn.

"This is akin to the Indian classical dance in which it is called rasa _ there are five rasas in our whole system. Anyone who is able to feel and let go this rasa will feel liberated psychologically and become lighter. What really attracted me to Indian classical dance was this strong sense of the rasa--the idea of a whole world in a person,'' explained Ramli.

A unique dancer has to use his body as an instrument. And the best way to do this is through Indian classical dance, he said.

"To be a fine dancer, one must have the right body, the right temperament and a good teacher to bring out the artistry in you.''

As a dancer, Ramli has always aspired to be different and to approach dance in a distinct way. This is where he started choreographing his own dances.

A choreographer, said Ramli, is like a director and "he brings out new things.''

"He has to be creative, open-minded and not a one-track person. I think I've got this strength. I am very adamant especially when I set my mind to doing something.''

Bharatanatyam, the great temple dance of India which originated from Tamil Nadu, South India, and was performed by the devadasi (servants of gods) for the temple of deities, is just one of Ramli's specialities.

Ramli, who studied bharatanatyam under Padmshri Adyar K. Lakshman and odissi under the late Guru Deba Prasad Das, has always encountered problems explaining, to the Malays especially, why he is doing this dance. The conservative Malays just cannot accept Ramli performing as a dance devotee reacting to the spiritual beauty in bharatanatyam.

In fact, Ramli went through an ordeal four years ago when he was interrogated, grilled and photographed by officials from Pusat Islam (Islamic centre).

"I was the number one candidate for apostasy. I was to be sent to a centre of rehabilitation. I was made to explain the mystical, aesthetic and spiritual experience I went through.

"Bakhti is a devotion while the dancer is called bakhta. The whole thing looks like a religious experience but it's not. You have to look at it metaphorically. When I dance in front of Lord Siva, it's just a metaphoric thing.

"Many dance devotees these days respond to bharatanatyam as a form of yoga because this art form is not done in temples anymore. I tried explaining to them the act of casting off one's ego in order to achieve the bliss of oneness with God but I don't think they understood,'' recalled Ramli.

The severe probing and interrogation could have crushed anyone's spirit but not Ramli's.

Prior to this experience, some naive Malays have lashed out at Ramli and branded him as sesat (lost) and murtad (apostate). And because of this, one of his performances in Kajang in 1984 was cancelled.

"What's wrong with a Malay, or a Muslim for that matter, doing Indian classical dance just like a Chinese violinist specialising in Mozart--you don't expect him to stick to the erhu only? This is the sort of mentality that hinders the Malays from excelling.''

A firm believer and a free spirit, Ramli said he has always followed his heart in doing what he wants. And carrying on doing Indian classical dance seems to be the most reasonable thing for him.

"Indian classical dance feeds my soul. The emotional state I'm in when I do this dance is very enlightening. The energy and the metaphor is very good for me. After three years of trying to justify that I am not an apostate, I came to a point where I just gave up and wanted to get on with life.

"These are the same people who are killing mak yong. So, I decided I won't have time to entertain (them).''

However, Ramli still gets awkward stares and mysterious calls from some who want to know whether he has turned Hindu.

"They prefer to believe that I'm already a Hindu. I think that's ridiculous. I'm secure being a Malay and a Muslim. My mother is a religious Quran teacher. There's a lot of bigotry everywhere and so I suppose there's a lot of misconception.''

Ramli is writing a book called Moving Beings on mak yong, menora and main puteri (also known as main pateri). Like Indian classical dance, mak yong has always fascinated Ramli. In fact, he wrote a three-act play in 1993 called In the Name of Love on a mak yong dancer in her twilight years.

"The mak yong views the body as the istana (castle). The semangat (spirit) is the raja (king). The idea is to try to find a way to connect to our spirit. Artists have the power to understand this.''

At 46, he would like to relax a little, he said.

"Although there are new areas to discover and a lot of new tricks up my sleeve, I want to slow down a bit. I might collaborate with other dancers in other parts of the world but I won't be overly ambitious. The only question is 'do I have enough time?' because I'm feeling my age already,'' said the dance master.

For an intelligent and creative person who follows his instincts and gets a kick out of letting out his rasa in dance, age is just a figure!

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 7/7/2000