April 20, 2011

At a time when Indian culture is slowly getting eroded by Americanisation, here’s a woman, our own Mangalorean, who has been hard at work promoting our culture in the US. Meet Usha Devi Kuppetti, a multi-faceted lady who has dedicated the last 14 years of her stay in the US for the preservation of Indian arts and heritage.

Usha Kuppetti has been living in the USA for the past 16 years, and has been working in the technology/research and engineering field. Her love for Indian culture, her knowledge and training in traditional arts like Yakshagana, and her yearning to do something positive to sustain these arts among the Indian immigrants in the US, motivated her to train others and lead by example by performing Yakshagana herself from time to time.

Born to Keshana Bhat Kuppetti and the late Savithri from Belthangady, she has four brothers and a younger sister. She did her schooling at Government Higher Primary School, Kuppetti and St Therese High School, Belthangady. After her PUC from SDMC, Ujire, she entered PES College of Engineering, Mandya to earn BE degree in electronics and computers. She worked as a lecturer in SDMC, Ujire for a year after her engineering.

The turning point in her life came when she got married to Gopalkrishna Bhat (PhD, IIT Chicago, USA) in 1995. The focus shifted to the US, where she settled down and earned her MS in computer science from West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA), and later got a steady job with a good US company, which has even awarded her in recognition of her work. She has also been a judge at the University of Pennsylvania for their poster competition on science and technology.

She is also the executive member and cultural and entertainment coordinator of Havyaka Association of Americas (HAA). Recently, she organized a Yakshagana team, trained the participants, directed, arranged for costumes and make-up and to top that, even performed as Abhimanyu in “Veera Abhimnanyu” Yakshagana. The performance was well-appreciated by the community. She is also an immense lover of art, music, Bharatanatyam and sports, and even writes articles and poems. She was awarded the honorary plaque for the HAA convention in 2009

In a candid interview to Daijiworld, she speaks of her work, the challenges, and her plans to take her work foward.

What prompted you to take up the task of promoting Indian culture in the US?

Usha: You want to be a role model to your kids in your every action. Culture is one important thing that you want your kids to be immersed in so that the tradition keeps flowing from generation to generation.

Have you undergone any special training in Yakshagana or other Indian arts?

Usha: I learnt Yakshagana steps when I was in primary school, from Sri Krishna Shetty, Belthangady. A group of girls, including me, used to perform on annual school-day event every year until I graduated from primary. We also performed in different places on several occasions.

Yakshagana is generally seen as a male domain, even though women have been entering this field lately. How has your personal experience been?

Usha: There is nothing that a woman cannot do that a man can. I strongly believe in it. I have four elder brothers and a younger sister. My parents never differentiated between the boys and the girls. Even in primary school we had a group of girls performing Yakshagana even though it was a co-education school. So, it never occurred to me that this art is limited to or more appropriate to male domain. If you join a regular Yakshagana play group as your main job, then you might feel it challenging to take up roles that need time and commitment. As a hobby, my experience has been wonderful. My niece, Saniha Kuppetti who recently got the ‘Young Scientist’ award has also learnt Yakshagana and given a few performances. She also feels at home with this art.

What are the challenges you face, if any, in your effort to preserve and promote Indian culture in the US?

Usha: We have good friends around and we keep meeting fellow-Indians on various occasions. The get-togethers are mainly themed around Indian culture - Indian festival celebration, picnic and so on.

But it does demand your personal time. I have two kids (Anoop and Ashika) aged 10 and 5 years. It is challenging to take up different roles, but not impossible. If you have the will to do it, you can do it. The challenge about Yakshagana in particular in the USA is, not many people know this art. So, if you want to give a performance you have to train a few others first. The costumes are another challenge. Luckily, I have a very good friend from whom I could borrow the costumes for my performance. My plan is to get a few costumes during every trip to India. We usually make one trip every year.

What is the attitude of the indigenous Americans or other non-Indian migrants to Indian culture? For instance, do they show an interest to study or learn Indian culture or is it restricted to Indians alone?

Usha: They respect Indian culture, they have interest in learning Indian culture. We do have some non-Indian migrants learning Bharatanatyam, Bollywood dance etc. But I have not come across any non-Indian interested in Yakshagana. Mainly, the barrier is the language - Yakshagana is all in Kannada or Tulu. English would be more appropriate as understanding the actors’ dialogues makes it more appealing. However, there is no such thing as restriction. If you bring in an American friend to a birthday party, he/she will enjoy it. But it is not the same for the American to attend a Ugadi or a Deepavali get-together. There is lack of knowledge of Indian culture, so it would not be as enjoyable as a birthday party. So, it is rare that a non-Indian would attend such gatherings.

What is the response of Indians in the US to your work and to their culture in general?

Usha: Since it is very challenging to get yourself involved in extra-curricular activities beyond your regular job, any cultural activity you organize is well-appreciated. It takes a big effort and dedication to put together anything and do it well. But once you complete the smallest of the assignments well, then your name will be on every page!

Please elaborate on how you go about your work, especially as cultural coordinator of HAA. Also, what are the main activities taken up by the association?

Usha: Two years ago, in September 2009, we had a big HAA convention in New Jersey for two days for people all over the USA. I was selected as the cultural co-ordinator. The event was a big hit. We invited a few artistes from India that included Shashidhara Kote, Ganesh Desai, Namitha Desai and Vaishali Srinivas. Planning the programmes and activities from participants all over the USA, inviting the artistes, arranging musical accompaniments for them and putting it all together was challenging. Of course, I could not have done this without the support from the other committee members and my family.

The association also raises funds to support disasters like earthquake, flood etc.

There are other organizations like Kannada Sangha of Hoysala, Brindavana, Navodaya etc. We attend their programmes, have our kids involved in presentations/demo and so on. They too invite artistes from India and we show our support by attending such concerts.
 
This year’s HAA convention will be held in Chicago, and I am involved in coordinating programmes from the East Coast HAA, USA.

What has been the role of your family in your efforts?

Usha: I am one of those lucky people who has FULL family support in anything I do. It all started with my parents and brothers. They never hindered me from anything I wanted to do. After marriage, I got the same support from my husband. Incidentally, he is the vice-president of the East Coast HAA and an avid lover of music, dance and so on and is working in a highly technical field.

Your future plans?

Usha: I plan to continue my current job and also continue with the cultural activities that I have been undertaking. There have been some requests from the community to teach Yakshagana to younger kids. With my own kids in karate, dance, swimming, cultural classes and piano, I have to find time to squeeze in this activity. I would like to go back to painting. I would also like to pursue MBA or PhD, but that is not in the near future, I have to wait until my kids are in middle-school or so.