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| Wednesday, 25 August 2004 |
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Kuchipudi Dance of Andhra Pradesh: Moralising movement against Devadasis by Rohan Jayetilleke Beside the four main schools of dancing of India, Bharata, Kathakali Kathak and Manipuri there is an assortment of picturesque dances in various regions of India rooted in a background in classical dance forms and techniques. Among this small group is the Kuchipudi dance, named after the village of Kuchipudi in Kristna district in Andhra Pradesh, where from time immemorial to present flourishing as a dance form of the region, which is linguistically shared both by Telegu and Tamil. Kuchipudi originated with certain Brahamin families. It has had the good fortune of being patronized by successive royal dynasties such as the Satvahana (born of wealth merchants Vaisya Sresthins), the Vijayanagar, the Tanjore kings and the Nawab of Golconda. This art evolved as a reformation movement against the demoralizing impact of the temple dances or Devadasis (temple dances) whose morals were at the lowest ebbs being unbethrothed wives of temple Brahamin priesthood. The Devadasis, the female dancers were taken off and male dancers were substituted. These male dancers were called Rajanartakas (royal dancers) dedicated to temple rites and rituals in the royal court of Satavahanas. This was originated by Siddhendra Yogi who introduced a novel idea of training Brahamin boys dedicated to the art, excluding women entirely. The custom gained popular currency of boys being dedicated to the arts in their very early childhood around three or four years. To the waist string was tied a belt as an initiatory rite to dedication, as they were not old enough to go through the 'upanayana' rite of having the Brcahamanic string across the body, denoting him as a dvaja, a second time born. The Nawab of Golkonda, in memoralizing the Kalpam the lament of Bhama - Satya Bhama - at her separation from her Lord Krishna, bestowed the village of Kuchipudi in its entirety to the troupe of dancers to be shared by the eight Brahamin families of players. Thus the dance form came to be known as Kuchipudi. A troupe that moved to the Royal Court of adjoining region Tanjore kings rewarded them with a number of villages, including the villages of Melattur, being highly appreciative of their dance ensemble. This led to the rise of the Tanjore art of the Bhagavatalus of Mellattur, the dance forms of Puranic themes. Though it was essentially a male dance, the romantic appeal could not be kept at bay from the ranks of women. The participation of women in Kuchipudi is a growth of later times. Among the innumerable votaries of Kuchipudi, the eminent women dancer was Yamini Srishnamurti, be sides her performances on Indian stages, enthralled audiences in Australia and New Zealand. The Kuchipudi dance-dramas give a wide exposition of 'nava rasa' and the efflorescent 'abhinaya' exhibition of emotions as advocated in the Natya Sastra of Bharata Muni in Bharatanatyam. Kuchipudi dancer Vempati Ravi Shankar's career was on an all time high three years ago. On his return to India in 2001 after a successful tour of the US in Kuchipudi, he was diagnosed with a chronic kidney failure. He was advised to go for a kidney transplant, and that he may never dance again. The tenth generation Kuchipudi dancer was devastated. He in utter exasperation said," My father struggled to establish himself as a dancer and so never wanted me to taste the same toil and moil. He wanted me just to stick to my studies. But I loved the dance form so much I learned Kuchipudi sans his knowledge for ten years, even dispensing my studies for it". Determined young man he is to dance Kuchipudi again, Ravi Shankar underwent dialysis for the next two years. Recounting his ordeal Vempati Ravi Shankar says,". Those two years were very bad as I could not perform on stage. There was no income. I was facing a blank wall. Then one of my fellow students asked me to meet Dr. Georgi Abraham, a nephyologist. The good doctor assured me that even after a kidney transplant, I would be able to dance. So I agreed to the transplant immediately. Shankar ultimately underwent the transplant in July 2003. In two months he was back on stage not for his usual three hours. Two months after the transplant it was just ten minute performance and now just for 35 minutes. He hopes to train for his usual marathon three Kuchipudi. He has now changed from his professional dancing to a teacher at the Kuchipudi Arts Academy. The Academy was founded by his father and Kuchipudi expert Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam in 1963. The academy teaches Kuchipudi free of charge. The Academy is funded by the Central Government of India. He accompanies his father on his stage shows. Shankar looks after the 'nattuvangam' while his father comperes their troupe shows. In Sri Lanka some singers win high financial awards from overseas and are accorded very rich felicitation ceremonies and hailed as 'national icons'. To my knowledge no such so called 'icon' in the arts has ever thought of establishing a school or academy to foster the very same field that took him dollar-priced eminence. **** Back **** |
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