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 2023 |
| * The first major intervention to introduce this unique and graceful dance to the world was taken by Rabindranath Tagore in 1919. India’s Nobel Laureate had witnessed a dance composition of this school, called Goshtha Lila, in Sylhet that year and was completely overwhelmed by its inherent grace and subdued delicate movements. He took immediate steps to introduce Manipuri dance teaching in Santiniketan, his internationally famous cultural institution in Bengal. He invited the finest expert of this dance form of the kingdom of Manipur, Budhimantra Singh, to join and a few years later, he induced Naba Kumar to teach. Later, other celebrated gurus like Senarik Singh Rajkumar, Nileshwar Mukherji and Atomba Singh were also invited to teach at Santiniketan. These masters also assisted Tagore to choreograph many of his own dance-dramas, Rabindra Nrittya, where the mudras, gestures and sublime elegance of Manipuri is so pronounced. Since Tagore took up his initiatives in the 1920s, his intervention in Indian classical dance actually preceded the modernisation of older dance traditions of south India, which commenced in the 1930s. Manipuri can thus actually claim to be the first of the classical dances to undergo systematisation and readjustment to the new habitat of halls, lights and sounds in modern India. Since there was no opprobrium attached to this religious dance, no sanitisation was required and we cannot decipher any planned appropriation by upper castes or non-traditional groups here. ('The Dance Renaissance' by Jawahar Sircar, NCPA's Onstage, Dec 2020) * Each temple featured a Kuravanji dedicated to its principal deity, offering the devadasis an opportunity to showcase their theatrical abilities. These young girls revelled in the intricate costumes and exquisite jewellery, adding an enchanting allure to their performances. Court poets composed new Kuravanji plays on various occasions, with Tiruvarur's "Tyagesar Kuravanji", Thanjavur's "Sarabendra Bhupala Kuravanji", and Kutralam's "Kutrala Kuravanji" among them. Kamalam (devadasi PR Thilagam's grandmother) was the last devadasi to perform the "Tyagesar Kuravanji" at the Tiruvarur temple. ('My journey seeking the last Devadasis (Part 2)' by Lakshmi Viswanathan, for Sathir Dance Art Trust, January 28, 2018) * Like Kuchipudi, Sattriya started as a religious dance performance only of males, mainly the monks, who displayed it at the sattras or monasteries of Assamese Vaishnavism or in the public prayer and dance halls called namghars. Maheshwar Neog formalised the modern form of Sattriya, while Rasheswar Saikia Borbayan and Maniram Datta Moktar played a big role as well. Without getting into great details, we find that the major tasks in modernising this medieval dance were to secularise it by delinking it from religious spaces, and also to permit women to dance. Besides, like other dance forms, Sattriya also had to adapt to the modern stage, lights and sound. Though it was surely a temple dance, this form was not associated with the sleaze that marked its counterpart temple dances, where women were used and exploited. ('The Dance Renaissance' by Jawahar Sircar, NCPA's Onstage, Dec 2020) * Pandanallur Subbaraya Pillai (1914-2008) explained what set Pandanallur Jayalakshmi apart from her successors and even the Renaissance dancers. It was an innate temperament she possessed. Subbaraya explained that Jayalakshmi had a unique way of depicting moham (desire, love) through a reflex movement of her upper torso, perfectly synchronised with hand gestures and facial expressions. This simple yet eloquent movement embodied shringara (romantic love) with artistic authenticity. Despite Rukmini Devi's attempts to imitate this dance movement, she confided in Subbaraya that she could never replicate it precisely as Jayalakshmi did. ('My journey seeking the last Devadasis (Part 2)' by Lakshmi Viswanathan, for Sathir Dance Art Trust, January 28, 2018) * Kathak had the privileged history of being popularised at the national and international level by males of the Maharaj (Mishra) clan of Lucknow. This runs counter to the picture in the public mind of it being associated with seductive courtesans, and we may recall that even the British were entertained by these 'nautch girls' from the earliest days of their arrival. This is, of course, not to say that women did not play a major role here. They did, but where the revival and reorganisation of this dance form in the 20th century is concerned, none can deny the greatest contribution that was made by the Maharaj family. Though this clan of Kathak specialists had entered the palaces of Awadh with this dance in the latter part of the 19th century, it was actually its third generation that really took it out of the traditional habitat and converted it into a stage-worthy art. Interestingly, while in many other dance forms, the new upper caste dancers appropriated them from women of lower social strata, and thereafter 'sanitised' the dance, in Kathak, the leading lights were themselves males from the upper castes, who passed on the skills to great women dancers. ('The Dance Renaissance' by Jawahar Sircar, NCPA's Onstage, Dec 2020) * It was the very practical problem of not having a person to play the tanpura for his flute practice that made G. Raj Narayan, in 1971, make a gadget that produced sound akin to a reed-based shruti box. It was the beginning of Radel Electronics, the first mover in this area. Flooded with requests for a tanpura version, Raj Narayan, an electronics engineer who trained at IIT Madras, demonstrated one in 1979 at The Music Academy, Madras, along with an electronic talameter and shruti box. So fascinated was M. Balamuralikrishna with the electronic tanpura that he requested one immediately for his personal use. The celebrated Carnatic musician used it at many concerts sans traditional tanpuras—a revolutionary act then, bordering on sacrilege. This was the handmade Saarang, for long the only electronic tanpura in the market. More progress was made through automated processes with compact, mouldable plastic cases and multiple variations. In 1999, the first sampled sound-based tanpura—which synthesised sound from a recorded real tanpura—was produced. Never patented, Radel's 'tanpura-in-a-box' has many clones now, with Raagini Digital from Sound Labs being a popular competing product. ('The Evolution of the Electronic Tanpura' by Lakshmi Anand, NCPA's Onstage, Aug 2023) * The next big leap occurred when Android and iOS opened their platforms to developers in 2008. To have a tanpura on the smartphone one already carried was incredibly convenient. Created by a Hindustani musician and computer scientist, Prasad Upasani of California, iTanpura, released in 2009, was possibly the first ever paid tanpura app. Using sampled sound from his own Miraj tanpuras, it took off at once in the U.S. Among free apps, the Tanpura Droid is popular. Easy to use, it suffices for casual users and occasional singers. Bheema Pro is a paid app created by Mukunda Haveri of Bengaluru, a Digital Signal Processing engineer, who converted a Windows-based application to this app in 2013. Combining his detailed study of tanpuras with samples of one string recorded from his Miraj tanpuras, he developed detailed analysis models to extrapolate the other strings. While all these versions of e-tanpuras use synthesised sound or sound extrapolated from samples of real tanpuras, the eSWAR app is different. All shrutis on it are real recordings of seasoned tanpuras belonging to veteran musicians, recorded from air-suspended mics, played by a professional and tuned to 440hz at a controlled 18-degree temperature. eSWAR offers Thanjavur and Miraj styles as separate paid apps. ('The Evolution of the Electronic Tanpura' by Lakshmi Anand, NCPA's Onstage, Aug 2023) * In embracing modern times, devadasi Kumbakonam Bhanumathi (1922-2006) opted for the stitched Bharatanatyam costume, which elegantly accentuated her petite figure. This costume made from silk and tissue, tapered at the ankles like pantaloons and featured a frilled fan that gracefully extended to the knees. During that era, prominent citizens and vidwans attended each performance, often bestowing medals upon the young dancer as a token of appreciation for her talent. As was customary, Bhanumathi adorned her shoulder with these medals while performing. Even the orchestra musicians adorned their silk shirts with similar medals, and the nagaswaram vidwans attached an array of glittering gold medals to their instruments. ('My journey seeking the last Devadasis (Part 2)' by Lakshmi Viswanathan, Sathir Dance Art Trust, January 28, 2018) * The older, original version of Kuchipudi is mentioned in copper plate inscriptions of the 10th century, and then it is referred to in texts in the 15th century, but it was only in the 17th century that a monk named Tirtha Narayanayati and his disciple Siddhendra Yogi, rebuilt the dance form in its modern avatar. It was always a dance-drama performed only by Brahmin males, even where female roles were concerned. Despite some support from the Qutb Shahis, the rulers of Golconda, the form languished from the 17th century and the British colonial Raj's distaste for Indian dances and its frequent clampdowns only worsened the situation. From the 1930s, revivalists like Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri, Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri and Chinta Venkataramayya started retrieving the situation from the 1930s by re-codifying the form, permitting women into it and taking advantage of modern techniques. This is an interesting case of de-Brahminisation of the dance form and adding doses of sensuality by women instead of the other way round. ('The Dance Renaissance' by Jawahar Sircar, NCPA's Onstage, Dec 2020) * Some dance teachers (nattuvanars) also moved into film studios when sound films appeared. One writer records how "the uncertain future prompted several nattuvanars to leave their villages and migrate to urban centres, where upper and middle class girls had started showing an interest in learning the art. The celluloid medium was a new frontier, and a veritable gold rush commenced." The nattuvanars, who found jobs as choreographers in studios, brought in the dance tradition of the Isai Velalar. ('Devadasi influence in Tamil cinema' by Theodore Baskaran, Frontline, Oct 11, 2019) * One of the illustrious nattuvanars of the film world was V.A. Muthuswami Pillai (1921-1992). A good example of his work is the dance by Sayee and Subbulakshmi, both from the Isai Velalar community, in Malaikallan (1954). He choreographed the dances in Rathakkaneer (1954) in which the duo danced to a song that is supposed to be sung by devadasis addressing the patrons. Vyjayanthimala danced the traditional devadasi-style sadir, which he choreographed, in the film Marma Veeran (1956). ('Devadasi influence in Tamil cinema' by Theodore Baskaran, Frontline, Oct 11, 2019) * In the north, the cradle of these dance forms were the akhadas or community gymnasiums and, in the south, the kalari. The verticality of the body was broken to a more compact and relaxing circularity in the akhada and kalari. The idea was to infuse the body not only with the potential for extensions and contractions, but also to convert every movement to an energising exercise. These contractions got stylised in classical forms as 'bhanga', 'araimandi' and so on. The 'araimandi', a kind of half-squatting which is the basic stance in Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathakali and Kuchipudi, is also the basic stance in wrestling (Indian kushti and Japanese sumo), Kalarippayattu, Silambam, Karate, Tai Chi chuan and Thai boxing. It is abstracted as the 'mandala' in classical dance, a continuous making and breaking of squares, circles and triangles, to harmonise with the circular stage symbolising the earth/cosmos. The dances taught one how to hold the body in order to make it steady like a rock, to make it as light as a feather, to leap, to pivot, to shift, to step forward, to retreat and to balance. Symphonies in duet and collective movements with sticks, swords, shields and spears developed slowly out of the primitive barehanded forms. ('The Militant Origins of Indian Dance' by Chandralekha, The Wire, Dec 9, 2018) * The practice of these dances was not some esoteric exercise meant for personal satisfaction or for entertaining spectators. It had specific social applications. In Odisha, for example, the Paika (meaning infantry) dancers were a particular group of unarmed foot soldiers who went ahead of the main army to demoralise, with their speed and grace, external forces bent upon aggression. In the Pandya period in Tamil Nadu, the Silambam stick dancers/fighters were the unorganised guerillas and mass leaders who terrorised the feudal barons to control their rapacity. These militant functions are evident even today in different forms of dance, such as Chhau with its roots in Paika and Kathakali, with its roots in Kalari. Kathakali too is obliged to the body conditioning and flexibility of Kalarippayattu. Kalarippayattu is among the most developed attack/defence systems and there is good reason to consider kung-fu and other Southeast Asian martial art systems as offspring of Kalari. ('The Militant Origins of Indian Dance' by Chandralekha, The Wire, Dec 9, 2018) * Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Awards constitute a roll of honour in the field of performing arts in India. They have been bestowed on outstanding musicians, dancers, theatre artists as also scholars in these disciplines. These honours have their origin in the President's awards to musicians, the first mark of recognition accorded by the Republic of India to performing artists in the country between 1952 and 1953. The President's awards ceased as Sangeet Natak Akademi came into existence in 1953, taking on a function appropriate to its charter of foundation. The first set of awards was given by the Akademi in 1954. (SNA, on facebook, April 8, 2023) * Kalakkathu Kunchan Nambiar was a renowned poet of Kerala in the 18th century. The earliest reference to Mohiniyattam as a dance form of Kerala is found in the poems of Kunchan Nambiar. While the references in Vyavaharamala indicates the existence of a dance form in the name Mohiniyattam in the Kerala region, Kunchan Nambiar's poems also allude to the character, costumes, music and movements of the dance form as it existed in the 18th century. ('The Occult Origins of Mohiniyattam - Part 15' by Nirmala Paniker, India Art Review, Oct 6, 2021) * As he reclaimed many unknown gems from Tyagaraja's oeuvre, Lalgudi Jayaraman found new colours in familiar songs by the composer. Tyagaraja's unrivalled range in shaping ragas, situations and moods made Jayaraman recognise the crucial importance of bhava. Interweaving multiple feelings, he realised, could evoke great variety, power and intensity. That was when Bharatanatyam artiste Kamala Laxman requested him to compose two varnams for her. To a Carnatic musician who always dealt with bhakti, composing a pada varnam for dance came as an opportunity to explore shringara, the ideals of romance. Jayaraman chose ragas never associated with varnams before, like Nilambari, Charukesi and Valaji. As other dancers approached him with more requests, Jayaraman decided that he would establish his own identity as a composer. Not with the ubiquitous kriti format as most composers did, but with tillana and varnam, both based on symmetrical structures of laya. As a composer, he belonged to the highest category termed uttama vaggeyakara, those who created the music along with the lyric. In this inseparable flow of word and note, Jayaraman ensured that syllables too had a mellifluous lilt and assonance. He extended the vowel tones to give the dancer enough space to depict an array of feelings. Vocalists and instrumentalists, as well as Bharatanatyam dancers, discovered that these compositions had an exhilarating impact on their audiences. Today, Jayaraman's tillanas form an intrinsic part of both music concerts and dance performances. ('When vision becomes music' by Gowri Ramnarayan, NCPA's Onstage, Nov 2022) * Take his jatiswaram set in raga Rasikapriya. Lalgudi Jayaraman chose this somewhat outlandish raga to develop an out-of-the-way experience of fear, wonder and joy. His mind's screen showed a merry couple going out to sea on a boat. A sudden squall tosses the boat off course, to be washed ashore on an unknown island. Finally, the sun rises and the couple explore the beautiful landscape. As the sun sets on the horizon, they see a boat bobbing on the waves coming towards them. Will they be rescued after all? Jayaraman's tillana in raga Pahadi had an intriguing source. He encountered this folk tune unknown to Carnatic music when he partnered a Hindustani musician in a jugalbandi recital. The raga is poignant. But how did he infuse majesty into this simple folk tune? "It is a strain from the mountains," Jayaraman smiled. "And this reminds me of how the mountain god strides on the slopes and dances on the peaks, with waterfalls gushing, rocks crashing and rivers rushing around him." This grand image transforms the music into an incantation to the cosmic dancer. ('When vision becomes music' by Gowri Ramnarayan, NCPA's Onstage, Nov 2022) * Composing was innate, a natural extension of musician Lalgudi Jayaraman's persona. "While he would often get up in the middle of the night to see his tillana or a varna get completed, his creation of the Yamuna Kalyani tillana is something we will always cherish," says his daughter Vijayalakshmi. "At the serene Ayurveda Vaidyashala in Coimbatore during his two-week stay in 1980, he would sing it in parts to us as he wrote them. After he pieced them all together, he sent the entire sahitya in an inland letter to my mother Rajalakshmi!" recalls Vijayalakshmi. ('A lifelong serenade' by Ranjani Govind, Deccan Herald, Jan 24, 2021) * Karnataka's icon Violin Chowdiah had spun a lyrical descriptive in his felicitation speech at the Bidaram Krishnappa Mandira in Mysuru, when Lalgudi Jayaraman was newly married in 1958. "Jayarama was born in 1930 as Rama; with his violin-bowing, he became Kodanda Rama, winning multiple hearts he was called Jaya-Rama, and by getting married he has become Kalyana-Rama!" Chowdiah, who was always in awe of the unique flourishes of the Lalgudi bowing, had said to people's thundering applause. ('A lifelong serenade' by Ranjani Govind, Deccan Herald, Jan 24, 2021) * To see a Devadasi when one sets off on a journey or business was considered to be auspicious. When a king set out for some important purpose, Devadasis were purposely posted at his door so that he might have their auspicious sight on coming out. When the Maharaja of Travancore went on a tour, the Devadasis of each village had to receive him as he entered the village and escort or accompany him in his 'journey' through that village. ('Devadasi tradition: The Occult Origins of Mohiniyattam - Part 12' by Nirmala Paniker, India Art Review, Sept 8, 2021) * A stone inscription from the year 932 CE found in the Chokkur Siva Temple near Calicut contains references to the dancers of Kerala of that age. The inscription mentions how one Nangayar belonging to the Chittarayil family donated some land to the temple. ('Devadasi tradition: The Occult Origins of Mohiniyattam - Part 12' by Nirmala Paniker, India Art Review, Sept 8, 2021) * Swathi Thirunal sheltered a dance troupe also under his patronage. Along with many great artists, there were three renowned dancers from Kalladikode in his troupe. It is said that Palakkad Parameswara Bhagavatar, the court musician of Swathi Thirunal, later opened a Mohiniyattam school at Coimbatore. There is no doubt that Swathi Thirunal was one of the true patrons of Mohiniyattam and its revival. However, sadly enough, his successor Uthram Thirunal was not particularly interested in Mohiniyattam as he was more inclined towards Kathakaḷi. ('The Occult Origins of Mohiniyattam - Part 19' by Nirmala Paniker, India Art Review, Nov 3, 2021) * Tahia is the unique hair accessory used in Odissi dance. Odissi exponent Kumkum Mohanty says: "Tahia replaced flowers as hair decoration initially out of necessity. Guruji would himself pluck jasmines and string them together with a coconut stem. Later, the tahia, made of shola pith (Indian cork) flowers, came into use. My guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, who hailed from a traditional painter's family of the Puri region, was the brain behind it." Says Netrananda Moharana, the well-known Puri-based tahia-maker, whose late father Harihar Moharana is known as a pioneer in designing the headgear, "I have heard from my father that the design was finalised by three stalwarts - Guru Pankaj Charan Das, scholar Dhirendranath Patnaik, and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra - after several rounds of modifications." ('Odissi's crowning glory' by Shyamhari Chakra, The Hindu Friday Review, Sept 17, 2021) |
