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When decadence and declination came into Devadasi or
mahari tradition due to various reasons, the Gotipua dance tradition
evolved as sequel performances to please God. When this dance form came
into practice is not known. Some historians say that this dance
tradition appears to have originated during the reign of Prataprudra
(1497 to 1540 AD) and gained popularity in the subsequent Muslim rule.
Ramananda Raya, the famous Vaishnavite minister of King Prataprudra and
ardent follower of Sri Chaitanya is the originator of this boy dancing
tradition. As Vaishnavas did not approve of females in dance practices,
it is possible that the dance tradition must have come after Sri
Chaitanya came to Orissa. |
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When he was barely 7, M Balamuralikrishna became adept at playing the
violin by sheer practice and without formal learning. After some years,
he would give a vocal concert on one day and provide violin
accompaniment to a high ranking vidwan the next. He soon switched over
to the viola. He also acquired proficiency at playing the mridanga and
gave accompaniment to many stalwarts. Many of his compositions are
performed by Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancers. (BM Sundaram, ‘Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, a prodigy and genius,’ Sruti, Oct 2011) |
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The first known ancestor of the Vedantam family, one Chalamayya led a
small troupe of performers to Kerala and presented Bhamakalapam before
the king of Thiruvananthapuram. As the story goes, the king was so
pleased by the performance that he shared his throne with Chalamayya and
honored him profusely. (‘The man who beguiled women: Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma’ by Nagabhushana Sarma, Nartanam, Oct – Dec 2012) |
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