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Bugatha Ramayya and his son Bugatha Gopanna, great
exponents of dance and masters of percussion art in the Drupad style,
were the natyacharyas in the Bobbili court more than a hundred years
ago. They followed Nandi Bharatam, an ancient text on percussion art, in
conducting the dance recitals in the court. Mutnuru Sangameswara Sastry
learnt the art form from these two great exponents and taught it to his
son Suryanarayana Sastry, another great exponent of percussion art. At
the request of AP Sangeet Natak Akademi, Suryanarayana Sastry compiled
the ancient jatis into a book form and the Akademi published it. It
contains rare jatis of intricate nature. This is the book that is being
followed by percussion accompanists for Perini dance. ('Perini: A virile dance form' by Gudipudi Srihari, Nartanam, Oct-Dec 2016) |
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In Akbar's time, Rupmati, a dancing girl of Saharanpur,
more beautiful than the moon, the tulip and the early dawn of the
spring, became famous all over North India. Bards in the streets
of Agra and Delhi sang in her praise: "To see her is to fall in love, and to drink a cup of wine from the flask of her lustrous eyes is to be transported to the cosiest corner of the heaven. To be with her even for a moment is to taste immortality. She is great, she is pure, she is divine. God makes the like of her only once in a million years." (Muni Lal, Mughal Glory) ('Famous dancing girls from the pages of Indian history' by Pran Nevile, The Asian Age, July 25, 2018) |
