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A decade or so ago in Purulia, men decked in dazzling
costumes and larger-than-life masks would dance to the intoxicating
rhythm of dhol, dhamsa, madol, shehnai, and flute at night-long
performances during the spring festival of gajan parab, dedicated to
Shiva. These days, Chhau festivals are held through the year and dancers
are called to perform on national and international stages. And, in
another development, women dancers have entered this male domain, with
all-women troupes sharply on the rise. Mousumi Chowdhury, 23, from
Purulia's Maldi village, is credited with starting the trend. In 2010,
Mousumi set up the first all-women Chhau troupe of Purulia, Mitali Chhau
Maldi. (Chhau was included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage
list in 2010.) Inspired by her, about four all-women groups now work in
Purulia. ('Heroines of Chhau' by Satyasundar Barik & Anusua Mukherjee, The Hindu Sunday Magazine, Jan 3, 2021) |
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In the early 1980s, Ileana Citaristi, an Italian-born Odissi and Chhau
dancer, was refused entry on stage to perform the Shiva tandava act at a
program in Baripada, the home of Mayurbhanj Chhau. Only male dancers
were allowed to enact the Shiva tandava at that time. Although in the
1960s and 70s, quite a few women had managed to break the barrier and
dance Chhau, very few could manage to sustain the journey. In 1994, when
Subhashree Mukherjee, then 15, performed the Mahishasuramardini Durga
piece at a traditional Chhau akhada in Baripada, purists reacted with
mild disapproval while progressives hailed it warmly. Mukherjee has
played a key role in bringing the women Chhau dancers of Odisha to the
limelight. ('Heroines of Chhau' by Satyasundar Barik & Anusua Mukherjee, The Hindu Sunday Magazine, Jan 3, 2021) |
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Sayajirao took good care of his dancers and his
Kalavanth Kahta, the department for artists, laid strict rules, duly
administered by an inspector. The dancers were together paid Rs.433 per
month, much more than other dancers. Their accompanying musicians were
paid a total of Rs.272 per month. Unlike the South where the Nattuvanar
took leadership, the Baroda rules required that the dancers were
responsible for the whole troupe, were well dressed, purchased their own
costumes and were fit, clean and healthy. They had 4 days monthly
holidays, 3 months maternity leave, and performed for the king on every
Wednesday and Saturday after dinner. All gifts given to the dancers
including money was distributed based on a fixed ratio with the rest
going to the state treasury. ('Bharatanatyam: A 140 year old institution in Baroda' by Maddy, maddy06.blogspot, March 20, 2020) |
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We could view the process of modernisation of form and technique and the
accompanying sanitisation of public repute that began in the 1930s with
Bharatanatyam as a sort of 'Brahmanical appropriation'. In most cases,
the new dancers from the upper strata overshadowed the older hereditary
class of performers, while the latter usually stepped back and faded
away. There were, of course, brilliant exceptions like Tanjore
Balasaraswati of devadasi origins, who became a world-class
Bharatanatyam performer, loved and adored by the public. In a way,
therefore, she was the dance-counterpart of M.S. Subbulakshmi, the
nightingale of Carnatic music, who was also the daughter of a devadasi.
Both of them more than made up for the ignominy and exploitation that
their matrilineal ancestors had suffered, over centuries. (Jawahar Sircar in 'How Modern India reinvented classical dance,' NCPA's On Stage, Nov 2020) |
