ISSN 2455-7250 Vol. XVIII No. 1 January - March 2018 A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance

Nrtta Ratnavali: An Overview Malavika Sarukkai Photo Courtesy: Shalini Jain

Vaibhav Arekar's Nama Mhane Photo Courtesy: Inni Singh

Shijith Nambiar and Parvati Menon Photo Courtesy: Shalini Jain A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance

Volume: XVIII, No. 1 January-March 2018

Sahrdaya Arts Trust Hyderabad RNI No. APENG2001/04294 ISSN 2455-7250 Nartanam, founded by Kuchipudi Kala Founders Kendra, Mumbai, now owned and Late G. M. Sarma published by Sahrdaya Arts Trust, M. N. Sarma Hyderabad, is a quarterly which provides a forum for scholarly dialogue on a Chief Editor broad range of topics concerning Indian Madhavi Puranam dance. Its concerns are theoretical as well as performative. Textual studies, dance Associate Editor criticism, intellectual and interpretative K. K. Gopalakrishnan history of Indian dance traditions are its Patron focus. It publishes performance reviews Edward R. Oakley and covers all major events in the field Chief Executive of dance in India and notes and comments on dance studies and performances Vikas Nagrare abroad. Advisory Board The opinions expressed in the articles and the reviews are the writers’ own and Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Scholar, Kuchipudi dancer) do not reflect the opinions of the editorial Avinash Pasricha (Former Photo Editor, SPAN; SNA Awardee) committee. The editors and publishers C.V. Chandrasekhar (Bharatanatyam Guru, Padma Bhushan) of Nartanam do their best to verify the information published but do not take Kedar Mishra (Poet, Scholar, Critic) responsibility for the absolute accuracy Kiran Seth (Padma Shri; Founder, SPIC MACAY) of the information. Leela Venkataraman (Critic, Scholar, SNA Awardee) Mallika Kandali (Sattriya dancer, Scholar) Cover Photo: Manjari Sinha (Critic, Scholar) Danda Rasaka dance, ornate pillar, Pappu Venugopala Rao (Scholar; Former Secretary, Music Ramappa temple Academy; SNA Awardee) Photos by Ravi Reginald Massey (Poet, FRSA, Freeman of London) Photo Courtesy: Yashoda Thakore Sunil Kothari (Scholar, Padma Shri and SNA Awardee, Fellow of SNA) Cover, Design & Layout Suresh K. Goel (Former Director General, ICCR) Shakeel Ahmed

Annual Subscription: In India: Individual: ` 1000 Institutional: ` 2000 Past issues can be obtained from our office ` Overseas: Individual: US $ 60 Institutional: US $ 80 @ 350/- per copy for individuals ` (All Inclusive of postage) @ 500/- per copy for instiutions Note: Students in India can avail of 25% discount on (Inclusive of postage in India; Subject to availabil- individual subscriptions) ity; Please check with the office.)

For all editorial enquiries, sending manuscripts, details of subscriptions, and past issues please visit www.nartanam.in Registered Office: Sahrdaya Arts Trust, 508, Dwarakamai Apartments, Srinagar Colony Post, Hyderabad- 500073 Email: [email protected], [email protected] Phone: 9989314829, 9000020879 website: www.nartanam.in

All articles, photographs and other materials, appearing in Nartanam, whether in whole or in part, in any form are exclusive copyright of Sahrdaya Arts Trust unless otherwise specified, and may not be reproduced in any form or stored in any electronic or retrievable format without prior written consent.

Printed and published by Madhavi Puranam on behalf of Sahrdaya Arts Trust, Hyderabad Printed at Karshak Art Printers, 40-APHB, Vidyanagar, Hyderabad-500044. (Ph:27618261) and published in Hyderabad. Editor: Madhavi Puranam NARTANAM Volume: XVIII, No. 1 January-March 2018 CONTENTS Editorial/ 6 Textual Traditions in Dance: An Overview P. S. R. APPA RAO / 9 Dance Treatises: The Contribution of the Telugus ANURADHA (JONNALAGADDA) TADAKAMALLA /18 A Pivotal Introduction to Nrttaratnavali by V. Raghavan MADHAVI PURANAM / 27 Nrttaratnavali: A Historical View of Jyasenapati and the Aesthetics of Presentation MANDAKRANTA BOSE / 43 Nrtta Ratnavali– A Turning Point PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO / 55 The Aesthetics of Jayasenapathi PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO / 61 Nritta Ratnavali: The Desi Tradition PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO / 68 Perini: History, Evolution, and Reconstruction KALA KRISHNA / 80 Influence of Manasollasa on Nrttaratnavali R. GANESH / 89 Sculptural representation of the Desi tradition of dance in Kakatiya temples with a special reference to Nrtta Ratnavali VIDYA SHIMLADKA / 95 An Overview of Indian Arts: Dance, Music and Theatre BHARAT GUPT / 121 PERFORMANCE REVIEWS Interaction of Mohiniattam voices in Kaisiki Vritti / 143 DELHI DIARY / 152 LEELA VENKATARAMAN 6 Nartanam EDITORIAL

SPEAKING STRAIGHT India's dance fraternity presents a dismal scene at the moment, especially in its academic stream. There is confusion bordering on chaos and scholarship bordering on mediocrity. There are pushes and pulls in various directions. The performers and scholars of this fraternity hardly ever gather under one umbrella to interact and exchange knowledge and ideas. Only when there is robust debate is there a possibility for further enquiry and chances of finding all or some answers or none. Only when the platform of research is democratic instead of it being an arena of hierarchies, of positions held, and of insatiable egos can research become meaningful. Being devoid of researcher’s bias laced with high emotion is a rare sight in the academics of dance in India. Dance research is a ground for the finest minds. Rocket scientists are poor cousins. We, the dance researchers are in the process of delving into many areas of dance like history, theory, technique, grammar, performative aspects, pedagogy, aesthetics, ethnography, politics and its examination from the perspective of science, culture, race, gender, diaspora and many other inter disciplinary studies, but often unfortunately from preconceived notions and attitudes. Many are mired in mere semantics. An Indian teacher in all subjects forever tends to be a giver; he cannot be a taker of anything but for the fees in some cases, if I may have the temerity to suggest. A teacher taking away knowledge from the teaching experience is blasphemous. A teacher is on a pedestal and the slavish student receives the alms of his/her wisdom. A look at a general dance PhD student reminds one of a harassed figure devoid of even a modicum of enthusiasm. University dance departments, if not all, often look sleepy with not much dynamism in the air. A mere mortal minus fancy degrees has no right to question. Scholarship and ordinary mortals are supposed to be mutually exclusive. Spectators who have not studied dance are uninformed (to be read as IDIOTS). Writers/reporters, when they praise the dancers are scholars and when they fail with abundant glorifying adjectives are morons. Dance administrators, if there are any in the culture departments, culture centers and national akademies, are blind and happy Nartanam 7 to be lead by the coterie around them. Thus goes the juggernaut of Indian dance, its academia, performance and its administration. However, it does seem to fit into the dire scenario of the nation’s politics, administration and the polity, with the fine fabric of culture being eroded with corruption, divisive politics and the baser instinct of humans on display rather than the finer. The last issue on Nartanam’s late founder G. M. Sarma presented a photo feature of the Nartanam Conclave 2017 and the details of its proceedings. This issue is a special on the treatise Nrttaratnavali, a seminar on which was pivotal academic component of the Nartanam Conclave 2017. The four days of the conclave saw high voltage debates, discussions, paper presentations, panel discussions and lecture demonstrations, which generated valuable insights on Nrttaratnavali. They are presented in this issue along with a couple of old and new articles. An article by P. S. R. Appa Rao on the textual Traditions of India which was printed in the very first edition of Nartanam which sums up all the Sanskrit treatises on dance from Natyasastra onwards is a rare piece. We have added an article which features the great scholar V. Raghavan’s thoughts and some questions on Nrttaratnavali from his introduction to the very important book, Nrttaratnavali of Jaya Senapati critically edited with introduction and notes by V. Raghavan published by the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras in 1965. Bharat Gupt’s article focuses on music from Natyasastra till today, a slight deviation from our desire to examine dance in all the important texts from Natyasastra till Nrttaratnavali. However, we retain it for the interesting perspective on the evolution of music. We have Mandakranta Bose, Pappu Venugopala Rao, R. Ganesh, Anuradha Jonnalagadda Tadakamalla, Yashoda Thakore, Vidya Shimladaka, Kalakrishna, examining Nrttaratnavali from various perspectives. Some scholars cannot take instruction in terms of a guideline on the paper sought by the curator/editor. We discovered this through our efforts to generate new perspectives on Nrttaratnavali. Some scholars gave written papers according to our guideline but on stage found passionate deviations from the proposed topics. There were others who did not stick to our guideline in the papers too. However, every discussion and paper was fruitful in many ways than one and we are deeply indebted to all the stalwarts who graced the Conclave and presented their papers and lecture-demonstrations. The Nartanam Conclave saw scholars, performers, patrons and the spectators come together with the support of the Government of Telangana and the 8 Nartanam

Happening Hyderabad and the Kakatiya Heritage Trust, which supported the seminar section. B. V. Papa Rao (Retd IAS), Advisor to the Telangana Government, B. Venkatesham (IAS), Secretary to the Government of Telangana Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture Department, Sunita M. Bhagwat (IFS), Commissioner of Tourism, Government of Telangana and Mamidi Harikrishna, Director of the Department of Language and Culture of Telangana participated in the Conclave with admirable interest and enthusiasm. We thank them all. We are ambitious in our desire to organise excellent programmes/seminars but the process of raising money for the same is tedious. A journal like Nartanam operating on a shoestring budget cannot afford to organize a conclave with such substantial span. It is like shooting oneself in the foot while wanting to surge ahead with our work. However, we dare to announce Nartanam Conclave 2018 from 5-8 October, 2018 in Hyderabad, and “Music for Dance” will be the thrust of its seminar section while we handpick the evening performances, to get the best to Hyderabad. We welcome Manjari Sinha, the eminent music and dance critic of India, to team Nartanam as a member of our advisory board and thank her for consenting to guide us with her valuable advice. We also welcome K. K. Gopalakrishnan, the renowned dance critic and scholar, to our team and thank him for consenting to be our associate editor. Our best wishes and gratitude to well-wishers who have been helping us serve Indian Dance. Last but not the least, our revered advisors are the proud recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) awards: Sunil Kothari recived the Akademi Ratna (Fellow) and Avinash Pasricha received the Akademi Puraskar for overall contribution to Performing Arts for the year 2016 from the President of India in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 17 January 2018. Our advisor Pappu Venugopala Rao, also a recipient of Akademi Puraskar for overall contribution/scholaship in the field of Performing Arts, could not make it to the ceremony to receive the award. We are proud of their achievements and they inspire us to keep up our work to the best of our abilities. We thank the SNA for its continued publication grant to Nartanam and also appreciate the fact that our constructive criticism of its functioning has never affected our grant status – a mark that freedom of expression is still intact in certain quarters. Madhavi Puranam Nartanam 9

Textual Traditions in Dance: An Overview

P. S. R. APPA RAO

“Geetam, Vaadyam nartanamca/trayam sangeetamucyate”—“Song, instrumental music and dance/all the three together are called sangeeta,” so says Sarngadeva of the thirteenth century, in his Sangeetaratnakara. That the three are mutually dependent on each other and enrich each other is the established Indian view. It follows, then, that any work on any one of the three arts will contain theoretical references to the other two arts as well. And so, writing on nritya literature means writing on sangeeta itself.

There are three parts in nartanam: nritta, nritya and natya. According to rhetoricians, that which contains a story and invokes rasa is called natya. That which contains padartha abhinaya (expressing/acting out objects) and is dependent on bhava is nritya and that which has no abhinaya and which has only tala and laya accompanied by singing is nritta. The origin of natya as enunciated in Bharata’s Natyasastra indicates that nritta is the most ancient among these. It was initiated by Parameswara, whereas natya was Brahma’s creation. When Bharata brought together nritta and natya, nritya was created. Thus nritta becomes the most ancient form of human expression. Whatever may be the order in which these arts have originated, one should remember the distinguishing features of each one of these arts.

Late P. S. R. APPA RAO was a scholar, teacher, administrator, researcher and a well-known critic. After retiring from state government service, Appa Rao worked as a visiting professor at the University of Hyderabad. His monumental work in Telugu, a translation of Bharata’s Natyasastra with copious notes, has been a standard work of reference. He authored many books on dance studies including Monograph on Natyasastra: Indian Dramatology (English) co authored with P. Sri Rama Sastri, Abhinaya Darpana (English), and Natyasastram, Sarirabhinayam, Abhinaya Darpanam (all inTelugu). This article is a translation of Appa Rao’s original Telugu article and was first published in Nartanam Vol I, No.1. 18 Nartanam

Dance Treatises: The Contribution of the Telugus

ANURADHA (JONNALAGADDA) TADAKAMALLA A treatise becomes one of the most important leads into the practices of yester years, especially for performing arts. The innumerable treatises relating to music and dance written during the past 2000 years, starting with Natyasastra prove to be the repositories of knowledge relating to dance and music. With regard to various regional writings, one can observe a proliferation during the medieval period (10-16 century) and the Telugu speaking region is not an exception to it. The stable socio-economic and political conditions in the region, during the medieval and late-medieval period under various dynasties like the Kakatiyas, the Reddys and the Vijayanagara had contributed to it. Several treatises on dance and music emerged out from this region, and, in fact, it is a productive period for dance literature. The number of treatises also testifies the growing popularity of dance in the Telugu regions and the interest evinced by various dynasties which ruled over the region in art. Some of the well known treatises of the times include Nritta Ratnavali, Sangita Chintamani and Sangeeta Suryodaya. This paper endeavours to look at the contribution of the Telugus to the textual tradition of dance and is based on published material and also unpublished manuscripts both primary and secondary.

The treatises on dance and music can be broadly divided into works written in Sanskrit, those written in Telugu language and commentaries on other works. The paper considers works in both these languages and also includes works of authors whose roots are in the Telugu land but by virtue of their disposition are placed

ANURADHA (JONNALAGADDA) TADAKAMALLA is a reputed performer, teacher and academic of Kuchipudi. She is a professor of dance at the University of Hyderabad and has contributed immensely to the dance scholarship of Telugu dance forms, especially Kuchipudi. With more than three decades of performance and teaching experience, she has to her credit books, several academic papers and publications. She has performed widely in all the major festivals of dance. Her choreographies include, Prabuddha Manimekhala, Aapas- An ode to water and Chhaya. Nartanam 27

A Pivotal Introduction to Nrttaratnavali by V. Raghavan

MADHAVI PURANAM In the 13th century, the Kakatiya King Ganapati Deva ruled from Warangal an empire with all the Telugu people unified under him. Jaya Senapati, a commander in his army, authored Nrittaratnavali (1253– 4 A.D). The book is in eight chapters and is exclusively on dance. Chapter one deals with the definition of natya, the four types of abinaya and different aspects of dance– nrtta, nrtya, marga, desi, tandava and lasya. Chapter 2 deals with angikabhinaya. Chapter 3 explains the caris, sthanas and manadalas. Chapter 4 describes the 108 karanas, the angaharas and recakas. The first four chapters contain material on the marga tradition. Chapter 5 deals with the desi varieties of sthanas, karanas, bhramaris. Chapter 6 describes desi varieties of padas, caris, lasyangas, gatis. Chapter 7 discusses general topics related to dance, the fifteen desi-nrttas, the theatre and its types. Chapter 8 deals with the general aspects of presenting dance.

Before the presentation of the important content generated on Nrttaratnavali through various papers and lecture demonstrations at the Nartanam Conclave; it is only appropriate to go through V. Raghavan’s introduction to Nrttaranavali of Jaya Senapati critically edited by him and published by the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras, 1965, and mark some of his observations which open doors for new investigation. I attempt here to go through his introduction with the same sub headings under which he dealt with the above-mentioned introduction to the treatise and try to highlight some of the interesting pointers for further research.

MADHAVI PURANAM is the Chief Editor of Nartanam. A trained Kuchipudi dancer, she has postgraduate degrees in Business Administration, and Performing Arts. Her book, An Indian Analysis of Aesthetics: The Dance, the Dancer and the Spectator with a foreword by Kapila Vatsyayan, was published in 2015 by Abhinav Publications, New Delhi. She was guest faculty at the dance department, University of Hyderabad. She is a recipient of the Senior Research Fellowship (2011-13) in the field of Arts Management— Management of Heritage and Art and Cultural Institutions (New Areas), and the Tagore Scholarship (2013-14), from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Nartanam 43

Nrttaratnavali: A Historical View of Jyasenapati and the Aesthetics of Presentation

MANDAKRANTA BOSE

katham nrttam pravartitam (NS. 4. 263).

Why was dance created?

Having been asked this question by his disciples, Bharata responded with the following explanation:

na khalvartham kancin nrttam apeksate// kintu sobham prajanayed iti nrttam pravartitam/ (NS. 4. 262-63).

Nrtta does not depend on any meaning but it creates beauty and that is why dance was created.

No discussion of the art of dance in India can begin without invoking Bharata, for not only did he compose the fullest explicatory record of the performing arts of his time, including the physical conditions for performances but also drew out the theoretical implications of such arts. Especially important are his cogitations on the reception of performances by the audience and their response. These matters are only too well known but I am restating them not to enlighten anybody but to set the context of my own understanding of the singular importance of Jayasenapati’s Nrttaratnavali, restricting myself only to the art of dance rather

MANDAKRANTA BOSE, MA (Calcutta and UBC), MLitt, DPhil (Oxon), FRAS, FRSC, is currently Professor Emerita at the Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada. She is an aurothity on Oriental Studies and Sanskrit, who spcialises in smriti and mimamsa, and has conducted extensive research into the dance and music treatises in Sanskrit. A Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford, elected 2013, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, elected 2007, Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, elected 1990, her achievements are far reaching. Nartanam Vol XVII no.3 is a special issue on her work and was released at the NARTANAM CONCLAVE 2017. She presented this paper at the Conclave. Nartanam 55

Nrtta Ratnavali– A Turning Point

PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO

Nrtta Ratnavali of Jaya senapathi (1253AD) is in many ways a monumental work in the field of treatises in general and those dealing with dance in particular. I have always been tempted to understand Jayana as a turning point in the realm of treatise writers. I was reading a book on turning points in Indian sastric tradition compiled by Radhavallabh Tripathi and I found Nrtta Ratnavali fits this frame more scientifically than most other works.

Natyasastra Chapter 6 begins with a few questions. Éèí~°`«ó =Ú#Ü«∞ó ã¨~°fi „Ѩâßfl<£ ѨOKåaè^Œ`«ûfi#ó

Of the 5 questions asked the first 2 are about rasa and bhava, the rest of the three questions are very important and they are: ã¨O„QÆǨÏO HÍiHÍO K≥·= x~°∞HõÎO K≥·= `«`«Îfi`«ó ~å÷

Then he defines briefly the terms sangraha, kaarika, and niruktam; in the process he mentions another interesting word sutram.

He says whatever is there in the form of sutras and their bhashya, when it is presented in an abridged form it is called samgraha.

PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO holds three masters in English, Sanskrit and Telugu, a Ph. D in Sanskrit and Telugu, Doctor of Letters in Indology and a Gold medal in Business Management. He has worked with American Institute of Indian Studies for 32 years, retired as associate director general of programs. He has authored 22 books, prominent English works among them being, Flowers at His Feet, Science of Sri Chakra, Rasamanjari, Bunch of Javalis, Frangrance of Padams, Nritta Rathnavali (jointly with Yashoda Thakore). He is presently Chairman, Content Committee, India Music Experience, Bangalore; Coordinator, Nada neerajanam, SVBC, Tirupati, among aothers. Nartanam 61

The Aesthetics of Jayasenapathi

PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO Nrtta Ratnavali is one of the greatest treatises ranking along side Brihaddesi, Abhinaya Darpana, Sangita Ratnakara and other monumental works. I personally felt while translating the work that it ranks higher than Abhinaya Darpana. Yashoda Thakore and I dedicated this English translation to Ganapati (deva) suggesting both the God and the King responsible for this work.

Kakatiyas have been the second major dynasty of the Andhra region after the Satavahanas. They made a lasting contribution not only to the political history, but also in protecting and promoting various sculptural and religious aspects during that time. The above verse indicates that their kingdom spread upto Bay of Bengal in the east, Srisailam in the south, the Malyavanta Mountains in the north and Kalyani in the west. Historians believe that this dynasty started with Prolaraju-I 1050 AD and lasted up to Prataparudra who ruled the kingdom between 1290- 1396 AD. Inscriptional evidences help us in understanding, religious, political, economic and social conditions of that period. The Kakatiya period also produced many Sanskrit and Telugu scholars whose works reflect the glory of that time.

PAPPU VENUGOPALA RAO holds three masters in English, Sanskrit and Telugu, a Ph. D in Sanskrit and Telugu, Doctor of Letters in Indology and a Gold medal in Business Management. He has worked with American Institute of Indian Studies for 32 years, retired as associate director general of programs. He has authored 22 books, prominent English works among them being, Flowers at His Feet, Science of Sri Chakra, Rasamanjari, Bunch of Javalis, Frangrance of Padams, Nritta Rathnavali (jointly with Yashoda Thakore). He is presently Chairman, Content Committee, India Music Experience, Bangalore; Coordinator, Nada neerajanam, SVBC, Tirupati, among aothers. 68 Nartanam

Nritta Ratnavali: The Desi Tradition

YASHODA THAKORE

After the Satavahanas it was the Kakatiyas who consolidated Telugu speaking areas politically, geographically, socially and culturally under one large glorious reign. The fourth verse in the Thousand Pillar Mantapa inscription, 1162 says that the Kakatiya kingdom spanned from the Bay of Bengal in the East, Srisailam in the South, Malyavanta Mountains in the North and Kalyan in the West. The kingdom later stretched up to Kanchi, far South. The Kakatiyas first made their presence felt in the 10th Century as military generals of the Rashtrakuta Kings. Later the Western Chalukyas whom they served as loyal subordinates appointed them as chiefs of Hanumakonda province. Kalachuri Bijjala defeated the Chalukyas in 1156-57AD. This was when Kakatiya Prola, the second asserted himself as an independent ruler with the help of his son Rudradeva.

The personality in focus for the present subject is Ganapati Deva of the 12th Century. He conquered Pinnachoda of the island Divi in 1203 in Coastal Andhra, diplomatically gave it back and married his daughters Naramamba and Peramamba. Ganapati Deva expanded his empire upto Kanchi and took with him the well- behaved young Jaayana, the brother of his wives. Ganapati Deva educated Jaayana and later appointed him as the commander of the elephant forces. Jaayana, now referred to as Jaaya Senapati grew into a person of acumen, knowledge,

YASHODA THAKORE is an accomplished dancer and scholar. She has expertise in Kuchipudi and Devadasi Nrityam which she reinforces with her understanding and practice of Yoga. Yashoda runs the Rinda Saranya Dance Academy, and is adjunct faculty of dance at BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad. She is a qualified teacher of Yoga and has served as guest faculty at Study in India Program, University of Hyderabad, for Yoga. Yashoda, in association with Pappu Venugopala Rao, has translated the Nrtta Ratnavali, into English, which was published in 2013 to critical acclaim. Her book Kaivalya- Joy in Yoga and Dance was published in 2014. Her critical edition of Nrtta Ratnavali has been approved for publication by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. 80 Nartanam

Perini: History, Evolution, and Reconstruction

KALA KRISHNA In the Indian dance history, Perini, Prerana, Peruni is a unique dance, from ancient times till present times. This dance was very popular in both north and south India. Its origins are not very clear as to how and when the Perini dance form has actually started. Perini has its own recognition and reputation among several dances of India. This dance form has a performing method which consists of Ghargharamu, Vishamamu, Bhavaashrayamu, Kaivaramu, Geetamu— all operated in collective and synchronised process by a group of artists.

Books mandate that Perini dance is to be performed only by male artists, but evidences which I found in the Telugu literature mention that there are female performers also. References from various texts authored by noted danseuse suggests that in later periods female artists have also performed Perini dance form like Muddu Chandrarekha, Bhagirathi, Roopavathi at Tanjore court who migrated from Telugu region. We do not know whether the male oriented Perini which was performed earlier was perfomed by these female artistes.

Meaning of Perini According to Bharatakosha, the meaning of the word Preranam is “Hasya praayam Preranam thu syaathprahyelika ayaanvitham”. In Abhinavabharati, Abhinava Gupta mentioned that Prerana is one of its uparupakas. This is a one

KALAKRISHNA is a leading exponent of Andhra Natyam and a guru of Perini. A senior disciple of Nataraja Ramakrishna, he trained in Kuchipudi dance, Andhra Natyam, Navajanardana Parijatam and other temple dance traditions of Andhra in the guru shishya parampara. He has travelled extensively to perform at major national and international dance festivals, conferences and seminars. Kalakrishna runs the Hari Hara Nrithya Niketan in Hyderabad, where he trains dancers in Andhra Natyam and Perini. At present, he is a visiting lecturer at the University of Hyderabad, and Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University and teaches the students of Masters degree in dance. Nartanam 89

Influence of Manasollasa on Nrttaratnavali

R. GANESH Indian dance has a long and hallowed heritage. Natyasastra, its foundational text, has been a perennial source of information for later treatises dealing with dance and theatre. Many works of a later period, however, have gone further in the direction envisaged by Bharata and explored aspects of desi, which is not found in Natyasastra. This does not translate into saying that Bharata had no knowledge of desi, a misrepresentation often propounded by a few writers in modern times. The concept of pravrttis that Bharata elaborately explains is essentially connected with desi, and so is the concept of vrtti, although Bharata has not explicitly stated so1. It is a grave mistake to picture marga and desi as being at loggerheads with each other. This takes a vicious dimension when invoked to support the whimsical theory of the Aryan-Dravidian divide. In this regard, an obvious home-truth can be gleaned by going through classical texts: Bharata in his treatise documented the various forms of dance that existed during his time and his successors built upon it. Marga is traditional and is treated as reverential; it cannot be toyed with. Desi belongs to the contemporary domain and hence yields itself to experimentation. This is one way of looking at it. Looking at the etymological meanings of these two words, we understand that marga is derived from the root mrga – anveshane, ‘to search,’ while desi is derived from

R. GANESH, Satavadhani, is a polymath and a polyglot, well versed in many sciences and arts. Especially insightful is his knowledge of the classical Indian arts, poetry, poetics, prosody, aesthet- ics, history, culture, and philosophy. He is an accomplished poet in several languages including Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu. He is a satavadhani in four languages. He has authored over fifty books in several languages on various subjects— classical poetry, literary essays, columns, transla- tions, and research in aesthetics, poetics, literary criticism, art and cultural history, vedic and vedantic studies, epic studies, dharmashastric studies, art of avadhaana, music, dance, theatre and films, history of Indian science etc. He is an accomplished music and dance composer. Nartanam 95

Sculptural representation of the Desi tradition of dance in Kakatiya temples with a special reference to Nrtta Ratnavali

VIDYA SHIMLADKA The essence of an art is constantly influenced by the cultural and traditional values that change and evolve through time. These changes take place due to modifications in social, political, and religious factors in a society. Such changes influence all streams of arts, such as dance, music, theatre and painting. In India, over the centuries several changes have taken place in all the streams of arts; however the core principle of ancient traditions has been retained till today.

Medieval theoreticians who wrote on sangita1 have broadly classified dance into two categories– the marga and desi. The first category strictly adhered to the rules of the Natyasastra and hence called as the marga, which meant the ‘established path’. The other tradition, the desi indicated the regional or provincial tradition. The transitional forms created by blending of the marga and the regional variations also were called as the desi. Some of the important texts on the desi tradition are Manasollasa of Somesvara, Sangita Ratnakara of Sarngadeva, Nrttaratnavali of Jaya Senapati, Sangita Samayasara of Parsvadeva, Nrtyadhyaya of Asokamalla and Nartana Nirnaya of Pundarika Vittala. Natya was popular till tenth century and after this period assimilation of dance forms led to the evolution of dance. Nrtya enjoyed a separate status and it no longer was subsidiary to the art of natya. When nrtya became an independent art form it was necessary to modify the structure of dance by widening the existing corpus.

VIDYA SHIMLADKA, an exponent of Bharatanatyam, a former journalist, is a scholar engaged in research on the history and evolution of dance. With a substantive part of her research based on Nrtta Ratnavali she was awarded Ph.D for her thesis titled "Kinetics and Kinesthetics of Indian Classical Dances with special reference to the Desi tradition” by the Jain University, Bangalore. She has also worked extensively on medieval texts on dance such as Manasollasa of Somesvara, Sangita Ratnakara of Sarngadeva, Sangita Samayasara of Parsvadeva, Nrtyadhyaya of Ashokamalla, Nartana Nirnaya of Pandarika Vittala and their relevance to present day classical dance forms of south India and also Odissi and Gotipua traditions. Nartanam 121

An Overview of Indian Arts: Dance, Music and Theatre

BHARAT GUPT

Dance, music and theater in India have been considered as sacred arts since most ancient times. They have also been regarded as morally uplifting, providing refined entertainment and enjoyment. They are meant to develop the personality of the artist and the art lover as a gracious and socially admirable citizen (naagarika).

All Indian performing arts are covered by the generic term natya, which means communicating through body gestures, movements, words, signs, musical notes, costumes and stage properties. A very thorough theory of performance or natya was developed as early as 5th century BCE in the work of Bharata Muni called the Natyasastra. It has been the basis of music, dance, drama, literature and sculpture and allied arts. It has influenced arts of China, East Asia, Japan and in the Far East in the ancient times and in modern age that of Europe and America. Natyasastra, a Primary Text of Indian Performing Arts

Ascribed to Bharata Muni, it is primarily a text for theatrical arts. But as dance, gestures, music, poetry, costume, masks and decoration are essential ingredients of theatre, the Natyasastra has been regarded as a fundamental text of all performing arts. Its ideas of emotional enjoyment (bhava-rasa), heroines (ashtanayikas) and exciting background (vibhavas) have influenced Indian sculpture, architecture, painting, folk poetry, dress and even the art of conversation.

BHARAT GUPT, a retired associate professor from the University of Delhi, is a well known figure in the field of arts. He is a classicist, theatre theorist, sitar and surbahar player, musicologist, cultural analyst, and newspaper columnist. He is known as an authority on Natyasastra and classical Greek theatre. He has expounded extensively on the need to include Arts in modern curriculum. For more than thirty five years now, he has lectured extensively at Universities across the world on Indian Music and theater theory. He has been serving as visiting faculty at the National School of Drama, Delhi, and been a resource scholar at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts where he is currently a Trustee and Executive Member. Nartanam 143

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Interaction of Mohiniattam voices in Kaisiki Vritti

LEELA VENKATARAMAN

Proposed and designed by scholar and Mohiniattam expert Deepti Bhalla heading Trikaala Gurukulam, and financially supported by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), the two day Kaisiki Vritti: Manifestations in Mohiniattam colloquium, mounted at Meghdoot Theatre-III of Rabindra Bhavan by the SNA, was a much needed exercise for stake holders in Mohiniattam, bringing scattered gurus and performers from all over the country under one umbrella for exchanging notes. Since its revival in 1930 by Mahakavi Vallathol and Mukundaraja, veteran connoisseurs of Kerala art, Mohiniattam as a female tradition of Kerala, despite scholars and practitioners working to shed light on its still conjectured historical background, has spread in manifestations evolving through individualistic interpretations during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s notwithstanding mainstream Mohiniattam maintained and taught by Kalamandalam for so many years. A central accepted core tradition from which other banis have sprung has eluded this dance. By pegging the discussions to main factors like Structure and Content prior to and following Institutionalization, aesthetics of the form and rationale of choreography, music, aharya, body kinetics, influence of regional texts and traditions and how these could shape contemporary concerns, the colloquium in a broad sweep touched on all aspects determining flow, confluence and sustenance of the tradition.

After a Sopanam Sangeet start by Vijay Kumar, the curtain raiser for the scholarly sessions pertained to the connotation of the terms Kaisiki Vritti and Body Kinetics in Mohiniattam by scholar/dancer Kanaka Rele. Describing how from her Maharashtrian birth characterised by Vaishnava jana to and Abhanga singing to being seriously trained in Bharatanatyam, to a long 36 year training in Kathakali Stree Vesham under Guru ‘Panchali’ Karunakara Panikkar, her dance training was also enriched by interacting with scholars like Moti Chandra, V. 144 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam

Raghavan, Ramachandran and finally and most importantly, Kavalam Narayana Panikar. It was finally a Ford Foundation grant which enabled her travel to Kerala to ferret out information on Mohiniattam. Recounting details revealed over the years, of how she came upon, during her travel, the aged Mohiniattam professionals Kunjukuttyamma, Chinnammu Amma and Kalyanikutty (whom she filmed), her own research into Kaisiki Vritti traditions, led her to one truth – that Kaisiki Vritti with its sukumara appeal and grace is devoid of gender specific connotations, beauty and aesthetics evoking sringara rasa being its prime qualities. Abhinavagupta describes vritti as activity and in achieving the four purusarthas the three generalised activities used are vacika (speech which gives bharati vritti), angika (bodily action which gives arabhati vritti), and sattvika the inner psychological state (sattvati vritti). When presented in a manner evoking an atmosphere of beauty, any of them can be kaisiki vritti which Abhinavagupta refers to as the soul of rasas. Thus, even Siva’s presenting the angaharas can be characterised as kaisiki vritti. In short this vritti, full of rasa, can evoke the highest sense of satisfaction, when sringara rasa is conveyed through nritya (this word is not used by Bharata, being first mentioned in the 5th century A.D. by Amarasimha in the Amarakosha) involving bhava and exterior beauty which comes through the kinetics of bodily form. Even raudra rasa unless evoked with beauty cannot be enjoyed. Kaisiki constitutes lyricism which “reflects the intellectual emotionalism, which is the invisible motivation for the dance which is implicit.” Mohini represents enchantment, enjoyment of life that creates the state of beatitude. Mohini does not seduce, she enchants.

In Kanak Rele’s interpretation, the word kaisiki is derived from kesh (hair), the crowning glory of a beautiful person. Rele in support of her theory mentions Bharata’s narration of Vishnu who after reducing the Universe into a single ocean, with creation compressed into a seed (brahmanda) is seen lying on his serpent couch, when challenged to battle by Madhu and Kaitabha. In a fist fight verbal style with abuse (bharati vritti), Vishnu during the fight employing perfect gestures paced the earth with sthanakas (arabhati vritti), the sound of his great and brilliant Saranga bow with his unswerving inner strength comprising sattvati vritti. Finally Vishnu moved about and gathering his hair using various angaharas, tied it up in a beautiful knot and created kaisiki vritti. This final act finds mention in Silappadikaram too.

Rele’s summing up of body kinetics in Mohiniattam clearly mentioned how of the two forms of movement – volution and revolution (spiral), Mohiniattam movements follow the second theory. The upper and lower parts of the body acting independently are connected by a very flexible vertebra with a lotus in the centre of the waist acting as the pivot. Movement starts from the centre and Nartanam Interaction of Mohiniattam voices in Kaisiki Vritti 145 spreads in a circle or starts at the uttermost periphery and ends at the centre like two circles side by side. This torso andolika and revolution creates a very lyrical dance where beautifully rounded movements, eschewing all angularities become difficult to master. The constant coiling and uncoiling of body is likened to the coiled serpent female energy, awakening the kundalini. Kanak Rele maintains that what she gathered from the movements of the three surviving old exponents in 1972 along with her findings from performances by established exponents, aided by her study of the sastras together helped her develop movement units and karanas - as per her interpretation of what the dance form needed and examples like Rechita Nikuttita, Grdhravalinakam Karana, Athastala Lola (mentioned in Balarama Bharatam) were demonstrated by her disciple Saji Menon whose nritta item based on music set to Samantamalahari ragam, melodiously sung by the vocalist, provided one of the highlights of the presentation part of the two day colloquium, fulfilling all that Rele had mentioned.

Bharati Shivaji’s natural inheritance of Bharatanatyam and singing stemmed directly from a singer mother who came from the Bhagavatamelam tradition. Touching on the aesthetics of Mohiniattam as conceived by her, the talk comprised oft mentioned details of her entry into the dance form beginning with training under Radha Marar. The serious involvement was from 1978, when SNA headed by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay sent her to Kerala on a Mohiniattam mission, the dance according to Kamaladevi being in dire need of resurrection. She was to work with Kavalam Narayana Panikar, a theatre person who had special interest in Mohiniattam being rendered only to music in Sopanam style. Interacting with scholars like Vasudevan Namboodiripad, Raghava Warrier, Kavalam’s son Kavalam Srikumar and several others, her first project with Kavalam Narayana Panikar comprising items Ganapati Stuti, Mukhachalam, Purappadu and Jeeva was first presented in 1982. Hers has been a performer’s approach based on instinct and a gut feeling for the aesthetics of the Mohiniattam form, while extending its contours by being open minded enough to borrow movements from other Kerala traditions – which could fit into the Mohiniattam tenor and style smoothly. She found in forms like Krishnanattam in Guruvayur, movements which seemed to suit the mainstream style of Mohiniattam very well. She heard musician Njeralath Rama Poduval singing in the Sopanam mode which fascinated her. She took from devagita, and vaittaris beautiful for embellishing Mohiniattam, and for the rhythmic enriching she found great percussionists like edakka, chenda and talam expert Pallavoor Appu Marar who opened her eyes to traditions like Tayambaka, Pancha Vadyam and whose vaittaris she liberally used for Mohiniattam. For the literacy festival in 1981, she produced Chandrotsavam with text in Manipravalam woven round the role of the devadasi and Kavalam Padmanabhan proved to be of great 146 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam help. Vasudevan Namboodiripad helped with many old compositions in productions like Adira. He introduced her to Madhaviamma and that was a great experience. She produced a work based on Bhanusingher Padavali, finding Tagore’s musical style very suitable to the Mohiniattam form in its slow lyricism. She had found some movements from Tiruvadiraikali and Kaikottukkali, female art traditions of Kerala, very suitably fitting the Mohiniattam style. When she presented her work on Unniaticaritam, the heroine being Unnicirutevi, with the general buzz on femininity all round, her work seemed very contemporary in concern.

With time always a concern, the video material Bharati wanted to be screened had to be shelved. Daughter Vijayalakshmi stepped in to talk about her work in productions like Swan Lake based on Tchaikovsky’s music. Her references to Mohiniattam as a purely devotional style, (a quality all Indian dance forms share) was overdone, considering that the deliberations pertained to the Arangam wherein the performative aspect plays a large role. Bharati’s disciple presenting Jeeva proved disappointing, the dancer not in best of form, her discomfort at the costume starting to come loose not allowing her to concentrate on the dance at all.

Kalamandalam Kshemavathy based in Thrissur, referring to Recollections and Reinventions in Mohiniattam, reminisced on her days in Kerala Kalamandalam learning under Tottacheri Chinnammu Amma in 1958 when she was hardly ten years old. The day would start at 5am with music lessons with Rajalakshmi teacher and mei sadhakam, adavus, eye exercises with Ramankutty Asan putting clarified butter into the student’s eyes before starting the eye sadakam. There was no let up till dinner time and after sometime Satyabhama teacher became her guru. The repertoire at the time of Chinnammu Amma was Cholkettu, jatiswaram in Senjurutti and Todi, Swati varnam in Yadukula Kambodhi, Sami nine nammitira, and a Swati Tirunal varnam in Todi, Dani Samajendra, in Malayalam, Swati Tirunal’s Indal Iha in Surutti, Irayimman Thampi’s Padam Prananayakam in navarasa and Yentaho in Malayalam by Irayimman Thampi in Mukhari. (Chinnammu Amma (1900-1977) learned Mohiniyattam during her young age but had not practiced for long years due to the taboos attached to it. The repertoires that she could recollect and teach were a Cholkettu in the raga Chakravakam, two Jethiswarams in Chenjurutti and Thodi ragas, a Varnam in Yadukulakamboji, and the Padam Enthaho Vallabhaa in Surutti. Todi varnam Dani Samajendra etc were Sathyabhama’s later choreography)

The reinventing phase started with M.N. Kurup (Kerala SNA’s former Secretary) stressing on group choreography. Mahakali, Sathyaguna, and what Kshemavati referred to as Character types with Vasudeva Panikar’s music and Kerala talams were presented. Mohiniattam was also done to ghazals, she said. Nartanam Interaction of Mohiniattam voices in Kaisiki Vritti 147

And as if to show that choreography was entering a permissive world, this artiste associated in everyone’s mind with the gravitas of Kerala’s Kalamandalam performed her own interpretation to a song Krishna nee ennai ariyillaa set to music with heavy orchestration with instruments like cassio etc. To say that one was surprised would be putting it mildly! If one likes the poetry, then why not set it to music which fits in with the sobriety of the dance form demands with bhava in music but not hyper emotive in singing, preferably accompanied by traditional instruments. She mentioned Kavalam Narayana Panikar, C.P. Unnikrishnan and Trissur Mohanan whose contemporary reinterpretations of epics, legends etc were set to Mohiniattam work. While one is concerned with identities being preserved with art excellence not taking a beating, one hopes these major art forms will exercise the necessary discretion in the choice of texts, music and themes. Kshemavathy understandably said that the need to have something more than the usual sringar, karuna and bhakti sthaayi was being felt.

Deepti Omcheri Bhalla’s entire career in Mohiniattam, after being trained under Kalyanikutty Amma and her daughter Kala Vijayan, has been on linking the dance with its desi heritage in terms of lyric, music and rhythm. Apart from Shabdachali, Nrityapadams, and works like Dundhubi Natyam, Deepti’s work as a trained, musician/dancer/scholar has been considerable. Except for changing the plaited hair into the top knot, she has not departed in technique from what her teacher gave her. She has believed in simple costuming as Kalyanikutty Amma advised, with no other jewellery barring the traditional gold ornaments of Kerala. Her main task has been in creating a new repertoire after her deep research into Sopanam music with the lead provided by her mother Leela Omcheri’s prolonged scholarship. In 1989, her findings leading her to Kutty Kunju Thankacchi’s songs, not really known to the rest of the world was a major discovery, the setting for Mohiniattam rendition aided by Govind Poduval and other Asans providing vaittaris. She set her dance interpretations to Triputa talam, with her mother the musicologist/musician making her contributions. She came across rare Malayalam javalis and what goes by the name of Vaathil Thura Paatukal by Irayimman Thampi, Kutty Kunju Thankacchi, Kilimanoor Thampuraan and a host of royal composers. One of them is a Ragamalika in talam adi – Atita graham composed by Kutty Kunju Thankacchi with the line Kamkomalakar. She found talamalika Padams, not seen in Tamil compositions, one Samvaada Padam, from the oral tradition, Kamini mani sakhi thaavaka mukham innu, in ragam Poorva Kaamodari and Saavari and set to two talas, khandachapu and misrachapu. Here, the frustrated nayika questions the sakhi sent as messenger to the nayaka for she shows on her person signs of having dallied with the hero herself. Kshetra Sthava Varnam set in the Pada Varnam pattern with devotional music, Amba Gauri Giri 148 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam kanye composed by Irayimman Thampi in Arabhi set to triputa tala is another composition which is unusual. She, along with her mother, have come across a Kutty Kunju Thankachhi tillana in Durbar, a rare raga, and several Nritya Prabandhas which are obviously for dance but set in the cyclic tala structure of Kerala in the oral desi patterns, needing to be reset for dance. With her equal felicity in music and dance, Deepti sang most of her compositions in bits along with Geeta Rajendran, her mother’s disciple. The dance demonstration was restricted to what has been acknowledged as one of her best works, Dundubhi. With her musicians with Vetri Bhupathy on mridangam, Satish Poduval on edakka and Shyamala Bhaskaran on the veena, she gave a very involved performance. Involved in researching into old texts and musical compositions, as singer of repute, working to bring in old desi compositions set to music for the dance in Kerala talams, Deepti’s was a very integrated and holistic approach to evolution of both artist and Mohiniattam.

Deepti’s idea that in Mohiniattam too, a vocabulary of vaittaris suggesting the kind of body movement, as in a Bharatanatyam taiyum tatta adavu could be attempted, will remain a non starter - for given the dance where individual practitioners now established have worked for over sixty years in their own ways, to make a common vaittari code get accepted would be impossible. One has to have a more broad live and let live approach in Mohiniattam with a basic identity of lyricism and grace with the andolika torso adhered to across the board.

The next morning’s session on ‘a search for special reference to Balarama Bharatam of Kartika Tirunal saw Rechita Ravi, a Bismillah awardee, take the floor reading out the paper in place of the absent V.S. Sharma. She began with the Ullur S. Parameswara Iyer’s line in Malayalam that Maharaja Kartika Tirunal, pleased on seeing Dasiyattam from Paradesa (Tamil areas) wanted a similar dance to be done in Kerala and this marked the beginning of Mohiniattam, a combination of bhavam, geetam and vadyam — Jnanendriyam and Karmendriyam, Angikam, Vachikam, Satvikam. Rechita demonstrated the Shirobhedas – both sthira and asthira. The Samyuta and Asamyuta hastas, subdivisions of adavus were shown. The concept of rasa as given in Adi Bharatha has been adopted in Balarama Bharatam. Rasa bhavascha Karayokarayornetra margena shobhathee Netram mana pradaanam he manobhavasyakaranam. And while this text does not dwell specially on Mohiniattam, it does mention Mohini Natanam and Mohini Nilaya Sthaanam, while not mentioning either Kutiyattam or Kathakali. A video on the nine rasas with mukhabhinaya was screened with Usha Nangyar presenting them. Rechita’s demonstration of the Pada bhedas and use of dhrishti (eye movements) both sthoola and sookshma was very neat. Nartanam Interaction of Mohiniattam voices in Kaisiki Vritti 149

Kala Vijayan from Tripunithura dwelling on the innovative veins in Mohiniattam, with Dhanya Ajith demonstrating spared no punches and said that Mohiniattam had gone through changes from 1937-40 when it was revived by Kalamandalam under Korattikkara Krishna Panikkar to changes brought about in 1950 when Kalyanikutty Amma (a one time disciple of Kalamandalam who settled down in Tripunithura) made her contributions. In 1967, Satyabhama from Kalamandalam was sent to learn from Kalyanikutty Amma who had formulated the 32 adavus under various heads - Taganam, Jaganam, Dhaganam, Sammishram. She also created teermana adavus and insisted that the dancer’s eyes follow the hand movements in circle, half circle, quarter circle. She also insisted on soft and tender grace, on 14 charis, on 18 karanams (like Mrigangi, Hamsapada, Mayurapada, Nagabandha) and introduced Navarasas. Kala Vijayan’s own demonstrations projected a highly expressive face and a persuasive communicator even at this age. Kalyanikutty Amma had also created one Attatala Varnam, her own composition. Padams for which she composed both lyric and dance interpretation, a Cholkettu, and the last item in her recital used to be Saptam (description of a full story ending with Mangalam – which was given up later) were features of her Mohiniattam.

Adding to her mother’s contribution, Kala Vijayan had herself created some adavus Alolita, Nimyomnata, Bhramari, Gamanam, Dambha, Dhititai and composed some Karanams. She has sculpted new Padabhedas and scripted them with slokas. She has used 35 talas but with different names. She has composed seven slokas. From Vasudevan Namboodiri who has worked on tantric hastas which were being used without understanding their significance, she has studied about jewellery used by the dancer Chandrakala, Suryakala, chutti, the flowers and the way they are placed on the hairdo, she realised have all a yogic relevance and are all based on important chakras. She has worked on Ashtapadis, Bhajans, Cholkettu in Devagandhari etc.

Mohiniattam practitioners have very little flattering comments to make on one another’s art. Each school has scant respect for the other schools. And one of those who started working years back on this dance form, but has remained outside the general fold is Nirmala Panikar based in Irinjalakuda, whose considerable research work has been in trying to establish the desi and regional aspects of traditions like Tiruvadiraikali, and other indigenous female traditions of Kerala, from which Mohiniattam took off. In her absence, her student Sandra Pisharody read out the paper and where called for, demonstrated. This art form is believed to have been the brainchild of Swati Tirunal. But its beginnings are in Avinava Kootu mentioned in Sangam literature where Padittrupattu refers to Chera art. The dancer who was given free access to king and court in 150 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam

Silappadikaram is described as Virali whose forehead shone in the Pandi Vilakku (same as Nila Vilakku) lamp flame while dancing. In Arangetrukadai of Silappadikaram, the dancer’s face reflected the changes going along with the emotive situation being portrayed, like turning beetroot red while expressing anger (which was a fact while Ammanoor Asan or Mani Madhava Chakyar performed and Nirmala had seen it). Among the ten satvik abhinayas was meimaralchiruttal (horripilation). In fact, according to Kutty Krishna Menon, the three aspects of Avinayam, Mai Kuttu and Natakam might have, in course of time transformed into Mohiniattam, Kathakali and Chakyar Koothu. The Kodungaloor family which had the secrets of this type of abhinaya where the body physically shows its responses to the condition of mind and mood, were hesitant to teach this exacting practice to Nirmala when she wanted to learn. Silappadikaram mentions Pindi, Piraiyal, Elirkai and Tularkai etc. The tradition of Nangiarkoothu is very stylised while Mohiniattam is more lokadharmi, says Nirmala’s paper. Using the semi circular movements and recreating aatams is one of the projects undertaken by Nirmala. Ammanaattam, a krida or play with a type of seed during Onam, was recreated in Natana Kaisiki - neatly presented by Nirmala’s disciple Sandra Pisharody. Even the abhinaya bit with face taking on various emotive hues like becoming red in anger was very convincingly demonstrated.

Kalamandalam Sugandhi from Kochi, one of the most well known of her alma mater, spoke on Margi-Desi Samanvaya. The Margi/Desi categories existed even at the time of the Silappadikaram. Ilango Adigal, said the speaker, used Natya Veda terms Pindi, Pranayal referring to formations. Period during the 20th century saw a revival of desi traditions, a tendency which uninterrupted has continued for 65 years. While reviving Mohiniattam, revisiting the Natya Sastra was not considered. The gentle quality of Mohiniattam which was like a tender plant needed to be carefully nurtured. Sugandhi split the word Apsaras as Ap (water) Saras (movement flow), and Mohiniattam as the dance of Apsaras, constituted movement resembling the gentle flow of water. Though it is a reconstructed tradition, many of its nuances and body technique details like Natam, Unnatam, Prasarita, Vivartita, Apasritamevato, Parshva - Padabhedas and Sthanakas can be traced to the Natya Sastra. Sugandhi felt that in this Margi Desi Samanvaya, it would be wise for practitioners to become more thorough with the Natya Sastra which could become a primary source of reference for all.

Based in Trivandrum, Kalamandalam Vimala Menon, known to be a good teacher, touched on the Assimilation and Rationale for Choreography, with daughter Vinduja Menon assisting her with melodious vocal support (and later dancing too). Vimala demonstrating adavus and how to hold stances explained Nartanam Interaction of Mohiniattam voices in Kaisiki Vritti 151 how one had to take into consideration the height of the dancer while squatting in an araimandi. If the dancer is a short person, one could not squat so low that the stance became an unaesthetic three quarter squat. While changing with the times to be able to communicate with the audiences, was much faster in other dance forms, it was less so in Mohiniattam with regard to choreographic ideas and thematic presentations, colour in costumes for different characters, additions of Deva/Asura instruments native to Kerala, and more swaying-natured patterns of adavus. Evidently, the mother/daughter pair has worked on several compositions they have choreographed. The daughter began with a prayer to Padmanabha sung in Surutti. Vimala recaptured the old days in Kalamandalam when the dancer would invariably begin with Ananda Nritta Samsye in Anandabhairavi. The daughter Vinduja on the other hand began with a Cholkettu in Sri Ragam composed by Vimala. A Padavarnam Panimati mukhibale in Ahiri, a Swati Tirunal composition took one back to the Kalamandalam days. A Jatiswaram in Bahudari, written and composed by Vinduja was performed by her. An excerpt from Mali Madhavan Nair’s attakkatha Karnasapatham, Endiha manmaanase sandeham... in Hindolam was rendered by Vinduja, showing through this extract the Kathakali — Mohiniattam link and how in the latter form, ideas like lajja or bashfulness received a subtly suggestive interpretation.

The workshops by the daughter of Kalyanikuttya Amma, Kala Vijayan and Kalamandalam Kshemavathy on both days were enjoyed by the many youngsters who participated enthusiastically. To have managed to get on board so many schools of approach, each almost hostile to the other, was a coup of sorts for Deepti Bhalla (and the SNA) who worked hard. The odd rumbling was quickly snuffed out by Deepti’s diplomacy. And a Keralite who has experienced the many discordant Mohiniattam voices on earlier occasions, was agreeably surprised by the minimal rancour experienced in this colloquium.

While learning to live and let live with so many manifestations of Mohiniattam holding sway, one has to admit to a lot of energy and courage to forge ahead with new ideas and succeed palpable in the generation after these gurus. And they will hopefully keep the dance alive. 152 Nartanam DELHI DIARY

LEELA VENKATARAMAN

Having been away from the capital scene, and busy with the Season in Chennai, the first exposure to the Delhi scene in the New Year was with young dancers performing at the IIC, under the sponsorship of Kalavahini, the Trust established by Malavika Sarukkai - one of its praiseworthy programmes being to promote excellence amongst the younger generation. With government approach to help promote art activities not showing signs of becoming more generous than at present, it is the need of the hour for the senior in the artist community to begin helping those in the younger generations who need support, particularly at the starting point of their careers to help find their feet in what is a very competitive and difficult terrain. Kalavardhini’s many sided approach of providing platforms for the really talented and committed youngsters, along with scholarships alongside constant and deep interactive sessions with seniors deliberating on art matters and also providing production grants in really merited cases would go a long way in mitigating the stress of embarking on a first major creative effort. The two artistes chosen for Kalavardhini’s maiden young dancer sponsorship were Christopher Gurusamy, and the couple Shijith Nambiar and Parvati Menon- all three coincidentally with a Kalakshetra trained background. Very strong in his nritta, given his impeccable leg stretches and movement profile, Christopher Guruswmy of late has

begun to show an abhinaya side which is also becoming noticeable. If Nadanamadinar in Vasantha was just the right choice for his strong pure dance, so was the Purandara Dasa pada, where a sullen boy Krishna refuses to play outside with the other children because of their whispered comments about his having been born in some jail to a Devaki - and that he was not the child of Yashodha nor the brother of Balarama. The young boy’s pout could hardly have been improved upon in the rendition by the dancer. And in the Swati Tirunal Sumasayaka varnam in Karnataka Kapi, the very bare sahitya allowed him the space for visualising an imaginative sub-text, with sringar as the main motif – which he did fairly well. Shijith and Parvati made T.R. Subramaniam’s varnam Vanajaksha in Behag, the centrepiece of their recital. Despite Parvati dogged by ill health, being below par, the choreography as an interaction between the Gopi and Krishna, with the Nartanam DELHI DIARY 153 nritta interludes also a kind of exchange between two with dancers who got away from frontal dancing, and movement making for creating rare line formations with the dancers facing different directions, tended to lessen focus on Parvati’s low key moments. Shijith’s interpretation of Vaa vaa Kanda va in Varali was moving in the bhakti mode. The musical accompaniment for both dancers left little to be desired. It was an event for young talents again with Sant Vani designed by R.K.Usha and organised jointly with Sangeet Shyamala in the latter’s school premises. After International Women’s Day, it was a good idea for two young women to dance to the poetry of two poets who in their time had defied societal conventions to live life on their own terms. Andal, the only woman among the great Alwar poets, did not hesitate to drape round her neck, the garland adorning Lord Vishnu’s idol in the temple. Nor did she hesitate to declare her love for him in no uncertain terms – the erotic suggestions in her poetry revealing her innermost desires without any squeamishness. So too was Meera, the other female poet, who shocked the cloistered seclusion of a princely Rajasthani household, by declaring herself the beloved of Krishna. Leaving behind the aristocratic trappings, she set forth as a sanyasin in search of Krishna. With these two women belonging to the South and North of India respectively, Bharatanatyam and Kathak expressions by two chosen young dancers adorned the evening. The venue, in a basement site of Sangeet Shyamala, with the stage at floor level facing an audience seated on the gradient in several rows, makes for an intimate space suitable for community gatherings of the area and the occupied seats with an avid audience told its own tale. One needs to take dance and music away from over sized auditoriums to smaller spaces spread over different localities. Shreyasi Gopinath, now training under Jamuna Krishnan, after a Kalakshetra training background, was very expressive in her recital beginning with a Pushpanjali set to Varali and Khandajati-atta talam, followed by Andal’s marriage to Vishnu in a dream sequence in the popular and oft rendered Vaaranamayiram with a concluding Karpooram Narumo with its erotic suggestions wherein she addresses the conch which has the good fortune of being held to Krishna’s mouth, wanting to know if his mouth and lips smell of camphor. K.Venkateshwaran the vocalist, Ragini Chandrasekhar who provided nattuvangam lead, Raghavendra Prasad and Aniruddha on violin and flute provided the right accompaniment. The music for the last Ragamalika item in Kamas, Ranjani, Sama and Yamunakalyani with a nritta interlude composed by Shivakumar, helped build up the right mood and setup for the dancer. 154 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam

Shipra Joshi, the Kathak dancer, has not been seen too often on the Delhi stage. Being trained under Prerana Shrimali, she brings to her dance, an internalised strength which is rare. And the visualisation of the items, the first a joyously secretive Meera suggesting that Krishna enter her home through the back alley so as to avoid gossip, and the second lyric where Meera shows herself drowned in the bliss of Krishna adoration, was brought out with nritta punctuations emerging as a natural part of the total dance statement knit into the lyrics without sticking out like sore thumbs. And one appreciated the good musical support, not always the case with Kathak recitals. Coming on to senior dancers, it is heartening to find how Malavika seems to be entering a heightened phase of creative energy in her career. In greater form than ever, her performance at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Sannidhi performance space was a particularly charged recital – perhaps the space itself with its discerning clientele for audience, apart from the students who of course are well versed in music and dance, acting as special inspiration. Malavika’s Sthithi/ Gathi based on music in Madhuvanti by Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar, exploring the contrast of movement and stillness in Bharatanatyam, by no means a new creation, seemed to have acquired in the dancer’s rendition a new immediacy and impact. The energy packed moving figure, suddenly freezing was like an explosive waterfall arrested half way through. The total effect derived a great deal from the perfect geometry of lines in her dance. Rivers have a character of their own depending on the terrain and flow of its waters. Thus the Bhagirathi and Alakananda, one sensuous and curling along, the other statuesque and full of dignity join at Devaprayag to become the mighty Ganga. Malavika’s creation based on M.S. Sukhi’s music in Saraswati and Nalinakanti catches this feel of the waters of two rivers in their independent characteristics joining to become the Ganga, whose descent from Heaven had to be tempered with its force contained in the locks of Shiva. And to this Jatadhara Shiva, Malavika offered homage at the start. Her latest work built round the epic of the Varaha avatar, was the dance edifice built on the foundation provided by the research by Prof. Raghuraman with verses from Tirumazhisai Alwar. Bhumi Devi being rescued from what would have been a watery grave, by Vishnu incarnating as Varaha the Boar, after destroying the demon holding her captive, carrying her aloft and safe perched on his snout made for a very powerful narrative. Celebrating 70 years of work, Indian Revival Group presented Ek tha Raja – The exemplary story of a Prince of Gujarat at the Meghdoot open air Nartanam DELHI DIARY 155 theatre. That Yog Sunder Desai hailing from the Uday Shankar school, and later establishing the Indian Revival Group, has today at the age of 97, still some faithful followers was obvious from the fairly good sized audience. Based on a little known figure, outside of Gujarat, the challenge of the entire production of Ek Gha Raja lay in having to flesh out very sketchy details of information about the hero Gopaldas known as Durbar Saheb. Not surprisingly, the choreographer Papiha Desai who has taken over from where Yog Sunder left, has filled the presentation with dances of Gujarat – the Garba, Dandia, Rumal – neatly rendered to well recorded music, which included narrative details mimed and enacted by a talented and persuasive Sutradhar, the main actor holding the narrative together. Ascending the principality in Saurashtra through a round about route of adoption, Gopaldas, who was deeply moved by great figures he interacted with like the young Aurobindo Ghosh, was an unusual ruler who treated his subjects as equals – the raja/praja difference done away with. Swayed by Gandhiji’s Satyagraha effort, Durbar Sahib became an ardent follower of the Quit India Freedom movement. Krishna Kumar Raghavendra as hero had a small role which he fulfilled well enough. While the aesthetic colourful costumes and high energy levels of the dancers and actors, kept the audience regaled, as a work of dance built round a certain figure, the base material as a take off point for dance was very limited. Kri Foundation’s treasured Managing Trustee Dr. Arshiya Sethi, just back from a long stay of over a year in New York under the Fullbright scholarship, launched the Madhavi Dance Festival at the Stein auditorium, the two day event named after Madhavi Gopalakrishnan (mother of dancer Rama Vaidyanathan, the other Kri Foundation trustee) who passed away recently and whose services and counsel the Foundation valued greatly. Naama Mhane built round the spiritual awakening of Sant Namdev, choreographed by Vaibhav Arekar and presented by his Sankya Dance Company, was a production on a different level, not experienced often in the performance circuit. Of the different sampradayas of Sant traditions of Maharashtra, by far the most popular is the Varkari tradition founded in the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by Namdev (a sant belonging to the tailor community and Jnyaneshwar (son of a socially out-caste Brahmin) who wrote the famous Jnyaneshwari, a Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Drawing upon both Shiva and Vaishnavatraditions, the Varkaris believe in an annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur to worship their deity Shri Vitthal of Pandharpur. Though identified with Krishna, he has a Shiva ling on his head. Vitthal, unlike other Gods is not looked upon by the devotee with a sringar relationship. In a tender and intimate relationship with 156 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam his devotees, Vitthal is looked upon as a loving friend and companion or sakha or even Mother. This bhakti is in association with gyan or knowledge. The choreography by Vaibhav Arekar was one of its type, the base foundation through research provided by Pradnya Agasthi. Music composition by Sudha Raghuraman, had vocalists like her, Megha Bhat and Gautam Marathe, evoking the same involved intimacy reaching out and touching the inner core of the audience, in its heart felt bhava. Even the percussion tones on the mridangam and ganjira had a different tone of soft persuasion. As for the dance, how does one describe it? Here was bhakti as an experiential state. It was a whole process of taking the audience, along with oneself into a different space, and I feel that unless the performer is able to erase his persona in a journey of this nature, the process will reach nowhere. As the Abhangs of Sant Jnyaneshwar, Janabai, Sant Namdev, Santa Sawtamali, Eknath Maharaj, Sant Tukaram were rendered, the dancers with just castanets in hand reacting with the minimal movements in true Bharatanatyam, wrapped the audience in the-state- of-being gradually emerging scene after scene. Just that one scene of Namdev going through an intense inner struggle of wanting to see and experience the great truth he seeks viz Vitthala, (with Sudha singing in Amritavarshini with tanam passages woven in) and finding that within himself, by Vaibhav Arekar was made into such a lived-in-experience by the artist that it seemed that a whole process was happening right in front of the audience. And the Nandi Chol Tom Nom syllables used in such a unique fashion with the music in Hamsadhwani. Also the bhakta’s equation with the deity is not one of subjugation. When a bhakta seeking Vitthal earnestly, gets crushed under the machine he is working with, unable to see the Lord, he questions the unreasonableness of the deity, the snatching and wearing of the cap worn by the devotee a very symbolic gesture– Could you not show yourself even for an instant before that earnest devotee? If the devotee seeks whole heartedly, Vitthala too has his duty! Also this samskara is not nishkriya but sakriya. Each devotee pursuing his work feels and sees the divine –Jana Bai in her daily kriyas as a servant maid, the potter devotee in his pottery. Attracting men and women bhaktas from all strata of society and castes, the Varkari tradition with its Prema bhakti makes no restrictions of caste or creed. The finale of a Tillana in Brindavani Saranga also was rendered in an unusual manner –even while the movement technique was unabashed Bharatanatyam. No departed soul could have asked for a better homage than a production of this nature, which very rightly received warm applause. Nartanam DELHI DIARY 157

The second evening Rama Vaidyanathan and ensemble took the stage and what was expected to be another memorable evening unfortunately turned out to be disappointing. Vivartana – Dance Transforms failed to live up to expectations right from the confused concept, to the poorly recorded and rendered music which seemed to find itself tied to the khanda nadai beat far too often. English poem translated by Divyanand Jha, Samayogi based on verses from Tirumandiram, Nimagna a Braj Bhasha composition of Meera Bai, Pratibodhana or Dance Awakens based on a Gujarati Narsing Mehta poem, verses from Abhinaya Darpana in Rasa Bhava - it was a rainbow which became a hotch potch of ideas, of movement visualisations – all compounded by a badly recorded tape where voice and words became muffled. Durga, Revati, Karaharapriya, Kamas, Hindolam – all were smudgy. The Rumi poetry with a dancer in white aimlessly circling, the dance of Meera like skipping the light fantastic and even the Tirumandiram verse where dancer merges with the dance which was presented by Rama – all fell below expectations. I suppose the law of averages will spare no one- and this was not one of Rama’s best efforts. From a dancer of her calibre much more was hoped for. The very next evening, at the same Stein auditorium venue, an Usha R.K. event on Kshetras or places of pilgrimage saw male dancers Pavitra Krishna Bhat and Abhimanyu Lal, take the stage in the twin traditions of Bharatanatyam and Kathak respectively. The deities of the two Vaishnavite centres of Srirangam in the South and Shri Nathdwara in the North, became the thematic concerns of the two dance forms respectively. Pavitra Bhatt had done his research thoroughly. Starting with a montage of quick frozen stances to convey Dashavataram, the dance journey begins with the river Cauvery which flows round the island of Srirangam before splitting into Kollidam and another tributary, which again join up at another place. The dancer’s interpretation began with a Kavutvam on Vishnu’s vahana Garuda by Madurai R. Muralidharan. Garuda darishanam adishayam, Garuda darishanam adisukham, the music was in raga Nagaswaravali. And what one appreciated about the dance visualisation portraying the giant eagle was sticking to the grounded Bharatanatyam technique while successfully communicating the feel of being airborne. The choreography was very imaginative. The centrepiece of this recital rested on a composition Sri Ranga Puravihara in Brindavan Saranga, which late M.S. Subbalakshmi’s constant rendition has made very popular. There is a myth attached to the mammoth idol of Vishnu in Srirangam which was related in the introduction. After the success of his battle against Ravana, Rama offers prayers to Lord Vishnu and hands over the idol to Vibheeshana with the instruction that he house 158 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam the idol in Lanka so as to keep the place safe. But the condition was that he should not let it rest at any point till he reached Lanka because once the idol was placed on the ground, it would remain there for eternity. The Devas, alarmed that their God was going to be sent to the land of the rakshasas, as a ruse sent Ganesha, who offered help in carting the image when needed. While performing santhyavandanam ritual, Vibheeshana made over the idol to Ganesh asking him to hold it for him. But Ganesh after a while quietly put the idol down. An alarmed Vibheeshana wondered what he could do to restore the situation and was told not to worry – because the idol which kept stretching to cover a large area of the ocean had the eye glance directed towards Lanka. Vibheeshana was assured that though not in Lanka, the lord would always guard the interests of the Kingdom. With vocalist Shrikanth providing the accompaniment on the tape, and the involved dancing by Pavitra, one felt that the recital did justice to the theme. Abhimanyu Lal had all his cheer leaders to keep applauding every step of his. While the nritta aspect had a certain exuberance, while interpreting the compositions, surrounding Krishna at Nathdwara where each jhanki portrays him in a special mood, as flautist, player with children, Sringar purush to whom kheer is offered as raja bhog, with music on certain instruments played for him. The dancer tried to capture a feel of Banke Bihari Lal with devotees pushing and shoving through impossible crowds to have a darshan of the Lord. ‘Wake up’ (Jagiye Gopal Lal) say devotees trying to get the young Lord out of his bed in the morning. The feat of the young Lord lifting Mount Govardhan on his little finger to save his devotees from a watery end thanks to the torrential rains sent down by Indra and the various leelas leave the devotees in wonderment. The nritta apart, Abhimanyu’s abhinaya communicated little. Through a long career, Odissi dancer Jyoti Shrivastava has kept her annual Guru Pranam Utsav in homage to her late guru Srinath Raut, alive. This year the main guest artiste was Ramli Ibrahim of Malaysia who along with his disciple Geethika Sree added colour to the festival. The presentation of the Pallavi in Rageshri, an old creation choreographed by Durgacharan Ranbir for his disciples Leena Mohanty and Ramli Ibrahim, was done with a new idea crafted on to the Pallavi which is Ramli’s usual approach, to ring in the changes. The rendition became a sringar interaction between two dancers. The other number the two dancers presented was Nava Rasa, where together and at times singly, the item brought out the nine dramatic sentiments. Geethika is evolving into a fine dancer. Nartanam DELHI DIARY 159

Among Jyoti Shrivastava’s students at Vaishali Kala Kendra, Rahul Varshney showed equipoise, and ability to hold stances well while executing Ashta Shambhu. The only problem was a very old tape where the ukkutas could hardly be heard and between the utterance and mardal player and the dancer’s steps, immaculate timing was lacking. A new recording with the music in Malkauns is a must. In the opening Mangalacharan and the Moksha, some group arrangements were very attractive. A somewhat tired looking Jyoti performed abhinaya to the Ashtapadi Keshi Mathanam Udaram with the recorded music in Sudha Desi, composed and sung by Rama Hari. Dasha Mahavidya as a group presentation had disciples from Vaishali Kala Kendra. Jyoti must also think of items which go beyond the traditional numbers -which have been presented year in and year out. On the other two days, groups and single dancers from various cities participated with each day’s proceedings starting right in the morning. While the dancing pertained to varying standards from promising, finished to very raw, some troupes like that of Madhulita took more than the time given to others and this should not be allowed. But the most delightful presentation of this teacher was from six year old Angelina Avnee presenting Radhasrani sange Muralipani. This student of Madhulita based in Bangalore is a natural and the only critique one can make is what the child showed as the dance of Radharani and Murali Aha ki sundar dise with the little one’s tribhanga thani so perfect. The third evening’s highlight was the recital by the Abinna Sundar Gotipua Nrutya parishad. The youngsters danced the abhinaya as well as Banda Nrutya very well, with fine singing on tape by their director Basant Kumar Maharana.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We thank the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, for its partial financial assistance for the publication of this journal. Publishers, Nartanam

Christopher Gurusamy Photo Courtesy: Shalini Jain

Shreyasi Gopinath Photo Courtesy: Jaison Thomas

Shipra Joshi Photo Courtesy: Jaison Thomas Date of Publication 1st of Every Quarter and R.N.I. No. APENG 2001/04294 Posted on 10th of Every Quarter

Sunil Kothari (above) receiving the Akademi Ratna (Fellow) and Avinash Pasricha (left) receiving the Akademi Puraskar for overall contribution to Performing Arts for the year 2016 from the President of India in a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 17 January 2018.