PAPER 6 DANCE IN INDIA TODAY, DANCE-DRAMAS, CREATIVITY WITHIN THE CLASSICAL FORMS, INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE IN DIASPORA (USA, UK, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ETC.) MODULE 20 SOME CONTEMPORARY DANCERS/SCHOLARS/GURUS OF BHARATANATYAM
Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam: Bharatanrityam The four decades of 1960 -1990 saw a generation of vibrant, path- breaking Bharatanatyam dancers. Padma Subrahmanyam combined scholarship in Natya Shastra with a singular dance talent. Her path- breaking work on the documentation of karanas / करण she identified on the dancing figures of the Meenakshi Temple gopuram /
गोऩुरम was added creatively to her dance movements, a practical application of the fruit of her research. Padma's Bhamtanrittam became inclusive of movements not found in Bharatanatyam of the sixties. The Karana theory as mentioned in the text guided Padma's approach to her dance. Her in-depth Natya Shastra research had many students from other dance disciplines attend her classes for theoretical knowledge and erudition at her institution, Nrityodaya. Dr Subrahmanyan’s skill for conceptualizing and solo-dancing an entire ballet (such as Krishnaya Tubhyam Namah / कृ ष्णाय तुभ्यं नम्) is also a rare gift and hardly any other dancer has matched it.
Yamini Krishnamurty: A Magnetic Presence It was in the 1960s that classical Bharatanatyam saw Yamini Krishnamurty, a young dancer with a magnetic presence, rising on the horizon. Yamini captured the hearts of cosmopolitan audiences, with the sheer power of her brilliance and stage presence. As a performer, if Bala with her magic stunned people into silence, Yamini made them erupt in applause. Trained initially at Kalakshetra and later under gurus like Ellappa Pillai and Gowriamma, Yamini's dance, exuding uninhibited passion and sensuality, was unusual for the post-devadasi phase. Her programmes were presided over by her father, a noted Sanskrit scholar, and he supervised her career with expertise. Her sister Jyotishmati whose melodious music accompanied the dance, was a huge strength. It was the father who spotted in the rustic yet compelling Kuchipudi presentation of guru Vedantam Raghaviah, a dance form which he realized had tremendous potential for Yamini Krishnamurty stage performances, along with Bharatanatyam. Her vibrant dance with statuesque poses and impeccable rhythmic command, responded well to Kuchipudi. Like Shanta Rao earlier, her performances comprised more than one form, starting with Bharatanatyam and followed in the second half with the inevitable Krishna Sabdam /
कृ ष्ण शब्दं , scenes from Bhama Kalapam / भामा क쥍ऩम , and Tarangam / तरंगम, at times even including an item or two of Odissi for which she trained under Pankajcharan Das. It was her Kuchipudi brilliance that finally put this dance form on the pan-Indian stage. The majesty of Bharatanatyam, followed by the mercurial speed and
grace of Kuchipudi, concluding with the languor of Odissi, made for riveting variety in one recital. The Veeriboni Bhairavi varnam / वीरीबोनी भैरवी वणणम , originally part of the classical singer's repertoire, was brought into Bharatanatyam by Yamini. Watching her perform the Husseni Swarajati / हुसैनी स्व셍तण ी , even Bala was spurred to words of praise. Her presentation of the Pantuvarali Varnam Chelamu Chesi moved the audience to tears. The nayika's sensuous persuasion while rendering the charanam / चरणं line in the Kamas Varnam VaVaVa en pechhd ketka va mesmerized audiences. Never a wilting heroine, no matter what the nayika's mood, there was a triumph of spirited womanhood one experienced in Yamini Krishnamurty proud bearing.
Late Smt Anjali Merh: Devoted artist
Smt. Anjali Merh passed away on Feb 10, 1979. Her death was sudden as it was untimely. Dance personified, an artiste par excellence, a beautiful soul, and a vibrant woman of substance, she was barely 50 years old. If classical dance has arrived and established in Gujarat pre and post independence, the credit goes to the Shrimant Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda as well as to the three most talented, devoted, revolutionary and missionary women, Smt Mrinalini Sarabhai, Smt Kumudini Lakhia and Smt Anjali Merh . The first two with their family backgrounds and wealth, established great dance institutes in Ahmadabad whereas the third devoted her life to serious dance education and teaching at the Maharaja Sayajirao University.
She went to Kalakshetra as a young girl amongst the first few to go there and the first Gujarati. She was the foremost disciple of Smt Rukmini Devi Arundale. She imbibed the best of her guru and the institution for 7-8 years before returning back to Mumbai. She was thoroughly trained in Bharatanatyam and was well-versed in Tamil and Telugu, in Carnatic Music, literature and poetry. She joined the Faculty of Performing Arts, then known as the Music College as a guest faculty in 1955, and progressed quickly to become its Head, Department of Dance from 1962 till her death in 1979. She built the department’s strengths in teaching, research and dance performances. She created a strong foundation that continues to serve as a platform for the future generations.
Anjali was a philosopher. She defied, challenged and expanded the horizons of Bharatanatyam.
An extraordinary teacher, a discerning aesthete, a musician of high calibre and a sensitive poet, she revolutionized the traditional world of Bharatanatyam with several compositions in Gujarati. Her creative, dedicated, brave but very traditional approach to the art of Bharatanatyam was sensible but not enough. Though considered a traditionalist, hers was a free spirit. She saw the infinite scope of the art of Bharatanatyam.
By 1970s Anjali also realized her own personal need to express the ethos of the culture that she belonged, that of Gujarat. From almost 1970 till 1979, her pride of being a Gujarati, her need to reach out to the Gujarati people and perhaps the most important, to let the world know that Gujarat and Gujaratis not only supported the art of dance but also excelled in all the aspects of it. The first original Margam in
Gujarati, Shachi Paulomi / शची ऩौऱोमी, Ramayana / रामायण, Natir
Puja / नाततर ऩू셍ा, Buddha Charitra / बुद्धा चररत्र, Naval Nayika / नवऱ नातयका and Asta-Nayika / अस्ट-नातयका, Radha nu Shamanu / राधा नु शमाण ु and unforgettable Shree Chandramauleshwara Kuravanji are some of her outstanding compositions and choreographed ballets of that period. These are the landmarks in the history of dance.
The night she died was the debut performance of her most creative, controversial production of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Navagraha Krities / नवग्रह कृ तत. It was a landmark in abstraction. The planetary movements and configuration were brought out in choreography with vivid formations using and creating special Shollu-s, costumes, imaginative lighting and movements. Anjali wove modern and contemporary design while using traditional Bharatanatyam. If she was alive, this composition would be a point of reference for the history of modern dance in India!
Anjali Merh was the first to start the Dance documentation in M S University way back in 1962, creating and using “stick” figures to draw dance items. At the University it helped not only the local students but students coming from other countries as well. She produced three doctorates under her, one of them is Dr. Sunil Kothari. Her story is the struggle of an artiste, born without a silver spoon, who defied all for the sake of her love, passion and commitment to dance.
VAIJAYANTIMALA BALI: Dance and Cinema Trained under guru Vazhuvoor Ramaiyya Pillai and guru K N Dandhayudhapani Pillai, Vyjayanthimala developed into a fine dancer who performed all over the world at the most prestigious events. She also became a popular film actress and after a successful career in films and marriage, she returned to her first love – Bharatanatyam, establishing her school – Natyalaya – in Chennai. She has choreographed dance-dramas Andal Thiruppavai / अंदऱ थथ셁ꥍऩवाई, Tagore’s Chandalika / चंडालऱका and Kavi Kunjara Bharati’s Azhagar
Kuravanji / अ煍गागर कु व셍ं ी and successfully revived forms like Nava Sandhi, Mela Prapti, Thodaya Mangalam, Prabhandams, etc.
SAROJA VAIDYANATHAN: Loving guru Saroja Vaidyanathan initially trained in Bharatanatyam under guru Lalitha at Saraswati Gana Nilayam and later under guru Kattumannar Muthukumaran Pillai of Thanjavur. She is the third generation disciple of this venerable guru. She gave up her career in performance early due to her marriage but she established her own dance school, Natyalaya, in Delhi, became a prolific choreographer and trained a number of young dancers, including those from underprivileged families (under the NGO, Sarvam). She has to her credit ten full length ballets on diverse themes ranging from mythological stories to women’s empowerment, and nearly 2000 individual Bharatanatyam items. Saroja has written a number of books on Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music including The Classical Dances of India (for educational purposes), Bharatanatyam
– An In-Depth Study, Carnataka Sangeetham, and The Science of Bharatanatyam. She has also released two CDs on Subramania Bharathi’s poems, CDs of three Margams (full course), a CD on the life of Paramacharya, VSDs of two Margams (full course) and a video of the basic Abhyas, fundamental Adavus along with Hastas, Viniyogas, Bhedas, Rasas and Gatis for educational and art institutions.
DR. SUDHARANI RAGHUPATY: an aesthete A contemporary of Chitra Visweswaran, Sudharani Raghupaty was a student of U.S. Krishna Rao and later of Kittappa Pillai. She was an imaginative choreographer and fine teacher, and established her own school in Chennai, Sri Bharatalaya, training a long line of dancers, many of whom were also good at Nattuvangam. Her own son was an excellent mridangam player and so proved very useful to her institution. She worked closely with Madurai Krishnan, a talented music composer, and so with such support systems Sudharani was able to build up a formidable repertoire. Her signature varnam, Maye Madan Sodari / माये मदन सोदारी , composed in Todi by Madurai Krishnan, was extremely popular with dance cognoscenti. It is important to remember that dancers such as Chitra and Sudharani were supported by great singers (Madurai Krishnan, Madurai Sethuraman, S. Rajeswari) and talented mridangists (Trichoor Ramanathan). Many of them were working in Vaijayantimala Bali’s dance institution. In the process of working with such fabulous dancers, Madurai Krishnan and Madurai Sethuraman created compositions in
the bhakti bhava, which turned out to be excellent material for young dancers, still too immature to emote shringara.
CHITRA VISHWESHWARAN: Southern Heritage Chitra Vishweshwaran was Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai’s disciple, though she studied at Kolkata’s Rabindrabharati and privately tutored under T A Rajalakshmi, a devadasi trained under Kuppiah Pillai. As a result of these combined influences, in Chitra’s dance, one saw the delicate torso genuflections of the devadasi as also the light- footed grace of the Vazhuvoor school. Chitra also became known for the intensity of emotional expression she brought to her performance, as well as a mixture of north/south heritage, having lived for the most time outside Chennai. Her marriage to Vishweshwaran, a santoor player and Carnatic singer, added to these mixed influences. This is superbly illustrated in one of her productions where the two heroines, Meera and Andal, are identified with Hindustani and Carnatic background music, as well as subtle differences in the body language, that highlighted the socio- cultural differences between the two women. Chitra composed and choreographed most of the items she performed as the aging Guru Vazhuvoor had apparently forbidden her from presenting any item from the repertoire he had taught without him conducting the programme. Chitra's innovative production, Ganga, contained unique idea where she introduced the narrative tradition and episodic sequences in the interpretative passages of the varnam, the dancer taking a pirouette changing from one side of the stage to another, moving from one role to another in a dialogue—an aspect greeted with mixed feelings.
LAKSHMI VISWANATHAN An articulate speaker and author on dance, Lakshmi Viswanathan has made a name for herself as a graceful abhinaya artist. Her abhinaya delights in the angika element, with the body language as communicative as the facial expression in conveying emotion. She believes that dance and shringara are not special to the devadasi and the lyrics of padams and javalis are part of the Carnatic music repertoire open to one and all. This is very well reflected in her own performances.
MALAVIKA SARUKKAI AND ALARMEL VALLI The next generation saw the rise of two extremely talented and naturally gifted dancers in Chennai – Malavika Sarukkai and Alarmel Valli -- one patrician and introverted and the other exuberant and outward-looking. It is interesting that their approach to their dance practice reflected these personal traits as well. Both dancers are articulate in explaining their thoughts on dance that make them popular with their audiences. Malavika Sarukkai, apart from the incredible geometry of her movement lines, shows heightened awareness to societal issues like ecology. The restrained distancing in Malavika lifts emotions above the mundane. Delving into the mind/body togetherness in dance, Malavika has worked a lot with abstract technique, and her own creations are one-woman ballets on different themes like Khajuraho, the life of a courtesan (based on a 9th century work), and on images of lived life in Varanasi and the region where the Ganga flows.
Unlike many contemporary dancers, she reaffirms spirituality as an eternal base for the dance. On the other hand, Alarmel Valli's dance is inspired by Sangam period Tamil poetry from texts like Kuruntogai, Kalittogai, Silappadikaram. Through her dance, she highlights how this ancient secular poetry continues to be relevant to life even today. A very communicative dancer, Valli's lissome grace, and easy ability to reach the audience have made her a great favourite.
GEETA CHANDRAN
Geeta Chandran studied Bharatanatyam under Swarna Saraswathy (Thanjavur Devadasi Parampara), V. Sadasivam, and guru K N Dakshinamoorthy. She further studied abhinaya under Jamuna Krishnan and Kalanidhi Narayanan, and V Krishnamoorthy. She is a regular performer, with a distinctly creative mind and her performances blend tradition and innovation. Her focus is also on experimentation, especially in the content which engages with issues and concerns of contemporary relevance in dance. She is also a prolific writer on dance, with considerable research in vachikabhinaya. She is a trained and accomplished vocalist in Carnatic music too.
Geeta teaches Bharatanatyam at her institution, Natya-Vriksha, that she has founded in Delhi. Natya-Vriksha group presentations are known for their high aesthetic quality. She has evolved a holistic style of teaching the classical dance which engages young learners. She has presented the arangetrams of 30 senior disciples who continue their training under her and she
continues to mentor over one hundred disciples; several of her students have blossomed as full-fledged performers.
In her choreography, Geeta skillfully weaves the abstract notions of Joy, Beauty, Values, Aspirations, Myth and Spirituality. She sincerely believes that dance must be linked to life and that artists must use their unique position in society to make a difference to life and living. Therefore her choreographed productions, Her Voice, and Imagining Peace articulated her conviction that dances can be a vehicle to build social bridges, whereas the widely acclaimed production Kaikeyi and choreographed smaller pieces on the theme of Drugs have thrown the spotlight on issues of social stigma. Her 2008 work – Mythologies Retold -- addresses the social curse of female feticide. Geeta’s book, So Many Journeys, is an intensely personal collection of her writings which narrate her engagement with Bharatanatyam. The most recent and much talked about production of Geeta is “Gandhi” Through the movements of dance she has beautifully and sensitively brought about the essence of Gandhiji and his doctrine of Karma.
Priyadarshini Govind
Priyadarshini Govind received her training in Bharatanatyam from Swamimalai K. Rajarathnam and Kalanidhi Narayanan. It is no wonder that she has been acclaimed by connoisseurs for her evocative and intense abhinaya. With her natural aptitude for abhinaya coupled with her passion and dedication to her art, Priyadarshini has become a flag bearer for Smt. Kalanidhi’s padam repertoire. Priyadarshini’s nritta is intense and vigorous. A dancer known for her adherence to tradition, Priyadarshini manages to
seamlessly blend new choreography with the traditional, thereby gently redefining the boundaries of Bharatanatyam repertoire. Priyadarshini has also undergone training in Kalaripayattu, the martial art form of Kerala and Nattuvangam from Kalashetra, besides learning to sing and to perform on television.
Pratibha Prahlad
With her innovative creativity that transcends the mechanical in the traditional frame- work, Pratibha Prahlad made a name for herself as one of the foremost of the new generation of classical dancers of the country. Pratibha’s performances have always been an audio-visual experience, contributing something new and meaningful, exciting and insightful to the present-day dance scene. Pratibha combines in herself various roles of performer, teacher, choreographer and arts administrator.
Her passionate belief in the strength of traditional forms combined with the contemporary understanding of both has made her a modern-day arts crusader. She has had the fortune of training under some of the best dance gurus that the country has ever seen namely Guru V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai, Guru Kalanidhi Narayaran, Prof. U.S. Krishna Rao and Dr. Vempatti Chinna Satyam. Pratibha Prahlad organizes two major dance festivals namely Sharad Vaibhav and Eka Aneka in Bangalore every year besides organizing a colloquium on dance and related subjects every year. More importantly, in 1995 Pratibha started Vijyayotsav-the Hampi National Cultural Festival in Hampi and introduced the concept of cultural tourism in Karnataka.
Now the State government organizes this festival annually. Since last many years her Delhi International Dance Festival has given her a unique opportunity and position in the international dance scene.