A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance

Volume: XVIII, No. 4 October - December 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 criticism, intellectual and interpretative Patron history of Indian dance traditions are its Edward R. Oakley focus. It publishes performance reviews and covers all major events in the field of dance in India and notes and comments Advisory Board on dance studies and performances Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Scholar, Kuchipudi dancer) abroad. The opinions expressed in the articles Avinash Pasricha (Former Photo Editor, SPAN; SNA Awardee) and the reviews are the writers’ own and C.V. Chandrasekhar (Bharatanatyam Guru, Padma Bhushan) do not reflect the opinions of the editorial committee. The editors and publishers Kedar Mishra (Poet, Scholar, Critic) of Nartanam do their best to verify the Kiran Seth (Padma Shri; Founder, SPIC MACAY) information published but do not take responsibility for the absolute accuracy K. K. Gopalakrishnan (Critic, Scholar) of the information. Leela Venkataraman (Critic, Scholar, SNA Awardee) Mallika Kandali (Sattriya dancer, Scholar) Cover: Disciple of Ananda Shankar Jayant Manjari Sinha (Critic, Scholar) at Nartanam Conclave 2018 - Gen Next Reginald Massey (Poet, FRSA, Freeman of London)

Photo: Raj Mohan Hazari Sunil Kothari (Scholar, Padma Shri, SNA Awardee, Fellow of SNA) Suresh K. Goel (Former Director General, ICCR) Cover, Design & Layout 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, #35, Poulomi Aristos, Golden Mile Road, Kokapet, Hyderabad- 500075 Email: [email protected], [email protected] Phone: 9989314829 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. 4 October - December 2018 CONTENTS Editorial/ 7 Letter to Editor / 10

Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule / 11

Music for Dance at Nartanam Conclave 2018: A Report /29 LALITHA VENKAT

Performances at Nartanam Conclave 2018/ 52 SUNIL KOTHARI

Conference on "Shiva-Shakti in Universal Perspective" / 62

Shiva-Shakti in Universal Perspective: Concept Note / 65 MADHU RANI SHUKLA

Shiva-Shakti Philosophy in Tamil Music / 70 S. PARTHASARATHY

Sarira Viveka: The Shiva-Shakti principle in a Human Body / 74 MADHAVI PURANAM

Ardhanarishwara / 83 DEEPTI OMCHERY BHALLA

Ardhanarishwara: Who is the better half?/ 86 DAKSHINA VAIDYANATHAN BAGHEL

Mystic and Philosophical aspects of Shiva-Shakti: A scientific approach / 90 GAVEESH

Rock of Jungheera, Lord Shiva’s Abode: Inspiration for H. L.V. Derozio/ 94 NORAH NIVEDITA SHAW

Shiva-Shakti: A Tradition in Music / 99 UMA VIJAY 6 Nartanam

Shiva and Shakti: Illustration in Carnatic Music Kritis / 104 SHANTI MAHESH

Shiva-Shakti in the compositions of Muthuswamy Dikshitar / 112 MANJULA SURENDRA B. M. JAYASHREE

The Shiva-Shakti philosophy in Indian music: Evolution of raga Bhairava / 118 SRISHTI MEHRA

BOOK REVIEWS Telugu Songs For Abhinaya / Salva Krishnamurthy / 123 Flowers at His Feet (An Insight Into Annamacharya’s Compositions)/ Pappu Venugopala Rao / 126 V. A. K. RANGA RAO

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS Delhi Diary / 129 LEELA VENKATARAMAN

The International Odissi Dance Festival- 2018/ 144 MADHAVI PURANAM

First Presidential address of Jayantika / 149

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We thank the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, for its partial financial assistance for the publication of this journal. Publishers, Nartanam Nartanam 7

EDITORIAL

Unsung Heroes of Nartanam

In our pages we have celebrated the great contributions of our founders, the late G. M. Sarma and Modali Nagabhushana Sarma, and our advisors, the luminaries of the world of art: Avinash Pasricha for his photography of the arts, Leela Venkataraman (dance critic, scholar and writer), and Sunil Kothari (Padmashri, Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and Fellow of SNA; scholar, writer and historian of Indian dance) for their trail blazing work in the field of dance.

We acknowledge the support of our equally well known advisors, the eminent guru C. V Chandrashekhar whose presence on our advisory board is an honour to us, the legendary Kiran Seth (founder of the SPIC MACAY movement which through arts, has moulded an entire generation of Indians), Suresh Goel (retired Indian Foreign Service bureaucrat and former Director General of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations) who has furthered arts through diplomacy, Manjari Sinha, whose stellar writing on music and dance, especially in her impeccable Hindi and also in English, has charmed and educated the readers.

We laud the pioneering efforts of Anuradha Jonnalagadda who was a founder member of the editorial board and she continues to extend her support as an advisor to Nartanam. We recognize the contribution of K. K. Gopalakrishnan, a prolific writer on Kerala Arts who has helped Nartanam during critical times and has crafted the issues of Nartanam on Kerala arts and artists. Kedar Mishra, a writer, poet, and a political and cultural activist, adds a fiery ideology and comes up with well thought out practical solutions when posed with ethical issues and other problems that an editor sometimes faces. Mallika Kandali, a well known Sattriya dancer and scholar has been a staunch supporter of Nartanam and renders valuable service through her knowledge of the north east of India and its art forms.

There remain two unsung heroes at Nartanam who have been crucial to the production of every single issue of Nartanam for many years now. Not only is their contribution immense but also their unconditional support has been most 8 Nartanam reassuring and it never stops, even as they promptly execute much of the work that the editor assigns them – they are Reginald Massey and Shakeel Ahmed.

Many years ago, I approached Reginald Massey, known as Reggie to friends, for an article. He sent me a quotation for his remuneration and on being apprised of the financial condition of Nartanam, never ever charged a penny while sub editing the many convoluted writings that I have sent to him over the years – and always at very short notice. Ever prompt in sending back the subbed pieces, Reggie is also constantly shooting ideas and opinions (some of them strong and voiced without a filter), which have helped refine many an issue of Nartanam. Reggie has written on the culture, religion, music and dance of India for leading UK newspapers such as The Times and The Guardian and has been a critic of The Dancing Times of London. He has written books on a variety of subjects, including Indian classical music and dance. A literary activist, he has also been in broadcasting and has made a film, Bangladesh I love You, which starred the great boxer Muhammad Ali. A senior member of the British Society of Authors, Reginald is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has been honoured with the Freedom of the City of London. He has been awarded with the prestigious Baroness James Grant for Literary Merit. He lives in mid Wales in the United Kingdom with his actress wife Jamila. We thank him for his indefatigable support.

Shakeel Ahmed lays out every issue of Nartanam. A rare gem of a person, genteel in disposition, an artist to the core, he is a known young writer and translator proficient in Telugu, Hindi and Urdu. At his corner desk at the press, his computer belts out old Hindi film melodies as he works tirelessly and with boundless patience on the various jobs assigned to him. He never shies from voicing his honest impressions of the writing and the pictures in Nartanam and often laces his comments with fine humor. Even as he works for long hours at designing which is his job at the press, Shakeel finds the inspiration and time to write sensitive commentaries on a variety of topics, which are popular with the readers of Telugu newspapers. His amusement at some of the acrid writings against other religions (including his) in a Hindu magazine, which he carefully lays out as a part of his job, is admirable. Asked if such writings do not disturb him he just smiles. Shakeel represents all the finer qualities that we expect art to nurture in a human being. Shakeel’s presence and work at the press makes the toil of producing a valuable issue every quarter a memorable and happy experience. Nartanam 9

We need to mention Edward Oakley the carpet manufacturer and art collector whose family have lived in India for generations. His financial support has been timely and unconditional.

We are happy to inform our readers that the second edition of the Nartanam Conclave was a great success and we present in this issue a brief glimpse into the conclave. The papers presented at the conclave will be brought out in a special issue of Nartanam in 2019. In this issue we bring you an interesting compilation of talks/papers presented at the Seminar, “Shiv-Shakti in Universal Perspective” organized by Vyanjana Art and Culture society, Allahabad. The Interdisciplinary Conference took place at the Kalidas Academy in Ujjain. 10 Nartanam Letter to Editor

A Concern by a Mere Rasika: Kathak Trashed I am writing to you merely as a concerned rasika. I have no knowledge of dance but as an audience. Please do not mind my words, I sincerely apologize. I am 70 years old and I walk with a walking stick and yet I travelled all the way from Faridabad from an old age home to see a cultural evening. I returned after a two hours drive from the habitat center to Faridabad at 12 am because the show, unfortunately, ended at 10 pm. I went to see a much-broadcasted event whose highlight was a dastaangoi and kathak performance which also had a poet in between. What I did not know was that the event was the launch of a dance calendar by an artist Inni Singh. My God, I am a rasika and I have been watching Kathak thanks only to Pandit Birju Maharaj. The Kathak was a presentation of the duet of Vidha Lal and Gauri Diwakar but it appeared to be a fashion show performance. The audience was made to wait 10 minutes twice for the dancers to change costumes. Additionally, it appeared like a wrestling match with no rasa, only sparkling power games. And these two are supposed to be the recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for young artists. As if that was not enough the beautiful Dhrupad composition about Shiva was seeing two skillful dancers killing the soulful piece with warrior strength. Also, a Sufi piece was Bollywood Kathak if I can say so. Again I was surprised because as a senior rasika of over 70 years if I heard correctly the piece on Shiva was announced that it was choreographed by guru Geetanjali Lal but there was no mention of the original source or even the fact that it was composed by the Dagar Brothers; this amounts to plagiarism without giving any credit. Can not esteemed critics like Sunil Kothari ji, Manjari Sinha ji, LeelaVenkatraman ji, Anjana Rajanji, Rannee Kumar ji and senior Kathak dancers like Saswati Sen ji and Prerana Srimali ji and important thinkers on dance like Anita Ratnam ji, Madhvai Purnam ji et al not check these talented dancers who in their euphoria for glamourous capitalist mode of production are getting something really wrong. Also I will want to point out that the Tabla player .... What was he banging around and was he the guru on stage? Lastly, we were made to wait outside the hall for a good 25 minutes. Boy what a trashy experience of Kathak when one has grown up with the finesse of Pandit Birju Maharaj jis refinement. It is so unfortunate since both the dancers have so much potential. Kalavati Kumari, A Lover of Art 29 December 2018 Nartanam 11

Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Experiencing and exploring dance through dancers, scholars, spectators and patrons.

5-8 October 2018 Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resources Development Institute of Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Day 1: Friday, 5 October 2018 9am - 9.30am: Registration of participants 9.30am - 9.45am: Welcome address by Madhavi Puranam followed by keynote address by Manjari Sinha 9.45am - 10.45am: "Music for Kathak" by Shama Bhate Chair: Jayant Kastuar 10.45am - 11.15am: Questions / Interaction 11.15am - 11.30am: Tea break 11.30am - 12.30pm: "The components of music in Vilasini Natyam" by Anupama Kylash Chair: Aruna Bhikshu 12.30pm - 1pm: Questions / Interaction 1pm - 2pm: Lunch 2pm - 3pm: "Components of music for Kuchipudi" by D.S.V. Sastry Chair: Manjari Sinha 3pm - 3.30pm: Questions/Interaction 6pm: Formal inauguration of the evening festival by Raja Reddy followed by Parampara Ke Padachinha, a Kathak recital by Avani Gadre, Shivani Karmarkar, Bhargavi Sardesai and Isha Nanal, disciples of Shama Bhate. 12 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam

Day 2: Saturday, 6 October 2018 9.30am - 10.30am: "Challenges of composing music for dance" by S. Venumadhav Chair: Jayant Kastuar 10.30am - 11am: Questions / Interaction 11am - 11.15am: Tea break 11.15am - 12.15pm: "Music for Annamayya krithis" by Shankar Rao Gandham Chair: S. Venumadhav 12.15pm - 12.45pm: Questions / Interaction 12.45pm - 2 pm: Lunch 2pm - 3pm: "Odissi Music: Evolution and nuances" by Ramhari Das, accompanied by Dhaneswar Swain Chair: Kedar Mishra 3pm - 3.30pm: Questions / Interaction 6pm: Honouring Kalamandalam Gopi and release of Nartanam's special issue on him 6.30pm: Bharatanatyam solo by Vamsi Madhavi Day 3: Sunday, 7 October 2018 9.30am-10.30am: "Kathakali music: Evolution and nuances" by K.K. Gopalakrishnan Chair: Jayachandran 10.30am - 11am: Questions / Interaction 11am - 11.15am: Tea break 11.15am - 1pm: Bridging the Pillars - The Government, the Artist, the Scholar and the Corporate - a Panel discussion on Arts Management and Policy Chair: Jayant Kastuar (Former Secretary, Sangeet Natak Akademi) Panelists: Mamidi Harikrishna (Director, Department of Language and Culture, Telangana) Suresh Goel (Former Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations) Ananda Shankar Jayant (Dancer, Director, Shankarananda Kalakshetra) C. Anjaneya Reddy (Retd. IPS) Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 13

Kiran Seth (Founder, SPIC MACAY) Jayesh Ranjan (IAS, Principal Secretary, Information and Commerce, and Information Technology, Government of Telangana) Vijaya Ramam (Management consultant, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute) 1pm - 2pm: Lunch 2pm - 3pm: "Music for Perini" by Kalakrishna Chair: Alekhya Punjala 3pm - 3.30pm: Questions / Interaction 6pm: Release of Nartanam's special issue on Jayantika, by K. Haritha, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commercial Taxes, Telangana 6.30pm: Kathakali performance "Nalacharitam First Day" with Kalamandalam Gopi as Nala Day 4: Monday, 8 October 2018 9.30am - 10.30am: "Music for Bharatanatyam" by Ananda Shankar Jayant Chair: Anuradha Jonnalagadda 10.30am - 11am: Questions / Interaction 11am - 11.15am: Tea Break 11.15am - 12.15pm: "Music for Sattriya" by Bhabananda Barbayan Chair: Sunil Kothari 12.15pm - 12.45pm: Questions / Interaction 12.45pm - 1.30pm: Lunch 1.30pm - 2.30pm: "Music for Manipuri" by JNMDA, Imphal Chair: Aruna Bhikshu 2.30pm - 3pm: Questions / Interaction 3pm - 5pm: Panel discussion "Disseminating Arts and Culture: Winning Strategies" Chair: Ananda Shankar Jayant Panelists: C. Anjaneya Reddy, Sunil Kothari, Suresh Goel 6pm: Kuchipudi solo by Yamini Reddy 14 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam

Sponsors: Department of Language and Culture, Government of Telangana Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resources Development Institute of Telangana, Hyderabad Department of Tourism, Government of Telangana Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi Shanta Biotech State Bank of India 5 OCTOBER 2018 9.30am: Keynote address by Manjari Sinha Manjari Sinha: Manjari has an M.A. in Sanskrit and Music, and is trained in vocal, tabla, sitar and Kathak dance. She has contributed articles in English and Hindi on music, dance, art and culture to various music journals and periodicals. She has regular columns in national dailies as a music and dance critic. She now writes regular columns on music and dance for Jansatta, The Statesman, The Hindu, and Dainik Bhaskar and reviews books on music and dance for Hindi India Today. 9.45am - 10.45am: "Music for Kathak" by Shama Bhate Chair: Jayant Kastuar Synopsis: Shama's talk spans the transitions in Kathak music since independence. The space for a Kathak presentation has changed from temple to durbar, to kotha and then to proscenium stage. Sound amplification has changed drastically over the years. Because of the huge stage space and audience for viewing, a group replaced a lone figure. Kathak presentations have also shrunk to 40 minutes. The audience of today has different expectations since three generations have passed since independence. There is an inherent scope in Kathak dance to experiment with music, space, theme, idiom and text without harming tradition and classicism. Shama Bhate: A disciple of Rohini Bhate and Suresh Talwalkar, Shama Bhate's work spans over 35 years as a performer, teacher, choreographer, artistic director, and thinker. Her personal idiom, evolved over the years, is a blend of virtuosity (tayyari) and sensitive expression (abhinaya), revealing a high degree of classicism. Based in Pune, Shama is the director of Nad Roop that has produced many talented artists. Shama has acquired a special place in the hearts of music and dance lovers for her extensive work in traditional as well as contemporary format. She has many creative initiatives to her credit for the promotion of classical dance: ‘Quest for New Horizons’, ‘Creating Awareness’, ‘In Tandem’(with Bharatanatyam), ‘Prajakta’(with specially-challenged children), ‘Sansmaran’, 'Maths through Kathak', among others. She teaches in many state universities, Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 15 and is a member of the advisory board of numerous dance and art academies of national repute. After working in the traditional format for many years, she explores new choreographic possibilities using various art media like paintings, line drawing, sculpture, cinema etc. Jayant Kastuar: Former Secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Jayant Kastuar is a Kathak exponent, art administrator, speaker, and thinker of the world of Indian Performing Arts. Jayant Kastuar was selected by the SNA in 1984 to lead its dance department as deputy secretary. He also served briefly as the director of Kathak Kendra, Delhi, before he took over as the seretary of the Akademi in 1999 and his contribution to the fields of Kutiyattam and Kathakali of Kerela, Kuchipudi and Andhra traditions of dance, Odissi dance, Sattriya traditions of Assam and Chhau dances of Eastern India have been appreciated. His initiatives for preservation and enrichment of regional music traditions, theatre and puppetry traditions, instrument making traditions as well as programs of theatre training at state and regional levels, besides promotion of young talents of India across the board have also been significant. Jayant Kastuar relinquished his post in December 2011 in order to pursue his interest in art and academics. 11.30am - 12.30pm: "The components of music in Vilasini Natyam" by Anupama Kylash Chair: Aruna Bhikshu Synopsis: The ancient treatises which dealt with the subject of music, whether it was the Natyasastra, the Dattilam, or the Sangitaratnakara, have all stressed upon the interdependency of the ‘word,’ ‘music’ and ‘dance.’ In Indian dance systems, therefore, literature, music and dance are inextricably woven together. This lec-dem discusses the musical components of Vilasini Natyam, art of the hereditary temple dancers of the Telugu land, highlighting the variations of melodic and rhythmic structures in the three contexts – alaya sampradayam (temple tradition), asthana sampradayam (court tradition), and ata bhagavatham (operatic tradition). The music of all three contexts will be analysed in a three pronged manner – laya or rhythm centric music; music, as melodic refrain; music, as applied to the different genres of literature. The music applied to Vilasini Natyam, while employing a wide range of ragas and talas, pays particular attention to the subtle nuances 'of raga bhava', tala, 'kala and laya auchitya’ and ‘prakriti nirupana.’ Anupama Kylash: Anupama learnt Kuchipudi from Uma Rama Rao and has been actively performing for the past 20 years. She holds a doctorate in Dance from the University of Hyderabad. She runs Anubhav, a center for dance, music and literature in Hyderabad. With her disciples, Anupama has presented a number of creative and innovative dance features. She has presented several lec-dems and papers at seminars and conferences of dance. Anupama is also a ‘Vishaarad’ 16 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam in Hindustani music from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalay, and is a graded artiste of Doordarshan. Aruna Bhikshu: Aruna is an eminent Kuchipudi dancer and academician. She has a PhD in Kuchipudi fromUniversity of Hyderabad. She is a well known acting guru and has trained many actors who have successfully gone on to establish themselves in theatre and films. She is currently the head of department of Dance, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad. 2pm - 3pm: "Components of music for Kuchipudi" by D.S.V. Sastry Chair: Manjari Sinha Musicians: K. Rajagopalacharya on mridangam, R.Dinakar on violin, D. Jayakumaracharya on percussion and V.B.S. Murali on flute. Synopsis: The paper explores the role of music in Kuchipudi as an art form, and how the music of the form has changed from the late 19th to early 20th century to the present times. The ragas employed, their relevance and usage in various situations and the manner of exploiting a jathi or a talam to portray rasas in Kuchipudi is discussed. It also argues that the music of Kuchipudi is a bani by itself and has an identity of its own, despite having adopted the tenets of Carnatic music. Being a performative art form that depicts stories from mythology, Kuchipudi’s music, like its lyrics, is one of its key tools of storytelling. From the time of the kalapam to the solo, one can observe a huge transformation in the music, though the core remains intact. A few defining features, which could be the musical structures or jathi patterns or choice of ragas itself, that form an underlying basis for the bani of Kuchipudi music, are discussed. It is not just the corpus of ragam or talam that forms the bani, but how the selected ragam or talam are employed in the composition. D.S.V. Sastry: Dandibotla Srinivasa Venkata Sastry trained in Carnatic music and Yakshagana sangeetham under Pasumarthy P.V.G. Krishna Sarma and learnt Kuchipudi dance from Vedantam Radheshyam and Vedantam Rattayya Sarma. He has written and composed various keertanas and tillanas apart from creating a new raga, Sripriya. A multi-faceted personality, he imparts training in Kuchipudi dance, has choreographed solo numbers, composes music and jathis for Kuchipudi dance dramas and solo numbers, and is a vocalist and nattuvangam artiste for almost all contemporary leading Kuchipudi artists of the country. He is also experienced in painting, make-up and preparing karaalas (masks) for various characters and sets for dance productions. He is the Founder-Director, Lasyakalpa Foundation for Arts. Currently he is part of the department of Dance, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad, as a vocalist. Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 17

6pm: Parampara Ke Padachinha, Kathak presentation by Avani Gadre, Shivani Karmarkar, Bhargavi Sardesai and Isha Nanal, disciples of Shama Bhate. Conceived and choreographed by Shama Bhate. Synopsis: Tradition is worshipped and followed with a lot of reverence in all classical dance styles. But, tradition certainly is not like a stagnant pond, it is a flowing stream. Many gurus, artists and thinkers have worked hard to bring a new meaning, a fresh feeling and different dimensions to the existing tradition, thus making it rich and strong. In this choreography, the artist strives to maintain the purity of tradition, yet experiments to give it a fresh flavor in its rendering. Traditionally, Kathak is a solo form, but in this choreography the artist tries to achieve the same integrity and classicism with a group. By using a group, the artist tries to explore the space by making the visuals beautiful and exciting… to express the theme by creating visual poetry…. to interpret rhythm in a multi-layered manner. Nad Roop: Nad Roop, a school of Kathak dance, has been active in the field of performing arts for the past 27 years. Under the directorship of Shama Bhate, Nad Roop regularly organises seminars, lecture-demonstrations, workshops, festivals etc. Known for its choreographic productions, Nad Roop maintains a troupe of 15 efficient dancers. It has performed at various prestigious festivals, in India and abroad. Nad Roop also engages in training young aspiring dancers and has produced more than 25 professional artists. Over the years, 600 students have studied at Nad Roop and many of the disciples are performing, teaching and creatively engaged in India and across the globe. 6 OCTOBER 2018 9.30am - 10.30am: "Challenges of composing music for dance" by S. Venumadhav Chair: Jayant Kastuar Synopsis: Venumadhav presents a talk drawing from his experiences as a musician, music composer for dance and Carnatic vocalist. His talk throws light on the nuances and challenges of composing music for dance. The talk is interactive with the dancers and musicians in the audience posing questions on his work in the field of dance. Sathiraju Venumadhav: A disciple of D. Raghavachary (Hyderabad Brothers), Venumadhav is a classical singer who has also widely composed for dance. In 2010, he released a CD Annamayya Pada Mandakini in which 108 kirtanas of Annamayya were composed and sung by him. Accomplished dancers of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi styles have performed to these compositions. Venumadahav has sung Annamayya’s “Dasavatara Suladi” in the original notation 18 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam of Annamayya as found in the Tirumala music inscriptions engraved on stone slabs at the Tirumala hill, Tirupati. 11.15am - 12.15pm: "Music for Annamayya kritis" by Shankar Rao Gandham Chair: S. Venumadhav Synopsis: An extraordinary vaaggeyakaara who offered thousands of sankeertanas to Lord Venkateswara in the 15th century, Annamayya’s literary works are well blended with music and dance. He created all his works on the base of Lakshanagranthas like Natyasastra and Sangitaratnakara. Annamayya himself authored a work Sankeertana Lakshanam in which he has mentioned the principles to be followed to create a sankeertana. Annamayya’s literary journey continued with a mix of marga and desi styles which include elapatalu (folklore), tummedapatalu, soolaadulu, vaakovaakyaalu (argument songs), yugalaalu (duets), and yakshagana prabhandhas. The lecture focuses on the insights into these topics. Shankar Rao Gandham: Shankar Rao is a researcher, orator and scholar on Annamayya literature. His passion and quest helped in unearthing more than 300 new sankeertanas of Annamayya and his family from Saraswati Mahal Library, Tanjore, and SV Oriental Research Institute, Tirupati. He has authored two volumes of Annamayya Padaamritavarshini and Annamayya Padamandaakini in which he has rendered commentary for 500 sankeertanas. Gandham’s research has expanded to the field of Kuchipudi dance too. He has presented a comparative study on Siddhendra Yogi Bhamakalapam and Annamayya Sankeertanas, where he highlights the similarities and dissimilarities between Satyabhama and Alamelumanga. His knowledge of Science has helped him in making a comparative study of Gollakalapam and Embryology. He has received the Keerti Puraskaram in 2012 from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University for his research work. 2pm - 3pm: "Odissi music: Evolution and nuances" by Ramhari Das, accompanied by Dhaneswar Swain Chair: Kedar Mishra Ramhari Das: Ramhari Das has trained under illustrious Odissi gurus like Markandeya Mohapatra, Balakrushna Das, Gopal Chandra Panda and Bhikari Charan Bal at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay, Bhubaneswar. A teacher, singer, researcher, author and composer of innumerable songs, pallavis, dance dramas and other items of Odissi dance and music, Ramhari has established himself as a torch bearer of Odissi music tradition. He has excelled in presenting all the forms of Odissi music system like Odissi raganga, Odissi bhavanga, Odissi natyanga, champu, chhanda, malashri, pallavi, Geeta Govinda, etc and is an author of several books. He has been performing as a soloist and as an accompanying vocalist to Odissi dance in India and abroad for three decades. He is the founder of the Ramahari Das Odissi Gurukula for training in Odissi music in the gurukula system Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 19 in the Satyavadi area of Puri district. At present, he is the vice-president of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi. Dhaneswar Swain: Dhaneswar Swain received his training in mardala under the masters Singhari Shyamsundar Kar and Banamali Maharana at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar. In 1979, he joined the Mahavidyalaya as a teacher of percussion and worked there for over thirty years. He has won acclaim as a mardala player in Odissi dance, accompanying leading dancers in their recitals since the 1980s. He has striven to carve out for the mardala its own space in Odissi music, giving solo recitals. Dhaneswar Swain has composed music for a number of choreographic works. He has produced a CD of his compositions on the mardala titled Vadya Vani. He conducts workshops on dance music at several institutions. Kedar Mishra: Kedar is a poet, writer and journalist. He has carved a niche for himself in dance with his scripts for dance productions. He is also a known political commentator. 6pm: Honouring Kalamandalam Gopi and release of Nartanam's special issue on him Kalamandalam Gopi: Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair, popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi, is a renowned exponent of Kathakali. He is a disciple of Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair and Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair, and was trained at Kerala Kalamandalam. He is known for the romantic and dramatic portrayal of the virtuous pachcha roles in Kathakali, and is equally adept at playing the yellow-faced pazhuppu roles such as Balabhadra, and even the anti-hero Kathi roles. Gopi retired from Kalamandalam in 1992 as its principal after 36 years of service. The two documentary films made on Gopi are Kalamandalam Gopi (1999) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Making of a maestro (2010) by Meena (Das) Narayan. He has received an honorary doctorate from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in 2018, Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi (Akademi Ratna) in 2011, Kalidas Samman in 2011, Padma Shri in 2009, and Fellowship of Kerala Kalamandalam in 2002, to name a few honours. 6.30pm: Bharatanatyam solo by Vamsi Madhavi Program: Ganesh Stuti (in Sanskrit) followed by an Alaripu in khanda chapu Jathiswaram in ragamalika composed by Tanjore quartet in misra chapu Swarajathi in Huseni, choreographed by Rukmini Devi Arundale, music set to rupaka thalam by Melattur Venkatrama Shastri 20 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam

Padam in ragam Kalyani, choreographed by Bragha Bessell, set to misra chapu Javali in ragam Khamas, choreographed by Bragha Bessell, music set to rupaka thalam, composed by Patnam Subramanyam Iyer Thillana in ragam Hindolam set to khanda eka thalam, music composed by Tirukokaranem Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, choreographed by Rukmini Devi Arundale, followed by Mangalam. Vamsi Madhavi: Vamsi Madhavi has pursued both Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dance forms for over 20 years. She was initiated into Bharatanatyam under Rama Shrikanth and C.V. Chandrasekhar and graduated as a topper of her batch from Kalakshetra. She has participated in multiple dance-dramas of Kalakshetra and portrayed leading roles like Sita in Sabari Moksham, Rukmini in Rukmini Kalyanam, and Devadasi in Purandaradasa. She has performed in various festivals with Kalakshetra in India and abroad. Madhavi has collaborated with reputed artists in various productions. She is engaged in propagating the beauty of the Bharatanatyam form in Kalakshetra style both by performing and by teaching. She is currently pursuing her training under Anupama Kylash. 7 OCTOBER 2018 9.30am–10.30am: "Kathakali music: Evolution and nuances" by K.K. Gopalakrishnan Chair: Jayachandran Participants: Actors: Kalamandalam Vipin and Kalamandalam Adityan Singers: Kalamandalam Babu Nambootiri and Kalamandalam Vinod; Chenda: Kalamandalam Krishnadas Maddalam: Kalamandalam Rajnarayanan Synopsis: The highlight of Kathakali music lies in the blend of vocal rendering with the two percussions, chenda and maddalam. The temple music structure known as Sopana Sangeetam works very well for Kathakali with its rich organic and ethnic traits. The applied music for Kathakali is abhinaya sangeetam, music for acting based on Sopana Sangeetam. Padaartha abhinaya – literal interpretation – is followed in Kathakali and thus the acting methodology is known as cholliyattam. The raga alapana is dovetailed in Kathakali not to establish the raga by itself or its various aspects, but to create an ambience for the mood of the dramatic situation. Fascinatingly, all the accompanying instruments – maddalam, chenda, gong and cymbal – produce varying shrutis and often both the singers perform in different shruti. Kathakali uses four important basic talas, namely, chembata, chemba, adanta and panchari. Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 21

K.K. Gopalakrishnan: K.K. Gopalakrishnan is a cultural writer from Kerala contributing for periodicals/ news papers such as Nartanam, The Hindu, Sruti etc and is an advisor to Nartanam. He is the author of critically acclaimed Kathakali Dance Theatre – A Visual Narrative of Sacred Indian Mime (2016). Jayachandran: Jayachandran is a researcher and Bharatanatyam artist. He started his career as a software engineer, before transitioning into the arts. He was an assistant professor at Kalakshetra and headed its research and documentation department during which time he explored and expanded the existing knowledge base of temple architecture and ritual. He currently works as a lecturer in Humanities at the Center for Exact Humanities, IIIT-Hyderabad. 11.15am - 1pm: "Bridging the pillars: The government, the artist, the scholar and the corporate" – a panel discussion on 'Arts Management and Policy’ Chair: Jayant Kastuar Panelists: Mamidi Harikrishna (Director, Department of Language and Culture, Telangana) Suresh Goel (Former Director General, ICCR) Ananda Shankar Jayant (Dancer, Director, Shankarananda Kalakshetra) C. Anjaneya Reddy (Retd. IPS) Kiran Seth (Founder, SPIC MACAY) Jayesh Ranjan (Principal Secretary, I & C and IT, Telangana) Vijaya Ramam (Management consultant, L.V.Prasad Eye Institute) Synopsis: The issues addressed are broadly: -What is a culture policy? What/whom is it supposed to serve/ guide? What should be the components of such a policy? Where do Performing Arts fit in? Do they need a different plan and policy? - Existing policy at the Centre, and the State of Telangana. Policy of any state/country which can serve as an example. - How do the pillars that we are trying to bridge, take part in the execution of the larger policy? - Do arts require to be managed? If so how? Who is equipped to do so? Relevance and significance of Management in Indian Arts, the components of effective Arts Management etc. Mamidi Harikrishna: Harikrishna is a known poet, documentary filmmaker, painter and a historian. He has earned a name as a critic of the Telugu cinema. 22 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam

He has written in various Telugu publications. He is Director, Department of Language and Culture, Telangana. Suresh K Goel: An Indian Foreign Service officer of 1978 batch, retired as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and Director General of ICCR, Suresh Goel is a cultural administrator who has displayed sensitivity towards artists and art forms of India. Goel continues to support various cultural projects, and organize niche cultural events to encourage young creative minds and develop performing arts platforms which are deeply rooted in Indian idiom and highlight the young creative energies. Ananda Shankar Jayant: Ananda inhabits the worlds of administration, academics and arts, straddling them with equal ease. As the artistic director of Shankarananda Kalakshetra, Ananda leads an acclaimed ensemble, besides training and presenting the next generation of Bharatanatyam artists. Ananda has created Natyarambha, a first of its kind digital arts initiative – a Bharatanatyam practice app. Ananda is a sought after motivational speaker and actively engages with young India on a wide range of topics at leading corporate entities, leadership programs, hospitals, universities and schools. A TED speaker in 2009, her TED talk, has been ranked as one of 12 incredible TED talks, and ranked in January 2015 by Huffington Post as one of five greatest TED talks by Indians. Ananda is an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service and is currently posted in Hyderabad. C. Anjaneya Reddy: C. Anjaneya Reddy is a former Indian Police Service officer with experience in culture and tourism related activities. After many years of service in (undivided) Andhra Pradesh both in and outside the Police, he served as Chairman and Managing Director of AP Tourism for 5 years. He was inspired by Nataraja Ramakrishna to develop the Taramati monument outside Hyderabad as a venue for cultural activities. It has now become a model for turning monuments into culture venues. He also conceived and founded the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, an institute for tourism professionals where culture is given an important place in the curriculum. He has enduring interest in performing arts and is presently working on creating an organization devoted to preserving and modernizing and presenting traditional arts to the 21st century audience. Kiran Seth: Kiran is an academician, currently Professor Emeritus in the department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he has been since 1976. He is the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth, SPIC MACAY (1977), a non-profit organization which promotes Indian classical music and dance, and other aspects of Indian culture, amongst youth through workshops, lec-dems, cultural programs and conventions. Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 23

Jayesh Ranjan: Jayesh is the Principal Secretary, I & C and IT, Telangana. He is an MA in Psychology and a Management graduate. He is also a Masters in Public Management. His job involves policy framework, attracting new investments, identifying oportunities of utilising IT in various government processes and promoting digital empowerment of citizens. He supports many social, cultural and charitable causes. Vijaya Ramam: Vijaya, an M.Phil. in Hospital management, has been associated with L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) for over 31 years, and is presently working in an advisory capacity as a management consultant. LVPEI believes in creating aesthetics / greenery around / promoting art and culture. Having three sisters who are dancers, she has had great exposure to arts. As a management professional, she supports her sisters by taking care of their managerial needs of the stage. It is Vijaya’s mission to encourage and support artists. 2pm - 3pm: "Music for Perini" by Kalakrishna Chair: Alekhya Punjala Kalakrishna: A leading exponent of Andhranatyam, Kalakrishna is one of the senior most disciples of Nataraja Ramakrishna and learnt Kuchipudi, Andhranatyam, Navajanardana Parijatam and other temple dance traditions of Andhra in guru shishya parampara. He learnt Kuchipudi under Vedantam Jagannatha Sarma and thereafter with Nataraja Ramakrishna who was trying to revive dying traditional dance forms like Perini Siva Thandavam and Andhra devadasi traditions. From 1982, Kalakrishna began conducting nattuvangam for performances of Perini Siva Thandavam and Andhranatyam and holding workshops. Kalakrishna teaches at his dance school Harihara Nrithya Niketan in Hyderabad and is visiting faculty at the University of Hyderabad and Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University. Alekhya Punjala: Alekhya Punjala is a renowned exponent of both Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam styles of dance. Her repertoire of solo technique, portrayal as mythological heroines in various dance dramas, as also her abhinaya have become her hallmark. Alekhya’s scholarly demonstrations on various subjects like the compositions of Annamacharya, Kshetrayya, Jayadeva, Sarangapani and technique of Kuchipudi in India and abroad have won her acclaim. She holds a postgraduate degree in ancient Indian history, Culture and Archaeology and a doctorate in Dance. Alekhya is now the Registrar, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad. 6pm: Release of Nartanam's special issue on Jayantika by K. Haritha, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commercial Taxes, Telangana 24 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam

Jayantika: Jayantika makes for an important case study in dance. The revival of the dance form of Odissi from shambles is pivoted on the Jayantika association which lasted only a couple of years. When Nartanam published just one document from this collection in Nartanam, Volume 14, # 4, it created quite an interest among Odissi scholars. Initiative was taken by Vijayalaxmi Das, the daughter of Dayanidhi Das, in coordinating with Ileana Citaristi to facilitate the publication of the Jayantika papers in her possession in Nartanam, Vol 18, #3. Ileana made tireless efforts to sort the papers in Vijayalaxmi Das’s collection and worked on the translations of the papers in Odiya with Malabika Patel, the result of which is the special issue of Nartanam on Jayantika. Ileana Citaristi: Ileana Citaristi is an Italian-born dancer, who trained under Kelucharan Mohapatra in Odissi and under Hari Nayak in Mayurbhanj Chhau. She has been living in Odisha since 1979 in close contact with the people, their language and culture. She founded Art Vision in Bhubaneswar in 1995, through which Ileana has organised several festivals, unique in concept, like the ‘Festival of films on performing and visual arts’, ‘Kalinga Mahotsav – a Festival of Martial Dances', ‘Sangam – a confluence of dance’ and ‘Remembering Guruji’. She is the author of The making of a Guru: Kelucharan Mohapatra, his life and times; Traditional martial practices in Orissa, and her autobiography titled My Journey: A tale of two births. 6.30pm: Kathakali "Nalacharitam" by Kalamandalam Gopi Synopsis: Nalancharitam Onnam divasam Nalancharitam Kathakali play (known as Nalancharitam aattakkatha), based on the Mahabharata, is one of the towering romantic works of Indian literature composed in Manipravalam, a mix of ornate Malayalam with Sanskrit. Written by Unnayi Warrier (C1700) the play is in four segments and respectively titled as Nalancharitam onnam divasam (first day), randam divasam (second day), moonnam divasam (third day) and nalaam divasam (fourth day). Scene 1 – Nalan’s Kingdom Nishada Sage Narada visits King Nalan and informs him that Damayanti, the beautiful daughter of the King of Kundinapuri, sought after even by the gods, would make an ideal bride for him. Nalan wonders whether it would be fair to marry her by contesting with the gods. Narada reassures him and leaves after blessing Nalan. Narada’s description of Damayanti results in his desire to marry her and leads Nalan to serious thought about her beauty. With the beauty of Damayanti deep in mind and unable to focus on administration as a King, Nalan entrusts the duties to his minister and goes to the garden to sit alone and calm down his mind. Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 25

Scene 2 – Nalan in his royal garden The atmosphere in the garden furthers his love pangs for Damayanti. He notices the swans on the banks of the nearby lake and one in golden colour captures his attention. Scene 3 – Nalan’s royal garden The golden swan, Hamsam, is wandering around playing and eating. The love- struck Nalan, taken in by the golden swan, gently catches the bird. The bird starts crying aloud thinking that it will be killed and gets worried about the fate of its aged mother, wife and children. Nalan reflects that he has no intention to hurt it and frees the bird. Pleased by the righteousness of the king, Hamsam thanks him and expresses its readiness to help the king in return. Hamsam captures King Nala’s heart by describing Damayanti, and promises that it would try to persuade Damayanti to marry him and decides to act as a messenger between them. Nala feels rejuvenated and becomes very happy for the favours offered and sends it off as his messenger to Damayanti. He watches the departure of Hamsam, flying into the sky and gradually disappearing like a golden thread. Cast: Nalan: Kalamandalam Gopi Naradan: Kalamandalam Vipin Hamsam: Kalamandalam Adithyan Musicians: Singers: Kalamandalam Babu Nambootiri and Kalamandalam Vinod Chenda: Kalamandalam Krishnadas Maddalam: Kalamandalam Rajanarayanan Chutti: Kalanilayam Saji Green room: Panmana Arun and Rameshan Troupe Manager: Kalamandalam Gopalakrishnan Costumes: Kathakali School, Cheruthuruthy 8 OCTOBER 2018 9.30am - 10.30am: "Music for Bharatanatyam" by Ananda Shankar Jayant Chair: Anuradha Jonnalagadda Ananda Shankar Jayant presents the elements of Bharatanatyam margam, the greatness of Rukmini Devi’s dance dramas, as well as music composition for her ensemble choreography through video and performance, drawing insights from a collective as well as a personal journey. 26 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam

Anuradha Jonnalagadda: Anuradha is a professor of dance in the University of Hyderabad. She has trained under Vempati Chinna Satyam. She is an expert on the subject of evolution of Kuchipudi technique in the last century and has studied extensively the tradition and innovation in Kuchipudi dance. A dedicated academician, her work on Kuchipudi has been noteworthy. 11.15am - 12.15pm: "Music for Sattriya" by Bhabananda Barbayan Chair: Sunil Kothari Musicians: Muhikanta Bora Barbayan - vocal, Niranjan Saikia Bayan - khol and flute Synopsis: Being an integral part of dance and drama, music has been practiced through ritual ceremonies in the namghar or kirttanghar of satras. There are two kinds of ceremonies in Sattriya music practice i.e. daily and occasional. The occasional rituals are mostly related to dance and drama. Like other forms of music, Sattriya may also be categorized into vocal and instrumental. In vocal, the two groups of songs composed by Srimanta Sankaradeva and his disciple Madhabadeva are known as bargit and anka-git or natar-git. Although it is not mentioned what talas were used in bargit, they are presented in different talas according to the tradition of a particular Satra. In case of anka or natar-git it is found on record that only 8 talas were used. Sattriya dance has evolved into an independent art form but it has its origin as an integral part of the plays written and enacted by Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhabadeva. Madhabadeva presented the dance items on attractive stages separated from the main drama and nurtured them as independent art forms. The emphasis of the lec-dem is the traditional way of accompaniment of music in Sattriya dance. Bhabananda Barbayan: Inducted into the Uttar Kamalabari satra at the age of four, Bhabananda Barbayan learnt the nuances of Sattriya culture under gurus Paramananda Barbayan and Tuniram Barbayan (nritya), Cheniram Barbayan (bayan), Kamal Bargayan (gayan), and Baluram Bargayan and Gupiram Bargayan (oja). At 16, he became the youngest Barbayan of the sattra. He is the first traditional practitioner of Sattriya to obtain a Ph.D. Bhabananda is a performer and teacher, conducts workshops, besides holding lec-dems. He has introduced Sattriya dance in the curriculum of different universities and is a regular visiting faculty in universities abroad. He has established three Sattriya training institutions – Satraranga in Majuli, Assam (2000), Rongayan in Guwahati, Assam (2003) and Sattriya Akademi in New Delhi (2008). Bhabananda Barbayan has composed a number of dramas and dance choreographies. He has reconstructed the Cihna Yatra Bhaona in 2016 – the first drama of Srimanta Sankaradeva. He has been working on the Vrindavani Vastra since 2009. Barbayan has directed the music Nartanam Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule 27 for French filmmaker Emanuel Petit’s documentary on Majuli titled Dans Les Drumes De Majuli, where he has appeared in a number of sequences. Sunil Kothari: Sunil is a leading dance historian, scholar, author and critic, with 18 definitive works on dance to his credit. Kothari was Professor and Dean, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi; Professor and Head, Dance Department, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata; Fulbright Professor, New York University, USA. He was a dance critic of The Times of India group of publications for 40 years. He is a roving critic of Sruti monthly and has his own column in dance portal Narthaki.com. He also writes for The Hindu and Asian Age. He is an advisor to Nartanam and based in New Delhi. 1.30pm - 2.30pm: "Music for Manipuri" by Jawahar Lal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal Chair: Aruna Bhikshu L. Upendro Sharma: Upendro Sharma joined JNMDA, Imphal, as programme officer in 1985 and become Director, JNMDA, from 2009 till date. He has been associated with performing arts for the last four decades. He has written many articles on performing arts in various newspapers and magazines and has published two books on performing arts. Kh. Rameshkumar Singh: A violin and conch player, he is a staff artiste in the production unit of JNMDA. He has worked as the music director in the productions of JNMDA in the last 20 years and has participated in many festivals in India organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi and other agencies. Th. Nokuljeet Singh: He is a musician (pung artist) in the production unit of the JNMDA and has participated in many productions of the academy, and in festivals organized by SNA, New Delhi and other agencies in and outside the state. He is a graded artiste of pung by All India Radio . A. Gayatri Devi: She is a musician (sutradhari) in the production unit of JNMDA and an A-grade vocal artiste of A.I.R. She has participated in many dance-dramas of the production unit of the JNMDA as a vocalist as well as in many feature films. 3pm - 5pm: Panel discussion on "Disseminating Arts and Culture – Winning Strategies" Chair: Ananda Shankar Jayant Panelists: C. Anjaneya Reddy, Sunil Kothari, Suresh Goel 6pm: Kuchipudi solo by Yamini Reddy Synopsis: Yamini Reddy’s concert for the Nartanam Conclave is titled ‘Natya Vaibhavam.’ It is a Kuchipudi solo presentation which showcases the vast range 28 Nartanam Conclave 2018: Schedule Nartanam of Kuchipudi through traditional repertoire. The performance includes pieces such as Dasavataram, Usha Parinayam, the not so commonly performed padavaranam and some unique presentations of the Raja-Radha Reddy repertoire such as rasasabdam. Yamini Reddy: Yamini is one of India’s most promising Kuchipudi dancers. She is the daughter of Kuchipudi exponents Raja and Radha Reddy. Yamini runs Natya Tarangini in Hyderabad where she trains students in Kuchipudi dance. She is also a budding choreographer; her production ‘Harmony’ with modern dancer Leah Curtis from New York was well received by the audience and was invited to be performed at several festivals in India. She has authored a research thesis "Audience Development for the Performing Arts in India." She is actively involved in organizing the ‘Parampara Series’ music and dance festival in Delhi. Nartanam 29

Music for Dance at Nartanam Conclave 2018: A Report

LALITHA VENKAT

The Sahrdaya Trust, publisher of the Nartanam quarterly, headed by chief editor Madhavi Puranam, hosted the second edition of the 4 day Nartanam Conclave on "Music for Dance" from October 5-8, 2018 at the pleasant Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana campus in Hyderabad. The mornings were devoted to lec-dems and paper presentations followed by one dance performance in the evening.

In her keynote address, critic Manjari Sinha quoted Balasaraswati: “People are mesmerized by the dance. They don’t know that the magic lies in the music.” She said, gayan, vadan and nritya make a dance performance, and every dance form is so diverse – Kathakali recalls sopanam music, Odissi recalls ashtapadis, Bharatanatyam recalls padams, varnams and thillanas. Music is the lifeline of dance and hence the subject of the morning seminar was apt. Manjari Sinha

The first presentation of the conclave was "The transitions in Kathak music since Independence" by Shama Bhate, Nad Roop, Pune. The chair for this session,

LALITHA VENKAT is the content editor of www.narthaki.com. 52 Nartanam

Performances at Nartanam Conclave 2018

SUNIL KOTHARI

Along with the day-long discussions on Music for Dance, evening performances were organized for four evenings of the 2nd edition of the Nartanam Conclave from 5-8 Oct 2018 at Hyderabad. It was in fitness of the things, as the participants and audience got a better understanding and appreciation of music for dance.

Parampara Ke Pada Chinha On the opening night, Pune based Shama Bhate’s four dancers presented traditional Kathak dance to recorded music of a very high order. Each of the four dancers displayed a thorough training in Kathak and sound understanding of music. Parampara Ke Pada Chinha, the impress of footprints of tradition, was revealed in Shama Bhate’s group compositions. In Shiva Vandana, the use of Om Namah Shivaya was imaginative. The rarefied atmosphere was evoked. Isham

SUNIL KOTHARI is an eminent dance critic and scholar and advisor to Nartanam. 62 Nartanam

Conference on "Shiva-Shakti in Universal Perspective"

Vyanjana Art and Cultural Society and Kalidas Academy, Department of Culture, Madhya Pradesh Government jointly organized a two day International Conference on "Shiva-Shakti in Universal Perspective." This was held on 29th and 30th September 2018 at Kalidas Academy, Ujjain, M.P., India. The inaugural session started with lighting of lamp by chief guest Bhajan Supori, Ashok Vakta, Kedar Narain Joshi, Bhagwati Lal Rajpurohit, Deepti Omchery Bhalla. For mangalacharan, the vedic richas were recited by students of vocal music, Department of Performing Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Welcome address was presented by Madhu Shukla, Secretary, Vyanjana Art and Culture Society and coordinator of the conference. The keynote address was presented by Kedar Narain Joshi, Department of Sanskrit, Ujjain University, Ujjain. Bhagwati Lal Rajpurohit highlighted the glory of Lord Shiva. Vishal Jain presented a vocal recital of Dhrupad gayan. About 250 teachers, scholars, artists, and scientists from different parts of India and abroad participated in the conference. The session was conducted by Ashok Vakta (a senior journalist).

1st Technical Session Chairperson - Bhajan Supori Subject Expert - Agnishekar Moderator - Usha Rani Rao, Head, Department of Hindi, Bangalore University, Bangalore Speakers: - Shailendra Verma, Vikramshila University, spoke on "Hindu Sahitya Me Shiva- Shakti." - Raja Pathak from Varanasi highlighted the scientific aspect of Shiva-Shakti. 2nd Technical Session Chairperson - Gurpreet Kaur, Head, Department of Music, Punjab University, Amritsar. Moderator - Jyojti Sinha, Senior fellow Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla. Nartanam 65

Shiva-Shakti in Universal Perspective: Concept Note

MADHU RANI SHUKLA

Vyanjana Art and Culture Society is an organization which works for the promotion of Indian art and culture. It was founded in 2014, and is known for its diverse working, and organizing international / national conferences, lectures, talks and workshops in different cities with different concepts and motives. The idea of organizing an international interdisciplinary conference in the holy place of Ujjain on the concept of ‘Shiva-Shakti in Universal Perspective’ was to feel the sensation and the vibration of Shiva and Shakti. There is nothing beyond materialism; the extreme of involuntary senses is realization of Shivatva, the mysterious ‘Shiva’ who is engrossed in meditation, whose body reflects yoga, spirituality and philosophy, who abandons the mendacious world for the real world. The one who is the conductor of knowledge, mystery and of overall energy, power and ‘Shakti’ is the inspiration of Brahma’s creation, Vishnu’s observance and Shiva’s destruction; one who is spread all over the world in various forms, when worshipped in masculine form became god named Shiva and when worshiped in a feminine form, became goddess Durga or Bhagwati.

“Shivasya abhyantare Shaktih, Shaktih abhyantare Shivah”

This means Shakti is Shiva’s body and Shiva is Shakti’s soul. From the transcendental power of Sacchidanand Shiva to mind, mind to blissfulness, blissfulness to will power, will power to wisdom power, wisdom power to the power to act is originated; Shiva is the father of abstained art form and the conductor of the whole universe. While acknowledging this importance, Mahakavi Kalidas accepted Shiva-Shakti in the form of a mother-father.

MADHU RANI SHUKLA is Secretary, Vyanjana Art and Culture Society. 70 Nartanam

Shiva-Shakti Philosophy in Tamil Music

S. PARTHASARATHY Introduction

India is one of the world’s oldest countries with diverse culture and a variety of art forms. Even though many countries have their own spiritual ethics, conceptualization in fields like Advaita, Dvaita, Shaiva, Vaishnava etc., are seen only in India. The concept of Shiva-Shakti plays an important role in Indian music history, which is discussed here.

Spirituality and Music

India is a land of diversity with a variety of languages, culture, religion etc. Among them, the significantly noticed are the different methods followed in spiritualism, types of music and dance, and the food.

Even before the development of civilization and culture, man has tried to express himself using sound, speech, body movements and hand signals. He started to make music using his voice, by tapping stones and sticks with each other. We come to know that the music thus produced evolved more effectively with the invention of musical instruments like yazh, flute, etc.

In Indian culture, the role of music is intense and the relationship between music and spirituality are inseparable. Right from the bell struck in the temple, the chants of Vedas, and other scholarly compositions like, Thevaram, Divya Prabhandham, Thiruppugazh, Thiruarutpa, this fact can be realised. This is also evident when we read the compositions of the sangeetha trimoortis – Thyagarajar, Muthuswamy Dikshithar, Syama Sastri, and adhi mummoortis – Muthuthandavar, Marimutha Pillai, Arunachala Kavirayar.

S. PARTHASARATHY is an M.Music, M.Phil, Ph.D student, Queen Mary’s College, Chennai. 74 Nartanam

Sarira Viveka: The Shiva-Shakti principle in a Human Body

MADHAVI PURANAM The principle of Shiva-Shakti or the Purusha-Prakriti is the underlying symbolism of most Indian dance/music. Indian dance/music presents this universal principle in an often-layered symbolic narrative and is supposed to become a vehicle to attain aesthetic pleasure, which is described as equivalent to attaining “moksha”. The love-symbolism is used in the Indian performing arts as an analogy of the love of a human and the divine. Man attaining the divine is the underlying thrust of most Indian dance/music.

Sangita Darpanam, a 17th century treatise on music and dance, in an intriguing section—Sarira Vivekah—in its first chapter, proposes the presence of a metaphysical apparatus in the human body consisting of a primordial energy and an assortment of energy centres, which together appear to be an instrument for perceiving the essence of music and dance and thus leads man/Prakriti to attain divinity/moksha/Shiva.

I draw attention to the principle of Shiva-Shakti inherent in Sarira Vivekah as explained by Catura Damodara Pandita in the Sangita Darpanam1 written in the 17th century AD. The paper draws support from the works of Bharata’s Natyasastra2 and Sarngadeva’s Sangita Ratnakara3. The paper draws attention to this important ancient knowledge as the author feels that it is not sufficiently understood by performing artists that every spectator is equipped with an instrument of perception of high art; and only when this subtle instrument is aroused that a production sees success and the spectator experiences aesthetic relish or the rasa or the divinity of the art. The unity of the Shakti with Shiva within every spectator on witnessing a superior production is the principle of all aesthetics.

MADHAVI PURNAM is the chief editor of Nartanam. This paper draws extensively from her book An Indian Analysis of Aesthetics: The Dance, The Dancer and The Spectator with a foreword by Kapila Vatsyayan. Nartanam 83

Ardhanarishwara

DEEPTI OMCHERY BHALLA Shiva and Shakti are two fundamentally opposite cosmic forces named Prakriti and Purusha. The Union of Shiva and Shakti, symbolized by the Linga and the Gauri Pitha denotes their being a single entity. Though one, Shiva is considered as the knowledge which is static and Shakti as the force which is the kinetic energy. While knowledge without power or the energy is significant, power without knowledge is a blind and futile force. Thus, while jnana or prakasha or perception personifies Shiva, vimarsa or the activity personifies Shakti. Together they form a single entity called Prakasha-Vimarsa-rupa. They are the two modes of eternal and infinite power. Kalidasa describes them as Jagatah Pitarau.

Ardhanarishwara, the cult syncretism that bonds both the Shiva and the Shakta doctrine, is the amalgamation of three words, Ardha, Nari and Ishwara. The images like those of Hari-Hara, Pancayatana, Shiva-Linga and Hiranyagarbha further establish this. The Puranas name Ardhanarishwara as the Nara-nari form of the great god. There is another etymology of Rudra in which he is associated with Rodasi. The meaning of Rodasi is Heaven and Earth (Dyava-Prithvi). Heaven represents the male and earth represents the female aspect.

Most of the Vedic gods, in the post Mauryan period, receded into the background and in their place Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were established as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the Universe. In due course of time, Vishnu and Shiva emerged as the most important gods of brahmanical religion. The non-Aryans who worshipped the phallic emblem (linga) and bull (Nandi) merged it with the worship of Shiva.

It is in the Kusaana period that the figure of Ardhanarishwara evolved. South India has made a significant contribution in making Shaivism popular among the

DEEPTI OMCHERY BHALLA is a Mohiniattam dancer and a professor of Carnatic Music, University of Delhi. She is a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee. 86 Nartanam

Ardhanarishwara: Who is the better half?

DAKSHINA VAIDYANATHAN BAGHEL In the vast ocean of everything that Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti are, I have chosen to speak about a topic which is very close to my heart. ‘Ardha’ means half, ‘Nari’ means woman and ‘Ishwar’ means Lord – the God whose left half is that of Goddess Parvati and the right half of whom is Lord Shiva – Ardhanarishwara.

Historically, the earliest images of Ardhanarishwara in the form of sculptures and paintings were found in the Kushan period in 1BC, which is a little over 2000 years ago, in Bactria. The Bactrian empire spanned modern day Afghanistan, through Pakistan, through north India right up to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh in the east. The Bactrian empire was a multicultural and multi-religious empire which had Zoroastrian kings, Buddhist kings and Shaivite kings ruling it. What is interesting is that in such a multicultural and religiously tolerant environment were the first ever known images of Ardhanarishwara found.

Mythologically, there are so many legends and stories pertaining to this form of Shiva and Shakti from various texts. For example:

1. In the Skanda Purana, Parvati requests Shiva to allow her to reside with him, embracing “limb-to-limb”, and so Ardhanarishwara is formed. It also tells that when the demon Andhaka wanted to make Parvati his wife, Parvati revealed her Ardhanarishwara form to him. Seeing the half-male, half-female form, the demon lost interest in her and left.

2. In the Linga Purana, Shiva appears as Ardhanarishwara, emerging from Brahma’s forehead as the embodiment of Brahma’s fury and frustration due to

DAKSHINA VAIDYANATHAN BAGHEL is a Bharatanatyam dancer. 90 Nartanam

Mystic and Philosophical aspects of Shiva-Shakti: A scientific approach

GAVEESH

Shiva-Shakti is a mystic and philosophical concept of ancient Indian philosophy. This concept is very useful in understanding life through consciousness, energy and matter. This concept is in equilibrium with Einstein’s Mass-Energy equation (E=mc2) and other concepts of modern Physics. Concept of Shiva-Shakti is also backed by similar concepts around the world like Taoism, Greek philosopher Plato and Christian Gnostic mystic Simon the Magus. This concept helps one to understand the basic principles of universe and ultimate reality of life. This paper explains the significance of the concept of Shiva-Shakti through ancient Indian philosophy and relates it to laws of modern Physics.

I have been constructed by someone out of half your body; Therefore there is no difference between us, and my heart is in you. Just as my Self, heart, and life has been placed in you, So has your Self, heart, and life been placed in me. – Brahma-Vaivarta-Purana

Shiva-Shakti is the primal energy emanating continuously from the universal source and can never be exhausted. Shiva-Shakti is that form of primal vibration, which is associated with everything existing in the universe. Anything existing in the universe is only manifestations of Shiva-Shakti. Right from living to non- living, form or formless, working on natural or scientific energies, each and everything lies within the unlimited expanse of Shiva-Shakti. There exists no place in reality or fiction, where the applications of Shiva-Shakti are not applicable. Shiva-Shakti is the single source of universal existence, and is emanating out continuously.1 Shiva represents the un-manifest and Shakti the manifest; Shiva the formless and Shakti the formed; Shiva consciousness and Shakti energy, not

GAVEESH has a PhD in Music, M.A. (Music Vocal), M.Sc. (Math), B.Ed., and is a freelance artist and writer from Samrala, Punjab. 94 Nartanam

Rock of Jungheera, Lord Shiva’s Abode: Inspiration for H. L.V. Derozio

NORAH NIVEDITA SHAW

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio holds a very significant place in the history of Indo-Anglian literature. In fact, he is often described as the main torchbearer particularly of Indo-Anglian poetry. Among all his works, the two poems which stand prominently apart and are quite popular are My Nativeland and The Harp of India. Although his poems exhibit a rare beauty and simplicity presenting the ethnicity yet strangely enough, this young intellectual and great pioneer of the New learning has unfortunately been rather neglected and not given apt attention or acclamation both by the British as well as by the Indians.

The paper explores the inspirational sight which played a significant role in the growth and making of the young and talented poet, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. Compelled to leave school at the age of fourteen, Derozio was left to pursue work at the mercantile firm of Messers James Scott & Company, Calcutta. But Derozio did not like the job and left it in 1824 to earn his living at his uncle’s Indigo factory at Tarapur in Bhagalpore. The young poet’s move towards this new place, whether by compulsion or deliberation, was destined for brighter journey ahead to shine the torch of Indo-Anglian poetry and literature. It was here that he came across the beautiful sight of the magnificent rock of Jungheera still standing in the middle of the pious river of Ganges in Sultanganj, Bhagalpore. There is no doubt that he was completely mesmerized by the majestic rock of Jhungheera which gave birth to the superb imaginative verse tale ever written in the history of Indian literature in English. It is very surprising that The Fakeer of Jungheera which is a piece of supreme art has not been given apt recognition. It is in fact the first great Indian English ballad. The spirit of revelry that reigned in the early 19th century against the prevalent cruel Suttee Pratha and the contemporary movement

NORAH NIVEDITA SHAW is Associate Professor, Department of English, Shri Arvind Mahila College, Patna. Nartanam 99

Shiva-Shakti: A Tradition in Music

UMA VIJAY

The two fundamental forces on which the entire universe is created, perceived and are indestructible in their cosmic union are known as ‘Shiva-Shakti’. Both Shiva and Shakti correspond to masculine and feminine energy where the masculine principle represents the ‘force’ and the feminine principle represents ‘energy’ in its raw form.

Shiva and Shakti being the twin flames are the mirror images of each other. They complement each other and are the indestructible force that unite together to create the entire Universe. It is traditional to worship the Lord along with his consort and Shiva-Shakti symbolises this tradition. Shiva defines the traits specific to pure transcendence and elevation to higher level of consciousness and is normally associated to manifestation of Shakti who is somewhat stronger (such as Kali and Durga) personification of her own untamed and limitless manifestation.

Shiva is also known as Nataraja, Lord of Dance, and it is said that his damaru created the sound of musical notes and dance syllables. Shakti is known for her lasya priya movements. It is also believed that the ragas too originated from the union of Shiva and Shakti. Being one of the most worshipped deities in India, Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti are inseparable as a couple and worship of the deities always happen together. The nature of being inseparable also extends to the fact that both Shiva and Shakti cannot operate without each other and their union creates life.

In Kanchipuram, Lord Ekamreshwarar and Devi Kamakshi are enshrined in separate famous temples. Kanchipuram is one of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalas where Lord Shiva is worshipped as Prithvi Lingam. The temple of Devi Kamakshi, the presiding deity of Kanchipuram, is one of the most famous shrines where

UMA VIJAY is Assistant Professor, Department of Music, Maheshwari College, Jaipur. 104 Nartanam

Shiva and Shakti: Illustration in Carnatic Music Kritis

SHANTI MAHESH Introduction

Shiva symbolises majestic potency and Shakti vital power and energy existing within each living being. Lord Shiva is symbolised as the Lord of Dance – Nataraja. He dances in cosmic circle, depicting the cycle of creation and destruction, in and of the universe. Shakti is the mother of the universe, part of Shiva. Shiva and Shakti are worshipped in many forms; viz. Shiva governing the nature - Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space – is worshipped formless as Linga. His 108 names are portrayed in the Sri Shiva Ashtotattrashata Namavali mantra. He is also depicted as Nataraja. Shakti named Parvati is Amba, Ambika, Gauri, Durga, Kali, Rajeshwari, Sati, Tripurasundari. This paper aims to present an overview of the cosmos of Shiva and Shakti portrayed in the kritis by the composers Muthu Thandavar, Marimutha Pillai, Syama Sastri, Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Gopalakrishna Bharati, Maharaja Swati Tirunal and Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavatar.

Muthu Thandavar (1525-1600)

Muthu Thandavar, along with Arunachala Kavi and Marimutha Pillai may be called the Tamil Trinity in Carnatic music. At a very young age, he was victim to a dreadful disease and was kept aside by his closest relatives. He had only the prasad given in the temple for food. He was extremely hungry one day and prayed to the Almighty. Goddess Uma came in the guise of a ten year old girl and gave him food, asked him to go to Chidambaram, worship the Lord and have the disease cured. She asked him to begin his song with the first word heard there. He went to Chidambaram, sang his first song, Bhuloka Kailasagiri Chidambaram, and his disease disappeared. Once he was bitten by a poisonous

SHANTI MAHESH is Assistant Professor, Department of Music, Queen Mary’s College, Chennai. 112 Nartanam

Shiva-Shakti in the compositions of Muthuswamy Dikshitar

MANJULA SURENDRA B.M. JAYASHREE

The universe is professed as being created and sustained by two fundamental forces, which are in perfect union. These two universal forces are the Shiva and the Shakti. Lord Shiva represents the constitutive elements of the universe while Shakti is the dynamic potency, which makes these elements come to life and act. Hence Shakti is the dynamic power of Shiva through which he manifests the world and the myriad existences.

Indian music has its roots in the Samagana or the Sama Veda. Towards the end of 13th century, as a result of Mughal invasion, music in the north got influenced by the Persians and the Muslims. But in the south the music was intact and came to stay as Carnatic music. It is spiritual in nature. The sahitya or the lyrical content is a treasure house of sublime outpour of the composer’s transcendental experiences.

Carnatic music stands heavily on the foundation of composed music like swarajatis, varnas, kritis, etc. Kriti is a compositional form, composed in a particular raga with lyrics and music (vak/matu and geya/ dhatu) respectively, with great profundity. The hallmark of all great composers is the beautiful blending of the lyrics (matu) and the music (dhatu) in a composition.

Says Kalidasa:

The way word and meaning are inseparable; similarly the lyrics and music in the compositions of the great composers are inseparable.

It is in the 18th century that the music trinity Thyagaraja, Syama Sastry and Muthuswamy Dikshitar enriched the Carnatic music with their prolific compositions

MANJULA SURENDRA is a research scholar, Bangalore University. B.M. JAYASHREE is a Professor, Bangalore University. 118 Nartanam

The Shiva-Shakti philosophy in Indian music: Evolution of raga Bhairava

SRISHTI MEHRA Music owns its existence since the beginning of the universe. There are multiple theories and philosophies of the origin of music. Hindustani music has an important place in the world of music. The various aspects of Indian music and their history have been an enormous topic for study by great musicians and scholars. One of the most popular philosophies of the cradle of Indian music is that of the ‘Shiva- Shakti’. In this paper, I’ve tried to study some of the literature available, to understand the role of Shiva-Shakti in the origin of Indian music and also about the evolution of raga Bhairava as a representation of Lord Shiva.

The history of Indian music dates back to thousands of years ago. There have been evidences of existence of music from the Indus Valley civilization to the epic period of Ramayana and Mahabharata of the Aryan civilization and since Bharata’s Natyasastra, there have been numerous texts discovered on music. It has been seen in various treatises of music that the most popular philosophy about the origin of Indian music is that of Shiva and his consort, Shakti (Parvati). Shiva literally means auspiciousness, welfare. Shiva is considered as the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of the universe. He is also considered as the Lord of Dancers. Shiva is called by many names such as Mahadeva, Mahakala, Neelkanth, Rudra and Mahayogi. Shakti is his wife Girija or Parvati, who is an inseparable energy of his. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva. They both together are the absolute state of being. The union of Shiva and Shakti is said to be the core reason behind the birth of the musical elements such as melodies, dances and rhythm.

The philosophical concept regarding the origin of the six main ragas evolved in the medieval times.1 This commonly accepted concept was based on the Shiva-

Srishti Mehra is a research scholar, Department of Music, Rajasthan University. Nartanam 123

BOOK REVIEWS

TELUGU SONGS FOR ABHINAYA / Salva Krishnamurthy / Dravidian University, Srinivasavanam, Kuppam, Chittoor Dt. ANDHRA 517425 / April, 2008 / Rs.200, US $ 40 / 260 pages

This is one more valuable addition to the books available on dance compositions in Telugu. This language has more compositions, Sabdams, Swarajathis, PadaVarnams, Padams, Javalis and Thillanas with sahithyam (the tail- end appendage) than any other language. Many are exemplary creations welding word and note to become a glistening ornament to the body of dance. The first known creations were by Tallapaka Annamacharya (1408-1503) some of which, it is clear by their subject and metre, were written to express devotion through dance to Krishna/ Venkateswara (he viewed them as one). He called them Sankeertana-s. Padam evolved over time and took a definitive shape musically, textually in Kshetrayya’s (1600-1675) hand. Many others wrote in this form to express their agony and ecstasy, Sarangapani (1680-1750) leading the rest in popularity, variety and reach. In this book there are sixty songs, of Annamayya (10), Kshetrayya (29), Sarangapani (16), Sabhapatayya (1) and untraceable authors (4), most of which are in the padam format, Annamayya’s being the exception. Some biographical details of each author precedes the text of songs in Telugu, transliteration in English, and in simple English, word to word meaning, translation line by line, paraphrase and a few additional explanations at the end. In fact, just what is needed by choreographers, dance-teachers, dancers and students. I am sure a perusal of the book even by those just interested in seeing dance, will be beneficial. 124 Book Review Nartanam

For songs of any kind, it is important to correctly display in the lay-out, prasa and yati, important parts of the prosody, clearly. This gives cues to the singer as well as the dancer, teacher and choreographer, where to give vocal emphasis. Proper division of the pallavi, anupallavi and charanam is equally essential. By this one can separate the main statement of the song from the peripheral data. The correct, complete libretto and its meaning, are the most important of all. Paying attention to all of these will prevent one from blindly flailing around an elephant. Sad to say, attention has not been paid to these crucial aspects. Compounding this is the myopic proof-reading, both in English and Telugu. Vaisnavite, shackles (page 2), remembrance, heroine (4), horripulation (3, 8) are bad enough but ‘breathes’ in place of ‘breathlessness’ (8), may mislead the unwary, and those unfamiliar with the context. Coming to the Annamayya section. In the first song, ‘Alarulukuriyaga’ (10), the text here is ‘varusagapoorva’ as it is on the copper-plate. A savant who edited these songs, Archakam Udayagiri Srinivasacharyulu added ‘na’ between those two words to make the line meaningful. That correction should have been taken. Again the given word ‘mattila’ does not make sense. It is ‘mattela’, toe- rings sported by married women. Some of the meanings given for this song are wrong. ‘Alakalu’ here does not mean ‘forelocks’ but feigned indifference (as in ‘alakapanupu’). ‘Duvaalapu’ does not mean ‘with uniform speed’. It refers to a gait of a horse that goes ‘takkadimmi’. The text of the song too fits into the Desadi metre that was chosen for many javalis of a much later period. In ‘Okaparikokapari’ (22) two blunders have been committed, one careless and the other dreadful. It is not a composition of Annamayya but of his son Peda Tirumalacharya. The editor thinks ‘samajasiri’ means elephant’s semen. What has this got to do with the ritual ablutions of Venkateswara every Friday? But nothing. The punugu (exudation of the civet cat) applied to the temples (upper cheeks) of the idol, as it liquefied and dripped down, it (black in colour) looked like ichor on the sides of an elephant’s head. In ‘Brahma kadigina padamu’ (34), the text is wrong, it is ‘pamidi’ and not ‘pramidi’. However, the meaning given for ‘pramidi’, suits the context; a horse drawing its hoof on the ground itching to run. According to scholar Samudrala Lakshmanayya, ‘pamidi’ means ‘strong, forceful’. In all songs of Annamayya, the second line is given as ‘anupallavi’. There was no such division in Annamayya’s time and his work on the construction of songs translated by his grandson, ‘Sankeertana Lakshanam’, does not mention it. This unholy division misleads into being taken up separately for repetition, in song, dance. Nartanam Book Review 125

Coming to the section on Kshetrayya, the display of the padams is horrendous. Just one instance. In ‘Etuvantimohamo’ (70), the ‘anupallavi’ which should be in one line, is split into two, making nonsense of ‘dwiteeyaksharaprasa’ (the second letter of a line being in agreement) and the ‘yati’ (similar in sound to the letter beginning the second part of the line). The stanzas in this song should be divided into four lines each; instead the first is divided into six, second and third, into five. Inebriated chaos. The three-line stanzas of ‘Vadarakapove’ (156) have been hacked into four. Coming to Sarangapani. In ‘Inchuboninanunavverata’ (178), ‘boddugosina kodavali’ is not meant literally, but refers to Krishna who is now with the protagonist. The second line in the first stanza of ‘Ichhinamanchide’ (186) is missing. In ‘Chitikevesithe’ (l98) the word ‘laksha’ is missing (Chelululakshapadivele). In ‘Vakkakaina’ (202), ‘akkaro’ should replace ‘sakhiyaro’. If this dross, a result of indifference and may be ignorance, is blown off, what remains would be a handy, useful guide to balletomanes. The preface of the then vice-chancellor G.Lakshminarayana in chaste English (I wonder who penned it for him!) claims that Dravidian University is there to uplift 27 Dravidian languages through its publications. Yes, hundreds of publications, (one about Devulapalli Krishna Sastry’s writings clearly infringing his copyright) have been brought out. In how many languages, four, six? How are they made accessible to those needing them! - VAK Ranga Rao 126 Book Review Nartanam

FLOWERS AT HIS FEET (An Insight Into Annamacharya’s Compositions) / Pappu Venugopala Rao / 2006 / Rs.300, $ 15 / Pappus Academic & Cultural Trust, 36/11 Canal Bank Road, R.A.Puram CHENNAI 600028 I continue to be amazed at the enormous amount time and thought some degreed and doctored individuals invest in their writing but are lackadaisical in attention to detail while bringing it out as a book accessible to people the world over. Pappu Venugopala Rao delivered twelve lectures at the TTD Centre, Madras between June 2003 and May 2004. These ear and heart- openers were accompanied by the singers of Annamacharya Project of TTD and other stalwarts with a soft-corner for the earliest (1408-1503) greatest lyricist of Telugu language. Hearing about the song and hearing the song in quick succession lodged it firmly in the minds of the listeners, a creditable fall-out by any yardstick. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna and Nedunuri Krishna Murthy, who cemented their names in the history of South Indian Music by giving immortal tunes to scores of Annamayya compositions, wrote the laudatory introductions, blessing the intent but without closely examining the content. In his preface, ‘I am an instrument’, Pappu’s lukewarm attention to detail is evident. He spells the name of one of the singers, Vani Jairam, wrong. His statement about Annamayya, “He does not repeat himself in all the 14,000 and odd compositions we have of him now”, is also wrong. There are many instances where has repeated himself and some of these are next to each other in the volumes published by TTD. The first of the 12 chapters is his introduction and the rest are about various kinds of songs Annamayya wrote. Before going into the details, I’d like to make two general statements. All through the book the spelling mistakes in English and incidental Telugu, show that Pappu doesn’t believe in proof-reading. A pity that Nartanam Book Review 127 persons of his ilk do not realize that incorrect spelling irritates the knowledgeable and misleads the laity. All the essays show, meaningfully, his multi-facetted erudition. It is up to the reader to digest as per his need, ability and wont. The following comments are about his introduction. He says (page 4) “The songs were set to music by Rallapalli Ananthakrishna Sarma, Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna and Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, and many other musicians employed in the Annamacharya Project”. The fact is this. True, Rallapalli was the first but before his tunes reached the public, those of Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao (Vinnapaluvinavale, Rammanavemaanirachanalu) and Mullick (Adivo, alladivo, Tandanana) reached thousands of listeners through the early morning broadcasts of devotional music from All India Radio, Madras. He says (4) that statues of Annamayya and his son Peda Tirumalacharya are found in the Tirumala temple and that of Kalyana Venkateswara in (Srinivasa) Mangapuram. They are not statues but bas reliefs. Doesn’t he know the difference? Through-out the book, he translates the word ‘smaranam’, one of the nine kinds of devotion (navavidha bhakti) as ‘reciting his name’ (8 et al). Wrong. That would be ‘japam’ whereas ‘smaranam’ means recalling his name or meditating upon it. He refers to them as nine steps, as though they were to be ascended one after the other. There is no such order, each being fulfilling on its own. “There is not a single-instance where that (Annamayya’s) eroticism touches the level of mundane sringara” he says (9). Oh yes, there is. Not to a sanctified, god-lost soul like Annamayya perhaps but to the common-folk. His language too is loose. Translating ‘Purushottamudaveevu’, he says (10) “I have committed umpteen numbers of mistakes” in which ‘numbers of’ is redundant beside damaging the syntax. For ‘rambhorulaku’ (the mangalam Ksheerabdikanyakaku), he has plantain trees (70). It should be plantain stalks. Elsewhere (71) he says ‘we put him to sleep’. In English it means killing a person. It should have been ‘We put him to bed’, or if a child, ‘We lulled/sang him to sleep. He is not the first to mistranslate ‘Alarulukuriyaganadenade, Alakalakulukulaalamelmanga’. He has it as ‘She was dancing while the flowers from her hair are falling down and the locks of hair dangle on her forehead’ (77). The correct import: ‘She was dancing so beautifully that there was a celestial shower of flowers. The dance once showing a feigned aloofness and then come- hither coquetry’. Further, it is not her beauty which is like a half- bloomed flower but ‘her hand-maidens were appreciating her dance with half- opened buds’. 128 Book Review Nartanam

About the songs describing the ten incarnations Dr.Pappu remarks “Annamayya composed 50 songs”. No, nearly a hundred. He continues “there is only one in Sanskrit’. Wrong again; there are three. No, ‘Brahma kadiginapadamu’ (113) does not mention all the ten incarnations. A tall tale: “Therefore in all his 32,000 songs, he made a conscious effort . . .” Where did the learned doctorate see them? One right-in-your-face example of lax editing: “This song will now be demonstrated by Shri ParupalliRanganath” (113). Another instance of the loose usage of English. “These songs are sung by the people to forget their ‘labour’” (116). No. To make them ignore their fatigue and re-immerse themselves in their labour . Isn’t it a pity that a book with such precious content to have so much dross! With this skimmed off, the work will be a finely facetted diamond. I am hoping that such a day will come soon. The book is lavishly larded with Bapu’scolour illustration on the cover and line drawings inside. His insight into Annamayya’s intent is awe-inspiring. (This is an examination only of a few chapters) Captions for stills 1. Odd for a University to publish a book so laxly edited (Telugu Songs for Abhinaya) 2. There is gold to be sure but much dross too (Flowers at His Feet) - VAK Ranga Rao Nartanam 129

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS Delhi Diary

LEELA VENKATARAMAN

Just before the end of the Monsoon season, Delhi audiences had an undreamed of treat in the shape of an unabridged Kutiyattam play staged over six evenings on the fountain lawns of the IIC. Not even in its home soil of Kerala, given its committed audiences, has such an event in Kutiyattam been held after independence. A long nursed desire of Sudha Gopalakrishnan whose open online resource for art and culture, Sahapedia documented the rare event, it was with CSIS (Centre for Study of Developing Societies) providing generous financial support, with Seher organising the event and the India International Centre providing the venue, that finally enabled this magical event to be staged. The only remnant of classical Sanskrit theatre in this country, Kutiyattam has been living from day to day with excerpts of great plays being staged. And this festival was like giving badly needed oxygen to one of India’s greatest art forms, suffering from asphyxiation. The actors from Nepathya in Kerala, Margi Madhu, his wife Indu, son Srihari and other actors staged Shakti Bhadra’s play Soorpanakhangam from Ramayana’s Aranyakandam dealing with the episode when Soorpanakha’s advances to Lakshmana and Rama are rejected, with her disfigurement at the hands of Lakshmana. Totally oblivious of the ticking clock, Kutiyattam with its non linear narrative has the independent actor create his own imagined world through devices like nirvahanam (sudden plunges into the past life) and anukaranam (description of the past event) and pakarnattam (taking on several roles himself, both male and female).

The set story line following the text of the play, provides the broad frame of action, within which all the details are marked by the actor’s creativity. This elaboration within hauntingly slow moving rendition, which can go to the extent of one verse enacted over a whole week, has passages of Sanskrit recited in a sing 130 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam song fashion (called raga) by the character or by the side accompanist, an act demanding phenomenal control over the body, breath control, and art expertise. The actor’s movements spread over a tiny square, have to catch the feel of cosmic space whether in this earth, the heavens above or in the nether world. The stage performance is monitored and controlled by a throbbing pulse emerging from the percussion play on the copper drum – mizhavu – by the percussionist seated at the back of the actor.

That Delhi audiences known for their short attention spans and general addiction for fast moving action, sat mesmerised without stirring through three hours of performance every evening was a revelation. And the characters with actors taking on different roles in each act were not in the stereotypical mould of their counterparts in Valmiki’s Ramayana. If Rama was far from invincible or perfect (the way he used Soorpanakha running between two brothers to amuse himself was not the act of a gentleman) and his satisfied statement on hearing that Lakshmana had rejected Soorpanakha’s advances that he knew his brother would not accept her, prompts Sita to ask as to why, when he knew what was to happen, did he tell her to approach his brother? The strong character in the play was Lakshmana, who in spite of being reduced to a celibate life in the forest, did not give in to Lalita’s (Soorpanakha in disguise) wiles. Some of the scenes will remain etched in memory for all time – like Lalita’s advances and later anger at being used as a tool for amusement by the brothers – enacted by Indu. The myriad changes in facial expression after finding out how she has been used along with the highly evocative mizhavu play was unforgettable. The Uttara Rama Charitam sequence from Nangiar Koothu portraying how after Rama destroys Sambuka, the marauding elephant attacking the male/female coupling pair, the narrative reverts to the past when Sita played with the baby female elephant making it walk and play, and how she taught the peacock to dance saw Indu quite brilliant in capturing the scene. Margi Madhu, the leader of the team, in the scene as Lakshmana building the Parnasala (a dwelling) for Rama and Sita in Panchavati was another unforgettable section in its myriad minute details. Nepathya Vishnu Prasad as Dasaratha, enacting the searing tragedy of the king explaining to the old parents about how his arrow by accident mortally wounds their young son (whose body he carries) trying to fill his pitcher to carry water for his blind parents, left very few dry eyes. And then the horror and revulsion along with deep pity when in the final Ninam scene, entering from the rear of the audience was Margi Madhu as the disfigured Soorpanakha – in all the gore, and blood splattered body repeating, in quivering disbelief and shock that she was after all no ordinary woman but a princess and did she deserve this treatment? Nartanam Delhi Diary 131

Shanti Sutra

Marking the 150th anniversary of Gandhiji, Kalakshetra Chennai under its new director Revathi Ramachandran, presented Shanti Sutra, an unlikely dance weave comprising the apostle of Satyagraha, peace and non-violence who rebelled against consumerist culture, Gandhiji, and Rukmini Devi, the aesthete and high priestess of culture, who led the cultural renaissance of India during the thirties and later. Despite the very different makeup, these icons shared common points. Gandhiji’s Satyagraha call, the nationalistic fervour and fight for Independence, influenced every patriotic Indian as it did Rukmini Devi. Both had their committed goals, without any desires for the loaves of office (Rukmini Devi too turned down the post of President of India for which she was nominated). Non-violence was a creed dear to both as was Ahimsa (protection of animals) and tolerance for Sarva Dharma Samanvaya where all religions were seen as equal. With V.R. Devika as resource person, and music by Sai Sankar and dance choreography contributed by several of the senior Kalakshetra teachers, one great aspect of the presentation at Malcha auditorium of NSD (unfortunately poorly attended) was the high quality of the dance, in the grammar, profile of movement, costume aesthetics, and group synchronisation. The signature song Aaduraatai with the warp and weft of weaving beautifully brought out in the choreography, the dance choreography revelled in strong images of Khadi weaving with the Charka as an inevitable symbol for Gandhi.

Rukmini Devi’s passionate involvement with weaving was focussed on aesthetics of designing – her cotton and silk weaving with the ‘Kuyilkan, Gopuram and Rudraksham’ images on the border becoming highly sought after by the aesthete. If Gandhi gave Indian politics a strong moral fibre, Rukmini Devi, as the Goddess of Culture, gave Indian dance and art a new feel for aesthetics. Using verses from the Atharva Veda, Vamakkal Kavigner, Sant Kabir, Dayanand Saraswati, and several patriotic songs like Vaishnava Janato, there was a lot of variety in moods and there was not a dull moment in the fast changing dance moods – with a Dandalu Dandalu with its rural accent on the cow and bull and slick pinnal movements of dancers smoothly manipulating long strips of cloth hung from the ceiling. The musicians with Sai Sankar and Hariprasad leading the vocal accompaniment were perfectly rehearsed. The one flaw was the need for heavy editing, cutting out the self indulgence of spinning out scenes endlessly.

Exceptional abhinaya by foreign dancers at Lalit Arpan

Lalit Arpan, the annual homage to her mother when Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan presents her students, saw some surprising abhinaya by students living abroad; one in London whose interpretation of Yashodara by Mythili Sharan Gupt’s 132 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam work, was very moving Sakhi, we mujhe kehekar jate – the cry of Gautama’s wife that her husband could have confided and taken leave of her, instead of departing in the stealth of night leaving his young wife and just born son, behind. The other dancer was Doloneena Vilnius from Lithuania – whose weaving together of two poems, one by a Lithuanian poet Oni Baaliukone, Tarp kitke and the other by the Indian poet Mahadevi Varma, Meri Neerbhari Dukh, brought out the underlined suggestion of life being full of sorrows with death as the only certainty, and man is like an intoxicated bee caught in the spider’s web. He finds moments of joy in things like the beauty of a loaded sunset. The sensitivity of the interpretative dance showed that great abhinaya is not the prerogative of one living in India in the midst of the dance.

Guru Kripa by one-legged dancer

It was most heartening to watch Nityananda Das, the one legged dancer, perform Odissi in the Sai auditorium in a two day festival titled ‘Guru Kripa.’ And the entire festival was designed to accentuate the Guru. Years ago as a young lad in Bhubaneswar, he started training for Odissi under Guru Bimbadhar Das. Recognised by critics as a youngster with talent, his world suddenly collapsed when an unfortunate fall resulted not just in a fracture but in his having to lose one leg. His hopes in Odissi had been dashed. Wallowing in self pity, when he approached his Guru as a tragic figure, Bimbadhar Das threw away his crutch and told him firmly to learn how to dance on one leg instead of weeping, and after months of effort from both parties, Nityananda started dancing again. To perform a style which demands isolation of the torso (for it is the torso deflections which form the tribhangi so central to Odissi) and to be able to hold the tri/bend posture and balance with one limb missing, is very difficult. It is astonishing to see the way in which Nityananda manages this. Foot contact rhythm is all with one foot, but the manner in which he maintains the profile of the dance without losing his balance is quite astonishing.

After the first round of performances in Delhi, one did not see him often- because the surprise of seeing a one legged performer was over after the first exposure for curious audiences in Delhi. It was after years that this dancer performed in the capital and using his own story as the theme for a production, Guru Pranam, which was performed by the institution in which he works namely Kalashram, as an object lesson for what the human being can rise to, with courage, was very seemly. When Nityananda performed with Bijay Kumar Das, they made a well rehearsed twosome. The concluding item on the second evening, Priya Sakha, with the devotee realising that the God he feared relates to him as a friend was also with these two dancers (both now teachers at Kalashram) and it was a Nartanam Delhi Diary 133 lesson in sheer guts to aspire to be a regular performer (the stump of one leg covered by the draping in the costume). But for a teacher like Bimbadhar Das, what would Nityananda have done in a country where there is no scholarship for those who have had to give up the dance due to an accident!

Among other gurus and students participating in the festival, Kuchipudi Guru Jayarama Rao showed that age has not dulled the tandav fire and conviction in him for presenting Shiva Stuti. That his disciples are well trained was seen from the opening Jatiswaram in Hamsadhwani they presented with flair. In the twenty to twenty five minute slots given to others, the scattered group of disciples trained by late Gangadhar Pradhan who have formed a small Odissi group in Gurgaon did exceeding well in “Krishnaya Tubhyam Namah” based on the Gita Govind verses Vedanudharat jagannivahate and the Dashavatar glimpses with freezes ending the narrative of each avatar was exceedingly well performed, the choreography preserving what the Guru had left behind as his choreography based on the music of Subash Pani. The other Guru/disciples group was Natya Vriksha, the Bharatanatyam school run by Geeta Chandran whose concluding Aigiri Nandini describing the Devi in all her glory and the Devi Treyi, was rendered with immaculate movements by her students Radha Krishnan, Amritasruthi, Radhika Kathal and Madhura Bhrushundi.

A transcending experience

When Geeta Chandran announced a special homage to her first Guru Swarna Saraswati with a programme at the Kamani under Natya Vriksha, one expected little more than the usual Bharatanatyam solo performance, with garlands round the photograph of Swarna Saraswati marking the occasion, with some information thrown in about this teacher born to a traditional family practicing this profession by Rajiv Chandran – Natya Vriksha’s redoubtable compere for all programmes. Geeta having learnt under Swarna Saraswati when she was barely five, what could she recollect after all from a very short stint during her childhood? But contrary to what one may have felt, what the evening provided was a performance few people can forget prompting the chief guest, a Central Minister to say in a brief talk that never in his life had he cherished an experience, given his interest in classical music (mostly Hindustani), of being transported to another space outside the reach of every day life as he had, after watching this concert.

When the evening began with a very different backdrop to mark World Toilet Day with the dancer exhorting that every citizen had to realise his duty in enabling to keep the place clean for the next generation and in India with rivers and air so polluted, did one realise what one was leaving behind for the young and yet unborn? 134 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam

Smoothly connecting the concept with the need to ensure a healthy classical art inherited from the great masters which one was passing on to the next generation, the broom and brush slowly faded away with the backdrop of Swarna Saraswati’s painting gradually descending from the ceiling to crown the performance space. Rajiv Chandran gave an introduction to this descendent of the Devadasi clan, who was the daughter of Rajamani Ammal and the grand daughter of Amrita Etiraja Ammal. Her Bharatanatyam training was under Conjeepuram Tiruvengadu Nattuvanar and after her first performance at the temple at a very young age, during her four decades old career, she went on a world tour, much before Balasaraswati (whose cousin she was by marriage) presenting Bharatanatyam to foreign audiences in 1952, and in 1966 was conferred the SNA award for her contribution to the art form.

Geeta herself recollected how in the South Indian complex of Chenna market zone of Karol Bagh, Swarna Saraswati had her classes which Geeta’s mother escorted her to. She remembers how the padam teaching was never structured. Since there was no consciousness of time, students stayed as long as they wanted to or could and she remembers that there was no watch in class. Since so much depended on the individual dancer’s ability to interpret every word and line, even in varnams, there was no sameness in teaching – and one just learnt with no consciousness of performing. And the youngsters just learnt with no strictures that one could not proceed further till what one had learnt previously was perfected. And the joy of learning and doing no matter how imperfect was what was visible. And in just a short time, she herself had been taught several padams and 4 varnams including the legendary Todi varnam Danike tagu janara. That it was a very different approach to teaching and learning in those days was well brought out.

Geeta’s performance segment rested on excellent music – one of the main components of a Bharatanatyam recital by the hereditary dancers who were all extremely well versed in Carnatic music. Being no mean singer herself, Geeta had worked with the extremely talented musicians instructing them to sing in slow tempo, with less of briga in the singing and with clarity of diction, providing classical excellence while being totally in tune with the dancer. And her choice of musicians could not be faulted. Venkateshwar’s vocal melody rich in its faultless classical credentials, rendered in vilambit kaal the ‘sruti shuddham’ and melody long enough to grip the audience. As for Ayyappan’s powerful nattuvangam, his recitation of bols was a demonstration of how much the clarity of recitation with accented points clearly defined provided more inspiration and power to the dancer’s nritta. Not to be left behind were the young violinist Raghavendra Prasanth and another young and brilliant mridangist Manohar Balachandran whose percussion is so melodic and seems to chime in so well with the dance. Nartanam Delhi Diary 135

Geeta began with a medley which was a blend of snippets of several items taught by her guru from the Alarippu, the smooth slipping into tatahaiyathai… in Kamboji presenting a glimpse of the sabdam, then on to a bit of the Husseni Swarajathi E mayaladi with the striking “Ri, Ri Ri……Vagaye….”, swara sahitya segment and then a snippet from the padam in Shahana, Mogadochi Piliichedu with a very moving maravaku na swami when the nayika bids farewell to Krishna saying that she hopes he will not forget her for the husband she was wedded to in childhood has come to claim her and she has to leave. Like the lotus which blossoms with the sun which is so far away, my thoughts even at that distance will always be of you.

But the event of the day was the presentation of the legendary varnam of the devadasi repertoire, Mohamana en meedu in Bhairavi. And Geeta was in her element. The dancer’s savoured joy in every moment of the presentation, with the musicians also in complete synchronisation, the pallavi, the anupallavi and the charanam at increased speed, portrayed exceptional communicative skills in the abhinaya. Nagareegamana tirunagaril finds the nayika describing the Lord’s stately home in the temple city of Tiruvaloor. In the line Bhoga Tyagesa anubhogam seyya vaa-kitte the last word is what I have not seen included in other versions. But Geeta says that this was Swarna Saraswati’s way of always adding this word in calling out to the lord offering herself to him and urging him to come to her – Geeta has followed Swarna Saraswati’s own rendition of this song (a record of which is in Madhavi Mudgal’s collection). And the teermanams composed by late B. Sivakumar, short but with the sollus arranged in a manner providing tremendous impact in both recitation and rendition were a feature. To say that it was a transported audience would not be an exaggeration.

Hansika: Swan Lake in Odissi

The road to modernity has led to strange endeavours. Sharmila Mukerjee’s organisation in Bangalore trying Swan Lake in Odissi gave the impression of being confused. Of the many attempts at producing Swan Lake in an Indian dance form, what Mohiniattam dancer Bharati Shivaji and daughter Vijayalakshmi presented was certainly the best one has seen so far. They used Tchaikovsky’s music and the way the Mohiniattam movements sat on this music was so evocative that one felt that the music could have been scored just for this dance form. The feel of lightness and the swan were very convincingly captured. In this particular attempt in Odissi, music became a distracting factor – in ‘to be or not to be’ treatment imitating Tchaikovsky or trying to get the Tchaikovsky feel through Indian music which made the entire attempt neither here nor there. The group of swans dancing to Odissi movements was good. But the music in the famous pas- 136 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam de-deux through Indian music trying to catch the theme of Swan Lake did not quite come off. The sets too with two people on both sides trying to create the feel of water by waving a cloth looked very unconvincing.

Kathak flavours

The period had many Kathak festivals. While quite a few young Kathak dancers, influenced by artistic direction of great artists like Akram Khan, are being quite adventurous with the form trying to inject into it flavours from Modern Dance, on the other side of the spectrum is Uma Sharma, the veteran who presented Indra Sabha in the Mujra-Nautanki-Kathak style, the text written by Amanat Ali in 1852, when it was presented in Lucknow. The programme at the Shankar Hall auditorium of Modern School, Delhi, was in honour of Naina Devi, Savitri Pratap Singh and Sumitra Charat Ram.

Indra Sabha was the last King of Oudh, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s great vision. A great art connoisseur, the Nawab mingled Indra Sabha and Rahas, bringing together not just his love for poetry and the dance but also the music – his passion taking the ultimate form of his appearing in the main roles himself. If Rahas deriving from the word ‘rahasya (mysticism) was inspired by the idea of the mortal soul merging with that of the immortal universal soul, Indra Sabha became the fantasy of creating a vision of Indra in Heaven with his courtiers, Gandharvas and Apsaras. Deo Kaal was Time, in this light hearted conflict between heaven and earth. In the original script are names Akhtarnagar (Akhtar being Wajid Ali Shah’s pen name with his nagar in Oudh) and Singhaldweep (mention of Lanka – perhaps a fragment of an imagination as the land of Rama/Ravana’ struggle). The Indra Sabha narrative is about four Apsaras, the gems of the royal court– Pukhraj Pari (Topaz), Neelam Pari (Sapphire), Lal Pari (Ruby) and Sabz Pari (the Emerald fairy) and the conflict begins when Sabz Pari falls in love with a mortal Prince Gulfaam from earth, infuriating the King. Kaal Deol has to intervene and plead with Indra to forgive the fairy.

With her experience in Raas, which she learnt from the gurus in Vrindavan, and her long friendship with the scholar/musician late Naina Devi who composed the music for this script, Uma Sharma was well equipped in Natawari Nritya to be able to teach her students the old version of Kathak – simple and without too many flourishes of rhythm. Since the music was composed (though Naina Devi died by the time Uma returned from a performance tour to America) and this production was presented at the Shri Ram Centre in 2012, after this staging, Uma was bringing it back to the stage now. The arrangement of the stage redolent with flowers of jasmine, roses and chrysanthemum and scent of attar while not cluttering Nartanam Delhi Diary 137 the stage was delightfully evocative of the old Mughal court and the dancers had obviously worked hard at their synchronicity – for in dance without too much ornamentation but constant chakkars, the pirouettes unless executed at the same speed, with all dancers facing four sides at the same time, can look very untidy in a group. Costumes were very aesthetic and with the typical Mughal cap and veil, the dancers looked resplendent. The acting, if not brilliant, was adequate. The Paris, formally announced, appeared one after the other in different ways. Set in ragas like Kedar, Bhairavi, Jogiya and several others, Naina Devi’s music was sung by vocalists Snehlata Mishra and Papiha Malik and Imran Khan who also aided the music composing – and yet the most disappointing aspect of the music was the vocal support of Imran Khan whose voice seems to have lost its old melody and the complete sur control he had seems to have disappeared.

Young Kathak voices speak

The meeting arranged at Bharatiya Kala Kendra’s basement by artist Prerana Shrimali, giving young Kathak practitioners a chance to speak of their ideas and perceptions of the dance in a changing climate was perhaps the first genuine effort to listen to young voices which in a Gurur vakya cultural climate is continually fed on the belief that the Guru’s gyan will provide all the answers to questions nagging the disciple. Doubting as to how many would dare or care to attend such a meet, one was surprised at the response with almost all worthwhile teachers and gharanas represented through their students. And it came as a very pleasant surprise, to hear these young voices and realise how much of churning was going on inside them about which way the dance form was headed – something adults feel, the performance oriented young dancers do not think deeply about.

Rachna, who is under the guidance of Aditi Mangaldas making herself known as coming from an atheistic household, and as having been trained under her mother, confessed to being out of sync with the mythology orientation of Indian dance for she was more moved by contemporary literature and was more comfortable with the nritta technique of Kathak than its interpretative repertoire. Joining Aditi Mangaldas’ classes gave her the opportunity to be herself for Aditi believed in total freedom to interpret in one’s own way.

Sangeetha Chatterjee learning under Bhaswati Misra spoke of how the guru took students to plays, exhibitions and poetry readings all of which had been internalised in her consciousness without her realising it. She had been taught the importance of angashuddha, as the primary necessity – for all the nazaquat could follow later with maturity. Teacher had taught that skill was important, show off was not, for skill unless combined with aesthetics meant nothing. She had 138 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam learnt the importance of in-depth understanding, for the artist could paradoxically drown in the shallow waters of superficiality. Art lover Shivani had learnt through dance so much that she felt it was meant for all to do, to see and to enjoy.

Ruchi Saini, a disciple of Guru Munna Shukla, studied abstract art, painting, and calligraphy and found when she went to Kathak how much the dance related to all these disciplines, which Guruji has pointed out in his own way. While thinking of what is classic, and what is modern, while doing a film on Guruji, she realised “that an artist needs to be like water, transparent and flowing.” So what is traditional, she remarked in conclusion, is the latest and ever new. Yet another student Divya Goswami who having studied under Yogini Gandhi has now been under Munna Shukla, said that her Guru’s example had taught her that the world of chintan (deep introspection) on what the Guru teaches was important and she has realised the futility of competing with the world of gimmicks. The secret of evolving as an artist “was spending time with oneself.”

Shinjini Kulkarni felt that it was not in the theme but the way of interpreting it that constitutes modernity. For instance, the story of Ahalya can be a metaphor for a strong feminist statement. She adored adulation and claps from the audience– but for her it could not be at the “cost of corrupting the language the Guru had taught her.”

Shambhavi Shukla who was trained under Pandit Prem Narayan before coming under the guidance of Jaipur gharana Guru Rajendra Gangani, looked at dance as life itself. With a Masters in Sanskrit, she finds it exciting when she studies the 1000 year old Sastras and finds links with prayog today and she has discovered that the two – practice and theory – as given in the Sastras, are interconnected. A lover of Bharatanatyam in her childhood, she found the discipline in the openness of Kathak interesting. She was still trying to fathom out what the term ‘new’ means in dance.

Mahua Shankar born to Kathak practicing parents Pradeep Shankar and Rekha Shankar, on joining the Kathak Kendra in Delhi came under Reba Vidyarthi, Bhaswati Misra and finally Pandit Birju Maharaj. Kathak had educated her on several aspects of life and art – like all gharanas being important, having inner calm, being patient and being an eternal student without feeling that there was nothing more to learn was important. Kathak had taught her to look at life in depth. She had discovered that audiences come with different mind frames to watch a performance and unless the dancer can feel the ecstasy in her communication, she cannot transform the audience to a different level. While performing in Venezuela, a person who was in the audience, after the recital at Nartanam Delhi Diary 139 once sought Birju Maharaj for starting lessons in Kathak. That for Mahua was a most fulfilling moment.

An MSC in Mathematics and a gold medallist from a humble family, Vidya Gowri, a disciple of Guru Rajendra Gangani, after seeing a workshop joined training classes under the Guru. “I would frequently visit the Kathak Kendra library to find that it was always empty. My parents insisted, "Do not make a business of Art." More a Maharashtrian in her upbringing, she was adept at Marathi and not familiar with the sahitya of Kathak. Science, painting, dance were all being pursued at the same time. “Kathak is my universe. I have to discover connections in all the subjects I am studying.” Harish Gangani spoke of how named the ‘Lala’ in the family, he was meant to be in business. An untidy person travelling in a crowded bus, I could be tutored only under Rajendra Gangani. Yet another student of Rajendra Gangani maintained that the guru had taught her, “While the audience makes us, we must make audiences.”

Kathak sisters Maumala Nayak and her sister Monisa after learning at Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad, came to Delhi in 1994, thanks to the father’s posting. When they tried to appear for the Kathak Kendra entrance, their belief in knowing a great deal about Kathak was washed away for they were rejected. Later they were assigned as students to different gharanas, one to Lucknow and the other to Jaipur gharana. This has been a time for looking closely at what is happening to Kathak today.

Saksham

The other event Saksham, since 1915, conceptualised by Sangita Chatterjee of Kalpataru Arts has an annual Manthan festival with evening performances complemented by morning workshops called Saksham deliberating on the art form through discussions. When called to consider why, when the Kathak dancer of old, even in his nritta exuded an inner calmness, does the Kathak performer today underline his love for footwork and virtuosity with a quality of exhibitionism bordering on violence? Where has the inner equanimity gone? Are the qualities of society today reflected in the dance too? Navina Jafa, the moderator for the sessions, called this attitude as emerging from a sense of entitlement and low self esteem. Social media had created an alter ego of a different image in a virtual world, the dancer while on stage had to deal with reality, with audiences and rasikas in the dark. There was a dichotomy. Kamalini Dutt, the television producer for Doordarshan for years, spoke of her own experience with live broadcasts, then recorded cassettes, colour TV and the constant changes which she had to learn to deal with. For the dancer’s energy too, it was essential to change with changing 140 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam times. Audiences were important and the audience had as much role as the dancer in evoking the aesthetic state of being called rasa. She admired artists like sitarist Shubendra Roy and vocalist T.M. Krishna taking music to the deprived sections of society. We had to train audiences for without them there was no place for the arts.

In reference to sahitya, Prerana Shrimali drew attention to the unique nature of Kathak where Bol Bandishes made sahitya, for here a text was created out of abstract dance. Bhajans, Thumris, poetry of different regions were all available as material for abhinaya. But in dance, poetry, painting, or whatever the dance is based on, has to be an interpretation and not a translation of the inspiring material. If one is going to repeat what the original says, where is the need for duplication? Jayant Kastuar believed that the old texts defined abhinaya with such clarity that he believed all practitioners had to avail themselves of this knowledge. He spoke of his own experiences lately of abhinaya in Kathak, based on texts from Assam and several other regions and how these could be brought into Kathak so easily if one knew how to go about it. Bhaswati Misra felt that how text was interpreted had to be taught to practitioners. There were many attempts but not productive thanks to lack of understanding of the technique of abhinaya.

The dancer who brought out the essence of abhinaya and what it could achieve in wooing an audience, was Purva Dhanashree in her interpretation of two Gita Govinda ashtapadis, Sa virahe tava deena in raga Vasanti and Pravisha Radhe Madhava sameepamiha in Kosalam set to khandachapu talam, the music composed by Balamurali Krishna, the entire action with the sakhi entreating Radha to join Krishna so persuasive that the entire performance saw a mesmerised audience, many with tears in their eyes. And when Purva was asked to talk about her training one could see that tears and hours of hard work only could result in some understanding of abhinaya of this excellence. The in depth training even comprised feeling every type of texture of cloth before one realised the feel and fall of the garment one was to portray in the abhinaya, which had to acquire a different texture. Students of dance in a hurry to perform rather than acquire excellence in the art form, would find this kind of training too tedious.

The other performer in the festival who stood out for the quality of the recital was Sangita Chatterjee herself, whose Kathak radiated excellence in every aspect of the nritta bandishes, chosen with care. And in between the abhinaya based on Mriga Trishana from the Ramayan, as a metaphor for man’s never ending search for what he knows not, was about Sita’s desire for the golden deer which sent Rama on a search with disastrous consequences. Sangita’s interpretative dance had conviction with subtlety. And her musical support had the same sensitive approach. Nartanam Delhi Diary 141

Festival of Kathak Duets

Rag Virag’s Duet Kathak Festival mounted at the Triveni auditorium featured several Kathak pairs. While the duet may provide some variety through two dancers contrasting or complementing each other, insisting on the conventional format with abhinaya rendered to compositions like the Thumri, has dancers fall flat on their face. What is meant for the solo dancer leaves a lot to the imagination and to suggestion and when in a duet the approach becomes that of the dance drama where both parties in the lyric, the person addressing and one addressed appear on stage as characters, the entire art of evoking a feel of the latter through abhinaya is cut at the root. The item becomes an interaction killing the poetic element also.

The only dancer to deal with this aspect very intelligently was Rani Khanam where she kept the solo form alive, while making the other dancer in the Bindadin Dadra, Thade rahio o more Shyam in Bihar Adhaar, the sakhi, whom the chatur nayika (pragalba nayika in this case) keeps side tracking by getting her involved in other tasks, while she the abhisarika addresses the unseen beloved for a tryst later in the evening when the household is sleeping. The other pair who designed their recital for a twosome were Dheerendra Tiwari and Deepti Gupta whose starting with Natwar Nateshwar Jayati Jai had the two dancers alternately taking on the roles of Shiva and Krishna. Shikha Khare, a senior professional, coupled well with her disciple Subima Shreshta and presented intra forms in the rarely done Badi Savari sola matra of 16 matras ending with the thumri Sari gulabi chunhariyan.

Dance drama on Sattriya wins hearts

After Sattriya entered the pan Indian dance scenario as a classical dance in 2000, the dance form has made great strides expanding its repertoire, with people outside the region of Assam getting to be more familiar with this dance form. In Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, students have enrolled in dance classes in Sattriya (the last activity one would expect in a university which has hit the news for some time now). Collaborating with the University, Satraranga which is doing much to spread knowhow about Sattriya, recently presented a dance drama “Dhanya Toho Srimanta Sankara” based on the life and teachings of the founder of Sattriya, Srimanta Sankaradeva. The result of a product oriented workshop for training in Sattriya through classes held in the University, the concept and design by Bhabananda Barbayan in association with Niranjan Saikia, the assistant director, and the help of dance teachers Rupashree Mohapatra, Gargi Goswami, Kiran Borah and Sukanya Borah created this work on Srimanta Sankaradeva, the man who combined in his person the skills of an artist, musician, dramatist, playwright 142 Leela Venkataraman Nartanam and teacher who propagated his neo Vaishnavite principles through art. The notable point in the dance drama was the manner in which fully trained dancers and the amateurs just learning were featured in a seamless manner without the sharp differences in standards showing. While Dhemali, Gayan/Bayan/Ojhapali and dances like Chali, Sutradhar like item, not omitting even the Mati Akhara exercises were featured in the dance narrative in telling glimpses, the production also contained the momentous aspects of Sankaradeva’s life. His birth in 1449 A.D. was an event – the announcement of a leader of the Neo Vaishnavite movement in this region, who was going to spell the doom of Sakta and Devi worship prevalent in this area.

The first dramatic work of Sankaradeva, Cihna Yatra, celebrated for seven days with the famous cloth drawing of Sapta Vaikuntha, the seven residences of Vishnu by the teacher himself, Sankaradeva’s pilgrimage to places of Vishnu/ Krishna worship in different parts of India, the meeting with Madhavadeva in Bardowa in Majuli which was to prove so momentous, the persecution of the Bhuyas by the Ahom King and the way Sankaradeva’s son-in-law who had earlier been given an assignment by the Ahoms was executed forcing Sankaradeva to leave for Pat Bausi, where after a long period of unrest, he and his teachings found complete acceptance under King Naranarayana, were all brought out in the dance narrative with clarity. The jealous anger of the Brahmin priests, who felt that Sankaradeva’s simple philosophy of one God, of worship through Kirtana (chanting), Sravana (hearing) and Pathana (reading) was making the ritual-oriented Brahmin-prescribed worship unpopular, the utter simplicity of Sankaradeva’s religion which had no place for caste or creed attracting people from all communities, were all brought out in the dance drama. The most well thought out aspect was getting a guest artist, Kathak dancer Hemant Kumar Kalita to play the lead role and his total involvement, made Sankaradeva a felt presence. The recorded music had many voices and instruments and while there were parts which could have been better handled, on the whole the music played a part in evoking the character. As a stepping stone to understanding Sattriya, this production was uniquely significant and deserves to be staged in several institutions. It was also a good move to get an NSD trained person to make the sets – simple and very effective and aesthetic. With excellent costumes, this work, unfortunately not seen by a large audience, was altogether an education for viewers.

IIC Week concentrates on the North Eastern States

The annual IIC festival this year had the North Eastern States as its theme. With the delightfully designed tents pitched on the entrance lawns, with knick knacks from all the North East, and simultaneous demonstration of the multiple Nartanam Delhi Diary 143 weaving skills of this part of the country, one never saw the IIC wear such a decorative look. What one will remember is the full throated singing of the Moirang Sai and Lai-Haraoba songs on the open lawn by Mangka Mayanglambam. The other unforgettable event was the searing play in English, ‘A Being Human Being Human Human Being’ by young Lapdiang A. Syiem from Meghalaya, who wrote the play and acted in it. The stinging sarcasm, anger and vexed feelings about erosion of a human being’s freedom to think, to act, and to live a life of one’s choice made the audience wince on occasion with its bitterness. Are we being made into automatons? Has our ability to think for ourselves been totally crushed? The play left the audience sad about what the people in the North East are going through – also caught between insurgency and the agencies of law. A brilliant talent, the actor left people wincing after the play. The evening dinners with delicacies of each of the States, for some reason, this year, attracted diminishing numbers. This normally is one part of the festival which holds tremendous appeal. Films on the Manipuri regional festivals were very informative. But the best part of the fare was the exhibition on Tripura, providing the most delightful insights into the royal family that ruled there, with a rich photo exhibition. Fascinating and I am certain that not even a little bit of what was shown in this was known to most people. The concluding evening saw the troupe from the SNA Manipuri Academy at Imphal present a programme.

In a very crowded period, one has only picked some high points. 144 Nartanam The International Odissi Dance Festival- 2018

MADHAVI PURANAM

The International Odissi Dance Festival- 18, which is put together by the Odia Language, Literature & Culture and Tourism Department of Odisha, and the GKMC Odissi Research Centre, was held from 26-30 December 2018 at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. The festival format is ideal for presenting a wide range of dancers from India and abroad and thus offers a glimpse into the state of Odissi as practiced by young dancers today across the world. Organising a festival of such proportions where scores of dancers perform over a period of five days (from 11am-10pm with 10-20 minutes allotted for each dancer/group) is a huge task which is executed with great success by the festival organisers, year after year. Sangeeta Gosain who heads Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre and her team must be congratulated for their tireless efforts in staging an event of such magnitude. However, there is an urgent need to discuss the alarming trends in Odissi that are obvious from the many presentations on the first three days which this writer could watch.

Odissi needs to get rid of the loud mardalas, the dominating singers and musicians, the LED lights and light designers, and the oversized tahias and floral arrangements, immediately. The accompanying music is raucous with the mikes set too loud especially for the mardala and the singers. Unless the musicians understand that they are accompanists, not the main performers, it will be impossible to watch any Odissi. Even Ratikanta Mohapatra, an eminent guru and chorographer, succumbed to the lure of the mike. Someone intelligent has to be in control at the sound room.

The LED lights and the indiscriminate change in lighting in various hues is the bane of all Indian dance. Dancers come across as dimwits for they shop for technology but do not know what to do with it. The LED lights that blind the audience and the mood lighting are no friends of the dancers; they must immediately shun them. Solo dance just needs simple lighting and the dancer should achieve the aesthetic pleasure in the audience by virtue of his/her skill.

The huge tahias and floral decorations that the women dancers sport on their heads sets in a sense of disproportion as soon as they make their first appearance on stage; the head appears bigger than the body. Any amount of fine dancing becomes useless for the aberration in proportion makes the dancers appear like midgets. Nothing else registers. Nartanam 145

Performances at the International Odissi Dance Festival- 2018 146 Nartanam

Sourav Mohanty Rabi Shankar Majhi

Preetisha Mohapatra Nartanam The International Odissi Dance Festival- 2018 147

I must point out the few talents that I saw at the festival – Rabi Shankar Majhi, Sourav Mohanty, Madhulita Mohapatra, who came across as a seasoned artist despite the accompanying loud music, and Preetisha Mohapatra, who exhibited great potential even though the loud percussion drowned her performance. There might surely have been other talents, but this writer could not watch all the performers in the marathon festival format.

Rabi Shankar Majhi and Sourav Mohanty, both, exhibited fine technique with rare angashuddi and were a delight to watch. Its interesting to know that while Rabi Shankar Majhi is a disciple of Durgacharan Ranbir, Sourav Mohanty is trained by Manoj Pradhan, a disciple of Durgacharan Ranbir. Priyambada Hejmadi reflected, “For a guru who is very soft spoken and gentle in demeanor, Durgacharan Ranbir is a tough task-master. He produces well-trained youngsters whose technique stands out in its virtuosity and aesthetics both." A chance meeting with the guru confirmed her observations. The guru shared that he is very particular with the angashuddhi and there are no short cuts to rigorous training. Priteesha is a talented youngster who needs to find her comfort zone and arrive at her own individual space away from the shadow of her eminent parents, Sujata Mohapatra and Ratikanta Mohapatra, and her grandfather, the great maestro, late Kelubabu.

True to Kumkum Mohanty’s observation in the seminar on Jayantika at the Festival which also saw the release of Nartanam’s special issue on Jayantika, the accompanists of Odissi have ceased to play a supportive role. When musicians try to upstage the dancer by dominating the performance they do service neither to themselves nor to the dancers. As said aptly by a member of the audience, there is a fine line between music and cacophony.

Kumkum reminisced, with humorous anecdotes, from her memory – Bhanja Jayanti was popular in Odisha and many Odissi dance competitions were held during the festival; the Hirakud dam inauguration when Kelubabu took his disciples for a performance, the popular “Chandrika” dance drama which was aired on All India Radio, the Kumar Utsav Samiti dance dramas, the makeup man Sarkar Da, “Tapasvini” commissioned by Babulal Doshi, dance performances when Kelubabu made tahiyas for his dancers himself and once travelled in an open truck for the performance – and she could have carried on an entire evening with her valuable inputs. Kumkum Mohanty reminisced of the early days of Odissi and commented on the current scenario without any reservations and it would serve the present generation to heed her advice.

Ileana Citaristi who guest edited Nartanam’s issue on Jayantika highlighted the important moments and contributions of Jayanatika while 148 Madhavi Puranam Nartanam

Release of Nartanam's special issue on Jayantika

Seminar on Jayantika: L.to R.: Ileana Citaristi, Kumkum Mohanty, Priyambada Hejmadi, Madhavi Puranam and Sangeeta Gosain

PriyambadaMohantyHejmadirecollected the early days of Odissi and her performance of the repertoire of Odissi created by Jayantika. Nartanam 149

First Presidential address by Biranchi Narayan Rautray in the first meeting of Jayantika established on 22 June 1958 (* The document could not be published in Nartanam 18-3 Issue.) 150 Jayantika Documents Nartanam Nartanam Jayantika Documents 151 152 Jayantika Documents Nartanam

First Presidential address by Biranchi Narayan Rautray in the first meeting of Jayantika established on 22 June 1958

Friends,

Human beings have an important and vital aspect to their lives which is of great significance besides their economic and social life. This is their cultural life. The evolution and development of cultural life bestows inner happiness in human beings. The gamut of culture is vast, it encompasses dance, music etc. which is an integral part of life. If this part is deformed, it distorts the entire society. The equipoise is disturbed. Hence, all of you working in your respective field of dance should realize its importance in the society and understand your duties and responsibilities. Like all other forms of education, this also calls for tenacity and grit. Without hard work, indomitable courage, patience and perseverance, it is difficult to achieve excellence in dance. So, those of you, who have achieved this or have been striving for it, should not feel inferior but consider themselves equal to other well educated elite class.

Once upon a time, Odissi dance may have gone beyond the pinnacle of excellence. But the apathy and neglect of many centuries has only reduced it to the silent frozen stone sculptures found in temple crevices. The indifference on the part of the descendants is responsible for it. Thankfully, since a few years, a great avant-garde movement has been initiated for its revival and rehabilitation. The slow and sweet melody of the movement’s trumpet has not remained restricted to Orissa but is resonating in the whole world. Amidst this fanfare and exhilaration, every dance expert and dancer should get inspired with nationalist feelings and dedicate themselves to achieve the great objective of reviving the nation’s glory. This should be taken as a challenge. However, to move forward in this direction, some structured processes and procedures are required. The goal is one, so unity is highly desirable. Many hurdles, obstacles, highs and lows may come up behind this movement. However, the only antidote is cooperation. Without cooperation, not an iota of progress is possible.

First of all what is required is an independent, impartial strong organization under whose banner all the dancers and dance experts can come together. The basis of this unity will be cooperation, friendship and camaraderie. We all have to come together in one voice to recognize and accept Odissi dance as the national dance, but then to establish this fact, what we may lack is the requisite strength.

Many differences exist in hand movements, gestures, costumes and hairstyles across places. The irritability of parents is also to be reckoned with. At times some difference in payment terms between a dance teacher and the parents Nartanam Jayantika Documents 153 results in the latter withdrawing their ward from the particular teacher and shifting to another teacher. By fostering unity amongst the fraternity, such obstacles and hardships can be mitigated.

To establish Odissi dance as a classical dance, the following things are required:

1. In depth research in Odissi dance 2. Setting up standards of training 3. Standardization of mudra, gestures and steps in the dance 4. Spread of Odissi dance 5. Cooperation and collaboration between different organizations

If such an Association is formed, the dance directors will benefit in manifold ways. Those who want to teach the students privately can inform the Association directly. What type of dance is required by the students and what fees they could offer can be ascertained from the Association and such teachers can be arranged. This way both the guardians and the dance teachers can be benefited. If any organization faces shortage of teachers or if someone wants to impart teaching, such arrangements can be organized by the Association. The Association has a library. It should facilitate research. At least every week, the entire dance community should get together and express their complaints and concerns. In case of difference of opinion, all efforts should be made to resolve the issues. Apart from this, exchange of views can take place; efforts to collect facts on folk dances besides Odissi dance can be made. The Chhau dance of Seraikela is today in a moribund state. After Seraikela and Kharasuan became part of Bihar, it has lost its fervor. Those who had dedicated their lives to this art form are now leading a helpless and impoverished life. Though we do not have resources to uplift their financial condition, we can patronise Chhau dance for which I feel, they will be greatly reassured. I hope you all will actively progress towards finding solutions to such problems.

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