A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance Volume : XV, No. 1 January-March, 2015 Sahrdaya Arts Trust Hyderabad RNI No. APENG2001/04294 Nartanam, founded by Kuchipudi Kala Kendra, Mumbai, now owned and Founders published by Sahrdaya Arts Trust, G. M. Sarma Hyderabad, is a quarterly which provides M. Nagabhushana Sarma a forum for scholarly dialogue on a broad range of topics concerning Indian Chief Editor dance. Its concerns are theoretical as Madhavi Puranam well as performative. Textual studies, dance criticism, intellectual and Advisory Board interpretative history of Indian dance traditions are its focus. It publishes Avinash Pasricha (Former Photo Editor, SPAN) performance reviews and covers all C.V. Chandrasekhar (Padma Bhushan) major events in the field of dance in Kiran Seth (Padma Shri; Founder, SPIC MACAY) India and notes and comments on dance studies and performances abroad. K. K. Gopalakrishnan (Performing Arts Critic) The opinions expressed in the articles and the Leela Venkataraman (SNA Awardee) reviews are the writers’ own and do not reflect Pappu Venugopala Rao (Former Associate D G, the opinions of the editorial committee. American Institute; Secretary, Music Academy) Guest Editor Reginald Massey (FRSA & Freeman of London) Kedar Mishra Sunil Kothari (Padma Shri & SNA Awardee) Guest Photo Editor Arabinda Mohapatra Research Associates Cover & Design Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Scholar, Kuchipudi dancer) Shakeel Ahmed Kedar Mishra ( Poet, Scholar, Critic) Mallika Kandali (Sattriya dancer, Scholar) Cover: Sahi Jata of Puri Photos Courtesy: Cover Photo & all others photos in this issue: Arabinda Mohapatra Sahi Jata & Chandan Jata: Sarat Mama (Puri), Danda Nata rituals: Bhabani Das, Pasumukha Nrutya, Radha Prem Leela, Kali Medha: Odisha Tourism Annual Subscription: ` ` Past issues can be obtained from our office In India: Individual: 1000 Institutional: 2000 ` Overseas: Individual: US $ 60 Institutional: US $ 80 @ 250/- per copy for individuals @ ` 500/- per copy for instiutions (All Inclusive of postage) Note: Students in India can avail of 25% discount on (Exclusive of postage ) individual subscriptions) All editorial enquiries and manuscripts should be addressed to the Chief Editor, Subscriptions may be made by Cheque or DD payable at Hyderabad drawn in favour of SAHRDAYA ARTS TRUST, and sent to the address below. Sahrdaya Arts Trust, 508, Dwarakamai Apartments, Srinagar Colony Post, Hyderabad- 500073 Email: [email protected], [email protected], Phone: 9989314829 website: www.nartanam.in Printed and published by Madhavi Puranam on behalf of Sahrdaya Arts Trust, Hyderabad and printed at Karshak Art Printers, 40-APHB, Vidyanagar, Hyderabad - 44. (Ph: 27618261) and published at Hyderabad. Editor: Madhavi Puranam 4 NARTANAM NARTANAM Volume : XV, No. 1 January-March, 2015 CONTENTS Editorial/ 7 Letters to the Editor / 10 FOLK DANCES OF ODISHA Telling the Tales of Ever Flowing Time KEDAR MISHRA / 19 CHHAU DANCE A Picture of Vigour and Grace ILEANA CITARISTI / 25 GOTIPUA The Boy Dancers of Odisha SUNIL KOTHARI / 33 SABDASWARAPATA The Verve of Dance SUNIL KOTHARI / 46 PRAHLAD NATAK A Confluence of Vivacious Colour SURESH BALBANTARAY / 50 SAHI JATA OF PURI A Unique Folk Theatre SUNIL KUMAR RATH & PABITRA MOHAN DASH / 53 GHUMURA A Rhythm of Courage MAHENDRA KUMAR MISHRA / 68 PALA The Dance of Poetry SURESH BALBANTARAY/ 87 DASKATHIA A Song of Life and Liberty SURESH BALBANTARAY/ 91 NARTANAM 5 FOLK DANCE OF SOUTH ODISHA A Panorama of Magic MANMATH KUMAR SATPATHY/ 96 FOLK DANCES OF WESTERN ODISHA Dances of Love and Life MOHIT KUMAR SWAIN / 119 DANDA NATA Unison of Poise and Vitality SANJEEV KUMAR NAYAK / 143 PASUMUKHA NRITYA Celebrating the Animal Spirit DEEPSHA RATH/ 162 BHARAT LEELA A Play of Romance SURESH BALBANTARAY / 166 PAIKA A Dance of Power and Courage ILEANA CITARISTI / 176 CHAITI GHODA DANCE The Spirit of Comedy SURESH BALABANTARAY/ 181 THE PUPPET ART OF ODISHA Narratives of Human Diversities GAURANGA CHARAN DASH / 183 THE CONTRIBUTORS / 192 PERFORMANCE REVIEWS Kathak Mahotsava 2015 LEELA VENKATARAMAN / 193 Delhi Diary LEELA VENKATARAMAN / 198 6 NARTANAM EDITORIAL The first issue of Nartanam of this new year is a first for our banner in more ways than one. It is our first special issue on folk forms, a first issue with colour plates, and a first to have been backed by the vision of a bureaucrat, accused in a variety of ways for heaping attention on the performing Arts of Odisha. Ashok Kumar Tripathy, a dynamic Indian Administrative Services officer of Odisha, with a rare cultural sensibility, empathy, and vision steered at least half a dozen performing arts festivals in Odisha including the Konark and the Dhauli, to become the most prominent festivals of the country. Tripathy roped in the best of the state’s artists and pooled in their sensitivities to curate these festivals. As Secretary, Odisha Tourism and Culture, Tripathy’s far reaching strategy of ensuring that the visiting media was exposed to every cultural nuance and form of Odisha when they were covering these festivals brought in criticism that the media was lavished with unnecessary attention. The local press resented the national press being sought after. But for the inclusion of Nartanam as a media guest covering Odisha festivals, we would not have gained ready access to the regional scholars, photographers, libraries, archives, artists, and art forms of Odisha. It has helped us put together the content of this issue written by the best of the regional scholars of Odisha at such favourable and competitive production costs that no publishing house or government can envisage. Nartanam is bringing this issue with 50 colour plates to showcase the vibrant folk colours though we cannot afford the high costs of colour printing. Kedar Mishra and Arabinda Mahapatra, team members of Nartanam from Odisha, have worked tirelessly to make the issue a reality and are the guest and photo editors, respectively, of this issue. We are grateful to Arabinda Mohapatra for providing most pictures of this special issue and Sarat Mama (Puri), Bhabani Das and Odisha Tourism for providing a few, readily, at a short notice. The returns for the money spent on various counts under culture cannot always be tangibly evaluated. Culture demands a work style which is not bureaucratic in nature. In a country where the culture budgets are far lower than most other countries we are also clueless and apathetic to administering/managing culture. It’s time that Indian society, especially the arts community, takes some time off their individual trials and tribulations, and reflects on what ails our Ministry of Culture (MoC). We raise here a few issues along with the ones highlighted by a High Powered Committee (HPC) set up by the MoC, through an Office Memorandum (No.8/69/ 2013-Akademis) dated the 15th January, 2014 to examine the issues related to the NARTANAM 7 mandate, composition etc. of the cultural organizations viz. National School of Drama (NSD), Centre for Cultural Resources &Training (CCRT), Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA) and Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) etc. and to suggest measures to monitor their performance. The most pertinent question is whether the MoC is equipped to deal with its mandate of administering culture? Can the MoC which deals with matters of intellect, aesthetics, and creativity, be run the way most other Ministries are run? Does it have the expertise and manpower to deal with its mandate? Even the simplest of its duties are not discharged efficiently. To mention a few: - Funds are released by the Ministry quite late to the institutions under the MoC; in several cases the second or last instalment is released during March and hence the Akademies are in a rush to spend it before 31st March. This affects the quality of the programmes organized at very short notice. - If one goes to the website of the MoC, the link leads to 21 schemes of the Ministry and the latest minutes as well. It shows that several meetings have yet to be convened for the financial year 2014 -15, and grants have yet to be disbursed. Here are the observations on three significant schemes which affect the maximum number of artists: 1. The pensions meant to benefit the old and often suffering artists are pending disbursal. In fact, the concerned committee meetings have not been held after December 2013. The irony is that the pension amount for an aged artist is about Rs.3500-4000; not even the cost of a five star dinner for a VIP. 2. The Salary Grant Scheme enables a cultural organisation/institution to support its artists by paying a small monthly sum to sustain them. During the last financial year, funds were released on the last working days of March and early April 2014. This financial year the meetings have not been held so far. 3. Junior/Senior Fellowships have not been awarded since 2012-13. The following are points to be noted from among the many raised by the HPC. - The allocation for Culture has ranged from 0.12% in 2009-10 to 0.13% in 2014- 15. If we add the budgets for the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Sports, we reach the grand level of 0.68% of the total Government budget in 2009-10, which has declined to 0.38% in 2014-15. These figures are abysmal. 8 NARTANAM - The Resolutions setting up the Akademis are a broad statement of intent. But a renewal of their focus is required. In modern management terms, a vision statement followed by a mission statement would be useful to bring clarity to the role of each Akademi in today’s context. - An Akademi is intended for academic work. In the three Akademis, research is intended to be an important area of activity. But The Lalit Kala Akademi does no research, the Sangeet Natak Akademi only a little, and the Sahitya Akademi, despite the presence of Universities in the General Council, does not do much research work.