ISSN 2455-7250 Vol. XIX No. 1 A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance January - March 2019

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Special Issue Surendra Nath Jena Nartanam pays tribute to it's Founder Editor

Professor Modali Nagabhushana Sarma (24 July 1935 - 15 January 2019) A Quarterly Journal of Indian Dance

Volume: XIX, No. 1 January - March 2019

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, Late 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 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: Guru Surendra Nath Jena Manjari Sinha (Critic, Scholar) Reginald Massey (Poet, FRSA, Freeman of London) Photo: Sunil Kothari (Scholar, Padma Shri, SNA Awardee, Fellow of SNA) Suresh K. Goel (Former Director General, ICCR) Cover, Design & Layout Shakeel Ahmed

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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: XIX, No. 1 January - March 2019 CONTENTS Editorial/ 7 The Quintessence of : Guru Surendra Nath Jena /9 NIRMAL CHANDRA JENA

An ode to the God within us /20 MANJU CHELLANI

Nrityayoga: The Spiritual Science of Odissi / 28 PRATIBHA JENA SINTraveling with Surendra Nath Jena / 35

JANET CRAWFORD

The music flowed through him / 46 MELISSA SPROUL- SINGH

Translating Guruji / 49 SWAATI CHATTOPADHYAY

Guru Surendra Nath Jena: The path to the heart of Odissi / 53 NATALIA BELCHENKO

Meditations on Odissi with Guruji / 69 JAYA MEHTA

Gina Lalli: A Tribute / 73 ARSHIYA SETHI

Indian Dance through English lens / 82 REGINALD MASSEY

The Dancing Body / 84 DEEPA CHAKRAVARTHY 6 Nartanam

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

‘Madame Menaka Choreography Movement’: A unique dance experiment RADHIKA MULAY / 91

Gopal Raj Bhatt Folk & Tribal Arts Festival 2019: A Report SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT / 101

BOOK REVIEW The dance quotient of Annamacharya’s songs V.A.K. RANGA RAO / 109

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

“Madam, you seem to be a nice lady. How did you get entangled with kundalini and the chakras?” was the startled response of an official of the National Museum in New Delhi when I approached them for some Tanjore paintings on the “subtle human body” consisting of kundalini, chakras and nadis. This was during the course of writing my book, “An Indian Analysis of Aesthetics: The Dance, the Dancer and the Spectator.” Abhinav Publications of New Delhi published it in 2015 with a foreword by none other than the iconic scholar Kapila Vatsyayan.

The book throws light on an intriguing section– Sarira Vivekah– from the first chapter of Sangita Darpanam, a 17th century treatise on music and dance. The treatise describes a metaphysical apparatus in the human body in the context of perception of dance and music. My argument in the book was that Sarira Vivekah appears to constitute a theory or mechanism of spectatorship, which is embodied in a human being. The primordial energy (kundalini) and an assortment of energy centres (chakras) together appear to constitute an instrument for perceiving the essence of music and dance. I have tried to dispel the picture of an obscure and transgressed stream of tantra that the terms kundalini and chakras almost always evoke.

Generations of Indian dancers/aestheticians seem to have missed the above- mentioned aesthetic theory pertaining to dance. Self-realization, attained by the ascent of kundalini through the six chakras as a response to witnessing a superior performance of dance/music could only fall in the realm of philosophy or religion and thus not be scientific and secular. That the kundalini does not pass through the "muladhara chakra" as it is located in the "muladhara" (which is situated above the muladhara chakra) and thus cannot be associated with sexual arousal and practices seems to have gone missing from the understanding of an entire school of tantra. The “” in dance is the kundalini of the spectator rising to attain union (yoga) with the all-pervading power in response to witnessing the production. It is a theory of spectatorship. 8 Nartanam

Guru Surendra Nath Jena’s style of Odissi seems to have been a tad misunderstood as much for the technique as for his choreography and the element of the sacred that he tries to explore and attain. Alessandra Lopez Y Royo has elaborated the guru’s style and work in her writings which are a “must read” to understand Guru Jena’s school of Odissi. From the various writings of his disciples and the critical studies of Surendranath Jena, the guru comes across as one who pushed the boundaries of the reconstituted Odissi of the fifties and used it as a means of expressing his devotion to the supreme being. His understanding of the kundalini and the chakras to attain a state of self-realization is visionary. He seems to have explored the potential of extending a transformative experience to the spectator through his presentation of Odissi.

The accentuated tribhangi and chauka, the undulating movement of the torso, and the extensive exploration of the raudra and bhibatsa rasas marked Guru Jena's unique school of Odissi dance. The style was not feminine and sensual but it could explore the divine, say some. His choreography drew inspiration from the sculptures of Konark and Hirapur. His style of Odissi was taught and performed solo.

In this issue we present a few writings of his disciples in an attempt to know more about Guru Surendra Nath Jena’s style of Odissi, its technique and aesthetics.

We inform our readers of the sad demise of Modali Nagabhushana Sarma (24 July 1935 – 15 January 2019), the founder editor of Nartanam. An eminent theatre personality and scholar, his contribution to theatre, dance and folk arts is immense. We will celebrate his life and work in a forthcoming issue of Nartanam.

Madhavi Puranam Nartanam 9

The Quintessence of Odissi: Guru Surendra Nath Jena

NIRMAL CHANDRA JENA My father was a maverick, a fearless pioneer with every reason to be frightened of the world that imposed on him, but he was not. He had a vision steeped in philosophy, values and rituals and his vehicle was Odissi dance, a timeless, ageless expression borne out of the depth of consciousness and worship. He embellished this with a commanding scientific base consisting of theory, technique, music, poetry and illustrations.

He invested his life in the arts and created dance and music masterpieces. Eka eka mala deli gunthita jatane kebala pindhi paribe kala sebi janee (an excerpt from his poetry) – "I have created this garland of jewels with great care, and only the chosen can be adorned with it." Odisara shilpa chitra jete dina Guru Surendra Nath Jena: thiba aei kalara satyata je banchiki Nupurpadika pose rahiba – "For as long as the sculptures (holding ankle bells) and the paintings of are visible, the Photo Courtesy: truth of Odissi will remain; for as long as Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi there is deep inquiry, the truth will be

NIRMAL CHANDRA JENA is a well known Odissi practitioner and Guru. He is the son of late Surendra Nath Jena. He is based in Sydney, Australia, where he has been practising, presenting and teaching his father’s style of Odissi. He is the artistic director of the Odissi Dance and Music Company. 20 Nartanam

An ode to the God within us

MANJU CHELLANI

The impact of the ethereal arts of music and dance has been understood by civilizations all over the world since time immemorial. Partaking of the cultural ambience around us has always been considered as natural as learning how to eat, talk and socialize. However, more than the world today, the people of yore were sensitive to the fact that painting, music, dance, sculpture and indeed, all art-forms, were expressions of the creators' emotions towards her environment, self and eventually the ultimate creator. This is why the arts were simultaneously parts of worship rituals; means of social interaction; parts of important events such as marriage and childbirth; carriers of folklore etc. The art of dancing was one of the foremost in this as is apparent from the fact that in most civilizations of the world, dancing before the gods was one of the most important elements of worship and/or temple rituals. All performing arts are a form of expression of spiritual ideas. They aid meditation and are even capable of reinventing thought- processes. As a drama its rasas (emotions) gather together the rivers of all human experience; with the crescendo rising in an ocean of surrender and devotion to parmatama. This truth has not changed over centuries.

One of the Indian classical dances which has had an inspiring journey is Odissi. It was nurtured around the temples of modern-day Odisha. The focus of the dance was on religious stories and spiritual ideas related to Vaishnavism (with Vishnu as Jagannath), Shiva, Surya and Shakti. It was further glorified by the inclusion of the poetic texts by Adi Shankaracharya in 8th and 9th centuries and

MANJU CHELLANI is an independent writer in the areas of cultural heritage; Odissi dance; sustainable development; environmental law; and rights of animals. She has been a consultant to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at New Delhi; and to School of Law, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). She has also been a visiting faculty member/guest lecturer at the Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi and National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, New Delhi. 28 Nartanam

Nrityayoga: The Spiritual Science of Odissi

PRATIBHA JENA SINGH

Classical Dances of India are considered a part of yoga, where body, mind and soul are combined together through beautiful body postures with movement. These movements of the body are based in the framework of music. Without music dance is considered incomplete. With music, dance becomes Anandamai yoga (pleasure of soul with movement). The different dimensions of art and are connected with yoga and all emphasize and lead to a path of bringing oneness. There are two kinds of yoga. One is Bahirang (deals with outer body– pose, asana) and second is Antarang (deals with the inner body– soul, mann, buddhi, atma, bhava etc).

The Dancer as a Yogi

Guru Surendra Nath Jena's style is based on yoga of both the outer (poses) and the inner (different range of emotions, bhava) body. He composed all his dances as a prayer to God in order to reach salvation through dance. His dances are based on the asanas. They often involve balancing on one foot. The postures are kept steady and the mind meditates on the super-soul while dancing. This way no discomfort distracts our mind from concentration (dharan). His dances are based on the philosophy of yoga – jeevatma reaching the paramatma. The dancer is the jeeva (individual soul) who creates the sansar or jagat (the universe) through body, by combining her different stances, the positions of her various limbs, with expression of emotions and her soul in oneness. The place where she or he dances becomes an auspicious sacred place: a temple. We are within the

PRATIBHA JENA SINGH is a leading exponent and teacher of Odissi. She has created Nrityashilp – Guru Surendra Nath Jena Odissi Dance Foundation to archive, promote, educate and spread awareness of the Odissi style of Surendra Nath Jena who was her Guru and father. She is an empanelled artiste of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Doordarshan Kendra; and a committee member of the Central Board of Secondary Education. Nartanam 35

Travelling with Surendra Nath Jena

JANET CRAWFORD Guru Surendra Nath Jena and I travelled by train in third class from New Delhi to Orissa. From Balasore we took the bus to Khiching, a quiet village in Orissa with polished dirt streets and thatched dwellings, so picturesque that the place looked designed and was very elegant. The simplicity and naturalness of it gave it allure and showed the pride of the village. A woman sat outside on her straw mat combing rice to remove the pebbles. A man hung chillies to dry. Hand hammered brass pots stood in columns of three or four, used for cooking, carrying things and for storage. Gunny sacks of beans and rice leaned against walls. Local kids, ignoring our presence, played marbles on lines they'd drawn into the hard surface of the street. A lotus flower in full bloom rose to the surface on a Guru Surendra Nath Jena in the manini pose. sludgy lake.

JANET CRAWFORD is an American student of Guru Surendra Nath Jena. She met him at the Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado in 1975 and subsequently studied with him at Triveni Kala Sangam for several years. Janet holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of International Affairs degrees from Columbia University. She currently resides in New York City. This is an excerpt from the unpublished memoir, Dancing With Jena by Janet Crawford. It is being published in Nartanam with the author's permission. 46 Nartanam

The music flowed through him

MELISSA SPROUL- SINGH

SaSaReReGaGaMaMaPaPaDhaDhaNiNiSa ~ SaSaNiNiDhaDhaPaPaMaMaGaGaReRe Sa ~

DhaDhaDhinakorotakoDha ~ ~DhaDhaDhinakorotakoDha ~ ~ DhaDhaDhinakorotakoDha

Jhum ta ritajhum ~ ~Jhum ta ritajhum ~ ~ Jhum ta ritajhum ~ ~~~~~

Thus begins Guru Surendra Nath Jena’s composition “Archana Puri,” meaning “offering to the gods,” in this case specifically Lord Jagannath of Puri temple in Puri, Orissa, where the devadasis danced in times of old. The music starts, so utterly simply, in the example given above. To me it is one of the most poignantly rich aspects of Guruji’s creative genius; he brought very high philosophical ideas into his works while still leading us to appreciate the essence, the simplicity of communicating feelings shared with all humankind.

This composition was among his favorites, which he performed morning and evening in his own home puja area in his studio,). He kept a picture of his mother there, on the altar, too. He asked for the blessings of god at the beginning and end of each day without fail.

Kumudini Ma made sure he had his breakfast and tiffin in hand (lunch packed in a stainless steel stackable) as he was off for his mile long walk to the bus stop. He got his paan for the day from the same sidewalk paan shop daily and began

MELISSA SPROUL-SINGH (Parvati) is from the United States of America and met Guruji in 1975, at the age of 17 and continued to study with him throughout his lifetime. She toured Odisha with his family and performed at many places in India, America, and Europe. In 1985 she founded the Ganesh Academy of Indian Arts in Atlanta, Georgia, where she teaches Odissi. Nartanam 49

Translating Guruji

SWAATI CHATTOPADHYAY

Every time I try to describe Guruji and his dance to another person, only one metaphor comes to mind: the ocean. The dance universe he has gifted me is like an ocean; deep, immense, mysterious and yet always offering to reach out to you at the shore, lapping around you in playful waves, catching you unawares, making you smile at the depth of life.

Every time I have danced Guruji’s dances, I have discovered more of this ocean. Once I step inside this world, I live my life differently; I leave my mundane endless worries at the last dry edge of the sandy beach, “along with the slippers” as Guruji advised us to do before we entered the classroom. Here, I am no longer afraid to be alone. On a lucky day, I feel emotions in a way I would never in life: pure and enormous as the ocean waters.

Emerging from the dance, I have often been compelled to think: what deluge of emotional experience must Guruji have tasted, to create this incredible style? Once, while joking in his usual mysterious riddle-like ways, he had told me, “I have tasted the banana, and given you the chhilkaa (peel)!” What he meant to say perhaps, was that I need to ‘eat my own banana’ the way he did, that he was merely passing on to me the urge to do so.

The time for that came too – many, many years later. Guruji’s daughter Pratibha Jena Singh, from whom I have learnt this style, was looking for someone to translate Guruji’s Odiya book, Atman. One thing led to another, and soon enough I found

SWAATI CHATTOPADHYAY is a dancer, writer and culture curator. She has been learning and performing Surendra Nath Jena’s style of Odissi, which she has imbibed from Pratibha Jena Singh over 18 years. She chronicles her thoughts about Odissi on her page www.facebook.com/ odissiwithme. She has traslated Guru Jena’s ‘Atman – Odissi Nritya Puran’ along with her guru, which was published in December 2017. Nartanam 53

Guru Surendra Nath Jena: The path to the heart of Odissi

NATALIA BELCHENKO

There are many brilliant people in the world, whose life and work we study, but few ordinary people have the luck to know personally these wonderful writers, poets, musicians. For most of us, these people are like mythical heroes, fairy-tale wise men and legendary personalities whose lives are covered in mystery. How does an inspiration come to a person? How do people create poetry, make pictures, compose music, create amazing dance compositions, and then the whole world remembers them? Why is this easy for some, as if the Creator himself promptes movements and dictates words and notes? But even more surprising is that these people just live among us, and when they meet, they leave a mark on your path for life. In my life, this mark was made by a very ordinary, smiling person, very kind, inquisitive and ingenious choreographer, Guru Surendra Nath Jena.

For me, his genius consisted in an incredible ability to revive the ancient dance,whose fragments can now be seen only in the images of stone reliefs on the walls of Odisha temples, and in the inaccessibly exalted noble eroticism of the fluid, enveloping movements of his dance compositions, which elevate the Earthly to Heavenly and transform the dance itself to the sacred mystery. The whole spectrum of human feelings and emotions passes through a string of images in Guru Surendra Nath's dances and it is impossible to tear yourself away from the contemplation of the fabulously captivating and the disgustingly terrible. For me, the art of dance in Surendra Nath Jena’s choreography became a real reflection of the world, which according to the immortal treatise “Natyashastra” should be a dance-drama.

NATALIA BELCHENKO is a Russian-born Odissi dancer and a disciple of Pratibha Jena Singh since 1998. She successfully guides an ensemble of Indian dance and Centre of Indian culture: Ratna in the city of Ekaterinburg, Russia. Natalia is currently enrolled as a Ph.D. student at the Department of Art History in the Ural Federal University. Nartanam 69

Meditations on Odissi with Guruji

JAYA MEHTA Odissi dawned on me like a divine revelation due to the genius of Guru Surendra Nath Jena and the wonderful guidance of my guru, Pratibha Jena Singh. A guru is found by us, but actually he awaits us, waiting to impart to us wisdom that was meant only for us. This was the case with me and my as well. There was an unbroken thread that pulled me to find my artistic and spiritual answers in his dance, which were actually lessons and meditations on the universe.

A beautiful place or melody finds us revisiting it again and again. There is an extraordinary pull that drives us to revisit a special sacred place inside us each time we experience it. Some of us probe deeper to search and discover the greater mysteries that constantly elude us. Guru Surendra Nath Guru Surendra Nath Jena in a Jena was one such person, who had the thoughtful mood at the Naropa Institute in the United States of courage and perseverance to follow the America in the 1970s. dance of the divine as it dawned on him. Like a mystic, he searched for a deeper meaning to Odissi, a deeper purpose and a different form from what he had known.

JAYA MEHTA is a multi-media artiste who expresses her art in many forms – dance, poetry, children’s fiction, articles, innovative workshops, lecture-demonstrations and dance productions. She is a disciple of Pratibha Jena Singh. She has written a book of dance-poems titled ‘The Poetic Saree’. Nartanam 73

Gina Lalli: A Tribute

ARSHIYA SETHI

Pioneer of Indian Dance in America, Gina Lalli passed away on Saturday, 16th February, 2019 in Austin. When she passed, Gina was 89. She will be remembered for being a beautiful dancer and a Guru, who continued to be enthusiastic about Indian dance till her last days. I met her in August 2017, and continued an interesting email conversation with her. She generously shared her graceful dance images with me.

Gina Lalli was one of those amazing people you can sometimes meet serendipitously and they just light up areas of recent history that seemed to have been lost to the darkness of time. A sprightly eighty-eight when I met her, despite a bent over spine caused by frequent operations and ill health, she lived in a seniors’ community in Austin, Texas, surrounded by her books, papers, photographs and a surprisingly modern looking computer.

ARSHIYA SETHI is known for setting up many tangible and intangible cultural properties, of which, her work at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi has been most significant. She has been a dance critic for Times of India, a consultant to Kathak Kendra, and an advisor with DD Bharati. Her Doctoral studies are on Assam’s Sattriya through the prism of Politics and Dance linkages. She writes and lectures in India and overseas, and has been active with INTACH on the city heritage of Delhi. She is a Fulbright Fellow. 82 Arshiya Sethi Nartanam

Indian Dance through English lens

REGINALD MASSEY

South Asians who talk in English and write in English are called ‘the children of Macaulay’ because it was the poet-politician Thomas Babington Macaulay’s famous Minute on Education that made the East India Company encourage the teaching of English in the territories that it controlled.

Macaulay came to Calcutta in 1834 when he was appointed a member of the Governor General’s council. He soon became convinced that India needed the English language in order to imbibe what he called ‘useful learning’. He wrote: ‘It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information which has been collected from all the books written in the Sanskrit language is less valuable than what may be found in the most paltry abridgments used at preparatory schools in England.... A single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole literature of India and Arabia.’

Well, well, I must say that Macaulay,who was later raised to the peerage, did rather go over the top. The Governor General Lord William Bentinck agreed with Macaulay and so English soon replaced Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. It is not widely known that Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the father of the Indian Renaissance, also welcomed the teaching of English. Thus, a new elite of English speaking Indians was soon created and it was this class that took over the government when the British left in 1947.

REGINALD MASSEY is a member of the Advisory Board of Nartanam. He has written on the culture, religion, music and dance of India for The Times and The Guardian and has been a critic of The Dancing Times of London for nearly four decades. His books are on a variety of subjects including Indian classical music and dance. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has been honoured with the Freedom of the City of London, and the Society of Authors' Baroness James Award for Literary Excellence. 84 Nartanam

The Dancing Body

DEEPA CHAKRAVARTHY

A single glance at the periphery of Southern India would expose the observant to various communities who bask in the tradition of cultural song and dance. They were the custodians of hereditary traditions that were built around a matriarchy, in the field of culture. Even today, their ancestral continuity can be traced back to medieval times. Their communities received patronage of the state, as well as the temples recognising their dedication in performing arts. The dedication allowed women the chance of education, artistic accomplishment, wealth and fame, even granting them the freedom to choose alliance with men from the patron class of the society. However, during the colonial rule, the Victorian sensibilities that recognised only the cloistered and puritanical as feminine professionalism seeding a paradox, against the community women, the thought of being “impure”. The anti-nautch agitations that were part of the social reformation movement before Independence and the subsequent Devadasi Abolishment Act 1947 after Independence, drew a lot of negative publicity, tarnishing the image of such community women, staining their identity there on.

‘How to know and keep a man without the attendant conjugality, domestic servitude and loss of self; how to be a mother perpetuating a professional class, and not someone’s wife, perpetuating a private lineage? How also to be a professional, a “star” without condemning oneself to isolation, without family or community support structures - all these are questions that are absolutely contemporary in their significance, being faced by the women dancing and performing even today, much after devadasi.’1

DEEPA CHAKRAVARTHY is a Mohiniattam artist, with interest in History and Indian Culture. Nartanam 91

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

‘Madame Menaka Choreography Movement’: A unique dance experiment

RADHIKA MULAY Young dancers in India are trying to find their own space and expression while trying to stay grounded to their ‘classical roots’ and at the same time relate with the global world of dance today. In the process of trying to create their own space, dancers are at times standing at the edge of trying to ‘break away’, a catching-up phrase in dance events and studios. New themes, productions, and movement styles are being witnessed in performances spaces all across. In such a scenario of budding creativity and content, there are some confusions, some discussions, and some exchanges meant to be had. Terms such as choreography, creative movement, Contemporary dance, Indian Contemporary, Indian movement are being regularly used in the circles of dance fraternity. However, many times these words are loosely referred to and even in conflicting contexts without giving thought to the actual meaning of the words and the concepts.

‘Madame Menaka Choreography Movement’, a project envisioned by Shama Bhate, a Kathak exponent and Guru, in collaboration with Nadroop and Maharashtra Cultural Centre was an experiment to deal with these ideas and concepts. It is need of today’s time to understand the term ‘choreography’ in depth. Is it merely a group dance or a set of formations used to enhance visual effect? Or it is just a thematic ballet? Or is it both? At the time, when Indian dance forms are constantly interacting with a global world of dance it is important to understand this term which has come into Indian context along with other western influences. It is a need to have concrete work done to help the future generations as a guiding light, where we are becoming one global world. Thus, the ideation of the project began with a need to create a platform for dancers to understand Nartanam 101

Gopal Raj Bhatt Folk & Tribal Arts Festival 2019: A Report

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Bharat Folk Arts Academy, Hyderabad conducts and curates cultural programs with the aim of popularising and propagating folk and tribal arts. Started by Gopal Raj Bhatt in 1950, the Academy has staged its productions in major festivals and important occasions all across the country. The Gopal Raj Bhatt Folk & Tribal Arts Festival is a tribute to the prolific artist and revivalist – Gopal Raj Bhatt and an initiative to provide a platform for artists to present their work. The cultural extravaganza this year featured unique folk art presentations from Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Assam and Telangana.

Gopal Raj Bhatt was an eminent dancer, choreographer and Guru of Telangana. He was born in Garepallli village of Karimnagar district, Telangana, India in 1931. He attained his Diploma in Fine Arts, GDFA, specialising in painting in 1950. He studied and conducted extensive research on Indian folk and tribal arts, focussing on Telangana and Andhra folk and tribal arts.

Having dedicated over 6 decades of his life zealously to the cause of folk and tribal culture so that this culture would gain recognition as an art form, he became an icon in the realm of folk and tribal arts. Bhatt also presented cultural events in the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad in the Deccan. He continued to promote the rich traditions through the fellowship offered to him by the Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy. His creativity did not restrict him to folk and tribal arts but also extended to semi-classical themes.

Bhatt’s career meandered through various roles and responsibilities. He began his career in 1951 as an art teacher in the Government High School and was subsequently appointed as the Lecturer (Dance) in Folk and Tribal Arts at the Government Music and Dance College, Hyderabad where he taught innumerable students. He was then appointed as the Professor in Folk and Tribal Arts at Telugu University, Hyderabad. In 1950, he started the Bharat Folk Arts Academy, an institution dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich folk and tribal traditions of India.

Bhatt’s fluency in understanding the nuances of different dance forms made his creations original and novel. His productions were staged at various prestigious festivals and occasions all across the country. He was awarded the titles of Nartanam Book Review 109

BOOK REVIEW

The dance quotient of Annamacharya’s songs

Tallapaka Annamacharya (1408-1503) was the first composer of songs in Telugu whose identity is known. Naturally, there must have been folk songs earlier but their authorship is not known as is generally in the case in the folk genre. It is claimed by some that Krishnamayya’s Simhagiri Vachanalu were earlier. Yes, they were, by about a hundred years or so, according to T.P.Sriramachandracharyulu whose scholarly volume ‘Krishnamayya’ (2000) is the last word on his life, with a collection of all his writings available.

As the title itself clearly states, they are not songs but pieces of prose varying greatly in length, which are not divided into refrain (pallavi) and stanzas (charanam); Annamayya’s Sankirtanams are, which makes them songs.

Subsequent to Annamayya, hundreds have authored the lyric and music of songs in Telugu mostly suitable to dance, known as Padams, those of Kshetrayya and Sarangapani being the best known. Telugu has the maximum compositions meant exclusively for dance, Sabdam, Swarajathi, Padavarnam, Javali and the little appendage to Tillana.

This essay states that the dance element, scope for footwork and facial expression (sattvikabhinaya), existed in the songs of Annamayya, a trace in Adhyatmika Sankirtanalu (spiritual-philosophical songs) and a lode in the larger lot of Sringara (erotic) ones.

How did Annamayya, who left his traditional Smartha Brahmin home at eight years of age, come by this knowledge of music (his songs are in 95 ragas according to scholars)? And the primary requisites of dance he parades in ‘Alarulu kuriyaga’? 110 Book Review Nartanam

The ‘takka dimmi’ trot of a horse (duvaalamu), ‘tattadavu’ (tattedi nadapula), ‘mattela kelapula’ (the sounds of toe-rings worn by a married woman) are perpetuated in that song.

In ‘Itu garudani neevekkinanu’ the Lord’s ways of riding his vahanam, the eagle, are described, the way he banks the bird (pallinchina), drives it with a whip (peremu doluchu) etc. In ‘Veede kada seshudu’ the manner in which his constant companion serpent Sesha, is with him is illustrated. He is the one to keep Garuda at bay so that the lord can rest, he is the one to offer the Divine Couple a comfortable bed.

Each word, each line of these songs gives room for graphic depiction through explicit choreography, the swaying flight of the bird, the sinuous glide of the snake. Incidentally, these two lyrics were given memorable tunes by D.Pasupathi (who died this February) and has been made available to the public by the Master Recording Co. on their Sangeetha cassettes.

Now to two songs which have a special place in my heart by their subtle insinuations. I accuse Annamacharya of plagiarism; he clearly stole these ideas by either peeking into Alamelumanga’s heart drenched with his being or by observing her private moments clandestinely.

Komma tana muthyalakongu jaraga bagatu Kummarimpuchu techhukonnadee valapu

She, as her pearl-embroidered saree-end is fully laden, gloriously A-dripping, brought home his love

Oyyaramuna vibhuni vorapu ganugoni reppa Muyyaneraka maha muripemunanu Kayyampu kootamiki kaaluduvvuchu nentha Koyyatanamuna techhukonnadee valapu

Gracefully noticing her husband’s urgency, her eyelid Too excited to shut, with much indulgence For union with a fighting spirit, showing her eagerness, with Brashness she brought with her his love

Paipaine aaragimpakumu panneeru kadu Taapamavunani chelulu thalakagaane Thopu seyuchu kempu dolaku kannula konala Kopagimpuchu techhukonnadee valapu Nartanam Book Review 111

Do not keep on drinking cold water, much Heat it will generate in you’ as her maids tried to stop her Ignoring it, rubies spilling over from the edges of her eye Angry with them, she brought home this love

Eppudunu pathithoda inthesi melamulu Oppavani cheli goranottagane Eppudo tiruvenkatesu kowgita koodi Koppugulukuchu techhukonnadee valapu

'Always carrying on this way with your husband Isn’t done’ as her maid cautioned her with a press of her nail ‘For long I was in his intimate embrace’ Proudly braiding up her hair ‘and got his love!’

The next one is from the manuscript that was in possession of Seshacharyulu and has the tag line ‘Srikrishna’. Because of this it is said to be that of another member of the Tallapaka family. So what? It is finally the property of one family donated to the Lord of the Seven Hills, no, to the Lifter of One Hill (according to Leela Suka’s sloka ‘Urvyaankopi’ from Srikrishna Karnamritham, a small mound!).

Alugaka kootami chavigaadanuchu palikevu, nee Valugaga praanamulemouno naavala nee melevarikira

‘Without a tiff, union isn’t tasty’ you maintain. If you Are annoyed, what’ll happen to my life! Of what use is that then?

Tanivovaga nee momunu tappaka kanugonu velanu Tanu paravasamainanthata reppalu moosi Dinamulennenno yanuchu digulupaduchu ninu choochi Kanureppalu mooyaga verachiyundu naatho

At that climactic moment, wanting to see your face Losing control over my body, as my eyelids close unintentionally How many days pass in that short while, worrying, seeing you I fear to close my eyes. (Refrain: With such a person you can say that?)

Tamakamuna ninu gavasi tanuvuledayakayundi Amarakougita bigiyunaavela Ramana! maikanthahaaramuladdamaina yeda Bramasi atidooramu bhaavinchiyunda, naatho 112 Book Review Nartanam

With great desire, when our bodies were entwined At the moment of tightening embrace O lover! When I was finding my necklaces creating A great distance between us (Refrain)

Chiluku rathi galasi yaggalamaina badalikala Alasi srikrishnayani akkupai pavalinchi Palukajaalaka yundi baasiyunnananaga Talachi na madi paritaapamandi yunda, naatho

After churning love-making, with tremendous fatigue Tired, saying Srikrishna and reclining on you Unable to speak, I was separated from you So I thought and fretted (Refrain)

If at all anyone can do justice to a translation of a Tallapaka lyric, it has to be A.K.Ramanujan and not those surviving in the spotlight by latching on to the dead man’s coat-tails. It is only my worship of Annamayya and adoration of AKR which made attempt it. I was fortified by two books, Annamayya Padakosam compiled by Acharya Ravva Srihari (TTD publication, 2012. Rs.140) and Annamacharya Sankirtanamrithamu, spiritual songs with commentary by Samudrala Lakshmanyya (TTD 2008, Rs.35) V.A.K. RANGA RAO

A lexical guide to laymen and the learned: A handy torch to light up ANNAMAYYA PADAKOSAM Annamayya’s Spiritual Songs: ANNAMACHARYA SANKIRTANAMRITAM Nartanam Book Review 113

NEWS & NOTES

Pratap Pawar Pratap Pawar and Sujata Banerjee who are Kathak teachers in London have been awarded with MBEs in the Queen's New Year Honours List for 2019. Members of the Order of the British Empire are selected for their contribution to the arts, sciences and society.

The dance critic Reginald Massey who is a member of Nartanam's Advisory Board has been honoured with the Society of Authors' Baroness James Award for Literary Excellence. Guru Surendra Nath Jena receiving the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007 for his contribution to Odissi from President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Photo Courtesy: Nrityashilp (Guru Surendra Nath Jena Odissi Dance Foundation), New Delhi.

Guru Surendra Nath Jena training a disciple Date of Publication 1st of Every Quarter and R.N.I. No. APENG 2001/04294 Posted on 10th of Every Quarter

Guru Surendra Nath Jena Photo Courtesy: Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi