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DANCE IN TODAY, DANCE-DRAMAS, CREATIVITY WITHIN THE CLASSICAL FORMS, IN DIASPORA (USA, UK, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ETC.) MODULE 18 CREATIVITY IN

What is Creativity? The Oxford dictionary says that creativity is “The use of imagination or original ideas to create something or in other words “inventiveness” of the art form while novel yet conforming to the vocabulary and grammar. In Bharatanatyam, creativity has always been the force, like in other classical dances, that has molded the art form to its current state. Even though, Natyasastra and other literature talk about angabhedas / अꅍगभेद, angarakas / अंगारक, upangas / उऩांग, etc., it was probably in the Thanjavur Maratha period that the adavus / आडवु got codified and systematized. It would be an understatement to say that the first bout of creativity in Bharatanatyam was by Tanjore Quartet brothers. The reason is that they had the imagination of reinventing the dance, which was until then a mixed bag of performances, to a path leading to transcendence.

The Margam, as we know it, was indeed a path breaking approach, where the dancer starts from the warm-up like Alarippu, to showing the glimpse of abhinaya in Shabdam, to a full throttled combination

1 of nritta and abhinaya in the Varnam, to a more relaxed Padam or Javali, and finally culminating in the showcase of exuberant dance as in the Tillana. Indeed, the Margam has found rasikas and dancers captivated for centuries. In T. ’s words

The Bharatanatyam recital is structured like a Great Temple. We enter through the Gopuram / गोऩुरम (outer hall) of alarippu, cross the Ardhamantapam / अधधमंडऩ (half-way hall) of Jatiswaram, then the Mantapa / मंडऩ (great hall) of Sabdam, and enter the holy precinct of the deity in the Varnam. This is the place, the space that gives the dancer expansive scope to revel in the rhythm, moods and music of the dance. The Varnam is the perpetuity which gives ever- expanding room to the dancer to delight in her self-fulfillment, by providing the fullest scope to her own creativity as well as to the tradition of the art.

The Padam follows. In dancing to the Padam one experiences the containment, cool and quiet of entering the sanctum from its external precinct. The expanse and brilliance of the outer corridors disappear in the dark inner sanctum; and the rhythmic virtuosities of the Varnam yield to the soul-stirring music and abhinaya of the Padam. Dancing to the Padam is akin to the juncture when the cascading lights of worship are withdrawn and the drum beats die down to the simple and solemn chanting of scared verses in the closeness of God. Then, the Tillana breaks into movement like the final burning of camphor accompanied by a measure of din and bustle. In conclusion, the devotee takes to his heart the God he has so far glorified outside;

2 and the dancer completes the traditional order by dancing to a simple devotional verse.

Unlike the Jivatma-Paramatma / जीवा配मा-ऩरमा配मा analogy, T. Balasaraswati has used creatively how the Margam is applicable even today. In her dance too, she creatively used extempore dance to the sancharis / संचारी, thereby no one performance of her was like the other, each was unique. This is called Manodharmam / मनोधमधम in .

Such use of Manodharmam, extempore performance, was part of sadir and this gave ample scope for the dancer to paint her canvas with as many hues as possible, yet remaining in the sthayi bhava / स्थायी भाव of the character. We see this trait in artistry of all greats of the form like Vyjanthimala, M.K.Saroja, . Each used sancharis fleetingly. There is little need to literally keep repeating same line and show 3 different sancharis. That’s text book representation. Each line is not merely poetic but profound too. Thus, if one takes say Gopala Krishana Bharati’s Varugulamo /

व셁गुऱामो, blindness can mean not looking at ills of world or its negative aspects. It can also mean keeping a blind eye to faults. At another level, in another context it can also be represented as forced physical challenge as Kunti / कंु ती did to support her husband Dhritrashtra / ध्रितराष्ट्र.

It was not just the Tanjore Quartet who dabbled with experimenting the art form. The devadasis of later 19th century have been

3 documented with dancing to God save the King to western music. This was in the year 1848, when a certain Mr. Edward, an Englishman who was on the payroll of the Tanjore king, taught them the music. Going further back, Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835) has composed over forty songs based on western melodic tunes. Commonly known as nottuswaram / नो配तुस्वरम in Carnatic music, they are currently used as practice songs and sometimes performed in concerts. A famous example is the Santatam Pahimam Sangita Shyamale / सꅍततम ऩा हिमम संगीत श्यामऱे , a song on Goddess Saraswati, has the melody of the British Song God save the King. 2

Rukmini Devi Arundale brought her own creativity into Bharatanatyam, where she took classical literatures and choreographed them into dance. This was novel at that point of time, also new ideas were employed in her dance dramas that were aesthetically pleasing, yet remained within the framework of Bharatanatyam grammar.

For example, Kalaidasa’s Kumarasambhavam, the Ramayana Series, Kutrala Kuravanji, Jayadeva’s Geet Govindam and many more. Thus what she employed for group works could be totally different from solo representation. This also changed choreography and stage use. Imagine a stage with 20 dancers and one stage with just one dancer enacting and emoting 20 characters or patras? There is also a palpable shift in energy physically and literally. Take 40 dancing feet versus two. Not just dance dramas, but also in compositions for solo

4 performances ’s creativity can be seen, for example in the adavu patterns and teermanams.3

Since then, nattuvanars and dancers have employed their creative juices to make their performance stand apart from others. Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai introduced the trend of striking a pose after a teermanam or in a suitable place. His star disciple, Kumari Kamala or Kamala Lakshminarayanan, was known to hold a karana pose or a seemingly difficult pose for longer duration. Soon, this trend caught up and now striking a pose in the middle of a performance has become quite common. This was also a necessity for film shoots those days where a pose had to be held long as it was single camera shoot and black and white films were imported and thus very expensive. This was not the era of reshoots and digital mixing up final product! This was era of a Europe at War in mid 40s, when Tamil films employing Bharatanatyam was at its peak and thus film material was expensive and dance marginalized in overall scheme of things.

Among the pioneers, is known for creative introduction of social themes in dance instead of mythology. Although he claimed to have learnt no one classical form in particular, his meeting with Bala in Madras in 1940s and later his filming of Kalpana the landmark film, made him use more and more Bharatanatyam dancers and dancers. In fact, it was in this film that Travancore sisters – Lalita, Ragini and Padmini – were discovered in a

5 big way and they joined the film industry after this. It was Bharatanatyam’s creative usage that dominated the film in several sequences. Here was the ultimate dance and music mixing! Bengali musicians dancing Bharatanatyam to quasi folk music and dance! This was something totally unknown in Indian dance. His works Rhythm of Life, Labour and Machinery, Snake Charmer, Snanum, Lady and the Thief and others described social issues of the society and mundane events in dance. 4

With changing times, dancers and audiences were becoming disenchanted with the themes of nayika pining of the lord, suffering from pangs of separation, etc. To break this mould, dancers took two divergent paths. The first was using contemporary themes and subjects that have no basis on mythology. The second was to look at the nayika based themes in a fresh perspective.

In the first category, has been a pioneer to choreograph contemporary social issues with the use of Bharatanatyam vocabulary. Her works such as Manushya / मनुष्ट्य that describes the different stages of man going through his life, Memory-A ragged fragment of Eternity dealt with the topic of increasing suicide rates of women in India. Mrinalini Sarabhai remains a pioneer and has striven to maintain newness in form without sacrificing content or context.

Her daughter Mallika is variously gifted and learnt both and Bharatanatyam and her dance company can undertake all types of works. Unlike Uday Shankar, Mrinalini Sarabhai used the

6 vocabulary of Kathakali and Bharatanatyam as the core and worked around a new texture for discussing social issues. Uday Shankar saw all these forms and used them selectively, in that; he created his own dance language, thus hailed as a pioneer. He also used Kathak extensively since in his team were leading dancers like Zohra Mumtaz Segal and Simkie. Uday Shankar found Bharatanatyam useful for southern themes and Kathak for rest of India. Kathakali joined in seamlessly in his various productions. In fact, it is said that after watching Manushya the former prime-minister Jawaharlal Nehru changed his views about Kathakali to a fine art form. Mrinalini Sarabhai is also credited with choreographing new themes with sollukattus alone. The force and tone used for reciting the sollukattus became the dialogue between the dancers. These were applauded and well received among the audiences in Gujarat. 5

Since then, many dancers have taken Bharatanatyam and have expressed their angst, love, struggles in life on stage. A famous example is Lata Pada’s Revealed by Fire, where she has recounted the tragedy she faced when she lost her husband and her two teenage daughters in the doomed Kanishka Air India flight from Montreal. While many objected to show victim art in Bharatanatyam (Lata Pada’s guru was opposed putting personal trauma on stage), the dance critic Leela Venkatraman has a different view of why such productions can find legitimacy in Bharatanatyam. 6

“Watching shows evolved out of personal experiences, some comment that it amounts to self-indulgence and they did not come to see a highlighting of someone's personal tragedy. While some

7 identify many elements from a work as reflected in their own lives, others feel the artiste is trying to project herself as a tragedy queen. If a dancer brings in elements like Sita and tries to find a parallel, it would give the implication of trying to find legitimacy for the work. As a critic, the challenge is how you would react to such performances. It would be best to look at a work of art as itself and not try to transpose your convictions.”

In the same vein, many dancers in the name of contemporizing the dance involve day to day activities on stage. For example, Nina Rajarani’s Srishti Dance company produced Play Ball in London. This event had a football match choreographed on the Oothukadu Venkatasubbaiyar’s Kalinga Nartana / कलऱंग नतधन Tillana. Also, was a dance version of a typical office life in the west and its politics. Such productions have raised questions of whether dancers have wrung out their creativity to the extreme. 7

Also, dancers have used Bharatanatyam vocabulary to creatively use contemporary literature in Bharatanatyam. A good example is Jonathan Livingston Seagull, where a seagull learns about life and flying. and Jayanthi Subramaniam have interpreted this into Bharatanatyam skillfully. While Ananda Shankar Jayant experiments a lot, she is careful to maintain the Kalakshetra lines and boundaries. Also, are the Jataka tales choreographed for children, Ananda Shankar Jayant has used Bharatanatyam as the core and choreographed it.

Newer themes are always in demand for dancers as they have a need to reinvent themselves. Thus, themes on rape, pollution, corruption,

8 and other social causes find space on stage. How do the audiences react to it is a different issue, rather from the standpoint of the dancer it is to express their frustration of how they see the current society and their social activism.

In the other spectrum of creativity of the second type, dancers have collaborated with other artists who are not related to dance and have produced some noteworthy productions. For example, Srinidhi Chidambaram’s is about the capital city of , where songs on various localities of Chennai were choreographed to. In this production, she collaborated with film lyricist Vairamuthu. Similarly, Urmila Sathyanarayan has collaborated with the Harikatha artist, Vishaka Hari. 8

Malavika Sarukkai and Alarmel Valli are two prime examples of pushing the boundaries of Bharatanatyam without altering the grammar. Malavika Sarukkai’s Bindu / ब दं ु was about a Bharatanatyam interpretation of artist S. H. Raza’s paintings. Mixed with a margam format, Bindu used Malavika’s interpretation of a viewer’s response to Raza’s paintings. She also has choreographed on other contemporary themes as well, such as Thimakka / ध्रथम啍क and others. Sarukkai has always depended heavily upon literary inputs of scholars like Seshadri and used the language of Bharatanatyam to work new dimensions within traditions. She is today the most serious dancer where meaningful experimentation is concerned.

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Alarmel Valli has carved a niche with using Sangam poetry with themes that today’s audience relate to. Her creativity lies in identifying rare and lyrical poetry of Agnanooru / अ嵍नानू셂, Purananooru / ऩुराणनू셁, Pari Padal / ऩारी ऩाडऱ and other Sangam era literature, where vatsalya, shringara rasa can be elaborated in detail. Valli uses the innate musicality of the form to further her dance art. This makes each production a very studied and sincerely approached masterpiece. While Valli’s dance looks spontaneous, there are hours of tireless practice and patience that goes into it. On surface it looks effortless as dance ought to, the real challenge lies in its structuring, wherein all aspects of Bharatanatyam is used and employed meaningfully.

Leela Samson remains the loner of Bharatanatyam, too cautious to fully enjoy the form and all it has to offer. She seems preoccupied with the outer covering, the shell of the form and has not reached its depths although she has worked hard to reach where she has and with her Spanda dance company, has exploring pre-vedic themes in dance, where the final outcome is an abstract work that is aesthetically pleasing. Also, her works are aligned with the theosophical philosophy, which influenced her training at Kalakshetra. Breaking away from hierarchies, Spanda explores pre- vedic texts 9

“Were universal in spirit; inclusive rather than exclusive, that was about nature and primal energies, rather than about kings or celestial beings with superior, more sophisticated skills than others about him. We had to break from the hierarchical structures that

10 existed in myth, but also in dance companies where some dancers carried the show and the others were relegated to props”.

Rama Vaidyanathan is undertaking lots of experimentation with the form while retaining its core as was taught to her by ace dancer . Yamini’s own forays in creativity are an eye opener to those who wish to see the form as it was practiced decades ago. has tried many years to meld and mould her form of Bharatanatyam but the outcome is limited. Puppets and such props don’t go well with classical form like Bharatanatyam. Classical forms are the art of suggestively. Also, in her creativity, the content sometimes becomes topical owing to proximity of capital city where lots of opportunity for such shows abounds. has many subjects to host seminars on! And dance becomes an additive.

Bhanumati of Bangalore has absorbed what she as last student of Guru Dandayudhapanipillai could give and in her the symmetricity of Bharatanatyam manifests. Her productions and products delight in perfectly etched group works that define the lines and grammar of Bharatanatyam. Radha Shridhar of Bangalore again has taken even Geet Govinda and made it a work of art with ace students like Aishwarya Nityanand and Bianca Radhakrishna. Creativity comes in new look at old material. So while the story of Geet Govinda is too well known and it is bedrock of a form like , in Bharatanatyam gurus like Radha Shridhar and dancers like Navtej Singh infuse it with new depth.

Elsewhere one observes how Bharatanatyam is used creatively even in city specific historical tales as on Baroda, done in Baroda by Parul

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Shah and team of dancers and theatre talents. The group of dancers like Ami, Divya, Dimple do Bharatanatyam well and yet it is minimal in overall scape of the production, which also infuses folk forms lavani and raas and theatrical inputs of the local talents.

Pune partakes of Marathi in Bharatanatyam as language content, quoting the sway of Marathas over Tanjore under Serfoji kings. Guru Parvatikumar and his disciple Sucheta Chapekar have done much creative experiments in this genre. Alas, Bharatanatyam is almost finished in Bombay, with Bollywood having taken over completely. What institutions like Nalanda teach is routine stuff with no creative genius coming out of its portals except maybe Vaibhav Arekar and Ambika Kamseshwar.

Kolkata is dated in time and much more is being done in contemporary dance than creative use in and of Bharatanatyam. The best has alas moved on.

Worldwide as a form Bharatanatyam is being used, sometimes abused! In many countries, a leg of Kathak a hasta of Bharatanatyam is mixed and matched with Chhau leaps or balletic jumps. These works can at best be called, self-indulgence! There is no point in over stating an idea. Uday Shankar used to maintain what can be done in 10 minutes should be shown in five, so audience wants more. Today many dancers carry on stage endlessly, showing no concern for empty halls or dwindling audiences.

Creativity is any form and especially a form as layered as Bharatanatyam is very serious business. Sketchy and half-baked approach may not suffice because ultimately a production has to

12 hold. This is why many productions in India never are shown or get a show again. Whereas Nutcracker Suite or Dying Swan or Ramayana or Geet Govinda can be seen again and again. This is because much work has been done at all levels in the production.

A new trend of creativity is also using different music on say one form like Bharatanatyam. Or using only rhythmic instruments or only alap. While the novelty is engaging, it is only fleetingly.

Creativity presupposes

a) Firmness of form b) Good foundation c) Exposure to literary sources d) Understanding of music e) Grasp of mythology f) Eye on detail g) Importance of aharya h) Choreographic sense i) Historical acumen j) Vast exposure to other forms k) Ability to cross pollinate l) Knowledge of world trends m) Keen observer of audience tastes n) Acceptance of critic’s appraisal o) Thirst for attaining benchmarks p) Desire to excel q) Qualify works of art r) Research a subject well s) Seek guidance from scholars

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t) Train next generation u) Undergo trials and tribulations v) Verily look for best in each component w) Work hard as a team x) Xtra cautiousness doesn’t help! y) Yield to public taste z) Zestful approach to do ones best.

Footnotes: Base book: Eternal Bharatanatyam , Ashish M. Khokar, Rupa & Co. 2004 &attendance 2001 issue on Bharatanatyam.

1. Presidential Address for the 33rd Annual Conference of the Tamil Isai Sangam by T. Balasaraswati. Translated from Tamil by S. Guhan, 21st December 1975, Madras. 2. Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory, and Modernity in South India. Davesh Soneji. University of Chicago Press, 2012. 3. Rukmini Devi Arundale, 1904-1986: A Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and the Performing Arts. Avanthi Meduri. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005. 4. His Dance, His Life: A Portrait of Uday Shankar. By Mohan Khokar. Himalayan Books, 1983. 5. Mrinalini Sarabhai: The Voice of the Heart. An Autobiography. Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. 2004. 6. Dance Writing, Lalitha Venkat. Narthaki. September 16, 2009. 7. Sangeetha’s wordpress 8. Moves and Memories. The Hindu, November 20, 2009. 9. , Spanda. Director’s note. http://www.leelasamsondance.com/spanda20.html

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