Ugc - Major Research Project Final Report
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UGC - MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECT FINAL REPORT THEATRICAL WORKS OF SHAHAJI Submitted by Prof. A. ANURADHA HOD, Dept. of Music & Dance DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC & DANCE COLLEGE OF ARTS & COMMERCE ANDHRA UNIVERSITY VISAKHAPATNAM JANUARY 2021 This Project is Dedicated to the Maratha Rulers who have done Tremendous Service to the South Indian Culture and Arts, Particularly to Telugu Language. INDEX Pg. No. PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT INTRODUCTION 1–2 CHAPTER 1: NATYA SASTRA AND DASA ROOPAKA-S 3–9 CHAPTER 2: VISUAL ART FORMS OF INDIA - MARGA AND DESI DIVISION 10–15 CHAPTER 3: FOLK DANCE DRAMAS OF SOUTH INDIA 16–38 CHAPTER 4: YAKASHAGANA-S OF SOUTH INDIA 39–49 CHAPTER 5: NAYAKA AND MARATHA RULERS OF 50–52 THANJAVUR CHAPTER 6: KING SHAHAJI AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO 53–61 MUSIC CHAPTER 7: THEATRICAL WORKS (YAKSHAGANA-S) OF KING SHAHAJI 62–176 CHAPTER 8: YAKSHAGANA PRESENTATION IN AUDIO & VIDEO FORMATS 177–182 CHAPTER 9: PROJECT REPORT 183–192 CONCLUSION 193–195 BIBLIOGRAPHY 196–198 APPENDIX 199–202 LIST OF PLATES List of Plates Page No Plate 1 Rasleela in Kuchipudi Dance style 13 Plate 2 Rasleela in Odissy Dance style 13 Plate 3 Rasleela in Manipuri Dance style 14 Plate 4 Rasleela in Kathak Dance style 14 Plate 5 Rasleela in Bharatanatyam Dance style 14 Plate 6 Shadow Puppetry 17 Plate 7 Chekka Bommalaata 18 Plate 8 Kuravanji Therukoothu play 20 Plate 9 Theru koothu Dance Drama 21 Plate 10 Kuravanji nadanam 22 Plate 11 ‘Kurutti’ character in a Classical Kuravanji Natakam 22 Plate 12 Traditional Ganesha paatra pravesam in Melattur Bhagavata 23 Mela Naatakam Plate 13 Prahladha Charithram – Melattur Bhagavatha Mela Natakam 25 Plate 14 Veedhi Naatakam-1 26 Plate 15 Veedhi Naatakam-2 26 Plate 16 Pagati veshaalu 27 Plate 17 ‘Erukulasaani’ role in Kalyana Sreenivasam – Kuchipudi Dance 28 drama Plate 18 Bhama Kalaapam – Thurpu Bhagavatham-1 32 Plate 19 Bhama Kalaapam – Thurpu Bhagavatham-2 33 Plate 20 Dr. Vedantam Radheshyam as Satyabhama in Bhaama 36 Kalaapam Kuchipudi Dance drama Plate 21 Golla Kalaapam in Kuchipudi Dance style 37 Plate 22 Kannada Yakshagana - Shri Devi Mahatme 40 Plate 23 Kannada Yakshagana – Kurukshetra 41 Plate 24 Telugu Chindu Yakshagana Keechaka vadha 44 Plate 25 Desi Yakshagaanam – Jaambava Puraana 45 Plate 26 Gorava Dance of Madasi kuruvas 46 Plate 27 King Shahaji II 54 PREFACE In the World theatre, India occupies a significant position. It is also one of the most ancient theatres. It has its own unique features such as Music, Dance, Costumes and expressions. The performing arts are an integral part of every country or society. These are generally classified into 3 categories. They are Geya, Vachaka and Drisya types. Theatre is a combination of these 3 elements. Yakshagana is a kind of Theatrical Art form popular in South India. This is a beautiful art form which can be performed in both Classical and Folk ways. The Researcher is a great admirer of Sanskrit and Telugu languages besides Music and Dance. Being a performing artist in Music, the researcher has a special interest for the art form Yakshagana. This art form is a combination of Music, Dance and Literature. The researcher has a great regard for the Maratha rulers, particularly for King Shahaji who has contributed immensely to Telugu literature and to the South Indian Culture. During her Post graduation, the ‘Sankara Pallaki Seva Prabandham’ of King Shahaji was a part of their study curriculum. The language, the sensitive expressions and the prosodical beauties inspired her to take up this Project work. For this reason, she has taken up this work with utmost interest and did her research very keenly on each and every aspect of this Art form. During this process of her research work, the researcher had to face some challenges. She has chosen Dr. Uma Rama rao, Hyderabad, to do choreography for Yakshaganam. Unfortunately, she passed away in the middle of the project work. The researcher had to take the pain of searching another eminent choreographer. Later, the sudden illness of the researcher delayed the project work to some extent. The recording of the Audio Yakshagana was delayed due to the availability of some of the main singers and the availability of the Audio recording studio. As a part of collecting the material, some libraries have not given permission to issue the books outside their library mainly TMSSM library of Thanjavur and Telugu University (branch) library in Bommur, Rajahmundry. As a result, the researcher had to visit the libraries frequently to make note of some important data. All these impediments resulted in a delay in submitting the Project work. While working for this Project, the researcher felt the necessity of protecting these valuable art forms and preserving them for posterity. Otherwise this precious wealth may not be available for the future generations. The researcher expresses her gratitude to the University Grants Commission for granting the opportunity to study and do research on the Theatrical works of King Shahaji. *** ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I express my sincere thanks to the University Grants Commission (UGC) for sanctioning this Major Research Project. I am sincerely thankful to the Authorities of Andhra University for their encouragement and support in taking up this project. I am very grateful to the members of Local Committee and the Final Committee for encouraging me with their proposals. I express my deep gratitude to the Subject Experts in Dance, (Late) Dr. Umarama Rao, Sri. Bhagavatula Sethuram, Smt. Balakondala Rao, Sri. Radhe Shyam and the Subject Experts in Music including Smt. Manda Sudharani for extending their support in completing this Project work. I am thankful to Prof. B. Parvathi, (Retd.) Dept. of English, Andhra University for her cooperation. I am thankful to the Folk artists who are directly or indirectly associated with this Project. I express my profound gratitude to my parents, my uncle Sri. S. Ramanarasimham (Sarasi) and my brother A.V. Ramam for their continuous encouragement and support. My heartfelt thanks to my son S. Pardhiva and my daughter-in-law Vimala Saranya who stood by me at all times. I sincerely thank all the artists who participated in the recording of Audio and Video Yakshagana-s. Finally I thank all the non-teaching staff of the Dept. of Music & Dance, Andhra University for their help and support in completing my Project successfully. *** INTRODUCTION India is known as Veda bhoomi and Karma bhoomi. The four Vedas stand as supporting pillars for the culture of Aarsha Dharma. The epics such as Ramayana, Bharatha and Bhagavatha are regarded as the most sacred scriptures in this land. Though there are different people belonging to different regions, cultures, traditions, languages, castes, religions and arts, there exists a unity among them. This is known as Unity in Diversity. The same can be seen in Fine Arts as well. The definition of the word ‗KaLa‘ (Art) in Sanskrit as mentioned in a Sanskrit dictionary is: ―Kam Paramaatmaanam laathi gruhanaatheethi KaLa‖. This means, an Art is one which pleases God. These Arts wish for the welfare of the world. There are 64 traditional arts in India. Among them Music, Dance, Poetry, Sculpture and Painting are known as Fine Arts. Of these, Sculpture and Painting are known as Visual Arts, Music is an Art based on Audio. Dance and Naatakam is an Art based on both Drusya (Visual) and Sravya (Audio). ―Kaavyeshu naatakam Ramyam‖ (Kalidasa) Naatakam is a beautiful Art among the 64 Arts which is close to Bharatha‘s Natya Sastra. Drama, Music and Dance comes under Performing Arts. The scholars say, the expertise gained through study is known as Education (Vidya)‘. ‗Expertise gained through continuous practice is known as KaLa (Art)‘. Arts are an integral part of their lifestyle. The word ‗Folk‘ is added as a prefix to their Arts and Literature. Eg: Folk Arts, Folk Music, Folk Dance and Folk Literature etc. Folk artforms (Janapada KaLa Rupa-s) are classified into 3 types i.e., Music, Dance and Drama. The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle stated that ‗Man is by nature a Social animal‘. From the Early man period, he shared his joy and sorrows with his companions. He used to express his emotions and feelings in the way of shouting, making noise, dancing and performing actions. Later, they gradually took the form of Music, Dance and Language. In this process of evolution, these are further transformed into Classical Music, Classical Dance and Literature. The Folk Arts possess natural beauty. These arts are not bound by any rules and are performed in a free flow. This is the reason why these Art forms are greatly admired even today in 1 every society. In this way, these folk arts resemble the culture, tradition and lifestyle of the Folk people and became a part of the cultural heritage of every country. ‗Kavyeshu natakam ramyam‘ is stated by the great scholar and Sanskrit dramatist Kalidasa (5 century A.D), it means Nataka (the Dama) is the most beautiful form among all the Kavyas. Drama is a feast to both the ears and eyes. Though there existed Dramatists from the ancient times, the Dramatists who have written Music based Dance Dramas began from the time of Jayadeva (12 century A.D). The Dance drama Sri Krishna leela Tarangini written by Saint Narayana Teertha belongs to the same category. The 14th century is a very crutial period for the Dance based Dramas particularly for Yakshaganas. The Folk and Classical based Yakshagana-s came into existence from this period. From that period, a flood of Yakshaganas were written in Telugu and Kannada languages. Similarly, the Kuravanji Natakas (both folk and classical based) were written in Tamil language. Many scholars in the fields of Music, Dance and Literature have shown their expertise in these Yakshaganas.