PAPER: 3 Detail Study Of Bharatanatyam, Devadasis-Natuvnar, Nritya And Nritta, Different Bani-s, Present Status, Institutions, Artists Module 22 Researchers, Critics And Scholars Of Bharatanatyam Other than those who physically taught the art form of Bharatanatyam, many scholars researched and wrote about it, thus helping establish it formally. While gurus taught and dancers danced and popularised the art, it was these few scholars in last 100 years who made an impact and made the Bharatanatyam art form reach the world outside through essays, articles, books, films and documentation. We discuss here a few main ones who are national and internationally accepted names. There is a whole generation of youngsters who are trying to understand and advance the dance form through research. But still, the major focus of anyone who starts learning dance, remains on performance. We are yet to recognise the fact that practice and theory of any art, any subject goes hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other. Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan / डॉ कपिऱा वात्स्यायन is a leading Indian scholar of classical Indian dance, Indian art and architecture and art historian. She learnt Kathak and Manipuri and joined the Culture Department under Education Ministry, Government of India. She controlled many decisions and patronage systems of the Culture Department at Shastri Bhawan, Delhi, during the 1970s-80s. She was 1 the founding director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi. She is the author of several books including Dance Sculpture in Sarangapani Temple (1982), Traditions of Indian Folk Dance (1987), Indian Classical Dance (1992), The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts (1997), Dance in Indian Painting (2004), Bharata: The Natyasastra (2006), Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts (2007), Asian Dance: Multiple Levels (2011), etc. Prof. Mohan Khokar / प्रो मोहन खोकर was a pioneering scholar, critic, historian and collector. He developed deep insights, sound instincts and sensitive responses vis-a-vis this haloed cultural heritage of the country. He acquired authority to discuss in depth and with conviction, the nuances of any classical dance form – Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Yakshagana, Odissi, Kathak, Manipuri, Bhagavatamela, etc. He wrote 5 monumental books Traditions of Indian Classical Dance, Adavus in Bharatanatyam, Folk Dances, Splendours of Indian Dance and Uday Shankar. He was the dance critic for many distinguished papers, Indian and foreign. From 1958- 1960, he collaborated with Dr. Mulk Raj Anand in bringing out Dance Specials of the Marg magazine. His illustrated note on Indian dances in the Encyclopaedia Britannica was considered the best contribution from Asia. He produced two documentaries on Kathakali and Yakshagana for the University of Rome. Khokar served on the UNESCO Commissions for Dance. His greatest legacy to posterity is his priceless collection of archives which many prestigious institutions like New York Lincoln Centre, Stockholm Dance Museum, and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Encyclopaedia Britannica use as source material for their various projects. A special section of paper material in the Collection is the vast amount of correspondence 2 between Khokar and innumerable artistes, scholars and gurus of the dance world. The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection is now taken care of by his critic-historian son, Ashish Mohan Khokar. E Krishna Iyer / इ. क्रिष्ण आयर was an Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter, dancer and activist who were responsible for popularizing the dying art of Bharatanatyam in South India. His involvement with the Bharatanatyam revival movement began when he joined a theatrical company called Suguna Vilasa Sabha and learnt Sadir, a sensuous and less respectful form of Bharatanatyam practised by devadasis. Krishna Iyer founded the Madras Music Academy and teamed with Rukmini Devi to save the dance form from dying out. Krishna Iyer also patronized Carnatic music and wrote as an art critic for the Indian Express, Dinamani / ददनमणी and Kalki / कल्कक. Krishna Iyer vehemently protested against Muthulakshmi Reddy’s attitude towards Sadir in a series of letters published in the Madras Mail and sought to give the dance form a measure of respect by proposing a resolution at a 1932 meeting of the Madras Music Academy to rename it as ‘Bharatanatyam.’4 Through his exceptional writing skills he induced the public to understand the aesthetic value of the dance. As a good educationist he delivered a series of public lectures including lecture demonstrations to educate people on the essence of dance. His book on dance titled Bharatanatyam and Other Dances of India and one on music titled Personalities in Present Day Music are his two major works. G Venkatachalam / जी वᴂकटचऱम was an outstanding art critic of the pre-independence era. Born in 1895, Govindaraj Venkatachalam 3 started his career as a journalist. He was for a time special art contributor to New India, a daily newspaper which was being edited by Dr. Annie Besant. He was also Assistant Editor of two art journals, Theatre and Roopa-Lekha / 셂ि-ऱेखा. A regular contributor to various journals in India, America and Japan, he was the author of many well- known books on Indian life and art like The Mirror of Indian Art, Modern Indian Painters, Travel Diary of an Art Student, Daughters of the Dawn, Pen Pictures and Sketches, Unheard Melodies, etc. His book Dance in India, a rather sketchy and personal take on dancers and dance forms, served as base material for many, before serious and in-depth books on dance came after Independence. With the help of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, Ragini Devi / रागगणीदेवी wrote Dance Dialects of India, aimed at creating a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Indian dance and its cultural environment in India. In 1928, Ragini Devi published Nritanjali / न्रिता車जलऱ: An Introduction to Indian Dancing, the first book in English on Indian dance. Dancing in the Family (2001) authored by Sukanya Rahman is about her mother Indrani Rehman and grandmother Ragini Devi. La Meri / ऱा मेरी was an American ethnic dancer, choreographer, teacher, poet, and scholar. She published a number of magazine articles and books, including The Gesture Language of Hindu Dance and Spanish Dancing. Usha Venkateswaran has written on Life and Times of La Meri: Queen of Ethnic Dances. Dutch dancer Saskia C. Kersenboom wrote Nityasumangali / 4 न्रनत्सयसुम車गऱी: Devadasi Tradition in South Asia (1987) about devadasi participation in temple rituals, devadasi repertoire, and rites of passage, through intense research work. Ram Gopal and Serozh Dadachanji have together authored Indian Dancing. When Nala Najan cut down on his dancing, he started to review performances and wrote many articles with insight. His columns about the New York dance scene in Sruti and Rasamanjari magazines were eagerly awaited. He made a video titled Dances of India. “His language was lucid and honest, descriptive and erudite, always interesting and never pedantic. He was one of the few dancers who made the successful switch to dance writing without sounding cynical or bitter.”5 Nala’s writings were scholarly and he wrote extensive private research notes. Dr. V. Raghavan / डॉ. वी. राघवन (1908-1979) was a Sanskrit scholar and musicologist. He took his M.A. in Sanskrit Language and Literature with Comparative Philology and four schools of Indian Philosophy under Prof. S. Kuppuswamy Sastri; specialized in Alamkara and Natya Sastras and Sanskrit Aesthetics and earned his Doctorate in 1934-1935 from Profs. S. Levi, F.W. Thomas and A.B. Keith; studied Sanskrit on the traditional lines also and won medals and prizes for Sanskrit speaking and writing. He authored several books on music and on aesthetics in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of about 120 works and over 1200 research papers in the fields of Sanskrit and Indological research. Malavikagnimitra / माऱपवकाल्ननलमत्र Act-II with special reference to Malavika’s Dance (1964-65), South Indian Dance and Dance-Drama (1964-65), Sri Narayana Tirtha / श्री नारायण तीथथ 5 (1965), An Introduction to Indian Poetics (1970), Natyakalai / ना絍यकऱई (Tamizh, 1974), Ramayana Tradition in Asia (1980), Abhinavagupta and his works (1981), Kavya-Nataka-Samgraha / काव्य-नाटक-स車ग्रह (2002), Splendours of Indian Dance (2004) etc are some of his many works.6 His monumental work Bhoja’s Srngara Prakasa / भोज गश्र車गार प्रकाश (1962), a treatise in 36 chapters dealing with both poetics and dramaturgy is the largest known work in Sanskrit literary criticism and aesthetics. For this work and his commentary, he won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit in 1966. It was later published as volume 53 of the Harvard Oriental Series in 1998.7 PV Subramaniam alias Subbudu / िी. वी. सुब्रमन्रनअम- सु녍बुडू (1917- 2007) helped make dance history. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, his acerbic wit, fearlessly bold comments and deep knowledge of music made readers eager to read his views. He always spoke his mind. Artistes both feared and loved him, the media idolised him, and readers lapped up every comment of his. As a performing arts critic, he lived a life akin to a political journalist, surviving death threats, physical assaults, lawsuits and tempting bribes with courage and humor. For someone who wielded tremendous influence in Delhi (because of his weekly column in The Statesman since 1950) and Chennai’s arts scene (with a range of magazines and newspapers such as Ananda Vikatan and Indian Express) thanks to his refined knowledge of Carnatic music and classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Subbudu made sure his words and not artistes were remembered in his writings. Magazines and newspapers made sure they advertised Subbudu’s association 6 with them well in advance. Subbudu’s rise on the Indian arts scene ran parallel to the growth of Indian performing arts in post- independent India.