october 2017
ON Stagevolume 7 • issue 3 NCPA Chairman Khushroo N. Suntook
Executive Director & Council Member Deepak Bajaj
Editorial Director Radhakrishnan Nair Contents Editor-in-Chief Oishani Mitra 18 Consulting Editor Ekta Mohta
Senior Sub-Editor Cynthia Lewis
Editorial Co-ordinator Hilda Darukhanawalla
Art Director Amit Naik
Deputy Art Directors Hemali Limbachiya Tanvi Shah
Graphic Designer Vidhi Doshi
Advertising Anita Maria Pancras ([email protected]; 66223820) Tulsi Bavishi ([email protected]; 9833116584)
Senior Digital Manager Jayesh V. Salvi
Published by Deepak Bajaj for The National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021
Produced by
Editorial Office 4th Floor, Todi Building, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400013
Printer Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Features Mathuradas Mill Compound, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400013 08 14 Materials in ON Stage cannot be reproduced Reflections Western classical music at the NCPA in part or whole without the written On ‘contemporary’ music. By Anil Dharker In this new series, we go behind-the-scenes of the permission of the publisher. Views and several arts departments at the NCPA. This month, opinions expressed in this magazine are not we talk to Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman at necessarily those of the publisher. All rights 10 the NCPA reserved. From a Dancer to a Choreographer Odissi dancer Aruna Mohanty and Bharatanatyam dancer Chitra NCPA Booking Office Visweswaran on the unacknowledged 18 2282 4567/6654 8135/6622 3724 From Strength to Strength intellectual effort that goes into www.ncpamumbai.com The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra has translating ideas into rhythmic motion. been active on the music festival circuit in Europe and By Shayonnita Mallik
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beyond for over seven decades. put on a stage performance. Ahead of its performances at the By Arwa Mamaji NCPA, we take a look at how the orchestra has carried forward its 28 rich heritage. By Beverly Pereira 34 Beer Puppets at the NCPA A jazz band with an exotic name, 22 Beer Puppets was founded by Romancing the Hills vocalist Shreya Bhattacharya and Composer Shantanu Moitra’s 100- bassist Abhishek Dey, and will take day journey across the Himalayas the stage this month has inspired a few sublime compositions. By Rinky Kumar 35 Comédie-Française at the 26 NCPA The Interview: Amit Peled The legendary Comédie-Française, From the United States to which counts Molière among Europe to the Middle East and its former members, will screen Asia, Israeli cellist Amit Peled French plays with English subtitles is one of the most exciting instrumentalists on the concert stage today 36 The Tradition of Kuchipudi Dance-dramas 28 Dr. Sunil Kothari traces the history of The New Guard the Kuchipudi dance-dramas Follow us on: Marathi cinema’s brave new voice is best encapsulated in the NCPA’s facebook.com/NCPAMumbai annual Marathi film festival, Nave 38 @NCPAMumbai Valan. By Reshma O. Pathare Programme Guide NCPAMumbai All of October’s events at the NCPA youtube.com/user/TheNCPAMumbai1 32 pinterest.com/ncpamumbai The Clock is Ticking 49 An experiment in theatre takes What’s Next place at the NCPA this month, in What to look forward to in the which each artiste gets 12 hours to coming months We look forward to your feedback and suggestions. Please do drop us an email at [email protected].
Contents.indd 6 21/09/17 4:00 PM COVER STORY Aruna Mohanty and her troupe From a Dancerto a Choreographer Odissi dancer Aruna Mohanty and Bharatanatyam dancer Chitra Visweswaran on the unacknowledged intellectual effort that goes into translating ideas into rhythmic motion. By Shayonnita Mallik Chitra Visweswaran and her troupe Visweswaran says. “One moment A dance performance the wings, looking for moments an idea clicks into your head and encompasses the best of so many that may go wrong. Visweswaran, then there is no stopping.” To factors: lighting, costume, makeup, on the other hand, tries to watch compose the stage placement of music and stage design, which are all her compositions with a neutral characters, and different routines all as important as rhythm and eye. “When they do well, there for different dancers that merge movement. Choreographers have is a sense of pride. I watch a into one central theme is a daunting to think of every aspect and, with performance with detachment. task. Mohanty breaks it down for the help of technicians, realise I switch off my knowledge of me, “I write the screenplay in my their vision. Visweswaran, who has the piece completely. Could the head – scene by scene, frame worked extensively with the late dancers convey the message – is by frame, and then pitch it to my lighting technician Tapas Sen, says, all I ask myself.” music composers. I enact it in “Lighting makes the dance [look] Consumed by research and front of them; do the entire thing like a Renaissance painting.” construction, these creators find like a drama; and looking at my themselves locked in rooms for mannerisms, my body language, hours, tying hand gestures with my face, they translate it into music. philosophy. 2 AM calls to sarangi It all fits then.” “The more you read, Much like writers players and candlelight readings the more you think, the more you and composers, to cement ideas are the aspects of compose, and the more you also dance choreography that most of obsess,” chuckles Visweswaran, inspiration for us don’t see. We simply come, fill reminiscing about the time she did theatres, marvel at the connections a production on Panchali. “I was dancers is serious the dancers make, hear the beat, possessed. I went around with my business sway to the music, and beam at the hair wild, questioning and asking, beauty and simplicity of their art – picking fights with people, and never once wondering from which calling out patriarchy.” minds came the ink that coloured Mohanty talks about movement, Cutting the cord the alta on their hands. But then, s an audience The first step Chidambaram Academy of Fine and interlinks it to the shape of the Pieces that are so carefully and perhaps that’s fitting, it is member, seated For Padma Shri Aruna Mohanty, Arts in Chennai, the transition stage for the performance. It could constructed must be difficult to every choreographer’s dream in a dimmed administrator of Orissa Dance was more inherent. Visweswaran be a proscenium, a circular space handover to other performers. to create blemish-free pieces theatre watching Academy, the journey from composed her first original piece or an amphitheatre, which must Mohanty says, “When I am that only speak, never falter or the graceful being just a dancer to becoming at the age of nine as a “new thing be utilised perfectly to match the standing there in the wings, I am stop; that they simply remain the movements of a choreographer began with a for a family performance”. Her theme. Visweswaran gives me yet totally anxious, totally stressed, magical physical manifestations of beautiful dancers, tragedy. The 1999 Odisha cyclone first large-scale group production another interpretation of space totally nervous. I feel like I must their most private thoughts. one feels like they themselves had ravaged over 16 lakh houses and came almost 20 years later with that a choreographer must think be there to salvage the situation.” Acould take flight, make music with claimed over 9,000 lives. After a her maiden choreography. At of: the silences in music; the space Students call her a “dissatisfied Nakshatra Dance Festival will take their feet. Impressed, exhilarated dialogue with school students who the time, she was occupied with between lyrics. soul” as they see her peer through place from 27th to 29th October. and heady, it is easy to forget the questioned why dance seemed to teaching and wanted to create complexity of deliberation that be only about mythology, she was something that would inspire her Parwati Dutta must have gone into producing a moved and inspired to create her teenage students and afford them and her troupe beautiful concept with movement. an opportunity to showcase their This month for the Nakshatra talents. The result was Devi Ashta Dance Festival, five exemplary “Lighting makes Rasa Malika, a ballad on the eyes choreographers, three of whom of Indian goddesses as described are Padma Shri awardees, will the dance [look] by famous poets in different present group choreographies languages. on the NCPA stage. Dancers par like a Renaissance But this leap from dancer to excellence, each of them has painting” creator was no easy task. Both made the journey from being Visweswaran and Mohanty solely a dancer to becoming a enlighten me on the immense choreographer, from thinking interpretation of the devastation. research that goes into the just about their role to thinking Her guru, Padma Shri Gangadhar production of a single piece. “If about everyone’s, from thinking Pradhan, was not pleased. If the I pick up two lines from Valmiki, just about their piece to thinking customary stories of Radha- I need to read so much more to about the whole piece. These Krishna had been good enough understand the context and how choreographers are Kathak dancer for him and all their predecessors, I can actually flesh the thought Parwati Dutta, Bharatanatyam why weren’t they good enough for out through my body,” says dancer Chitra Visweswaran, Odissi her? Mohanty’s Shrishti O Pralay Visweswaran. It all lies, really, in the dancer Aruna Mohanty, Odissi went on to win critical acclaim, and moment of inspiration. Much like dancer Daksha Mashruwala, and eventually, her guru’s approval. writers and composers, inspiration Kathak legend and Padma Bhushan For Padma Shri Chitra for dancers is serious business. awardee, Kumudini Lakhia. Visweswaran, who runs the “It is like a spring in your head,”
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determine the period of the Kuchipudi dramas after the village of Kuchipudi. on the stage. Then thesutradhara with dance-drama tradition as flourishing in There is one more historical record his kuttilaka (crooked stick) enters and Andhra at least a hundred years before which indicates that the tradition was conducts the performance. He keeps tala this event, that is, from the 15th century. supported by the rulers. In 1678, a with the cymbals and takes his seat to the The tradition of Kuchipudi The dance-drama tradition was shaped Kuchipudi performance was arranged left of the stage with the other musicians. and nurtured by the Bhagavatulus and for Abdul Hasan Tahnishah, the Before the actual dance-drama begins, Acharyas. It was also a period when the Nawab of Golconda, during his visit to two stagehands holding a curtain enter, ONdance-dramas Stage brings you excerpts from the NCPA Quarterly Journal, an unsurpassed literary archive that Bhakti cult spread to many parts of India. Masulipatnam. He was pleased with and, behind the curtain, a dancer with And the art of dance-drama became a the performance and announced on the mask of Ganapati shuffles his feet. The ran from 1972 to 1988 and featured authoritative and wide-ranging articles. Dr. Sunil Kothari traces the vehicle for its expression. a copper plate the grant of the lands curtain is then removed and the dancer history of the Kuchipudi dance-dramas Siddhendra Yogi, who, according to of Kuchipudi village to the Brahmans dances. The stagehands hold torches in legend, is considered to be the founder who took part in the dance-drama. their hands and from time to time they of the Kuchipudi dance-drama tradition, Later on, a dispute arose among these sprinkle guggilam on the flames, which The tradition of the dance- performances of the succeeding was a devotee of Krishna. An orphan, he members and the families regarding flare up illumining the mask of Ganapati. dramas in Kuchipudi was part of generations and were responsible was looked after by kind neighbours who their share of the land. A partition deed With the rendering of the song a general trend toward regional for evolving a new type of had him married in his childhood. But was drafted by two agents of the Nizam ‘Bhamane Satyabhamane’, the dancer vernacular theatre and the Bhakti Yakshagana called Kalapam. It when he came in close contact with the who plays Satyabhama enters and movement also contributed in a became a lyrical dance-drama followers of Narahari Tirtha, he was sent displays the full gamut of his talents. large measure to its development. presentation and had an abiding to Udupi for intense Vedic studies. After Satyabhama executes the footwork and Inscriptions of the eighth, impact on Yakshagana texts and his training, he returned to Shrikakulam Siddhendra Yogi, nritta, besides enacting abhinaya to the ninth and tenth centuries reveal performances. The dance-drama and was known as Siddhendra. When who, according to song. Formerly the dancer used to sing. that in Andhra, Tamil Nadu form, which flourished during his identity was established by the elders Nowadays the vocal support is provided and Karnataka a variety of this period, a century before the of the village, he was asked to join his legend, is considered by the vocalist in the orchestra. The theatrical diversions composed golden era of the Vijayanagar wife. Siddhendra set out to visit his nritta employed has a lilting quality. of music, dance and drama empire, appears to be the wife’s home. On the way he had to cross to be the founder of The undulating movements are typical known as Brahman Mela existed. tradition of Kuchipudi dance- a river in full spate. Midstream he found the Kuchipudi dance- of Kuchipudi. The movements are more Though no conclusive proof drama. Known as Yakshagana it difficult to swim and prayed to the lord rounded and the tempo is quite racy, the is available, it is, nevertheless, and Brahman Mela, this form that if he reached the other bank alive he drama tradition, was a effect quick and mercurial. Basic units, certain that prototypes of the achieved its own individual would devote his life to the propagation adavus, as in the case of Bharatanatyam, Bhagavata Mela Natakam must character, imbibing the elements of Bhakti. He then became a sanyasi and devotee of Krishna are also to be found in the Kuchipudi have survived prior to the 11th of classical and folk. In a climate renounced all earthly attachments. Well- technique. But their execution is century. Even earlier, there existed conducive to the growth of the versed in the Natyashastra, he composed different. another form of entertainment performing arts there must have a dance-drama called Parijatapaharana of Hyderabad, Mosalkanti Kanoji The unfolding of the dance-drama known as Shiva Lila Natyam. been some commerce between and came to Kuchelapuram, the present- Pantulu and Kandargulu Jogi Pantulu. proceeds with regular dialogues in This seems to have been later the classical solo exposition, the day Kuchipudi village. He gathered According to that deed, the families who Telegu sprinkled with humour, songs on replaced by the introduction temple dances and its exponents. Brahman boys around him and asked are entitled to a share of the land are and dance. The dance,abhinaya , of Vaishnavite themes and Thus the two streams of solo them to perform the work as a dance- Vedantam, Vempatti, Hari, Bhagavatulu, dialogue and songs follow in quick eventually an altogether different exposition and the dance-drama drama and as a form of offering to Pasumarti, Jyosula, Mahankali and succession carrying the action further. identity emerged. Shiva Lila Kurchela forms developed, reaching a high Krishna. He took a promise from them Yelesvarapu. These families still live in In the end, after Satyabhama and Natyam, describing the various Brahmananda watermark during the heyday of that they would perform the play once Kuchipudi, perform dance-dramas and Krishna are united, Satyabhama brings Bhagavatar in activities of Shiva in poetic Bhama Kalapam the Vijayanagar empire. every year. They, in turn, assured him keep the tradition alive. Every artiste in arati and offers flowers and, with the form, was performed at Shiva that their sons and descendants would Kuchipudi dreams of playing once in his mangala shlokas, the dance-drama temples and Vishnu Lila Natyam, century vernacular drama has survived, THE FIRST ONE preserve the tradition. lifetime the role of Satyabhama in the comes to an end. depicting the ten incarnations of Vishnu, the names of the few plays such as The earliest reference to a performance The descendants of the Brahman play Parijatapaharana, which later came The other dance-dramas favoured was presented at Vishnu temples. Tayikondanataka and Gangavatara of this category seems to be one found families, it is believed, continue this to be known as Bhamakalapam. by the dance-drama troupes Of the many theatrical diversions are preserved in inscriptions and in Machupalli Kaifiyat (1502). The local tradition of the Kuchipudi dance- and popular with the audiences are prevalent during this period, the literature. They seem to be the records were collected at the insistence dramas. The performers are all male THE PERFORMANCE Prahlada Charitram, Usha Parinayam, Bhagavata Mela dance-dramas earliest representatives of the modern of Surveyor-General Colin Mackenzie. and some of them impersonate female The Kuchipudi dance-dramas are all- Shashirekha Parinayam, Rukmini originated from earlier forms of the Yakshagana. The plays were enacted by According to the local records, a troupe characters. Nrittaratnavali refers to night performances held in the open. Kalyanam, Mohini Rukmangada Uparupakas (Sanskrit dramas) and the artistes of the courtesan community of dancer-actors seems to have obtained Brahman Mela and Nattuva Mela, the A makeshift stage is arranged and the and Harishchandra Nataka. In recent Yakshaganas. A traditional composite art who banded into itinerant companies, audience with Immadi Narasa Nayaka, latter being the dances of the female audience sits on the ground. A number times, Kshirasagaramathanam and form of Telegu folk, Yakshagana is the staging plays usually connected with the ruler of Vijayanagar, and entertained temple servants (devadasis). Jaya, the of ceremonies and rituals are observed Vipranarayana have earned popular musical play, sharing the characteristics some Puranic story. A group of players him and his court with a dance-drama author of Nrittaratnavali, was a student of before the dance-drama proper begins. favour. The traditional dance- of opera and ballet in one presentation. It constituted itself into a mela. The plays that artistically hinted at the sufferings a Brahman dance-master Gundamatya. A prayer in praise of the goddess Amba drama Gollakalapam, in which the originated in Andhra, was later adopted were generally staged on important of the people at the hands of the local Although the tradition is known as is recited. Then enters a young boy milkmaid enters into an argument with and patronised by Karnataka and Tamil occasions such as festivals like chieftain. The artistes succeeded in Kuchipudi dance-drama, it can also be who circles round the stage, holding a learned Brahman and defeats him Nadu and enjoys an eventful history of Brahmotsava. impressing the king and enlisting his called the Bhagavata Mela Natakas as the a flagstaff, the Jarjaradhwaja of Indra on his own ground, is also performed more than six centuries. More than 800 The Brahmin exponents of the art of support in liberating them from the plays are performed by the Bhagavataras referred to in the Natyashastra. Then frequently. works were produced by 465 authors. Of Brahman Mela shaped the Yakshagana malpractices of the local chieftain, who and Bhagavatulus. But in order to follows the lamp and dhupa (incense) these, 542 works are available, some in into a more stylised form, conforming was defeated by the army and the artistes distinguish these dance-dramas from the and the dancer offerspushpanjali . Soon This article first appeared in theNCPA print and others mostly in manuscript. to the tenets of Bharata’s Natyashastra. were protected. Bhagavatar Mela Natakas of Tamil Nadu, a dancer enters carrying a pitcher filled Quarterly Journal in June 1985 (Vol. XIV, Although no specimen of the 16th- They gave a new life toYakshagana This historical record enables us to they are referred to as Kuchipudi dance- with consecrated water. He sprinkles it No. 2).
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