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PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND POETRY, RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND

MODULE 8 VAISHNAVA PHILOSOPHY THROUGH DANCE

Although many first generation scholars use the spellings “Geeta, Gita, and Geet” we stick with correct meaning of the work: Song of Govinda, hence Geet. It is a common mistake to loosely translate Indian words like Yog as and Geet and Geeta, especially words ending with halant (:). Every dance rasika and dancer would probably connect the dots between as Nataraja and classical dance. But, few are familiar with how plays an important role in Indian classical dance. In the Natyasastra, the fountainhead for all Indian Classical Dances, muni has dedicated an entire chapter on Styles (Chapter 22), where he starts from the origin of various styles of dance or vrittis / वत्ृ ति and what they are. The chapter begins with the story of Lord Vishnu and the two ferocious called Madhu / मधु and Kaithaba / कैथबा. Once, the divine Vishnu by his withdrew from all the worlds and turned them into an ocean and lay on Sesha’s coils. There, the asuras, Madhu and Kaithabha intoxicated with their strength and itching for a battle began to threaten him. The Asuras attacked with various harsh words of abuse, hearing which even the ocean shook. Listening to these verbal insults , who resides in a lotus that originates from Vishnu’s navel, felt perturbed and asked as to what this exchange of abuse was. Abuses and counter•abuses are flowing without an end. Then, Brahma requested that Vishnu kill these asuras. The words that were exchanged came out to be the Bharathi

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Vritti / भारिी वत्ृ ति. Listening to Brahma, Vishnu said, I have invented this Bharati to serve my purpose. During the fight, the steps and gaits of Vishnu were placed in various positions and they became a heavy burden (bhara) to the earth and the bharati style came into existence because of the bhara. The bow of Vishnu called Saarnga, during the fight was brilliantly turned and it was flashing in quick turns, and its steadily increasing sattva (strength) created the Sattvati style. The knot, by which Vishnu tied his hair (kesha) and his various graceful angaharas, brought into existence the Kaisiki style. During the course of the fight various caris were used as the fighters were enraged and excited. These various movements of the fight produced the Arabhati style. Basically, whatever movement Vishnu employed, Brahma made it as the origin of a Vritti and accepted it. When both Madhu and Kaitabha were killed by Vishnu, Brahma said, Oh Vishnu! You have destroyed the demons by graceful angaharas which were unusually straight forward, expressive and graceful. 1

The Four Vrittis It is believed that the sages utilized that behavior of words and gestures as the abhinaya conceived the natyaveda and sage Bharata has used them for plays as ordered by Brahma since they are desirable and naturally arise out of various cari movements. The Bharati Vritti, taken from the , is the style in which prominence is given to speeches made in Sanskrit. It is employed only by male actors who announce their own names. The Sattvati Vritti, taken from , is endorsed with the quality of Sattva (vigour) and where there is and good behavior, exuberance of joy, absence of shoka / शोक (sorrow). In it, there is very little karuna / क셁णा (pathos) and shringara / �ीĂगार (erotics) but plenty of veera /

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वीर (heroism) atbhuta / अिु (wonderment) and roudra / रौद्र (terror).

In contrast, Kaisiki Vritti / ककसीकी वत्ृ ति, taken from the , is predominantly performed by women, wearing charming costumes in a colourful way and where there is plenty of dancing and music and the story is of love and its enjoyment. Finally, Arabhati Vritti / अरभािी वत्ृ ति , taken from Atharvanaveda, is about deceit, fraud, falsehood etc. 1 Back to the topic in hand, thus any Vaishnava theme in dance involves depicting Vishnu and his avatars. Accordingly, dancers have multiple ways to depict Vishnu in their dances. The standard representation as per Abhinaya darpana / अभभनय दऩपण for Vishnu, aptly called Vishnu Hasta / ववष्णु हस्ि, is to have the both hands in tripataka and bringing them close to the chest, palms facing the viewer. A related hasta to Vishnu hasta is Padmanabha Hasta / ऩनाभ हस्ि , where the right hand is in Padmakosha and held at navel level, while the left hand is in Ardhachandra held below the right hand at the waist. As the name suggests this hasta depicts the lotus that blooms of Vishnu’s navel, where Brahma resides.2

There is another hasta called Vaishnava Hasta / वश्नव हस्ि, which is a variation of Vishnu Hasta, where the two hands in Tripataka hasta are pointed upwards. This hasta is categorized under Gramthantara hastas, i.e. sourced from texts other than Nandikeswara’s Abhinaya darapanam. 2 According to , Vishnu took the Dasavataras (10 incarnations) to instill when adharma gained more power in the last three yugas. As these Dasavatar stories are highly popular

3 since ages, it is no wonder that Nandikeswara / नĂददकेस्वर gave directions for depicting them in dance.

Matsya avatar / मतस्य अविार – Showing the matysa hasta at shoulder level.

Kurma avatar / कु म प अविार – Left hand has the Shukathunda hasta and is placed below the right hand in pataka.

Varaha avatar / वराह अविार – Showing the hasta at shoulder level.

Narasimha avatar / नरभसĂह अविार – Left hand in Simhamukha and right hand in Tripataka denotes avatar. Also, sometime Shakatam (showing teeth) is also performed following this to accentuate the character.

Vamana avatar / वामन अविार –Left hand is in mushti hasta and raised, and right hand also in mushti hasta and lowered.

Parasurama avatar / ऩरसुराम अविार – Left hand is placed on the left side of the waist, and right hand in Ardhapataka hasta is Parasurama avatar.

Rama avatar / राम अविार – Right hand in Kapitha lowered and left hand in Shikara and held upwards.

Balarama avatar / बऱराम अविार – Right hand in Pataka and left hand in mushti is avatar.

Krishna avatar / कृ ष्ण अविार – Both hands in Mrigashirsha hasta and placed near the right cheek.

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Kalki avatar / कत्कक अविार – Right hand in Pataka and left hand in Tripataka hasta indicates avatar. Some literature on hastas include Buddha avatar as well. This is shown with both hands in Dola hastas, while standing.

Bhagavatha Mela / भागवि मेऱा In the southern , Bhagavatha mela had been performed in villages of district such as Melattur, Soolamangalam, Oothukadu, Saliyamangalam, Nallur, and Theperumanallur until few decades ago. As of now, this art form now exists only in Melattur, Soolamangalam, and Theperumanallur. All the Bhagavatha mela dance dramas are the creative genius of a single author, Venkatarama Sastri , who lived 200 years ago in the Melattur village. The repertoire of a Bhagavatha mela is lengthy enough to command an all-night performance, starting from Patra pravesham (introduction of characters) followed by a dance to , after which many scenes unfold. Some of the compositions and songs, set to Carnatic ragas, used in the Bhagavatha mela are Padyas / ऩ饍य (verses), Darus / द셂, Sabdhas / श녍द, Churnikas / चुर्नकप , Padams / 3, 4 ऩदम ्and Padavarnams / ऩ饍वानपम.

These Bhagavatha mela dance dramas have all predominantly Vaishnava themes. The most favorite ones is Bhakta Prahlada / भक्ि प्रह्ऱाद, where the art form is believed to have reached its zenith. Other equally favorite ones are Usha Parinayam / उषा ऩररणय , Harishchandra / हररश्चĂद्र, and Markandeya / माकंडेय. There are others that are frequently performed, such as Kalyanam / 셁कमनी

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ककयाणĂ, Kalyanam / सीिा ककयाणĂ, Dhruva / ध्रुव , Kamsavadha / क륍सवाध, Gollabhama / गोकऱाभामा, Rakmangada / रकमĂगडा. All these have either Vishnu or an avatar of Vishnu performing an important role. 3,

Araiyar Sevai

In the temples of Srirangam / �ीरĂगम, Alwar Thirunagari / अऱवर थथ셁नागरी, and Srivilliputhur / �ीववकऱीऩुथुर in a unique ritualistic performance occurs in the month of December-January called Araiyar Sevai. Araiyar meaning Kings of music and Sevai meaning service is a solo theatrical performed by a male priest. Performing this dance is strictly a hereditary right. The costume of the performers, unlike other dancers, looks like a Harikatha / हररकथा th th or Kathakalakshepam / कथाकऱऺेऩम artist. Created in the 9 -10 century by the Vaishnavite saint Nadhamuni, it is believed that the cymbals, the sacred garland and the crown the Araiyar wears were gifted by the Lord Ranganathar of Srirangam. The Arayars also wear ankle bells and this helps highlighting the rhythm by stomping the feet. Melkote temple in also has a variation of Araiyar Sevai, where only the recitation and chanting of the hymns are sung. 5 A typical performance of an Araiyar sevai, lasting for 10 days, includes singing the verses of Nalayira Divya Prabandham / नाऱार्यरा ददव्या प्रबन्धम or the Scared 4000 Hymns, set to specific ragas and talas by Nadhamuni / नाधामुनी. After the sacred wedding of the Lord Ranganathar to his consorts (Andal in the case of Srivilliputhur), the Lord witnesses this performance in mandapam or hall, inside the temple complex. Standing opposite to the Lord, the Araiyar performs

6 by sitting, standing, walking backwards, and dancing all the while singing the hymns without missing a beat. Unlike , the gestures are not very pronounced as this would distract the audience from the flow of the text being sung. Simple footwork, hand gestures and facial expressions serve only to highlight the text.

In the past, the cymbals or Kulittalam / कु भऱतिऱम help to maintain the rhythm accompanied by Suddha Maddalam / सुध्ध मĂडऱम , a type of mridangam. Keeping with change of time, Araiyars now use Tanpura and Mridangam for accompaniment. Similarly, the Yal or Harp has been replaced with Veena in recent times. The songs or hymns performed in the 10 day festival begins with Mudalayiram (days 1 to 4), Periya Tirumoli (days 5 and 6), Tiruneduntandakam 5 (day 7) and finally Tiruvaimoli / र्ि셁वैमोऱी (days 8 to 10). In recent years, this ritualistic dance has seen some revival and documentation by dancers Sudharani Raghupathy, at the instance of , and Anita Ratnam. Since this ritualistic theatrical performance demands high purity of the performer, it is not taught to anyone other than who are born in the same family. Thus the revival has met with its own limitations and conditions. Also, the performance cannot be audio or video recorded and thus very limited documentation exists that allow for future generations to preserve this art form.

Vaishnava themes in Bharatanatyam While Bharatanatyam originated majorly in Shiva temples and the were dedicated as Rudraganikas, there were devadasis who were dedicated to Vishnu temples as well. After its revival in the 1930s, Bharatanatyam had many compositions danced to Shiva. As times went by, Vaishnavite themes also became to be incorporated.

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As of now, we can safely say that there are equal number of Saivaite themes and Vaishnava themes for dancers to perform. Lord Vishnu does feature in many pada varnams, Thevar munivar thozhum paadam, Aatkolla vendum aiyyane, Sakhiye inda jaalam and others. Maharaja Swati Tirunal of Travancore had composed a Ragamalika varnam on Vishnu’s Dasavatara Kamala Jasya, where each dasavatara is described in a different raga. Dancer Raghunath Manet has choreographed this into a padavarnam suited for male dancers. A pada varnam that was choreographed by Rukmini Arundale on Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam is set in Nattakurunji ragam composed by Moolai Vettu Rangaswami Nattuvanar is now part of the standard repertoire of Kalakshetra. Interestingly, this was a tana varnam that was sung and choreographed and made to be suitable for dance and now is a popular padavarnam. Among the various avatars of Vishnu, Lord is an all-time favorite for dancers. The reason being that Krishna is probably the only God who can be depicted with multiple rasas: Vatsalya / वातसकय (motherly or filial), / भत्क्ि (Devotional), Sakhyam / सख्यĂ (Friendly), Shringara / �ीĂगार (Beauty and Love) and Paramatma rasa / ऩरमातमा रास . Due to this, for any given song, such as Krishna Nee Begane Barothe / कृ ष्ण नी बेगाने बरोथे padam made famous by T. , can be depicted in either Shringara Rasa (a gopi yearning for Krishna) or Vatsalya Rasa (Yasodha becoking to Krishna) or Bhakti Rasa (a devotee praying to Krishna for liberation). Padams and Javali are now part and parcel of every Bharatanatyam repertoire. In recent times, the interest in padams has skyrocketed so much that many dancers spend the entire recital focusing on padams and javalis, highlighting their abhinaya skills. Often these padams involve the nayika and Lord Krishna or the nayika and Lord Venkateshwara (Lord Balaji) of Tirumala or the Moovagopala. The list

8 of songs on Vaishnava philosophy used in Bharatanatyam is too exhaustive to list here. However, it is notable to mention that the songs of Kshetrayya / ऺत्रिय, Annamacharya / अन्नमाचायप, Sarangapaniare / सारĂगाऩर्नअरे always about the various manifestations of Vishnu and some are highly popular among dancers and rasikas. 6 Songs in praise of Lord are also found in Bharatanatyam. For example, the bhakti song Sri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhajamana / �ी रामचन्द्र कृ ऩाऱु भजमन composed by Saint , has been choreographed by Leela Samson in Yamuna kalyani raga. Saint Thyagaraja’s kritis on Rama, Jagadananda Karaka / जगा饍नĂद कारक , have been choreographed for Bharatanatyam performances. The kritis composed by Thyagaraja are filled with Bhakti Rasa and for some time there was opposition in the Carnatic circles that Thyagaraja’s songs should not and cannot be performed as a dance. Over time, many have challenged this exclusivity and creatively made choreographies to Thyagaraja’s kritis. Specifically, Jagadananda Karaka set in Nattai ragam and Sadinchane set in Arabhi ragam have been danced by many. On the same topic of Krishna, a recurring motif of Krishna dancing is the Kaliya Mardhan episode from his life. Most of the sculptures have Krishna as a small boy holding Kaliya’s or Kalinga’s tail on his left hand, while he is having the Abhaya hasta in his right hand and all the while dancing on one foot on the head of Kaliya.

Vaishnava themes in The Kuchipudi tradition and repertoire is predominantly composed of Vaishnavite themes. An important source for Kuchipudi is the Srimad Bhagavatam / �ीमद भागविम or Bhagavtha Purana / भगवि

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ऩुराण. Other sources are Geet Govinda of Jayadeva / जयदेव, Krishna Lila Tarangini / कृ ष्ण ऱीऱा िरĂथगनी , Bala Gopala Tarangam / बाऱगोऩाऱ िरĂगम , Bhama Kalapam / भामा ककऩम of Siddhendra , Golla Kalapam / गोकऱा कऱऩम. Similar to Bharatanatyam, the songs of Kshetrayya and Annamacharya are hugely popular in Kuchipudi performances, as well. One dance that is inseparable from Kuchipudi is the Dasavatara dance, where all the ten incarnations of Vishnu are depicted. This is based on the Jayadeva’s ashtapadi from Geet Govindam. In practice, the dance is a sequential rendering of the avatars describing the principal events that lead to the coming into being of each avatars. Unlike other Dasavatar depictions, the eighth avatar is Balarama and not Krishna. This is due to the fact the Jayadeva considered Krishna as Mahavishnu and therefore, put Krishna’s elder brother in his place. 6 , the doyen of Kuchipudi dance dramas, has composed and choreographed dance dramas such as Sri Krishna Parijatam / �ी कृ ष्ण ऩररजािम (1959), Ksheerasagara Mathanam / ऺीरसागर मथनĂ (1962), Srinivasa Kalyanam / �ीर्नवास ककयाणĂ (1975), Ramayanam / रामायणĂ (1991) and Gopika Krishna / गोवऩया कृ ष्ण (2004) that are predominantly Vaishnava themed productions. 7

Vaishnava themes in According to the history of Kathak, the Kathakars who recited the stories and danced to it were attached to the Krishna temples of North India. Thus, originally the thematic portion of Kathak was almost exclusively about Krishna. With time, as Kathak evolved and

10 codified other Vaishnavaite gods and characters, such as Rama, came to be introduced. Still, Kathak is predominated with Krishna, his Rasleela, the viraha of Gopikas and on similar themes. Thus, Kathak is aptly named as Natwari, which also is another name of Krishna. 6 The Lucknow gharana of Kathak was initiated and further developed by Bindadin and his brother Kalkaprasad. Bindadin had a vision of Krishna blessing him with the art of dancing and charged him to perfect and promulgate it, making the themes used in Lucknow gharana predominantly about Krishna. During Dusshera, Sri Bharatiya Kala Kendra in New Delhi stages its and it uses Kathak and some elements of , making Kathak a household name since 1950s.

Vaishnava themes in Kathakali

The precedence of dance forms in , such as Chakiar Koothu / चककअर कू थु, Ramanattam / रामानातिम and Krishnattam / किश्नातिम have influenced Kathakali as a predominant Vaishnava themed dance form. While, Krishnattam deals with Krishna and used Jayadeva’s Geet Govinda as its source material; Ramanattam follows the Krishnattam technique but glorifies only Rama. Today, Guruvayoor remains the only place where Krishnattam is enacted for eight nights, where the story of Krishna from the Krishnageethi poem composed by Manaveda , King of . 8 Main stories and subplots from the , and the Srimad Bhagvatham are commonly used in a Kathakali performance. Some of the popular Kathakali dance dramas are Kirmeera Vadham / ककमीर वधĂ , Baka Vadham / बका वधĂ , Kalyana Sougandhikam / ककयाण सौघĂथधकम composed by Kottayam Thampuran / कोट्टायम

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थ륍ऩुरण. Narakasura Vadham / नरकासुर वधĂ , Subhadraharanam / सुभद्राहरण, Baka Vadham, Gandharva Vijayam / गĂधवप ववजयĂ, Panchali Swayamvaram / ऩाĂचाऱी स्वयĂवरĂ and Kalyana Saugandhikam / ककयाण सौघĂथधकम composed by Karthika Tirunal Rama Varma Maharaja. Also, Uttara Swayambaram from the Mahabharata and Ravana Vijayam from the Ramayana are popular stories enacted in Kathakali.8

Vaishnava themes in Manipuri Having been influenced by Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya in Manipur, it is no wonder that Manipuri dance also has a strong undercurrent of Vaishnava themes. Except for Lai Haroba, the dance of Shiva and , the repertoire of Manipuri is dominantly Vaishnavite themed. It was during the rule of Bhagyachandra when Manipuri dance evolved to contain Vaishnavite themes. Among the dances of Manipuri, the Rasa is about the Rasa leela of Krishna. 6 Khubak Ishei, a dance performed with clapping of hands, is performed during the Car Festival of Lord Jagannatha. The Car Festival, called Kangchingba / कĂत््चĂ्बा, involves pulling the chariot that imitates the Sun’s movement from Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn. The dance highlights the rasa of separation or viraha and it is said that when Lord Gauranga witnessed the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, he fell into the mood of as she saw Krishna leaving her for Mathura in a chariot. This event is enacted in

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Khubak Ishei. It is said that the sentiment of separation or viraha is found at its highest expression in Khubak Ishei.9

According to Srimad Bhagvatham, Sankirtana / सĂकीिपन is a type of yagna or sacrificial rite. The female Manipuri dancers dance the Sankirtana as described in the Bhagvatham. This is called as Jagoi- Rasa Sannaba in Meitei language, and Manipuri Rasa Dance or Manipuri Rasa Nartana in other languages. According to the description in Bhagvatham, the Gopis dance the story of Krishna performing on the banks of the Yamuna. In this Shri Krishna is accompanied with the Mandali. Then the performance proceeds sequentially with plays that highlight various events in Krishna’s life with Brindavan gopikas. Such as, the vanishing of Shri Krishna, which leads to pangs of separation pangs in the Gopis. Then, the Gopis sing on the banks of the Yamuna praying for his reappearance. More acts follow like the Prem of the Gopis towards Krishna, Krishna being questioned by the Gopis, Him giving answers to their questions, his commencement of Rasa Lila with the Gopis, Jalakeli wandering in the forest and finally the performance ends with Gopis returning back to their homes at the end of the night.9

Vaishnava themes in Orissi Similar to other classical dances, Orissi is also predominantly a Vaishnava themed dance form. The Maharis or women dedicated to the temple, performed regularly at the Temple at Puri and other Vaishnava temple in Orissa. When the Maharis fell into disrepute, young boys were dressed as girls and performed the dance at the temple. These boys were called as Gotipuas. They basically danced to songs pertaining to Radha and Krishna composed by Vaishnava poets of the 17th and 18th centuries. 6

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The ashtapadis of Geet Govinda composed by Jayadeva are a staple of an Orissi repertoire. Over the years dancers have popularized the following Ashtapadis in dance: Yahi Madhava, Sakhi Prana, Nindati Chandana, Kuru yadunandana, Dheera Sameere, etc.

Vaishnava themed Kuravanji While Kuravanji dance dramas of the South are exclusively about Shiva and Saivaite themes, there is an exception to this rule. The Vainava Kuravanji / वैनव कु रावĂजी composed by Murugesa Ethangi Swamigal and the Azhagar Kuravanji / अजगर कु रावĂजी composed by Kavi Kunjara Bharathi are on the manifestation of Vishnu in Madurai called Sundaraja Perumal or Azhagar (the handsome one). The Azhagar Kuravanji is performed at the Kudal Azhagar temple in Madurai, even today.6, 10 Kavi Kunjara Bharati (1810-1896) was a Vaishnavaite employed in the court of Ramnad and Sivaganga and was the samasthana vidwan or official poet. The Azhagar Kuravanji has been choreographed and performed separately by Kamala Lakshminarayanan (in 1964) and Vyjayathimala Bali (in 1965) and the latter’s production was received as spectacular performances. 11

Vaishnava themed dance dramas There are numerous dance dramas that have been produced by dancers that are too exhaustive to list here, and only few are highlighted below. Most recent is the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana committee commissioning the Ramayana series from various Bharatantyam dancers to be premiered at the Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival in 2011. Among the most famous dance dramas are the Ramayana series choreographed by . It was and still inspires audiences who watch the series in its entirety.

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Rukmini Devi took exactly 14 years to complete it, identical to the duration of Lord Rama’s exile. There are six dance dramas that have the entire Ramayana enacted. It starts with Sita Swayamvaram / सीिा स्वयĂवर (1954), Sri Rama Vanagamanam / �ी राम वनगमनम (1960), Paduka Pattabhishekam / ऩादकु ा ऩतिाभभशेकम (1960), Sabari Moksham / शबरी मोऺĂ (1965), Choodamani Pradhanam / चूड़ामणण 12 प्रधानम (1968), culminating with the Maha Pattabhishekam (1970). The famous T. Balasaraswati had also choreographed a dance drama Dasavatar, performed in 1974. Known more for her solo performances, this was the second and last dance drama she had choreographed. 13

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Footnotes: 1. The Natyasastra: A Treatise on Hindu Dramaturgy and Histrionics. By Manmohan Ghosh. The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1950 2. Abhinaya Darpanam of Nandikeshwara by Prof. P. S. R. Appa Rao. Natyamala publications, 1997. 3. Bharata Natya and Other Dances of Tamil Nadu by E. Krishna Iyer. Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Publications, 1957. 4. Classical Bhagavatha Mela Dance Drama by E. Krishna Iyer. Marg Volume 19, Issue 2, 1966. 5. Araiyar Sevi: Theatre Expression in Sri-Vaishnava Worship. By Srirama Bharati. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Publication, 1999. 6. Saivism and in Indian Dance by Mohan Khokar, Sangeet Natak Academi Dance Seminar 1958. 7. The Dance dramas of Vempati Chinna Satyam by Anuradha Jonnalagadda. Nartanam Vol XII, No. 3, July-September 2012, Pg 44-54. 8. Attendance: Dance journal of India. Edited by Ashish Mohan Khokar. Issue on Kathakali, Ekah Printways, 1999. 9. Attendance: Dance journal of India -Traditions of East. Edited by Ashish Mohan Khokar, Ekah Printways, 2007. 10. Kuravanji Natya Paatisai by Prof. Gnanambigaidevi Kulendran. Tamil University, Thanjavur Publications, 2007. 11. Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986): A Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and Performing Arts by Avanthi Meduri. Motilal Banarasidas Publishers, 2005. 12. Kalakshetra Quarterly, Volume VIII, Issue 3-4. Kalakshetra Publications. 13. Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life by Douglas M. Knight Jr. Wesleyan University Press, 2010.

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