Dootavakyam deals with Krishna visiting the court of
Duryodhana to request him to give five villages to Pandavas,
after their exile period is over. In order to insult
Krishna, Duryodhana does not welcome him in his Mantrashala,
even when all the kings present there, Bhishmapitamaha and
others get up and welcome him with due respect. To further
insult Krishna, Duryodhana asks his servant to bring the
painting in which the humiliating scene of Draupadi being
pulled by hair and Dushashana disrobing her during the game
of dice, was depicted. Krishna does not like it and
announces his mission as a messenger of the Pandavas.
Duryodhana refuses to even give space enough for a point of
needle to stand on. Krishna warns him about the consequences
of war, which shall take place, if he does not return
Pandavas their kingdom. When Duryodhana does not relent Lord
Krishna assumes Vishwarupa. Duryodhana laughs and tells his
servant to tie Krishna with a rope, disregarding the
customary respect due to a messenger. He himself tries to
tie up Krishna and is confused at his multiple images.
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Disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sharmila Biswas
presented during the annual day of her Odissi Vision and
Movement Centre, at Tollygunj Club, Kolkata, a novel
presentation which included a new system of training in
Odissi. She dedicated the program to Kelubabu, explaining
that it was he who laid the foundations on which she stands
firmly and spreads her wings. It was very heartening to see
this particular program and watch how Sharmila has been
devising novel ways of teaching a large number of students
ranging from age 4 to 8 for junior section mostly through
games in which they learn about movements and space.
When the program opened in presence of an overflowing house
with parents and dance connoisseurs, several children
sitting on dais keeping tala and reciting, one was impressed
by the sheer organization of such a large number of
students. Sharmila introduced musician Aniruddha
Bhattacharya (a disciple of Guru AT Kanan and Malavika
Kanan), a junior guru himself, at Kolkata’s renowned Sangeet
Research Academy, who teaches music to students every
Saturday morning. His wide knowledge in classical Indian and
Western music helps students to appreciate music from the
beginning. Another young person introduced was Srijan
Chatterjee, a disciple of Guru Arun Bhaduri. He provides a
very crucial support for work on Odissi music for dance.
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It started with an e-mail from writer/scholar Ashish Mohan
Khokar. The mail contained a link to an article from the
Indian Express about the surprising arrest of dancer turned
choreographer extraordinaire for Special Needs artistes,
Syed Sallauddin Pasha. The report was shocking and very
disturbing. As soon as I posted it on my Facebook page, a
torrent of remarks poured in. Against the backdrop of the
Nirbhaya episode in December 2012, society and lawmakers
have been vigilant about screaming opinion and comments
about rape, sexual abuse and the growing atrocities against
women. Place this against the unsavoury practice of some
male dance gurus preying upon their female students, and you
have a blockbuster drama on your hands.
Pasha has won accolades for his imaginative choreography and
his supporters from the Bangalore dance community were quick
to react with shock and full scale support in his favour.
His marriage to Kathak artiste Rani Khanam was reportedly
shaky over the past few years and some say they were even
heading towards a divorce.
With Pasha now in Tihar jail and his students of the AUF
(Ability Unlimited Foundation) unable to get a hearing of
their side of the story, it is difficult to mobilise
sympathy for Pasha. Does this matter involve the land that
was granted to him for his new institute? Is there more than
meets the eye?
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At a fusion dance event in Delhi that I attended some time
ago, western contemporary dancers danced a segment with an
Indian Kathak dancer. The contemporary girls had danced a
few segments earlier, impressing the audience with their
strength and conceptual robustness. But when the two dance
forms were presented together on the same stage, it seemed
to me that they had clear areas of strengths and
weaknesses. While the Indian classical form relied heavily
on grace, form and direct expression, the contemporary
style was all about strength, athleticism and agility,
presenting abstract concepts.
Classical dances of most kinds are bound in centuries of
tradition and ages of evolving style and technique. The
Indian classical dances follow a certain code or paradigm
and have been handed down from gurus to shishyas through
many generations. The dance is usually based on a
mythological tale or a love lore. But to suit modern
times, contemporary dance evolved probably from a
classical form but defied any kind of structure. It does
not follow any code, and usually depicts an abstract
theme, emotion or idea. Many classical dancers too have
experimented with contemporary in order to do something
novel. The dance is usually based on some individualistic
topic.
With World Dance Day having gone by recently, the focus of
this article is to explore the physical and thematic
aspects of the two dance forms, through conversations with
a few well-known Indian classical dancers from various
traditions who have some experience in, or exposure to,
contemporary dance. Here, to a set of common questions,
are the answers of Kathak dancer Aditi Mangaldas, Odissi
dancer Reela Hota and Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran.
Read the interview in the site
The term ‘dance drama’ is peculiar to Indian classical dance,
particularly Bharatanatyam. The core idea of combining dance with a
purely theatrical performance in which a story unfolds with each
character played by a different actor can be traced to the Natya Sastra,
at least for the sake of dating it. Ancient Sanskrit theatre subscribed
to this concept, in which not only dance but also music played a vital
role. Theatrical space was as important in ancient India as costume and
make up. Writing for that classical theatre art known as NATYA was the
challenge met by several medieval Sanskrit dramatists and poets. In
Tamil Nadu, as early as the time of Raja Raja Chola, Natakams in which
women also participated took place in the temples. Raja Raja Natakam and
Manmatha Natakam were enacted in the Brihadeeswara temple.
In the early twentieth century of rediscovering many lost performance
disciplines, new forms emerged to suit urban audiences. In Tamil Nadu,
the star innovator was Rukmini Devi who had seen ballet with a story
line while traveling abroad. She looked for a suitable parallel to stage
in her own institution. She found the Bhagavatamela natakams replete
with music, narrative and dance ideal to adapt. She also found the old
Kuravanji natakams interesting to adapt. With her own inputs in stage
craft she began her journey in ‘dance drama’ productions.
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All dancers have to look deep and answer what nritta means to them,
causes in them and the spectators. The avid sishya in me was
introspecting. 'Laya', taken from ‘Pralaya’ is dissolution, absorption
and concentration. Shuddha Nritta is pure, it’s Tala – Laya, the dance
of Shakti and Shiva, Bindu and Nada. Nritt – aa / to cause to dance,
blends male and female principles - Tadatmya identified as
Ardhanareeswara. A cosmic creative vibration, Sphota / Nada, gets
consolidated into Sabda Brahman or differentiated sound energy,
symbolized by OM. From this arises cosmic intelligence, the creative
spirit. Nritta is this pure creation, sustenance and destruction.
Science today (Quantum physics) calls that GOD PARTICLE, the atomic
dance of Nataraja. Nataraja does the Tandava in Shambhavi mudra, the
meditative eyes in samadhi. He is NIRGUNA PARABRAHMAN in this perfect
Jnani’s posture. The steady breath and the balance mean that the Naadis
of Ida, Pingala and Sushumna or the sun, moon and fire are purified and
the Vayus /Pancha Pranas are ascending towards the thousand petalled
lotus of Sahasrara Chakra. It is the outwardly depiction of the inwardly
esoteric Sri Chakra, consisting of the shapes and designs like the
triangle integral in Bharatanatyam, besides others and constantly
tapping to the sound. It is the fire of the mystery of Kundalini-
serpent power. How can one do nritta well unless one practices and
maintains the Asanas and Pranayama as in Yoga and tunes to music?
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One year ago on May 2nd, my beautiful mother wound up her connections
with this life and moved on. Today while her black and white image gazes
back from inside a photo-frame, I hope her artist-spirit is trekking
the land of music and dance, painting and poetry.
My mother was born an artist but her parents didn't tune in to that. She
wanted to be a dancer - but dance was not in the accepted to-do list
for girls. So she would pull a sheet over a pillow to fool her
father that she had gone to bed, and run off to participate in her
school dances. She collected music notations and dance images from
magazines and meticulously bound them into books. Now they are a
rare collector's collection.
She knew nothing about the grammar of music - but could bring tears to
the eyes when she sang her favourite song - "mazhai iLaippaarida
kuttaiyundu" (for the rain to rest there is the pond). It ended
with the words "engaL aasai iLaippaara undo idam" (for our desires to
rest, is there a place?). I have searched for that song and can
find it nowhere. Maybe it was meant only for her to sing and only
for us to hear. Her family didn't find a teacher to groom her in this
talent either. It was my dance guru Kamala (“Kumari” Kamala) who
appreciated her. “Aunty, if only you had learnt music methodically you
would be in my orchestra touring with me. I will never let you go.”
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Internationally reputed dancer, choreographer, teacher, writer,
academician and dance curator, Dr. Maya Rao is synonymous with dance.
She was the first Government of India scholarship holder to study Kathak
under the guidance of Guru Shambu Maharaj of the Lucknow Gharana. She
also trained with Guru Sunderprasad of the Jaipur Gharana. Maya Rao
initiated the need to codify and create a repertoire for Kathak in the
1950s. Her solo recitals and dance dramas imbibe both Jaipur and Lucknow
styles, winning much acclaim in India and overseas.
Maya Rao was born on May 2, 1928 in Bangalore to Hattangadi Sanjeev Rao
and Subhadra Bai in a family consisting of 3 sons and 3 daughters.
In 1945, Maya Rao finished schooling and joined Maharani’s College,
choosing History, Economics and Logic as her subjects. Although she had a
flair for dancing, Maya Rao was born and brought up in an orthodox
middle class family, where elders did not permit their daughters to
learn dancing. When she was 12 years old, she watched Uday Shankar
perform with his large troupe of musicians and dancers at the BRV
theatre in Bangalore and this performance left an indelible impression
in her young mind. Initially, she was taught Hindustani classical music –
vocal and instrumental (dilruba) – from Rama Rao. Impressed himself
with Uday Shankar’s troupe, her father permitted Maya Rao to take up
dancing. “I started dancing when dance was taboo and to the
progress we see in the dance scenario today, I feel proud to be part of
this evolution where dance is seen as an important component of modern
India and has percolated down to every household,” recalls Maya Rao.
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