Article - The silent cry of the Gungroo - Mutation and monetization of classical dance - Dr. Lata Surendra

For generations, classical art was not merely performed; its sacredness was preserved as its strength. It lived as a sacred trust, passed from breath to breath, born of a quiet reverence for the unseen and the eternal. Today, that protective shield has shattered. Be it the lucrative choreographers or the masses who lap it all up, we are stretching the crazy urge inside in seeking to impress more than express to extreme limits.

Ananya Panday's viral Chand Mera Dil controversy is the living embodiment of a tragedy that laments the death of a sacred art form - with Bollywood just staging the execution to create an uproar all around. Panday's viral "fusion" dance was labeled a "catastrophic misunderstanding" of Bharatanatyam by eminent dancer Anita R. Ratnam. Even committed performers all over the world and critics have watched Panday's performance and watched aghast at a centuries-old spiritual discipline being reduced to aggressive, soulless modern gymnastics. Panday's team defended the act as a "creative experiment," proving the point that today you have systems that prioritize cheap entertainment over cultural guardianship.

Today's artistes view themselves merely as entertainers rather than guardians of a sacred heritage. Fearing the verdict of a profit-driven industry where artistic compromise is the price of survival, few dare to champion the true system. We watch with quiet grief as pure folk and classical traditions are butchered on the altar of reality television, reduced to mere instruments of shock value. Manmade monstrosities like "Disco Dandiya" are paraded about, stripping away the spiritual sanctity of our roots.

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