Raja Reddy’s recent presentation was a women’s show with only one male dancer in their midst. It represented how prominent danseuse turned erstwhile social diktats upside down, says Utpal K Banerjee
Since days of yore, India has seen prevalence of matrilineal and patrilineal societies. Among the two border-states, the land-encircled Manipur as well as the sea-caparisoned Kerala have always been dominated by their matriarchal traditions — reflected in every social aspect, including inheritance, land holdings and property rights. It was little wonder, therefore, that both Manipur and Kerala had possessed performing arts that were distinctively feminine. Kerala, in particular, had its strong male-dominated virile dance-theatre of Kathakali alongside the soft female-oriented Mohiniyattam.
In a patriarchal society as of Andhra, in sharp contrast, the male-dominance in every sphere was supreme, including that of dance as performative art. In Andhra’s Bhagavat Mela and in the art of Yakshagana (shared with Karnataka), only men participated.
So when in the 16th century Kuchipudi evolved, it was an entirely male preserve. The dancing Brahmins would debar females from their Kuchipudi itinerant tours for three ostensible reasons: preoccupation with household chores; overarching need of child-rearing and the monthly ritual confinement (strongly observed in the South) for their periods. So, when the portals opened in recent times under the current gurus, women made a beeline for learning Kuchipudi. Today, all the leading exponents have total preponderance of females, turning the erstwhile social diktats upside down.
lokayata, presented recently by Mulk Raj Anand Foundation at IHC, was a sheer delight with its accent on bright young females. Conducted by the Kuchipudi maestro Raja Reddy with Natya Tarangini group, there was only one male dancer among over half-a-dozen female dancers. Raja — with a fully-shaven head, unusual among celebrities — set the tone with Ganapati Vandana in ragas Revathi and Gowla. It was a slow-tempo obeisance to the elephant God, with his multiple attributes prayed to, one by one, before offering a total surrender of the devotee.
The programme perked up with another foray into the Ganesha lore in a traditional item Vinayaka Stotram Atharva Shirsha. Ascribed to the mythical sage Atharva, it was danced by a bevy of female dancers, groomed well by Raja. Using jatis (dance mnemonics), adavus (basic dance-postures) and teermanams (concluding dance-postures), the composition utilised raga maliga (garland of ragas) with the dancers displaying a freshness of choreography and a touching exuberance.
The finale was the conventional, brass-plate Tarangam, executed by three girls as pas de trios. The item harked back to the 16th-century Andhra savant Narayana Teertha and hinged on an interesting parable. It so happened that Krishna appeared to test the saint’s astute devotion and deliberately displayed dance steps with irregular rhythms. An irate Teertha hit Krishna’s feet, undaunted and the latter contorted toes and drew circles on ground to avoid the disciple’s painful beatings. His toe patterns and ground circles apparently evolved into Tarangam on the brass-plate. The petite dancers did the skillful action with gusto.
Excerpts of interview with Raja Reddy:
What is your own Kuchipudi lineageIJ
I learnt from Vedantam Prahlada Sharma, from the original Kuchipudi village. He was a perfectionist and was male-oriented, true to the original form.
How did you begin Kuchipudi in the CapitalIJ
When I began, the legendary dancers Indrani Rahman and Yamini Krishnamurthy performed only one item of Kuchipudi in their repertoire. The audience was familiar with only single-item presentations. When I danced in early 1970 at AIFACS hall, the newspaper gave the headline: Andhra dancer takes Delhi by storm. I did not look back since.
Has Kuchipudi developed gharanasIJ
I should say so. The great guru Vempati Chinna Satyam has mainly been grooming girls. After he shifted base from Hyderabad to Chennai, perhaps the prevailing film world influenced him a little. Guru Jaya Rama Rao is from Kuchipudi village and has learnt from Satyam. Guru Swapna Sundari, too, learnt from Satyam. They have all done excellent work but there have been variations in the styles.
How many students do you have in Natya TaranginiIJ
Currently, it is 85-90. They are mostly girls, with only five to six boys.
Now that you have set up your own set up in Saket, where do you want to go from hereIJ
With my two wives and two daughters (the younger Bhavna is now commuting between Delhi and los Angeles, with her very successful Western music career there), I want Kuchipudi to conquer the world. Bhavna’s musical talent would definitely enrich Kuchipudi.