Kuchipudi: Difference between revisions

{{short description|One of the classical dances of India}}

'''Kuchipudi''' ({{IPAc-en|k|uː|tʃ|i|ˈ|p|uː|d|i}}) is one of the eight major [[Classical Indian dance|Indian classical dances]].{{Sfn|Williams|2004|pp=83-84, the other major classical Indian dances are: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Manipuri, Cchau, Satriya, Kuchipud and Mohiniyattam.}} It originated in a village named [[Kuchipudi, Krishna district|Kuchipudi]] in the [[Indian state]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name="village">{{cite news|title=‘Art has to be nurtured to sustain’|url=http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/%E2%80%98Art-has-to-be-nurtured-to-sustain%E2%80%99/article16993784.ece|access-date=5 April 2017|work=The Hindu}}</ref>

Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of [[Natya Shastra]].<ref name="Varadpande1982p133" />{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=60-68}}{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|pp=43-46, 80 footnote 8}} It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.<ref name=lochtefeld376>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC&pg=PA376 |year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 |pages=376–377 }}</ref> Evidence of Kuchipudi's existence in an older version are found in copper inscriptions of the 10th century, and by the 15th century in texts such as the ''Machupalli Kaifat''.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}}{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67-68}} Kuchipudi tradition holds that Tirtha Narayana Yati – a [[sanyassin]] of [[Advaita Vedanta]] persuasion,<ref name="Krishna Chaitanya 1987 pages.74">Krishna Chaitanya (1987), "Arts of India.", pages.74</ref> and his disciple, an orphan named Siddhendra Yogi, founded and systematized the modern version of Kuchipudi in the 17th century.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|p=73}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Banham|first=edited by James R. Brandon ; advisory editor, Martin|title=The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre|year=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-0-521-58822-5|page=96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttnH5W9qoBAC |edition=Pbk.}}</ref>{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001}} Kuchipudi largely developed as a, Supreme Personality of Godhead, [[Krishna]]-oriented [[Vaishnavism]] tradition,{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=173}} and it is known by the name of [[Bhagavata Mela]] in Thanjavur.{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=79-81}}

Narayanayati's disciple, Sidhyendra Yogi, followed up with another play, the ''Parijatapaharana'',{{refn|group=note|''Parijatapaharana'' means "The Stealing of the [[Nyctanthes arbor-tristis|Parijata]] Flower".}} more commonly known as the ''Bhama Kalapam''.<ref name="Khokar 1984 169">{{Cite book|title=Traditions of Indian Classical Dance|last=Khokar|first=Mohan|publisher=Clarion Books|year=1984|location=India|pages=169}}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|There are three versions of the story. In the first, [[Lord Krishna]] appears before Sidhyendra and promises [[moksha]] if he told this love epic.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Dances of India: A General Survey and Dancers' Guide|last=Massey|first=Reginald|last2=Massey|first2=Jamila|publisher=Tricolour Books|year=1989|isbn=0-948725-04-4|location=United Kingdom|pages=27}}</ref> In another, Sidhyendra promises Krishna to dedicate his life to bhakti if his life was saved during a dangerous river-crossing.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=32}} In the third, Sidhyendra was simply inspired by his devotion and love for God to compose the work.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dance in India: The Origin and History, Foundations, the Art and Science of the Dance in India – Classical, Folk and Tribal|last=Bhavnani|first=Enakshi|publisher=D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Private Ltd.|year=1965|location=India|pages=57}}</ref> The ''Parijatapaharana'' tells the story of how [[Rukmini]] asked Krishna to get her the Parijata tree from the garden of the god [[Indra]] and [[Satyabhama]]'s jealousy as a result.}} When Sidhyendra Yogi finished the play, he had trouble finding suitable performers.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> So he went to Kuchelapuram, the village of his wife’s family and present-day [[Kuchipudi, Krishna district|Kuchipudi]], where he enlisted a group of young [[Brahmin]] boys to perform the play.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last=Kothari|first=Sunil|last2=Pasricha|first2=Avinash|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2001|isbn=9788170173595|location=India|pages=33}}</ref> According to the tradition, Sidhyendra requested and the villagers agreed to perform the play once a year, and this came to be known as Kuchipudi.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

Kuchipudi declined and was a dying art in 17th-century Andhra,<ref name="Latif2010p71" /> but in 1678, the last Shia Muslim [[Sultan]] of [[Golkonda Sultanate|Golkonda]], [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah]], saw a Kuchipudi performance and was so pleased that he granted the dancers lands around the Kuchipudi village, with the stipulation that they continue the dance-drama.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The Shia Sultanate was overthrown in 1687 by the Sunni Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name="Latif2010p71" /> In order to regulate public and private morals, as well as end un-Islamic practices,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ahsan Jan Qaisar|author2=Som Prakash Verma|author3=Mohammad Habib|title=Art and Culture: Endeavours in Interpretation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hic3XnRU-VgC&pg=PA7 |year=1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-315-1 |page=7}}</ref> Aurangzeb banned public performances of all music and dance arts, along with ordering the confiscation and destruction of musical instruments in Indian subcontinent under control of his [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name="Eraly2000p408">{{cite book|author=Abraham Eraly|title=Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04ellRQx4nMC |year=2000|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-100143-2 |pages=408–409 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mohan Khokar|title=Traditions of Indian classical dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=prjnAAAAMAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Peter Owen |isbn=978-0-7206-0574-7|pages=51 }}</ref>

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire collapsed, Hindu rebellion sprouted in many parts of India, including the Deccan region.<ref>{{cite book|author=John F. Richards|title=The Mughal Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC |year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |pages=273–286, 290–291 }}</ref> In the second half of the 18th century, during this period of political turmoil, the colonial Europeans arrived, the [[Madras Presidency]] was formed by the East Indian Company officials and became part of the British Empire.<ref>{{cite book | first= Hermann | last= Kulke|author2=Dietmar Rothermund | year=2004| title= A History of India | publisher= Routledge| page= 245 | isbn= 0-415-32919-1|ref=A History of India}}</ref> Andhra was part of the Madras Presidency. During the colonial era, Hindu arts and traditions such as dance-drama were ridiculed. Christian missionaries and British officials stereotyped and dehumanized artists, calling Indian classical dances as evidence of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests" tradition.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}} Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms.<ref name=marysnodgrass166>{{cite book|author=Mary Ellen Snodgrass|title=The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMGpDAAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-5749-8 |pages=165–168 }}</ref><ref name="Ghuman2014p97">{{cite book|author=Nalini Ghuman|title=Resonances of the Raj: India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897–1947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkVZAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931489-8 |pages=97 footnote 72 }}</ref><ref name="Walker2016p94">{{cite book|author=Margaret E. Walker|title=India's Kathak Dance in Historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC83DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-11737-7 |pages=94–98 }}</ref> The anti-dance camp accused the various classical Indian dance forms as a front for prostitution, while revivalists questioned the constructed histories by the colonial writers.<ref name=amritsri73>{{cite journal|title=The Hindu Temple-dancer: Prostitute or Nun? |author= Amrit Srinivasan|journal= The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology|volume= 8| number= 1 |year =1983| pages= 73–99|jstor=23816342}}</ref><ref name=leslieorr8>{{cite book|author=Leslie C. Orr|title=Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F___xKcP8lMC |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535672-4|pages=5, 8–17}}</ref>

The three influential figures in Kuchipudi, during the first half of twentieth century, were Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri, Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri and Chinta Venkataramayya.<ref name=":41" /> Sastri focused on reviving and relaunching Kuchipudi after classical Hindu dances came under sustained ridicule and political degradation in the [[British Raj]], while Venkataramayya  was influential in productions for public performances and developing specialized forms of Yakshagana – another classical Indian dance, and Kuchipudi.<ref name=":41" /> Sastri is also remembered for encouraging and teaching Indian women to dance Kuchipudi as solo performers and in teams, as well as working with artists of other classical dances such as the Bharatanatyam that enabled the sharing and cross flow of ideas.<ref name=":41" /> Vempati Venkatanarayana Sastri was the guru of Sastri, taught him Kuchipudi, and was a key figure in helping preserve Kuchipudi.<ref name=":41">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last=Kothari|first=Sunil|last2=Pasricha|first2=Avinash|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2001|isbn=978-8170173595 |pages=120, 155–161}}</ref> The historic All India Dance Seminar, organized by the national arts organization [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]] in 1958, thrust Kuchipudi to the national stage.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last=Kothari|first=Sunil|publisher=Avinash Publications|year=2001|isbn=9788170173595|location=India|pages=7, 39–40, 192–193}}</ref>

Musical instruments used in Kuchipudi are cymbals, mridangam, violine, thamburi, flute. The Kuchipudi performance is led by a conductor (chief musician) called the ''Sutradhara'' or ''Nattuvanar'', who typically keeps the beat using cymbals and also recites the musical syllables; the conductor may also sing out the story or spiritual message being enacted, or this may be a role of a separate vocalist or occasionally the dancer-actors themselves.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" /><ref name="Narayan2011p50">{{cite book|author=Shovana Narayan|title=The Sterling Book of Indian Classical Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLOiaGDLYOAC |year=2011| publisher=Sterling| isbn=978-81-207-9078-0|pages=50–51 |chapter=Kuchipudi}}</ref>{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|pp=172-173}} The Kuchipudi orchestra ensemble includes a drummer (''mridangam''), a clarinetist and a violinist.<ref name="NettlStone1998p516" />{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond|Darius L. Swann|Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|p=173}} Depending on the legend being danced out, other musicians such as a flutist may be present.{{Sfn|Sunil Kothari|Avinash Pasricha|2001|p=153}}

The most popular dance-drama is ''Bhama Kalapam'' of Sidhyendra Yogi.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=73-76}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art|last=Kothari|first=Sunil|last2=Pasricha|first2=Avinash|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2001|isbn=978-8170173595|location=India|pages=38}}</ref> [[Narayana Teertha]] composed the ''Krishna Lila Tarangini'', a story of Krishna’s life beginning from his birth to his marriage to [[Rukmini]].<ref name="Khokar 1984 169" /> Ramaiah Sastri, inspired by the ''Bhama Kalapam'', wrote the ''Golla Kalapam'', which portrays the theme of an ethical satirical conversation between a [[Gopi]] and a Brahmin.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dance in India: The Origin and History, Foundations, the Art and Science of the Dance in India – Classical, Folk and Tribal|last=Bhavnani|first=Enakshi|publisher=D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Private Ltd.|year=1965|location=India|pages=62}}</ref> Other commonly performed plays are the dance-songs (''kritis'') of [[Tyagaraja|Thyagaraja]], and the 700 surviving ''padams'' out of 4500 composed by [[Kshetrayya]] of [[Movva]].{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=82}}

* [[Vilasini Natyam]]

* [[Bharat Natyam]]

*{{cite journal|author=Natalia Lidova|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 |title= Natyashastra }}

* {{cite journal| last= Williams|first=Drid| title=In the Shadow of Hollywood Orientalism: Authentic East Indian Dancing|url= http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf |journal=Visual Anthropology| volume=17|issue=1 |year=2004|pages=69–98 |publisher= Routledge |doi=10.1080/08949460490274013}}

*{{cite journal | author =Wallace Dace | title=The Concept of "Rasa" in Sanskrit Dramatic Theory | journal=Educational Theatre Journal | volume=15 | issue=3 | year=1963 | page=249 | jstor=3204783 | doi=10.2307/3204783 }}