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Friday, September 10, 2010
Saturday, July 03, 2010

Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance form of Andhra Pradesh

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-by Padmini Kantety,
Director of Center for Kuchipudi Art, Huntsville, Alabama

 

Introduction:

India is a land with the oldest and longest history of arts and dance forms in the history. Dance has a unique place in the hearts of people from all walks of life. It is due to the combination of grace and efficacy of its movements to the rhythmical music and lyrical compositions. No one can clearly put a specific date on how this art has emerged as a field; however there are records that date back to 4000-5000 years from present day. As these traditions emerged and more material documentation methods were developed, additional evidence began to accumulate and helped us understand more about Indian cultural roots and various socio-political circumstances that influenced our culture.

Natya Saraswathi dancing to the beats of the drummers seen near her feet
Natya Saraswathi dancing to the beats of the drummers seen near her feet

In order to understand any classical dance tradition, one must study different facts of that art form such as its origin, history, and theoretical background in addition to considering socio-political and cultural contexts including language, music, customs and traditions. Most art forms in India are directly or indirectly dependent on the Hindu mythology, philosophy, sculpture, painting, human psychology and yoga. India, with its vastness and magnitude of her culture, several classical dance forms emerged with common theoretical background. Each of these classical dance forms can be traced to different parts of the country owing to their place of origin.

Nritya Ganapati sculpture in Hoysala style temples, 12th century
Nritya Ganapati sculpture in Hoysala style temples, 12th century

At present, there are eight recognized classical dance traditions: Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh), Bharatha Natyam (Tamil Nadu), Kathakali and Mohiniattam (Kerala), Odissi (Orissa), Manipuri Dance (Bengal and Manipur), Kathak (North India) and Sattriya (Assam). Though ancient in character, all the dance forms have disappeared into oblivion due to socio-political reasons. A few connoisseurs in their respective fields brought recognition to their respective fields in the later part of the 20th century by bringing them into limelight through their dedicated service and promotion of these ancient forms to future generations.

 

Origin and History:

Geo-political status of India from 200 BC to 200 AD: Satavahanas’ expansions toward North East and North West
Geo-political status of India from 200 BC to 200 AD: Satavahanas’ expansions toward North East and North West

Kuchipudi (pronounced as Koochipoodi), one of India's eight major classical dance styles, is a fascinating dance form. It is named after a small remote village in Andhra Pradesh called “Kuchelapuram”, or “Kuchipudi”. The village of Kuchipudi is six miles away from Srikakulam, the ancient capital of Satavahana Empire and benefited from their patronage towards classical and performance arts. After the fall of Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas extended their domain in the North West and South, until Andhra embraced a great portion of the Indian Peninsula. Satavahanas ruled from the middle of the 3rd century B.C. to the first quarter of 3rd century A.D.

Satavahanas’ expansion toward Southern India during 100 AD to 300 AD that brought most of today’s Karnataka & over half of Tamilnadu states.
Satavahanas’ expansion toward Southern India during 100 AD to 300 AD that brought most of today’s Karnataka & over half of Tamilnadu states.

From very early times of the tradition of Natya Shastra, one of the many branches of learning flourished in Andhra, embracing both music and dance. Bharata Muni, often known as the father of Indian theatrical arts believed to have authored Natya Shastra during the years of 200 BC to 200 AD, in a first attempt to develop and compile the techniques of performance arts including music, dance, and drama in a systematic manner. According to Natya Shastra, all modes of expression – speech, gestures, movements, and intonation must be used in correct sense. Natya Shastra refers to Andhra region in connection with a particular style of dance in the context of representation of different modes of Vrittis, especially Kaishika Vritti, delicate and graceful dance movements. A particular raga by the name, Andhri, was a contribution of this region to the music of India. Mention of these specific techniques, various ancient folk dances and Yakshagana tradition of this region played an important origin for evolution of the most comprehensive classical dance form in India. Yakshagana is the musical play sharing the characteristics of opera and ballet combined in one presentation. It originated in Andhra and received patronage in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. More than 800 works were produced by 465 authors. Of which 542 works are available, some in print and others mostly in manuscript.

Natya Shastra is the oldest surviving text on stagecraft in the world and it precedes one of the oldest and greatest epics of history, Valmiki’s “Ramayana”. It is believed to be a creation of Lord Brahma, who issued it to all classes of people to study and practice as the “5th Veda”. Though it was written about 2000-2500 years ago, it is believed that Natya Shastra is based upon much older Natya Sutras widely in practice throughout the country at the time. Unfortunately, there are no surviving copies of the Natya Sutras. Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope and included many practices from various geographical regions and discussed their appropriate placement in the proposed classification. It covers as many and diverse aspects such as, music (raga, tala, sruti, and instrumental knowledge), stage-design (mandapa), dance (rules & classification of dances, acting, expression of bhava, eight kinds of rasas, choreography, and direction), makeup, and virtually every aspect of the stagecraft. Therefore Natya Shastra is studied and researched by scholars in dance as well as musicians because it is the only text that gives such detail about music and instruments of the period.

 

Founder of Kuchipudi Dance:

Artist's rendering of Sri Siddendra Yogi of 15th Century AD
Artist's rendering of Sri Siddendra Yogi of 15th Century AD

The dance traditions in Andhra can be traced to various sources from ancient times. Inscriptions and sculptures found during excavations in and surrounding areas of Kuchipudi bear witness and provide extensive examples of the dance prevalent during ancient times. Throughout the rise and fall of powers and constant invasions by foreign forces, scholars in Kuchipudi noted that feudalism was inducing some individuals were exploiting dance through over exaggeration and deviation from the original nature of this art form. During early 15th century, Sri Siddendra Yogi took oath to save this art form and dedicated his life to its cause. He took a decision to train a core group of Brahmin male dancers, “Kuchelas”, who dedicated their life for the cause of saving the art form and would work towards promoting the art in its original form. As this group of Kuchelas was isolated from the rest of the villagers, their new home was called Kuchelapuram (that later became the village of Kuchipudi) and the dance was eventually named after the new village. The first documented evidence of Kuchipudi male dancers’ performance was recorded in 1502 A.D. where they performed in front of Veeranarasimha Rayalu of Vijayanagara Empire and depicted the misdeeds and corrupt rule of Sammeta Guravaraju, Siddavatam ruler.

Thus, Kuchipudi dance was pioneered by Siddhendra Yogi, dating back to 15th century, as an outstanding contribution in preserving and enriching Indian Dance and Culture. This architect of Kuchipudi dance initiated the local boys to learn and perform his brainchild Bhama Kalapam – an aesthetic, descriptive and dramatic dance expression referred as Prabandha Nartanam. These artists then formed into groups called Bhagavata Melalu or Bhagavathulu of Kuchipudi, and traveled widely to propagate the spiritual aspect of their mission through this dance form. Their performance at temple premises, royal courts and cultural centers, won the hearts of kings, scholars and the common people. The Nawab of Golconda, Habul Hussan Qutub Tanisha, moved by the performance, gifted the village of Kuchipudi and made it a cultural center to pursue the art with peace and harmony. Even today, artists and scholars living there continue the age-old tradition and pass the knowledge to present and future generations.

According to the tradition, Kuchipudi dance was performed only by Brahmin men until recently. A new tradition was introduced by one of the great gurus in the 20th century, Sri Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry, who started training women and included them in performances such as Gollakalapam. Over the past few decades, this transformation sparked interest in many women to pursue this art form. Modern dance groups primarily comprise of women. Kuchipudi dance groups today are broadly classified in to two groups.

  1. Natyamelamu consists of a group of actors (males) performing Kuchipudi dance drama.
  2. Nattuvamelamu is a tradition of dance performed by woman artistes. This tradition had two sections, those who performed at the royal courts and those who performed in temples.