tiruchitrambalam

2011-10-13T03:42:00.001-07:00

Performance of Religion

This paper discusses the performance of Religion and the theatricality involved in it. A case study based on Anand Patwardhan’s documentary, ‘In the name of God’, would be used to illustrate the performance of Religion in an Indian context. ‘Performance’ is viewed as the display of human behavior in everyday life, in social situations to create a desired effect, a theme discussed by Erving Goffman in his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

In studying performance, the performance of Race, Gender and Disability are often discussed. These are various identities that are attributed to an individual either from birth or later. These identities are personal to the individual; they make the individual distinct from others. The distinction is perceptible in the physical appearance of the person. It is usually irreversible. (However the same can’t be said in the case of Gender and Disability).

While race, gender and sex are more or less fixed identities which an individual is born with, religion is something that has been bestowed upon her by the society. It is nevertheless an identity which has been fixed on the individual by birth, but not necessarily discernable immediately through physical attributes of the person. (In certain cases like Judaism and Islam where Male circumcision is a religious commandment, it gets integrated into the physicality of the person, but yet not discernible by mere appearance).

The need to belong or to be aggregated to a particular identity group, be it race, gender, sex, religion, caste has been a natural instinct for human beings. Even if the classification is obvious, each group adds rules and regulation to its core to make the boundaries of identity denser. The classic case of gender roles, where Butler defines gender as a stylized repetition of acts reifies this. . (Bial,Henry,Ed. The Performance Studies Reader-Butler.2nd ed. Routledge. Newyork.2007). Even if it might be obvious by physical appearance, codes of performance gets associated to the identity to make the distinction clearer. Sitting in an appropriate manner, saying the right things in the right manner, dressing, eating and walking in a desired fashion etc are codes laid out for a female in order to be aggregated into the group of women. The case gets stronger if the identity is not obvious by visual appearance. There would raise a need to perform the difference or dramatize the difference to establish the belonging to that identity group or to distinguish oneself from other groups. Thus in the case of religion when the identity categories are not obvious by mere appearance, the individual might adorn herself with signs that would associate her to the particular religious group.

In this context, everything the individual adorns is tantamount to a costume, worn to produce the desired effect. Two things are necessary here, one, the individual’s intent to create the effect and secondly, an audience for the performance. This could be compared to the performance or theatricality built around transgender identities. They would have to engage in an elaborate convincing act as the differences are not noticeable through appearance. Dykes with objects or attributes as motorcycles, cummerbund, wingtips, money, pronounced biceps, and extreme chivalry might be elaborately ‘performing’ their identity compared to straight women with motor cycles, cummerbund and biceps, the difference here is the audience and the intent of the performer. (Solomon, Not Just a Passing Fancy, lecture at Rutgers Univ, .ed Village Voice, April 1993).The intent of the performer and the audience are closely interdependent that one makes no relevance without the other.

One notices a similar thread in the performance of religion. Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs and practices that is agreed to and acted upon by a set of individuals. Erving Goffman introduces the term “Performance team” or “team” to individuals who cooperate in staging a particular routine. (Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. ed. Anchor Book, 1959) The citizenship to this religious team is primarily through birth but one can be integrated into it by swearing allegiance to the code of conduct of the team. Once included into the team, the individual enjoys the rights and privileges of the team but at the same time gets penalized for irreverence to the code of conduct or the laws of the religion. Religious performance is thus governed by these laws.

The intent of the performer and the presence of an audience play an important role in the manner in which this performance is executed. The intent of the performer of religion is driven by the need to be integrated. The audience could be people outside the individual’s team; the performance is directed in this case, to establish the difference in identity. The audience could also be people of the same team as the individual; the performance in that case would then be directed towards retaining acceptance and approval from the team members. People, who are otherwise not conscious of their religious allegiance, might make an elaborate effort to appear pious when inside their respective religious institution, be it a Church, Mosque, Gurudwara or Temple. People dress, greet, walk, sit, talk, pray in a self conscious manner inside a religious place to conform, to be approved and accepted by the larger team. The third kind of audience to this performance could be the self. The self act as her own audience and executes the performance. This again is due to various reasons. “God is omnipresent and is watching one’s actions”, is a self disciplining tool used by religious heads to ensure adherence to code of conduct even without supervision. In certain religions like Hinduism where idol worship is at the core of religious rituals, an image of God could elicit the desired code of conduct. In religions which believe in rebirth and afterlife, this kind of religious policing is carried on effectively in absentia. The prospect of getting punished in the life after death for sins or misdeeds committed in one’s present life keeps the religious performance as stipulated by the laws of the religion. While all of the above are cynical instances of the performance of religion, there could also be more sincere ones. (Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. ed. Anchor Book, 1959).Certain individuals may find reaffirmation of faith and peace thereof in adhering to the elaborate norms of the religion. Here the intent of the performer would not be governed by fear of seclusion but a willing submission.

The next question that arises is who fixes these codes of conduct, who fixes these performance routines? These routines are in sum a man-made phenomenon; made to secure one’s identity, to toughen the exit and entry barriers out of and into the religion respectively. However some of these man-made routines are safely coded in texts and scriptures giving it a garb of authenticity and unquestionability. Thus one of the factors that can be easily attributed to these elaborate costumes and performance routines could be the age of the religion. As the religion gets older, the rules get more complex. These man-made customs get denser as every new generation adds its contribution to the pre existing norm. A religion like Hinduism whose origin is still unaccounted for, has more elaborate rituals, paraphernalia, costume, hymns, songs, settings attached to it than a more recent religion like Christianity or Sikhism. The four Vedas, considered the mother document of Hinduism, is debated to be as old as 3000-6000BC. The plethora of documents or scriptures following the Vedas like ‘Manusmrithi’ which plainly lays down the rules of engagement to attain salvation, to epics which describe the lives of ancestors and as a result sets standards for the subsequent generations, all contribute in inconceivable ways to this routine of performance. (Damodaran, The Story of India. Mumbai: Sahayog,1997) In religions like Hinduism, the performance is so complex and intrinsic that over 2000 ethnic groups comprised within Hinduism have their unique set of costumes, rituals and routine in order to distinguish themselves from other sub groups of Hinduism. They however still get under the umbrella of the religion and don’t defect from it. The religions born out of Hinduism would be Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism to name a few, but definitely does not justify the diverse sub groups that attach themselves to it. We could find this layering of performance even in various believers of Christ, being Pentecost, Mormons, and Lutherans with their unique approach to worship.

Now why wouldn’t these subgroups defect from the parent religion and form their own religion? What is the need to attach themselves to a parent organization? Few of the reasons could be that the subgroup did not find a leader to lead them to form a new religion; the differences do not warrant forming a completely new religion; the number of people in the subgroup does not justify the formation of a whole new religion. ‘Number’ is an important word here; it translates into Majority, Power, and Politics. As the number increases, the voice gets louder, the privileges get higher. On the contrary, smaller the group, issues are abundant.

Marginalization is a recurring issue with the discussion of identities. The study of race, gender, sex and disability gets new meaning in the light of marginalization. Problems of a small group of people when institutionalized get converted into an issue called marginalization. How does this institutionalization occur? The phrase "the personal is political" which first was introduced during the women’s movement of the 1960s gains significance here. There was an assumption that each individual’s plight was personal and of their own making. Through consciousness raising groups, women in society discovered that their situations in marriage, child-rearing, sex, work, culture, even language were not unique but similar, and that the cause of their suffering was not themselves but something systemic and political called sexism or patriarchy. Thus the term "the personal is political," explains that people’s personal lives were not just a matter of personal preferences and choices, but were molded, and defined by the broader political and social setting. The key thing for each individual to be concerned with in being political is, then, to be personal in the "correct" way. Dress right, eat right, talk right, look right, consume right, so that one is the best person, politically, that one can hope to be.

Thus what needed to be addressed to win better circumstances were primarily people’s personal choices. If there were more people expressing these choices the winning is made easier. Thus if people with the same problem get together, the political power or voice they attract would be large enough to win a situation. An important twist or corollary to this statement is a political party or power in order to win, can also mobilize this homogeneous group to further their political agenda. In Anand Patwardhan’s documentary ‘In the name of God’, this corollary is highlighted. The setting of the documentary is in India, the political party in power is Bharatiya Janata Party and the group they are mobilizing to achieve their personal political agenda is the nation’s majority of Hindus who form more than 80% of the country’s population. Performance of religion is taken to new heights when backed by a political agenda. The religious performance achieves the status of theatricality.

In addition to religious routines and performances being fixed by scriptures and religious heads, the film makes one understand the influence of politics in fixing these religious routines and performances. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is one of the five important national parties in the multi party political system of India. It projects itself as a champion of the socio-religious cultural values of the country's Hindu majority. Its constituency is strengthened by the broad umbrella of Hindu nationalist organizations, informally known as the Sangh Parivar (League of Indian nationalist organizations). The ideological rallying cry of the BJP is Hindutva, literally "Hinduness," or cultural Hindu nationalism. The documentary traces the campaign waged by Hindu Nationalist organizations led by Mr. L K Advani, to destroy a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya said to have been built by Babar, the first Mughal Emperor of India. The Nationalist organizations claim that the mosque was built at the birth site of the Hindu God Ram, after Babar razed an existing Ram temple. The nationalist organizations are determined to destroy this mosque and build a temple for Hindu God Ram in its place. From a performance point of view, this film offers ample scope in understanding the religious theatricalities and performance, political organizations employ in the name of God, to arouse public sentiment and garner mass support.

The documentary begins with L K Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party leading a procession of over 50,000 Hindu volunteers or ‘Karsevaks’ in a Toyota SUV decorated like a religious Hindu Chariot, called a ‘Rath’. The procession has been publicized as the ‘Rath Yatra’ or the odyssey on the chariot. The ideology behind the whole event is ‘Hindutva’ or Hinduness. On the chariot are karsevaks getting elaborately dressed for the procession in saffron colored turbans and clothing. Saffron is positioned in the minds of the people repeatedly as the color of Hinduism. Common people dressed like God Ram are also on the truck, as part of the procession. God Ram is a mythical Hindu King elevated to the status of God. His body is believed to have been of the color blue and often pictured with a bow and arrow. This God Ram wannabe, likewise had colored himself blue, adorned a crown and was carrying the bow and arrow symbolic of God Ram. There were older men already dressed in saffron garbs singing songs from a piece of paper, written exclusively for the purpose of the Rath Yatra.

The Webster dictionary describes Theatricality to mean the following:

of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays
marked by pretense or artificiality of emotion
marked by extravagant display or exhibitionism

A Toyota SUV camouflaged as a Rath or chariot, actual people dressed like Gods smeared in artificial color, singing of songs with altercations charged against the Muslim emperor, Babar; coining new terms such as ‘Karsevaks’, ‘Rath Yatra’, ‘Hindutva’ to create heightened solidarity; an exhibition of the saffron color in the form of head bands, flags, scarves, cloaks; all point in the direction of a theatrical performance employed towards a political end. The intent of the performers in this spectacle is difficult to ascertain though.

“The performers put on their show in order to make the audience implicitly believe that the characters they see actually possess the attributes and the tasks they perform will have the consequences that are implicitly claimed for it, thus the performer puts on the show for the “benefit of other people”. It will be convenient to begin a consideration of performances by turning the question around and looking at the individual’s own belief in the impression of reality that he attempts to engender in those among whom he finds himself” – Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

This statement by Goffman makes one think of the belief these performers have in the part they are playing. The politicians on one hand perform their role with an end of gaining political mileage, mind share and ultimately to use the theatrical effect of the performance they are orchestrating, in securing their place of power in the Government. Their role or performance could be termed as what Goffman calls “Cynical”, the performers experiences a gleeful aggression from the fact that he can toy at will with something his audience take seriously. (Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. ed. Anchor Book, 1959) The documentary also shows several truck loads of people participating in the Rath yatra, adorned with swords and saffron colored head bands. On further investigation of similar rallies it could be inferred that many of these performers agree to being cast in similar performances for a consideration promised to them by the Political party. The political party pays these performers and in turn uses them to show case mass support. Thus these performers can again be termed as “cynical” playing their part for a private gain. In retrospect it could be said that irrespective of the intent of the different performers, it produced the desired impact in the audience who voted BJP into power with a wide majority in the next state and national election.

The documentary also reveals a layering of this religious performance with another kind of identity. India was under the British rule since the early seventeenth century to as late as 1947. The British have been successful in establishing their superiority as a race in the minds of the people. To this date lighter skin and fluency of the English language are considered superior attributes amongst Indians themselves. The play of this performance is also seen when one of the participants in the Yatra is interviewed by the director. He is seen riding a bicycle as part of this procession wearing a saffron head band with a saffron flag fixed to his cycle. In this brief interview he swears allegiance to the Rath Yatra and vows to break the mosque to uphold Hinduness or ‘Hindutva’. The interesting aspect of this interview is the interviewee’s insistence on replying in English for every question asked in Hindi. He perfectly understands the question and for almost five questions asked to him, he replies in English. One might also notice that he isn’t necessarily fluent with the English language, but tries to cover the fact with his demeanor. The expressiveness of the individual according to Goffman appears to involve two different kinds of sign activity: the expression that he ‘gives’ and the expression that he ‘gives off’. (Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. ed. Anchor Book, 1959).The camera being focused on him makes him apparently self conscious and the interviewee stages a true performance and deliberately tries to ‘give’ an impression for the record. However his lack of fluency of the language, his demeanor and apparent self conscious ‘gives off’ his elaborate effort to create the intended effect. Thus in spite of the individual’s efforts, his performance of religion is layered with his strong intent to project a superior image, attributed to the knowledge of the English language.

The documentary also highlights the impact of this religious-political performance when interwoven with class differences. More than 27.5% of India’s population lives below the poverty line. India’s homeless population stands at around 78 Million or approximately 7.5%. (InfochangeIndia, http://www.infochangeindia.org/kids/news)Even though this is a huge number, these numbers don’t count in this theatricality staged in the name of God. These numbers don’t count as they cannot vote or cannot make a difference to the political agenda. The corollary is also true. Regardless of the extent of theatricality displayed in the name of God and religion by the political party, it makes no effect in members of the audience who do not get directly or indirectly benefited by it. A homeless woman interviewed in the documentary complains about her miserable plight and alleges that the politicians do nothing to improve her situation or that of poor people. The overpowering festivities and sensation around her created by the Rath Yatra have no impact on her. She brushes the event as being yet another political discourse which makes no difference to uneducated poor people like her. This woman also wants to be heard like the previous interviewer but her attitude is of complete indifference. This is a case of a performance being infelicitous, a term borrowed from J L Austin to describe things that can go wrong on the occasion of such performance. She was a cynical audience member and the performance was infelicitous as it did not create the intended impact in her. Ironically, in spite of being uneducated she was prudent to discern that the theatricality was a mere political gimmick and would serve no societal purpose.

Performance of religion by itself is a vast and intricate field of study. This layered with politics gets more theatrical and denser. Religion is a powerful tool used effectively by heads of state to direct hate crimes. The name ‘Hinduism’ was coined by British after colonizing India, to create a sense of belonging amongst Hindus and use that sense to create animosity towards other religions. Anand Patwardhan’s documentary In the name of God has won critical acclaim all over the world including Switzerland, Japan and India. The documentary succinctly brings out the extent of theatricality deployed in the name of religion by political parties to achieve their ulterior goals. The extent of life and material damage created due to this heightened theatricality makes one realize the might of religion. It is not an Indian phenomenon. ‘Jihad’ is an Islamic term, meaning “to struggle” or “to strive” and considered a duty of Muslims. ‘Insha Allah’ is an Islamic coinage to denote “If it is the will of God”. These terms have been distorted from their original meaning and today are tantamount to being war cries. Studying the performance of religion and its political manifestation would definitely contribute to social awareness and collective action.

Bibliography

Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. ed. Anchor Book, 1959
In the Name of God. Dir. Anand Patwardhan.1991
Solomon, Not Just a Passing Fancy, lecture at Rutgers Univ, .ed Village Voice, April
InfochangeIndia, http://www.infochangeindia.org/kids/news
Austin, How to do things with words. Ed..J.O. Urmson and Sbisa. 2nd ed. Harvard University Press, MA
Bial,Henry,ed. The Performance Studies Reader-2nd ed. Routledge. Newyork.2007
Damodaran, The Story of India. Mumbai: Sahayog,1997

2011-09-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

Reflections on learning

When I sit in my Leap writing class I cannot help but think about how closely Indian classical dance is related to writing. There is always a story or message that an Indian classical dancer strives to convey. Natyasastra, the most important book for all Indian fine arts defines the end purpose of any art as “Rasa.” Rasa is achieved if the artist succeeds in transferring the sentiment behind his or her work to the audience. To elaborate, if the artist has a humorous plot and she conveys it to her audience prompting them to laugh, she is said to have created Rasa. This is true for any art, be it dance or writing. A writer uses creative and rhetoric tools to impress upon the audience her sentiment. Her tone, register, diction are carefully chosen keeping this sentiment in mind. Similarly, an Indian classical dancer uses her eyes, facial muscles, body and fingers to elaborate on a central theme. In writing, it is important for the writer to adhere to a predominant voice throughout the piece. In Martin Luther King’s speech, I felt passion and emotion as his predominant voice; on the other hand I felt, Zadie Smith adopted a voice of reason (though condescending). King used dramatic imagery and metaphors to convey his voice; Smith used ridicule, expert opinion amongst other techniques to convey her voice. This predominant voice is called “Sthayi Bhava” or dominant mood according to the Natya Sastra. If the dancer is portraying a jealous lover, then through out the piece she would adorn this persona which would manifest itself in her actions, looks, gait and attitude. A writer uses rhetorical tools like wit, ridicule, repetition etc, to persuade the audience to appreciate his or her sentiment. An Indian classical dancer also uses several approaches like role play, humor and repetition to elaborate and convey her plot. These rhetorics that the dancer uses are called as vyabachari bhavas or transient moods. Dr. Kanak Rele in her book Bhava Niroopanna states that, “ Vyabachari bhavas spring from or assist the basic mental state i.e. the sthayi bhava.”

The similarity I noticed did not stop with rhetorical usage or Vyabachari bhavas to convey the voice or sthaayi bhava but also in the approach towards structuring this writing. While giving form to the powerful content the writer has to keep in mind techniques like transitioning from one thought process to another, proving a claim and progressing from the introduction towards the conclusion in a smooth manner, all exercised with a singular intent of retaining the reader’s interest through out the piece. We use a similar technique in Indian classical dance too. In a quintessential piece of the Bharatnatyam (a form of Indian classical dance) repertoire called ‘netrandhi neratile...’, the heroine starts with questioning her lover about his illicit meeting with his mistress, she then reminisces with him the memorable moments they have had together and then finally appeals to him to come back to her. When I choreograph this piece, I always pay attention to the transition between the moods that the heroine goes through. I substantiate her transitions with actions or role play that justify the transitions and finally I conclude the piece showing a logical progression in attitude.

I was thrilled to notice that writing and dance used similar techniques and methods to convey a message. I am someone who believes that one needs to step out of one’s comfort zone to achieve greater heights. This writing course taught me to understand and appreciate a medium of expression which is so similar yet so different from my dance. I love this feeling of discomfort and look forward to embracing this medium of expression, as I know that it would take me to my bigger goal of completing my graduate studies in performing arts.

2011-09-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Changing Face of Indian Classical Dance

Indian Classical Dance is rooted in its rich tradition. The content, especially emotive content, has been one of the prime factors to bind the art to tradition. This emotive content is derived from musical compositions the dancer performs to. These compositions have been penned by different composers, from 500 BC till last year (Kokkar 11) But irrespective of the era or the composer, the content predominantly dwells around two themes – one that is religious and the other that reflects a man’s perspective of a woman.

As all forms of Indian classical dance trace their origins to temples, their content revolved around religious themes. Once the temples lost their patronage, they could not maintain the upkeep of the dancers, who then turned to the local chieftains and landlords for support. The newer compositions added then were imbued with amorous overtones, an attempt to please the new patrons. All compositions were penned by men and performed by women, and the themes revolved around what a woman went through in her relationship with her male partner. In the name of tradition, Indian classical dance continues to dwell on these two themes exhaustively.

In the early 20th century the dominance of the “male gaze” and the strong religious content of Indian dance came under critical examination. (Kothari 13). Many dancers started questioning the repertoire and its content which did not keep pace with the social changes. Contemporary choreographers, with their unique creativity, and their varying external influences or exposure, started creating innovative work to address this lacuna in content. However, the experiments of the choreographers with the content drove some changes to the form itself. Thus, through a symbiotic process both form and content fostered an evolution of dance. As a dancer and choreographer myself, I believe that dance cannot be considered an artefact but an evolving entity; both in its form and content. However, given that artists also have a larger responsibility of being ambassadors for a culture, an inorganic shift both in form and content does question this cultural identity.

The starting point of any innovative effort stems from the choreographer’s share of exposure to the world and the influential factors in his or her life which prompts him or her to step out of tradition. One of India’s pioneers in modern dance, Uday Shankar, was born in India but moved to London to join his father at the impressionable age of twenty. (Massey 222,223,224). His stay in London exposed him to ballet. He brought elements of ballet, Indian dance (both folk and classical) and painting to his performances. He broke away from the classical pattern of adhering movement to the metrical cycle (Tala) and aligning emotion to the lyrical word (Sahitya) (Vatsayana 21). His creations brought forth change in both form and content triggered by his western influence.

Another stalwart figure in the history of contemporary dance was Dr. Manjushri Sircar. She was influenced by the compositions of Rabindranath Tagore, a poet and a Nobel Laureate. “The rich musical structure of Tagore’s compositions and the depth and subtlety of the imagery of his poetry needed expression in dynamic movements in a style far removed from the classical” claims Dr. Sircar (34). Dr. Sircar formed her own dance called Navanritya , where she imbibed the best from several forms of Indian classical dance including Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Manipuri (Sircar 40). Dr. Sircar’s Navanritya is a classic example of change in content effecting a change in form.

It is also noteworthy that some contemporary choreographers brought out a change in form which had an impact on traditional forms too. Contemporary choreographer Chandralekha was a feminist and social activist. Her ideas had an impact on her works. Her work brought out the superiority of the female energy. Her use of the male and female bodies unsettles the audience with its overt physicality; however it provokes the audience to feel closer to their bodies thereby recuperating their inner energies. This is the sentiment Chandralekha sought to achieve with her creations. Chandralekha used Bharatnatyam dancers to do yoga, dance and martial artists interchangeably in her works. Slow but energized lunges, kicks, stretches and leaps characterized her creative work (Sharira). She retained the purity of the Bharatnatyam line and set it in relation to allied body disciplines like yoga and martial arts (Chandralekha 57).

The form and structure of Indian classical dance in the traditional setting has also undergone changes. Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s national academy for music, dance and drama identifies eight classical dance forms in India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_dance). The evidence of the existence of these Indian classical dance forms can be traced back to the Indian scriptures and temple architectures. The temples of India dating back to the first century AD have architectural evidence in the form of stone carvings and scultptures depicting dancing women in vivid poses or Karanas. However, a closer observation of these figures would reveal that over the years the form of the dance has gone through an organic progression. As Chandralekha points out in her essay ‘reflections on new directions in Indian dance’, “History of dance cannot be seperated from the history of various stages of society. The variations in dance are like variations in soil, climate, trees and vegetation.”

By comparing the temple figures with dancers from the last twenty five years, one can perceive a definite change in form. Fluid body lines have been replaced by angular positions; a relaxed pace of the dance has been sensationalized by speed and a minimal usage of space has been taken over by increased spatial coverage. An avid observer of the dance scene rightly describes his expectation from the artist as “I want the dancers to make love to time and space, I get enthralled to see clean geometric lines constructed by the body using the continum of time and space” . Sujata Vijayaraghavan, well known columnist, commented in her article in The Hindu, “In the past few years, Bharatanatyam, one of the most sophisticated and evolved dance forms, seems to have imperceptibly metamorphosed...Perhaps it all started with Chandralekha's ‘Angika,’ which brought back into focus the power, the energy and the lines of body movements in nritta (pure dance)” (Vijayaraghavan, Sujatha).

The form has been evolving either due to the influence of creative thinkers or changes in the audience’s aesthetic perception. The problem surfaces in viewing these forms in its rigid classical boundaries . Merging the synergies of the various Indian dance forms would set it free and packaging them thus would make the vocabulary rich and vast for contemporary dancers. Many contemporary choreographers like Anita Ratnam, Chandralekha synergized many Indian art forms to give creative expression to their ideas.

As a performer in the traditional setting, I have witnessed a gradual progression in the form of classical Indian dance during my performing career. However the question of content has intrigued me. When I shared my mental tribulations with other classical Indian dancers, I found out that I was not alone in my musings. “I enjoy dancing the items presented by the rich repertoire but feel the need to add to the repertoire with items of social relevance” argues Vidhya Subramaniam, Artistic Director of Lasya Dance Company, Cupertino, CA. She also adds, “The implicit faith we had in our teachers and the traditional family settings made it easy for us to identify with the themes of these items. However it does become challenging to pass on the feeling behind these pieces to a student far removed from this traditional setting.”

Ramaa Bharadvaj, the Director of Angahara Ensemble in California, is a dancer, teacher, choreographer and actress with over three decades of creative achievements. Her performances have been listed by Orange County Register as the Most Memorable World Dance event for three years: 1992, 1997 and 2000. In her interview with Nartaki online magazine she says, “There is so much material to draw from in our own tradition. They just need to be reinterpreted with a contemporary flair. For example, the story of Krishna lifting the Govardhana Mountain itself offers a significant environmental concept when Krishna says, “Why do you have to worship Indra? Worship the trees, the mountains, the cows.” But we have to also remember that history has progressed creating new stories as powerful as the mythological ones, complete with the miracles of man’s strength. We have to make room for their portrayal as well.”

Given this paradigm shift in thought, both among contemporary free thinkers and those following the traditional dance, the classical tenets of Indian dance are constantly placed under the microscope. While these changes in form and content are essential for any art form, I believe an inorganic shift in form might shake the identity of the dance itself. In 1993, the same question was raised in a choreography workshop organized by George Lechner, entitled “New Directions in Indian Dance,” and a debate ensued on what constitutes Contemporary Indian Dance (Coorlawala 168). When contemporary dancers address the issue of content using dance vocabularies far removed from the Indian culture, it makes one wonder whether the creation can be called Indian contemporary dance or would it suffice to call it just contemporary dance. Was the word “Indian” used only because the creator was an Indian? Dance, music, architecture and literature act as icons of a country’s culture. In today’s shrinking world, the societal boundaries are blurring but to lose one’s individuality would mean that we have nothing of ours to pass on to the next generation. If the form has evolved allowing for change, then do we need a seperate category of artists called “contemporary dancers?” Can this content be incorporated into main stream dancing itself?

As a performer and teacher, I have often wondered about my conviction in the content of the repertoire. Do I teach my students the same content passed to me by my teachers? How do I make them see sense in the mythological content and its occasional absurdity? As a teacher of an ancient art, I feel I hold both the responsibility of passing on the tradition and inspiring my students to think on their own. Indian classical dance has lived through several social changes; the performers and teachers have been adapting this art to the changing needs of the society. However, with the generations becoming shorter leading to rapid changes in the ideologies of today’s society [audience], a faster rate of adaptation would make the art more appealing to the current students of the art form: the future custodians of the art. These students are clearly a modest representation of the audience. I believe that they are driving the call for adaptation; the need to appeal to both the reason and aesthetics of the students is motivating teachers and performers to actively create avenues for further evolution in the art.

List of Works Cited

Kothari, Sunil. Introduction. New directions in Indian dance. Ed. Sunil Kothari Mumbai, India: Marg, 2003. 10-18.

Sunil Kothari is a dance historian, scholar and critic. In his introduction to the book, he has traces the history of Classical Indian dance. He logically analyzes the rigidity that has crept into the dance form over the ages. He sets the context for the rest of the book which is a compilation of essays from different people who have contributed to the evolution of Indian dance. He has drawn attention to important events like the East- West Dance Encounter conducted by George Lechner of Max Mueller Bavan in 1984 and significant contributors like Uday Shankar, Manjushri Sircar, Usha Coorlawala and Chandralekha in tracing the progress of Indian dance. He has however only brought out the evolution of dance in the contemporary realm and not in its traditional setting.

2. Chandralekha. “Refletions on new directions in Indian dance.” New Directions in Indian Dance. Ed. Sunil Kothari. Mumbai, India: Marg, 2003. 50- 58.

Chandralekha is an Indian classical dancer who used the idiom of Indian classical dance and aligned it with other Indian arts like Yoga and Martial arts to create a new dance language. She argues that the evolution of dance is closely related to evolution of societies across the world. She points out several archaic social values inbuilt in Indian dance and thus it becomes unresponsive to the dramatic social, historical, scientific human changes that have occurred around us. She feels it is important for dancers to understand the power of their basic form and explore its close links to other disciplines like martial art. This is a point that interests me as it was closely linked to my thesis. The most important part of the essay for me was her take on capitalizing on her training in a a classical dance form like Bharatnatyam but not get lost in its content. She feels one has to comprehend its inherent energy and see it in relation to other allied physical disciplines in India - like yoga, ancient martial arts and allied life activity with its investment in physical labor. However I feel she doesn’t talk about the emotive content of the dance form which is a very integral and differentiating aspect of the art form. She feels one has modernize tradition through a creative process.

3. Dr. Manjusri Chaki Sircar. “Tagore and modernization of dance.” New Directions in Indian Dance. Ed. Sunil Kothari. Mumbai, India: Marg, 2003. 32-45.

Dr. Sircar is an exponent of Modern Indian dance and formed her own version of Indian dance called Navanritya. She outlines Rabindranath Tagore’s strong impact on her and the entire dance field. She claims that lyrical content and emotive concepts are very unique to the Indian tradition and thus considers it misleading and immature to give it up for only pure dance movements, a step that my further encourage “cultural colonialism” by the west. She however confers that lyrical text is more of an aural support and the dance pieces could exist independent of text as well. I found her essay very useful in substantiating my premise of content influencing structural form and vice versa.

4. Subramaniam, Vidhya. Personal Interview. 25 April 2011.

Vidhya Subramaniam is the Artistic Director of Lasya School of Dance, Cupertino, Ca. She is a classical Indian dancer, instructor and choreographer. She is a senior to me in the field of Indian classical dance and her works display a good mix of traditional and contemporary thought. I have also read a few of her articles. I felt she might be able to offer a teacher and choreographer’s perspective to the future of Indian classical dance. She reaffirmed my personal dilema of teaching traditional content in its original sense to today’s students of classical dance. She showed conviction in the traditional art but also felt the need to add to the repertoire. She also added that younger audiences are more open to changes to content than the older ones who are more set in their ways. The interview with Vidhya was able to bring a more practical approach to my paper.

Vijayaraghavan, Sujata. “All leaps and Jumps.” Hindu: Web. 5 April 2011.

This article was written by Sujata Vijayaraghavan, a well known dance scholar and critic in The Hindu, a popular English newspaper in India. She points out the changes that are taking place in the basic form of traditional Indian dancing due to external influences. She argues that dancers are sensationalizing their dance with leaps, jumps and other idioms from contemporary dance forms. She observes the growing need of young as well as senior dancers and teachers to attract the audience with attempts at innovations to the form and structure of dance. Her article brought forth the influence contemporary Indian dances on one hand and the audience expectations on the other had on creating a change in the form of traditional Indian dances.

6. Massey, Reginald. India’s Dances: Their History, Technique and Repertoire. New Delhi, India: Abhinav, 2004. 222-224.

7. Vatsyayan, Kapila. “Modern dance: the contribution of Uday Shankar and his associates.” New Directions in Indian Dance. Ed. Sunil Kothari. Mumbai, India: Marg, 2003. 32-45.

8. Sharira. Dir. Chandralekha. Perf. Tishani Doshi and Shaji Lal. 30 Nov. 2009. Youtube. 25 April 2011.

9. Bharadwaj, Ramaa. Interview. Narthaki online magazine. Chennai, India : July.2002. Web. 26 April 2011 <http://www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrvw45.html>

10. Coorlawala, Uttara Asha. “Reinscribing “Indian” dance.” New Directions in Indian Dance. Ed. Sunil Kothari. Mumbai, India: Marg, 2003. 168-176.

Kokkar, Ashish Mohan. Bharatnatyam. New Delhi, India: Rupa & Co, 2002. 11-13.
"Indian Classical Dance." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 April 2011. Web. 25 April 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_dance>

2009-03-18T22:54:00.001-07:00

Being a self thinking woman first and a teacher second I find it a challenge to pass on the dance repertoire to the next generation in the same fashion as it has been offered to me by my Gurus. Broadly speaking the dance repertoire can be classified into two broad offerings, one, based on religious devotion to God or Bakthi and the other dwells on love. Let’s take the former, Bakthi or religious sentiment towards God. As most krithis or songs are composed on Hindu Lords it does become a challenge to take these dance pieces to people of different origins. The art form comes bundled with a free sample of religion. With borders blurring all over the world a strong religious sentiment does distance the art form and reduce its accessibility. Rather than being available to all, it does acquire a ‘classic’ (read rigid) status. Taking a step back and addressing the repertoire challenge at the home front. “Why does Lord Muruga have two wives?” “How can Lord Krishna be blue in color, is he bloodshot?” “How can Lord Ganesha travel around on a mouse?”I didn’t have convincing answers when young shriya asked me these prudent questions while I was teaching her few items from the dance repertoire. Listening to these stories when your mother or grandmother tells them is one thing; it is completely another thing expressing it through dance. One has to believe in them to express the meaning of these pieces as the poet construed it to be. One does face a challenge when the pieces are either morally or practically adverse.
The next is the theme of love or singara. For hundreds of years, it seems poets and painters remained pre-occupied with this theme, subtly and with feeling: exploring psychological states, establishing attitudes. Whole texts - many in Sanskrit, others in Hindi, still more in regional languages, were devoted almost exclusively to the subject. Initially danced by Devadasis, the dance numbers were penned always with the woman as the protagonist. Eight predominant states of mind were classified being ashta vida Nayikas. Briefly listing few of them, Vasakasajja is the one who waits, with the bed and herself daintily prepared for the arrival of her lover, Abhisarika is the one who sets out in the middle of the night to meet her lover at an appointed place, Vipralabdha is, however, the nayika whose love remains unrequited , Proshitapatika, she whose husband/lover has gone away on some journey, Khandita is the angry one venting upon him all the wrath of the betrayed one. Kalahantarita, however, is the heroine who is struck by remorse after having quarreled with her lover
Let’s take a step back and look at the ethos behind the origin of these dance numbers. It was an accepted social custom for a high society male to be married to his wife yet have a Devadasi as a ‘social companion’. It was believed that the Devadasis being trained in music, dance and worldly matters brought the much needed intellectual companionship to these men. Thus in a highly male dominated society, married women were taught to accept this need for intellectual companionship as a societal norm. Husband, wife and the ‘other woman’ was an accepted fact. However, even though accepted at one level, it did not escape its share of brickbats from the wedded wife. Stepping back into the repertoire, we see that most of the popular dance numbers dwelled around the man, woman and the ‘other woman’. There seems to be a very low social status attached to women in these dance pieces. It is interesting to note that even though the Devadasis were the ones showcasing and performing the pieces in front of the audience, these pieces were penned by male lyricists. Thus the Devadasis were merely acting out the ‘female point of view’ of male lyricists.
Now this is a delicate equation to explain to a young teenage student and also self deprecating of our custom when taught to a non Indian. It is difficult to make a probing mind understand the lopsided social conventions hundred years back and expect them to enact or bring out the singara or love, Viraha or separation in these pieces. The pining, longing, seeking of the illustrious male seem to be portrayed in all these pieces. “How come the men don’t seem to pine for their women?” another logical question from another young student definitely makes me share their bewilderment. The rationale of these pieces seem absurd to the current generation who are sometimes appalled by the tolerance of these heroines and many a times aren’t able to empathize with them.
Maybe foreseeing this predicament Rukumini Devi Arundale, founder of one of the premiere educational institution for dance and music had cleansed the dance repertoire of all its singara and transformed it into Bakthi or devotion to God. Singara is known to be the queen of all emotions. The basic stayi Bava or predominant expression of Singaram has the unique ability to transgress into other moods such as anger, surprise, jealousy etc in its portrayal yet seamlessly find its way back into singara. Singaram being a personal favorite, it is difficult for me to not introduce it in my dance numbers. So the issue is not with the rasa but the compositions that use this rasa, the dance numbers are written for a different audience and we are in a different setting now. Popular dance javalis like Indendu vachitivira in Surutii, Adhuvum solluvaal in sourashtram, Netrandhi nerathile in Huseni, Ariven Aiya in atana, vagalaadi bodanache in Behag, Parulanna maata in kapi, all work under the background of the man, wife and the ‘other woman’.
Having said all this I would also lay down a caveat that I completely enjoy dancing these numbers, in fact the humor and wit in these pieces make them one of my favorite. However passing on or explaining the moral standards established in these pieces to both Indian and non Indian students, is the challenge in front of teachers like me. I did not ask my teacher these questions even though I might have had them in my head, going forward one can’t expect such implicit obedience.
Every challenge comes with its set of solutions. The repertoire is no exception. It is true that the traditional repertoire even though widely performed has attained the ‘classical’ status. However as the old adage goes – Necessity is the mother of Inventions. Thematic presentations are one such solution and are becoming more popular. Several performers venture into generic themes and social issues rather than adopt a religious tone. Performance about nature, human struggles and triumphs seem to be attracting rasikas. Rather than picking random songs both on love and religion, weaving these songs around a purpose or theme seem more meaningful to both today’s performers as well as viewers. Many performers are researching and building their own repertoire of dance numbers that are more appealing to the current generation. ‘Nirantara’ by veterans like C V Chandrasekar, ‘Kaavya’ by new dance sensation Mythili Prakash, speaks volumes of how the challenge of the repertoire has been handled by people from both the current and the older generation. Thus for every challenge art has been posed with the same artisitc creativity comes to the rescue and makes art live beyond time.

2006-03-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Krishna nee begane baaro...

2006-03-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

Manjari, a magazine which is a sister concern of kalaimagal, follows the old school of thought...is edited by a person who hails from my native place and calls himself, Senkottai Sriram

2006-03-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

Amudha surabhi Inside story...

2006-03-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

Amudasurabhi, a very old magazine, edited by Tirupur Krishnan talks about Akhanda margam- Wrapper

2006-03-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

A newspaper called Vartha in telugu...

2006-03-08T21:26:00.001-08:00

...kalki interview page 2

2006-03-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

The first page of my Kalki interview...