A place of one's own
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The new academy at Kuchipudi village will hopefully bring the art form more recognition.
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Sri Sidhendra Kala Peetham at Kuchipudi village.
FOR LAURA from Italy, the drive to Kuchipudi through the lush green paddy fields was enlivening and exciting. This research scholar from the University of Bologno (oldest in Italy) is a regular visitor to the dance village as a part of her project study in theatre. "It's amazing to know that right from the gram `sarpanch' to the president to the priest every male in Kuchipudi is adept in classical dance as a matter of fact, though with times, some have been forced to diversify into other employment,'' says Laura as she recaptures pieces of dance demos being staged at the new dance academy.
New premises
It was heartening to see the renewed Siddendra Kalakshetra stand majestically in the four-acre plot that had originally housed a humble dance school. "This Rs. 56-lakh venture is just the beginning of renovating the entire place," says the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University vice-chancellor, Subhramanyam. "Another structure costing Rs. 59 lakhs e to the east of the main building is getting ready. The hostel accommodation is ready for inaugural this month. There are plans to dismantle the dilapidated auditorium and build a new one in its place,'' he says after his recent trip to Kuchipudi. The dance school will function under the university.
At the threshold of the Kalakshetra, the statue of Siddendra Yogi in an imposing yogic posture greets us. Flanked to his right and left are the wings of five large classrooms with no furniture whatsoever but a black board on the wall and a stage attached to it. A flight of stairs runs behind the statue leading to the first floor, which has the provision to expand in future. "At least a part of our dream has been realised. We owe it to the efforts of Justice Chalameswar of the A.P. High Court and the funding part to the members of Parliament from our state,'' says Y.K.D. Prasada Rao, former `sarpanch' of the village. Able gurus and scholars like Vendantam Radheshyam, Pasumarthy Rattaiah Sarma and Vedantam Ramalinga Sastri under the stewardship of Chinta Ramanadham impart practical and theoretical training to the students appearing for the eligible courses. "We envisage a bright future for the academy which is now in the nascent stage. The government and the university are visualising a full-fledged international dance institute with research facilities at Kuchipudi. Already we have visiting scholars from Australia, Italy and so on. This exclusive dance abode is fast becoming a favourite tourist spot as the Kuchipudi classical dance is one of the oldest dance forms in India,'' says the principal.
Multi-faceted training
"The boys learning dance are given a multifaceted approach which is a distinctive feature of the Kuchipudi Kalakshetra training. They are adept at percussion (mridangam), choreography, compositions and dance. There are three `mridangam' players and two teachers attached to the Kalakshetra as of now,'' says Ramalinga Sastri, a native learned authority on this genre. It was a pleasant surprise to find girls like Chandrakala and Yamini Yashoda Naidu (a post-graduation student) hailing from far off places staying in hostels simultaneously pursuing the diploma course at the Kalakshetra, all for the love of dance. Just as boys are trained to don female roles convincingly, girls are able to take up male characterisation with equal credibility.
"The oriental school in the village offers formal school education upto state SSC while the degree and post-graduation courses are available at Movva mandal, a stone's throw from Kuchipudi. There is no question of having to give up academics in order to pursue dance,'' says Y.K.D. Prasada Rao.
Despite detractors, this exclusive dance haven can boast of being the only one of its kind in the country that has come into existence by the dancers, for the dancers and of the dancers. For, if one goes back in history right from the 13th Century, the priestly community had taken to classical dance (`Bhaama Kalapam' and `Bhagavata mela') as the prime vocation and made this hamlet their home.
Aspiring students learning the nuances of Kuchipudi dance.
Touring troupes
A couple of centuries later, the last of the Golconda sultans, Abul Hassan Tanesha officially granted the village to the dancing community inhabiting it. "Once upon a time there were 500 families here who toured far and wide with their troupes. There were five prime melams (troupes) with 100 dancers in each. They went by the name of Melam of the principal dancer like Chinta Venkataramaiah (one among the trinity-father of Yakshagaanam) melam, Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastri and Vempati Venkata Narayana Sastri (all belonging to the late 19th Century) not to talk of Vedantam Rattaiah Sarma (1843-1888) the grand old sire," briefs Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, Padmasri.
Pointing out certain customs in the tradition, "there was always a stricture among our families ever since the beginning of this dance, that only men should learn and perform. So almost all men in the family (even today) are made to learn dance. Originally they were trained as `sutradarulu' (regulator) and used to impart the dance to `devadasis' (women temple dancers) who in turn performed. Once `Bhagavatha mela' gained in popularity, our own men impersonated as females would form mobile troupes and tour nearby villages for months together as a means of livelihood. Hence there is a taboo on women learning and performing in our families. We still adhere to this practice for most part with due regard to convention," says Satyanarayana Sarma who has won international accolades for his female roles like Usha (Usha Parinayam), Satyabhaama (Bhaama Kalaaapam).
The entire village is like a joint family with inter-marriages fortifying the bonds but not without its share of mild ruptures too as is wont. Some of the famous surnames that ring a bell even today are Chinta, Vedantam, Vempati, Pasumarthi, Bhagavatula, Yeleswarapu and Mahankali. "If our own late Vedantam Raghaviah brought a recognition to the Kuchipudi style of dance and made it acceptable in Chennai, Bandaaru Kanakalingeswara Rao brought this village to light. Vempati Chinna Satyam's contribution is simply stupendous. His is a saga of selfless sacrifice," says Prasada Rao pointing out to Vempati's humble abode close to the Bala Tripura Sundari (presiding deity) temple.
Modest attempts notwithstanding, Kuchipudi and its great gurus await the day when the Kalakshetra will turn into a national and international dance destination.
RANEE KUMAR
-- Photos: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar
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