Giving a new lease of life to Kuchipudi
RANEE KUMAR
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Vempati Chinna Satyam has taken upon himself to make Kuchipudi an exclusive place on the atlas of performing arts.
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Original documents pertaining to the partition of the village during the Portuguese regime in 1763 are being embossed in a bronze plate
IMMORTAL The bronze statue of Siddhendra Yogi, the creator of Kuchipudi.
The distinctively Telugu classical dance division can now look forward to a glorious future if the happenings in the couple of years are anything to go by. It is a relief to note that a noble artiste has decided, albeit a little late, in the twilight of his life, to revive, recharge and reawaken the past glory of the once renowned Kuchipudi.
Hailing from one of the artistes families of this village, inhabited by a sect of Brahmins who lived by dance and thrived through dance, whose surnames in days to come symbolised dance, Vempati Chinna Satyam has taken upon himself this arduous task of making this little hamlet in the heart of
Andhra map out an exclusive place on the atlas of performing arts.
The beginning has already been made, says Venkat Vempati, son of the doyen Chinna Satyam. "It was rather a hurried beginning then, with little time and wherewithal on hand to handle a mega event. We were advised to plan and disseminate information about the fest much in advance so that artistes abroad as well as in other parts of the country, art lovers, historians can make it to the place of happening," says Venkat Vempati, director of Kuchipudi Art Academy, one of the joint organisers of Siddhendra Yogi Mahotsav 2007 at Kuchipudi.
"My father and guru Vempati Chinna Satyam's dream for decades — to showcase his native hamlet whose only claim to fame is the unique dance form called Kuchipudi. This rich cultural heritage was being confined to the precincts of that little belt in Krishna district that boasts of an ancestry of male dancers community now dwindling for want of recognition and resources.
But for a few dance schools in the village run more by missionary zeal of elders such as Vendantam Satyanarayana Sarma, Pasumarty Kesav Prasad and the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, there is no exposure to the outside world about the greatness of the village and its historical importance in the world of Indian classical dance,'' he says ruefully.
With a host of sponsors, the State Government notwithstanding, the pathway to the Mahotsav has been laid at last. "There is a lot more to be done but then we want to open a platform for dance on a national and global level by organising an annual festival with workshops, competitions, photo exhibitions, relics display and such others to call for participation from outside the State. The village is being beautified with bronze statues of erstwhile gurus who had made significant contributions to the Kuchipudi genre in their own inimitable style. An aesthetic gateway engraved with dance mudras will be erected at the entrance to the village proclaiming its artistic ancestry. A seven feet bronze statue of Siddhendra Yogi, the creator of this dance form will greet the visitor on the threshold of Kuchipudi — a gentle reminder of the antiquity of the village. This apart, original documents pertaining to the partition of the village during the Portuguese regime in 1763, the `Kaifiat' of the Golconda Sultan gifting the village to the community of Brahmin dancers and such are being embossed in a bronze plate and put up on a pillar as monuments.
The week long festival from February 26 will feature eight classical dance forms from across the country and overseas along with varied forms of Kuchipudi. Morning sessions will be devoted to seminars by scholars on various regional texts and their interpretations, inter-active sessions, subject-specific academic discussions and so on.
Resources and collaborated efforts to lend a more structured format to the festival is on not to mention comfortable accommodation and food to the visitors, assures Venkat. (Contact Venkat Vempati on- 044-24937260/09840077376 or Pasurmarty Keshav Prasad-Kuchipudi on 09949618846 / 08671 252672)
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