Dr. Maha Gingrich
By Dr. Maha Gingrich
Now a days the word “influencers” is used in many ways. So many great people have influenced the way Indian classical dances are viewed by the world, without being called as “influencers.” They influenced survival, recognition, popularity, and styles of dancing. I could write a book on this as there are so many influencers and so many dance styles.
I would like to briefly recognize some artists and leaders for their contributions to the sustainability of one of the most popular art forms for thousands of years.
To start with, the dance form Bharatha Natyam, when presented in its purity, is one of the most subtle, sophisticated, and graceful dance forms in the world. This South Indian dance style is immensely popular in India and in many parts of the world including USA.
The preservation of this dance style began with great temple builders, the Cholas, who ruled India between the 9th and 13th centuries.
Dance poses abound in the grand temples like the Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjavur, the cluster of temples at Kanchipuram and Kumbhakonam, and Meenakshi temple at Madurai are some of the examples. The grand master of all temple architectures for this dance style is my favorite Nataraja temple at Chidambaram, in Tamil Nadu, where my dance journey began. All 108 dance Karanas or poses are engraved in the temple’s grand entrance doors. These carvings have been preserving the history of dances for ages and visually influencing the visitors.
This dance style flourished due to dancers and Gurus like Balasaraswati, Rukmini Devi, Kalanidhi Narayanan, Ram Gopal, Pillai family, Kamala Lakshman, Vyjayanthimala, Padma Subrahmanyam, Dhananjayan, C.V. Chandrasekhar and many more. These gurus have propagated this dance form to thousands of disciples across the world.
They performed these dance forms beautifully gaining admiration and instilling passion in many Indian and non-Indian students. This enabled the dance form to not only survive but to flourish all over the world.
On the other hand, the Kuchipudi dance form is perhaps the only tradition that takes its name from the village of its origin, Kuchipudi, located in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh.
This dance style would not have survived if not for the generosity of the Nawab of Golconda Fort in A.P., who was a Muslim. He presented the Kuchipudi village to Brahmins in order to maintain and influence the un-blemished art of Hindu puranic rituals and dance dramas.
Originating as a Natyamela (group of dancers) tradition, this form was initially practiced exclusively by a group of Vaidiki Brahmin men. The idea of men dressed up as females did not attract the general audiences. It was with this idea in view that the pioneer Vedantham Lakshminarayana Sastry also initiated women into this discipline.
Lakshminarayana Sastry has trained many talented disciples including Vedantham Jagannadha Sarma, Vempati Peda Satyam, Vempati Chinna Satyam, C.R. Acharyulu, and Ayyanki Thandava Krishna.
He also trained the temple dancers, including Duggirala Jagadamba of Mandapeta and Srirajitham. Non-Kuchipudi artists like T. Bala Saraswathi, Ramayya Pillai, Mylapore Gouri Amma and Tara Chowdary came to him for training in Abinaya. Even today over 400 plus families of this glorious art are living in the village of Kuchipudi to elevate and influence this cosmic dance form.
I must also write about Kathak, a North Indian classical dance form. We can imagine hearing hundreds of ghunghuroos or brass bells, as we envision subtle expressions and graceful hand movements of this dance.
Originally, only Brahmins had the responsibility of acquiring the knowledge and the privilege of disseminating that knowledge and influencing the public.
Their act of storytelling developed into a full-fledged art form, which came to be known by their function namely Kathak. It is believed that this community of Kathaks seems to have been in existence right from the Vedic times. Their influence that began back then is still in existence all over the world.
I must applaud Artist Par Excellence Padma Vibhushan, the late Pandit Birju Maharaj. His talent, dedication, vivacity, innovation was apparent in every dance performed by him and his students. Birju Maharaj was a descendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj.
Even in the early part of his career, he was part of cultural troupes sent abroad by the Government of India to represent India at various festivals. He had extensively toured all over the world including Russia, U.S.A, Japan, U.A.E., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Burma, and Sri Lanka for performances as well as educating and influencing his audiences.
I hope this article will help you remember the influencers who worked hard to propagate these thousands of years old traditional dance forms for us to cherish, appreciate and treasure. Many years of practice, grace, speed, versatility and complete mastery of the art are necessary to do full justice to these classical dance forms. I feel blessed as a dance teacher to positively influence the next generations here in the Carolinas to continue these traditions.
For questions or comments, contact Dr. Maha Gingrich via email at gingrichmaha@gmail.com.
