SUNDAY 15 JANUARY 2012 | PAGES 8

USHA TURAGA REVELLI

The larger-than-life YSRstatue at the junction ofthese curving roads seemsto hold a posture that ismore elegant than that of

his usual striding-forward statues. Nowonder, since the curve leads into avillage that has grace as its leitmotifand the rhythm of anklets beatingalong with the heartbeats of each oneof its residents. A village that was thewellspring for magnificent art forms,home for generations of classical per-formers and a metonym for research,innovation and creativity in classicaldance and ballet forms. Kuchipudi vil-lage, the fountainhead of a dance thatit is named after.

At Kuchipudi in Krishna district ofAndhra Pradesh, a majority of theresidents belong to families that arenot just related to each other by mar-riage or kinship but also by a traditionthat they all shared across generations.It is said that there were 16 families inall - the Vedantam, Vempati, Pa-sumarthy, Tadepally, Chinta, Darbha,Yeleshwarapu, Bhagavatula, So-mayaajula, Mahankali families et al -that carried forward the traditionacross three centuries. They estab-lished a Guru Shishya Parampara anda Kuchipudi Yaksha Ganam traditionthat spanned across generations ofthese families. Some of the mastershave garnered individual fame, win-ning accolades nationally and interna-tionally. Some Gurus such asVedantam Raghavaiah, VempatiChina Satyam, Vedantam Satya-narayana Sharma gained iconic statusamong even the younger of the tribe.

The art form, at least the contem-porised version of it, has many takers,especially in urban centres and abroadand has been visible on many a plat-form, including some whimsical ex-travaganzas such as performing to getinto the Guinness book.

Yet, the glory does not seem to re-flect on the village. Kuchipudi re-mains a quaint village, a huge NatyaKalakshetra complex built by PottiSreeramulu Telugu University bang inthe middle of the village notwith-standing. To an onlooker, there ap-pears a panorama where masters inpenury seem to fade into retirementwhile the younger lot seems to bemaking forays into more rewardingwork areas.

“It is not true that the younger gen-eration has not learnt the art fromtheir elders. It is just that they are ei-ther on the fringes, choosing someother livelihood options or have goneoff into a commercially viable modeof Kuchipudi dance, often a far cryfrom the original,” says one of thesenior Gurus. “They can’t be fullyblamed because we seriously lack asupport mechanism here.”

That may sound strange consider-ing that the Telugu University has ex-clusively dedicated an institution tothe preservation and pro-motion of Kuchipudidance along witha hostel complexfor the residentstudents. But theNatya Kalakshetra seemsto be clearly under-utilised. Thevast spaces around the complex, themassive halls seem deserted. Lessthan half a dozen students seemto be around, casually practic-ing in corridors and on thepatio. “The University offersnumerous long-term and short-term courses but the studentsseem to consider the Kalak-shetra more as a quick-fix ve-hicle to clear the examsrather than as an abode toacquire erudition. So wehave dozens of them de-

scending on Kuchipudi just beforeexams. It’s a pity,” rues a facultymember.

Principal of Kalakshetra, DrVedantam Ramalingeswara Shastry, aprogeny of the venerated Vedantamfamily and himself a product of theKalakshetra denies that the institutionis redundant. “We provide the kind ofinfrastructure that only a Governmentbody can. Just look at the library andthe spaces. It is up to the students toutilise the services and knowledge thatwe have to offer,” he says.

Surely enough, there is no dip in thenumber of students seeking to learnthe celebrated and much-evolveddance form. And no dearth of recog-nition. Yet, there seems to be a gapand it is most evident in the way a fewGurus are pushed into the twilight of

the discipline, both socially andeconomically.

Sangeet Natak Akademiawardee Guru RattayyaSharma, a human encyclo-pedia on dance, cycles 15

km a day to teach stu-dents at another vil-lage, his meagersalary at the Kalak-shetra inadequate tosustain his livelihood.

The feet thatdanced with con-

summate ease are now used to thecycle pedal. Chinta Sriram Murthyteaches basic dance steps to toddlingkids at a temple in Pamarru, 12 kmaway.

Pasumarty Venkateswarulu, all ofhundred years old, reclines on a bro-ken chair in a dilapidated house, buthis memory of the glorious days ofKuchipudi Yaksha Ganam is far frombroken. He recites with astoundinggusto poems that he had once per-formed but is resigned to the contem-porary decline of the art form.“Nataraja himself was a dancer…sohow do we carbon date Kuchipudi? Itsurvived thus far…tomorrow will beanother day,” he says philosophically,drinking a glass of milk offered by hissixty-year-old daughter.

Kuchipudi is a village quite literallyat a crossroad, says Sudha Sridhar,who has been striving to documentthe vanishing traditions of YakshaGanam through Bangalore-basedPanchama Vedam Foundation.

The purists say, the traditional artform needs to be preserved in its ownform, to whatever extent possible. Theyounger generation says it needs to bebetter packaged so that Kuchipudidancers can be career professionals onpar with all other fields.

“The problem as far as the mastersare concerned is two-fold,” saysSudha. “There have been no social en-titlements, no incentives, no securitymeasures given by the Government.That is a pathetic situation. And theneach Guru is a treasure trove of tradi-tional knowledge yet there are fewchannels left either to document whatthey know or to pass them on toyounger ones, in the family or out-side.”

Telugu University is now expand-ing the Kala Kshetra building with fu-ture plans to build an auditorium.Apart from the Government’s effortsto promote Kuchipudi dance, therehave been some parallel efforts to ad-dress the various aspects pertaining tothe evolution of dance form and itssetting. While Panchama VedamFoundation is working on a genealogyand on documenting the tradition ofKuchipudi Yaksha Ganam, a team ofheritage architects - Vasanta Sobha,Uttara Valluri, Syed Aamer and Hus-sain – has been conducting a study todevelop a vision for Kuchipudi as acultural heritage centre.

“The vision document we arepreparing for the entire Kuchipudi re-gion has three parts. One is to assessthe architectural and communityneeds of the place, including perform-ance areas, archives and resource cen-tres. Second is the individual needs ofthe Gurus by way of housing and sup-port systems, both as a preceptor and

a resident. Some houses may bedeveloped as museums or into

learning centres for studentswho may want to follow the

gurukula system. Thethird is a larger cul-

tural tourism-her-i t a g epreservationperspective,”

explains the team. “The idea isto develop Kuchipudi as a her-itage centre, rather like AdyarKala Kshetra or Shanti Nike-tan. The aura of the villagehas to be preserved, show-casing it as a symbol of arich tradition,” Sudha Srid-har summarises.

There are effortsfrom within theartiste communityas well. Guru VempatiChinna Satyam hasplayed a crucial role inthe village dedicating hishome to a museum andbuilding an arch at theAgraharam entrance.Tadepalli Satya-narayana, a performerpar excellence, andVedantam Venkata Cha-lapathi, scions of the legendaryfamilies, have also been instru-mental in bringing the maestrostogether and garnering them anappropriate place in the galleryof fame. And, yet, it appearsmore effort is needed todovetail the knowledgethat the stalwarts cangive out before itis too late.And theonus prob-ably lies onthose whohave reachedheights of successas performers.

The walls of the danceclassrooms in Telugu University areadorned by photographs of masters ofanother era marked by the rhythmicnattuvangam and melodious music.

There is no doubt that the contem-porary practitioners of the art havedemonstrated sufficient respect to-wards their patriarchs. But, in a glob-alised world, where the line betweenfusion and erosion of the original isthin, what needs to be seen is how farthey can carry the torch in promotingthe glorious art form that gave theman unparalleled pedigree among allartistes.

Kuchipudi DancerDeepika Potarazu

A class for little kids in progress at a temple in Pamarru near Kuchipudi

www.thehansindia.com

Kuchipudi remains a quaint village, a huge Natya Kalakshetra complex built by Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University bang in the middle of the village notwithstanding. To an onlooker, there appears a panorama where masters in penury seem to fade into retirement while the younger lot seems to be makingforays into more rewarding work areas

Kuchipudi

Seventy-year-old Chinta SriramMurthy - Chinta Master as is he isreferred to by the students - is anicon of the Kuchipudi YakshaGaanam repertoire, enacting ekapatras with a speed and dictionthat can put a ‘Breathless’ toshame any day. With his youngerbrother’s death a year ago, Chintamaster is the only remainingartiste who played Pagati Vesha-gaallu or Hasyagallu, the mono-actor who played entertaininginterludes in the night-longKuchipudi Yaksha Gaanam per-formances. “My sons have learneddance but I could not teach my artto anyone else. Those costumes,that scripting, the multiple talentswe had are all soon going to be his-tory,” he laments.

Chinta Sriram Murthy

Dr Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma

Guru Vedantam RadheShyam, faculty member at

Telugu University, points out thatthe Telugu Talli statue on thepremises has a long plait – akin tothe legendary Satyabhama Jada.“This is Kuchipudi Talli, not justTelugu Talli,” he says with a twin-kle in his eye. And just a kilometreaway lives an artiste who immor-talised Satya Bhama for Teluguclassical dance aficionados fordecades. Padmasri Dr VedantamSatyanarayana Sarma, playing awoman with aplomb and grace,stole innumerable hearts as thegutsy wife of Krishna, whose defi-ance added spice to her femininity.The long plait displayed in BhamaKalapam has come to be recog-nised as the emblem of Kuchipudidance. Dr Vedantam, now past 80,has been a performing artiste un-like his contemporary Dr VempatiChina Satyam who trained count-less students in solo and balletforms of Kuchipudi. Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam

At Crossroads