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| Pages:158 | Publisher: SSV Associates | Year: 1994 |
Let me direct the bluntly sarcastic opinion to a more pleasing view that such books do exist in classical arts and dance too! "Dr Vempati: A Maestro With A Mission - a book penned by Andavalli Satyanarayana and Pemmaraju Surya Rao as a tribute to Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam fits perfectly into the frame of what could be called the "Best capture of a journey".
The book is a superlative effort, if I am not exaggerating. When I picked it up from one of those old looking stores in Vijayawada, it felt that the whole world ticked me into the bargain. Be it the shop - an eternal heaven for book worms to breed in, or the antique looking book itself (justifying its publication dated 1994) or the rustic aura from the pages of the book or the wonderfully alluring photo of the maestro, there was no way I could leave it (In spite of it being a damaged copy with some pages going without print!).
The authors have done a commendable job in painstakingly collecting every minute detail of Dr. Vempati’s career. They have reason enough to admit of it indeed being a hard task because the man himself had no explicit records of all important milestones. The book traverses from the time Vempati Chinna Satyam leaves his Kuchipudi village to his rags to riches memoir of Chennai and to several makers and breakers of the story.I am not a Kuchipudi dancer and neither do I know if I would want to learn the art form. But I know for sure that this book should be read by every youngster, who dares to dream, strives to work hard and wants to achieve! It is something which will inspire and leave you to tred your path.
The book is a torch bearer for Dr. Satyam’s works. It gives a detailed account of each step of his career, the establishment of the Kuchipudi Art Academy, production of his ballets, training students into repute dancers, his tours and his contribution to bringing Kuchipudi to the pedestal that it stands today.All his ballet productions are discussed at length with the theme, story, artistes and orchestra involved and credits published with due emotions. This is where the authors and Vempati garu himself show their greatness in acknowledging and putting in records every name that has been associated with him. The same followed for all his tours abroad.
His umpteen disciples find prominent place in the book with all their individual achievements and their ongoing contributions to the art form. A stranger could at one glance of the book easily dissolve Dr. Vempati’s magnitude just by gauging the very names of his students!
Dr.Satyam’s long term association with his script writer Bhujangaraya Sharma and his music composer Sangeetha Rao is given the title ‘Trinity’ and celebrated for the sheer intelligence at work. While the book impresses with a host of rare photographs of his yesteryears, his sweep of awards and titles are only mentioned with utter humbleness.
Finally, descriptions of his kind self, testing times of his life, friends and foes, lending hands, testimonials et al provide an emotional garnish creating a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye! What one misses here though is a personal interview of the maestro. I am not a Kuchipudi dancer and neither do I know if I would want to learn the art form.But I know for sure that this book should be read by every youngster, who dares to dream, strives to work hard and wants to achieve! It is something which will inspire and leave you to tred your path.
I quote a testimonial from the book by Mullapudi Venkata Raman which summarizes all of it - "Dr. Satyam’s life is a fascinating saga of courage, conviction and commitment combined with perseverance, pursuit of perfection and pragmatism".
