"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance."
- Excerpts from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Independence speech
Now I wonder why I am quoting this. Religiously and ritually the only time and date when we would listen or read such quotes would be 15th of August. Hoist the flag, do the march past, sing the National Anthem, watch the so called ‘cultural programmes’ and if we are art lovers or artistes ourselves then be a part of one of the programmes and enjoy a day off! And this marks our independence and the day to celebrate it. Is this the threshold that we stand at today?Talking of India and independence, one of our country’s best known cultural heritage is its performing arts, precisely classical dance. So, how have we carried it from where it was?
The ancient texts place before us a vast and comprehensive system of art, already developed into classicism, elaborately analyzed, systematized and codified unlike any dance form anywhere in the world. The 15th Century sculptures give great evidence of encouragement and endowments to fine arts. Villages gifted to artists became centers of arts and from here were born the Devadasis, Rajadasis and Alankaradasis who were taught the arts of music and dancing as an offering and worship. They were symbolically married to the deity, could never be widowed and hence considered auspicious.
Agreed that all these constitute the history of dance which forms our theory. But come to think of it with a pinch of salt, all this practically happened. Dance has traveled from temples to television and from solo performance to group choreography - from Sadir to Bharata Natyam.
Everything seemed perfect with an art form flourishing and Devadasis getting due respect for their service until we indulged in self destruction- caste systems and the differences. British Raj added fire to this and soon Devadasis were reduced to cheap prostitutes. The British rulers viewed it as debauched and of doubtful morality. Dance echoed in the palaces of Rajas, Nawabs and wealthy Zamindars.Are we creating too much of art for an uninitiated and confused audience? Have we drifted too far from the classical roots for which the entire struggle was done? Are we looking for an aesthetic experience or to satisfy the market forces?
Thus languishing, we had the likes of E.Krishna Iyer, Rabindranath Tagore, Udaya Shankar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru himself, Rukmini Devi Arundale et al who gave dance a renewed mission and vision during our struggle for independence. Their vociferous pen and motor-mouth abilities, saw to it that this form did not fade away. As Kapila Vatsyayan rightly says “We may have been foolish, we may have been ignorant, but we were idealistic to the core, devoted and dedicated to our concept of this great country that arrived in freedom. We had our role models, my mother and Kamaladevi Chatopadhyaya among others”.
Independence brought with it a major change in official attitudes toward Indian Dance. Governmental and non-governmental patronage emanated. Dancing shifted from the ‘Mehfils’ to public performance spaces. The government's nationalization scheme established organizations - The Sangeeth Natak Akademy (National Academy of Music Dance & Drama) a body of Ministry of Culture, The Indian Council for Cultural Relations , Ministry of External affairs, down south The Music Academy, Tamil Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram and so on. Fellowships, scholarships and honors for renowned artists followed. It became almost de rigueur for a girl from a good family to be taught the classical forms. Classical dance in the independent India spread along its states, associating with every regional genre. Umpteen classical, folk and ritual dance forms were conceived. National integration through dance gained importance. And soon we had audience, performers, composers, musicologists, choreographers international cultural exchange activities, institutionalized teaching and learning facilities.Are we giving dance any independence? If only ‘dance’ in itself had a voice and could speak out as it juggles in million bodies!
Dance today is a passion, a profession and an industry in itself back to its original status. And this industry is a heterogeneous blend of purist solo dancers, specialists in group choreography, dancers performing for causes and voicing opinions, differently-abled troupes of dancers and of course contemporary ‘Dance Companies’. Classical training is used as a stepping stone to create and fuse aimed to appeal to a global audience.
But this evokes a plethora of thoughts. As this rat race goes on and the artist attains greater success, which is good, the question of what is happening to the art pops out. Are we creating too much of art for an uninitiated and confused audience? Have we drifted too far from the classical roots for which the entire struggle was done? Are we looking for an aesthetic experience or to satisfy the market forces?
Are we giving dance any independence? If only ‘dance’ in itself had a voice and could speak out as it juggles in million bodies!
