scholarly journals BETWEEN ‘CELESTIAL MAIDEN’ AND ‘SACRED PROSTITUTE’: THE MYTH OF THE DEVAͲDS5 IN THE IMAGINARY OF THE CONTEMPORARY INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE PRACTITIONERS

SYNERGY ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marinescu Angelica ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Art History ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Past ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Indian Classical Dance ◽  
Medieval India ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Indian Art

One of the most controversial discussions in the contemporary Indian arts environment remains the connection of the post-colonial classical dance practice with the DevadƗsƯ or the MaharƯ, the temple dancing girls. Born in the Early Medieval India, amidst and in close connection to the Bhakti and the Tantric movements, abiding in the temple institution, the so-called ‘DevadƗsƯ temple system’ remains a mystery, between awe and fascination to the nowadays practitioner and connaisseur of Indian arts. While tracing back the socio-religious contexts that brought the temple dancers on the foremost place of the stage of Indian art history, the author looks for the understanding of this myth in the imaginary and the reality of contemporary practitioners, from the perspective of a foreigner researcher-cum-practitioner of an Indian art form. The paper is based on consulting the existing literary sources concerning the DevadƗsƯ system, and the research is focusing on the nowadays classical dance practitioners’ imaginary (re)construction(s) of this system. Till today, here she stands, the woman-as-dance practitioner, either Indian or from any other part of the world, at the cross-road of all myths, imaginarily rooted in the past, but living all the aspirations of the nowadays social, cultural, religious, political dynamics, neither celestial maiden, nor sacred prostitute.

De-centring the choreographer: Historically inspired interruptions/disruptions in an exploration between sculpture and movement1

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-291
Author(s):  
Kaustavi Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Creative Potential ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Choreographic Process ◽  
Indian Classical Dance ◽  
The Temple

Abstract This article reflects the process of choreographic making where the choreographer actively decentres her choreographic choices by collaborating with participating dancers and historical inspirations. It explores the creative potential of archives ‐ a set of temple-sculptures found in eastern India called the Alasa-Kanyas (meaning indolent maidens) ‐ as past evidence of historically marginalized bodies of the temple-dancers, also known as Maharis, in the field of the eastern Indian classical dance form called Odissi. Alasa-Kanya: Sculpture in Odissi (AK), a Practice as Research (PaR) experiment, imbricates the historical and the theoretical in choreographic practice, re-inscribing the archival traces of the Mahari as found in the sculptural traces of the Alasa-Kanyas by an inculcated deconstruction of Odissi dance vocabulary. According to philosopher Jacques Derrida, deconstruction destabilizes the hierarchy between the centres and margins of a given area of knowledge. This experiment questions the hierarchical construction of Odissi dance as technically elevated than Mahari performance. Theoretical deconstruction is complemented by an embodied investigation via structured studio improvisations using the Creative Articulations Process (CAP). Choreographic process and analysis of AK deconstructs the technicity in Odissi movement via engaging with the Alasa-Kanyas or the sculptural archives of the Maharis in Indian temples. In this way, the once marginalized interrupts the dominant historical narratives and disrupts the patriarchal construction of a male centre, in turn questioning the agency of the choreographer in the choreographic process.

Christian Themes and the Role of the Nāyikā in Bharatanāṭyam

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-289
Author(s):  
Katherine C. Zubko
Keyword(s):  
Social Critique ◽  
Indian Woman ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Indian Classical Dance

Within the Indian classical dance style of bharatanāṭyam, performers traditionally embody the stories of Hindu gods and goddesses. This paper discusses selected examples of how Christian themes have been incorporated into the art form by both Hindu and non-Hindu participants, including the adaptation of the aesthetics of the nāyikā, a female heroine yearning for her absent beloved. In an extended case study, I examine the presentation of one such unique nāyikā, a Christian Indian woman who contracts HIV from her husband, in particular demonstrating how various gesture sequences draw upon the recognizable, empathetic foundation of the suffering heroine to depict the realities of the illness of HIV. The despair and pain of the nāyikā, and the role of a sakhī as sympathetic doctor, invite audiences into a familiar aesthetic framework that also creates receptivity towards a significant social critique.

Turning to the Goddess: Anachronism, Secularity, and the Late Style of Tyeb Mehta and K. G. Subramanyan

ARTMargins ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-67
Author(s):  
Karin Zitzewitz
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Art History ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Late Style ◽  
Religious Image ◽  
Indian Art

At nearly the same late-1980s moment, two of the most important artists of India's twentieth century, Tyeb Mehta (1925–2009) and K. G. Subramanyan (b. 1924), turned to the goddess as a subject for painting. Although Mehta and Subramanyan represented different strands of Indian modernism, they had both hitherto largely limited themselves to secular subject matter. This essay accounts for the significance of their goddess turn by discussing it as an example of late style, as theorized by Edward Said. It finds in these paintings the intransigence, anachronism, and negative intervention championed by Said, but also a critique of the secularism that he argued was the root of late style. Mehta and Subramanyan's intervention came at a crucial moment in Indian art history, as modernism began to be undermined by a rising group of narrative painters supported by the critic Geeta Kapur. The older artists’ embrace of the religious image sits uneasily in Kapur's influential narration of post-colonial Indian art history.

scholarly journals A Critique of Gender Roles in Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like a Man

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-45
Author(s):  
B Ajmi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Male Victim ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Royal Courts ◽  
Indian Classical Dance

Bharatanatyam is an ancient Indian classical dance form that originated from Tamil Nadu. It was performed by devadasis (prostitutes) in royal courts in the early period. Later, the elite Indian class separates it from devadasis and makes it more like a commodity. A man’s passion towards such kind of an art form creates commotion in a patriarchal society. His manhood is questioned and he is considered as inferior to the exaggerated version of masculinity. The breaking of particular roles which are destined to each gender in a society leads to tension within the patriarchy. Mahesh Dattani’s play Dance Like a Man explores themes like gender discrimination, stereotyping, gender roles and identity crisis. In reality, the problems of men due to gender discrimination is not discussed effectively. This play tries to give a clear picture of a male victim of gender discrimination through Jairaj’s character. The current research explores the problems in reversing gender roles, question on masculinity and involvement of society in carrying gender stereotypes as portrayed in Dance Like a Man.

Representations of Music and Musicians in the Sanskrit Epics: The Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Kaustubh Gaurh
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
Musical Thought ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this study is to understand the ‘idea’ of music that existed in early India in the first millennium bce. Observing the historiographical trends that have emerged in the historical studies of music, it can be seen that there is scarcity of sources to study the kind of music that was practised in this time period. But the approach presented here deals with the traces of music in the literary sources (the Sanskrit epics: the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata) which cover the representations of music and musicians. This would help us infer the nature of musical thought that evolved in early India. 1 The objective is to study the relationship between an art form and the society, by looking at ‘art in society’, not ‘society in art’ to see how music was conditioned by early Indian social factors. 2 After discussing the sources used for the study, a range of philosophical, material and societal aspects are addressed by looking at how the societies in early India engaged themselves with music.

Audientia sacerdotalis?—Remarks on the Legal Nature of Dispute Resolution by Ecclesiastics in Late Antiquity

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-149
Author(s):  
Marzena Wojtczak
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lower Rank ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
The Subject

Abstract The problem of audientia episcopalis in late antiquity has been the subject of extensive research in the past. Previous studies have usually focussed on the legal doctrine, as well as the picture of bishop courts in the light of the literary sources. In contrast, the question of how audientia episcopalis functioned in the legal practice as shown by papyri has caused scholars much difficulty, due to the limited material available as well as the obscure nature of the institution. One could therefore ask: how is it possible that such allegedly common practice of dispute resolution by the bishops—as literary sources make us believe—is so elusive in the papyri? How to explain the simultaneous increase for that period of the papyrological attestations regarding arbitration/mediation carried out by the clergy of lower rank? Could we be dealing with some sort of audientia sacerdotalis functioning in the legal practice? How widespread was in fact the audientia episcopalis, and was this institution homogeneous or rather heterogeneous in nature? The paper presents the attempt to answer these questions by confronting the imperial law with the evidence of legal practice.

Survey of Musculoskeletal Injuries among Female Bharatanatyam Dancers in the Udupi District of India

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-206
Author(s):  
Lavanya P Kumar ◽  
Shruti J Shenoy
Keyword(s):  
Medical Professional ◽  
Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Dance Training ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
Injury Occurrence ◽  
Indian Classical Dance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

BACKGROUND: Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form that is practiced globally. There is limited information about the prevalence of injuries in Bharatanatyam dancers. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries and specifics of dance training in female Bharatanatyam dancers in the Udupi district of India. METHODS: We developed and tested a survey for Bharatanatyam dancers regarding injury history in the prior year, including location, time loss, cause, and need for medical help. We also obtained demographic and training information. RESULTS: 101 dancers completed the survey. 10.8% of dancers reported musculoskeletal injuries because of participation in dance. They sustained 0.65 injuries/1,000 hours of dancing. The most frequently injured areas were ankle (27.2%) and knee (27.2%) followed by lower back (13.6%) and hip (9%). Despite being injured, 36.4% of the dancers continued to dance. 54.5% of the injured dancers sought the help of a medical professional for their dance-related injuries. The most common surface for dance was concrete followed by other hard surfaces such as marble and tile. CONCLUSION: Female Bharatanatyam dancers are prone to injuries of the lower extremity and back. Most dancers in our study practice the Pandanalluru style on hard surfaces. There is a need to investigate the impact of training factors on the injury occurrence.

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