Sacred Dance of India

Author(s): Mrinalini Sarabhai
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 31

Bhagavata Mela Natakam of Andhra (Kuohezite) and Tamilnadu
In 1678, an incident worthy of record by all artistes took place The Nawab Abdul Hasan Tanhisha was visiting Masulipatam With him was the Commander of the Forces, a man called Pingalı Madanna On the way, he encamped for the night at Kuchipudi, a village that lies a few miles away from the Krishna river in Andhra That evening, the young boys of the village were dancing the story of Satyabhama in the dance-drama "Bhama Kalapam" in the temple Hearing the devotional songs and deeply moved by the play, the Nawab donated the village to the artistes Since then, families of Bhagavatars have lived in Kuchipudi, and the village has given its name to the art What was the story of Satyabhama, that so touched the heart of a Moslem Nawab and how was at enacted?
Very little is known about the author of "Bhama Kalapam"-Siddhendra Yog-but many are the legends about him and he is said to have lived between AD 1350 and 1450 He left for posterity one of the loveliest of Kuchipudı dance-dramas The story is from the Bhagavatam, and is generally known as “Parijatapaharanam” The original story relates how Sri Krishna gave this beautiful flower to Rukmını Narada conveys this to Satyabhama in order to arouse her jealousy, and so she compels the Lord to bring the whole tree to her from Indra's heaven Thus this beautiful plant came down to earth, to be planted in Satyabhama's garden to appease her wrath
The dance drama begins with the Sutradhara, the introducer of the play He tells the audience that to enact the erotic story of Krishna, Satyabhama is entering the stage
A curtain is held up by two people Satyabhama from behind the curtain, throws a long plait (pedda gada) across it The Jada is decorated by small figures depicting the ten incarnations of Vishnu, twenty-seven stars and at the top of the jada there are ornate snakes and at the end, the matsya avatara, the fish form of Vishnu
The Sutradhara enquires the meaning of this huge plait Hidden behind the curtain, she replies "This is presented by Sri Krishna, at our marriage as a symbol of his deeds It has been blessed by His lotus-like hands, and has rested on His chest I am Satyabhama, in search of my Lord Krishna”
Satyabhama then comes out from behind the curtain The Pravesadaru or entrance with dance and song of each player according to the rule, is a peculiar and attractive feature Satyabhama, the heroine, describes herself as she enters Thus the play begins and lasts throughout the night
Eight miles away from Kuchipudi, lies the village of Srikakulam It was the seat of the Satavahana Empire and later, a centre of Buddhism Andhra Vishnu-Vardhana (3rd century) was the ruler and built the temple of Vishnu where devadasts participated in the religious ceremonies He gave the devadass a village called 'Sanepadu' or the village of the dancing girls Later, the Gajapati rulers of Warangal patronised the arts and one of the commanding chiefs, Jayappa, belonging to the kingdom of Kakati Ganapatideva, composed Nritta Ratnavali, a treatise 'on dance At Warangal, the Ramappa temple was constructed under his guidance, with poses as described in his treatise Balıptas, made of black stone slabs, were