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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
actors and continue to be so to-date. Phillip Zarrilli, a kalaripayattu practitioner and scholar notes that "women are generally perceived as not having a strong enough constitution to undergo the rigors of full-time training and performance with its vigorous, strong, and energetic (tandava) dance, its difficult body exercise training and painful, deep, full-body message derived from Kerala martial tradition (kalaripayattu)" (2000:70). Marlene Pitkow also notes that a female dancer was refused admission into Kerala Kalamandalam, one of the most renowned institutions for training in Kathakali, “because she was a woman.” She adds that, "the presence of Indian women in the classroom would be too disruptive to the learning process, a member of the Kalamandalam's governing council told us. He also noted that because women would quit once they married, training them was not worth the investment" (1998:80).
The Rasalila dance-theatre of Vraja in Uttar Pradesh is a 16th century product of the bhakti movement performed on the auspices of Krishna janmasthami. For several centuries in the past, great religious gurus, Sanskrit and vernacular poets, philosophers and brahmin theologians have established Vraja and its neighbouring town Vrindavana as the centre for literary and religious discourse. Since the sixteenth century, particularly, Vraja became the key focus of attention, a primary place of pilgrimage for the bhakti saints and devotees.
In keeping with the notion of madhura bhakti, Rasalila plays center around erotic symbolism enacted by the male devotees of Vraja through identification of themselves with the gopis, singing and dancing with an ecstatically romantic fervor towards Sri Krishna. The swarupa of Radha and Krishna, played by young brahmin boys are revered, worshiped and divinized for the duration of the play, however, after their voice breaks, they are no longer considered fit for the role. A significant part of Rasalila is the Rasa, a circle dance, giving the audiences a glimpse of the spiritual representation of Krishna lila as He performed the divine dance with Radha and each of the gopis in the forests of Vraja on full moon nights. Rasalila then presents various playful episodes of Krishna's relationships with Radha and the gopis interspersed with short pieces of Kathak dance technique. A few days prior to the perforinance of the Rasalila, the young boy actors playing the lead role of Radha and Krishna are given residence inside the temple providing them with a religious atmosphere that would enable them to concentrate on the divine character roles they will play. The adult actors "observe celibacy and fast for self-purification, eating only milk and fruits” (Gargi 1966:130). Adhering to notions of “purity," the male actors abstain from smoking or drinking (even water) for the duration of the play (Gargi 1966:121). The perforinance culminates with audience participation in mass chanting and devotional singing. Loud clamming of the cymbals, beating of the drums supporting the chanting creates an ecstatically devotional atmosphere.
For centuries, Varanasi, with its numerous temples and learning institutions, has enjoyed renown as being the holy city and the most prominent center for brahmanic culture, religion and philosophy. Hundreds of festivals are celebrated in Varanasi annually including
Some Issues on the Gender Politics in the Bhakti Genre of Indian...
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