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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
in Orissa temples had also faded away as a result of the defamation and the eventual imposition of the Abolition of the Devadasi Act in 1947; the entire repertoire of Orissa dance during the mid-1950s comprised of no more than 15 minutes (see Patnaik 1990). During the mid-1950s, each of the gurus contributed towards the collaborative reconstruction of the dance, amalgamating different elements drawing from their own knowledge and experience as gotipua dancers, from a corpus of Sanskrit and vernacular dance and music texts, the iconographic representations of the ancient Orissan temple sculptures and inscriptions, and from the remnants of the mahari's ritual dance. In the mid-1960s, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi recognized the newly reconstructed Odissi dance as one of the classical" dance forms of India. Credit goes to the virtuosity of the Odissi dancer, Sanjukta Panigrahi, also a brahmin lady, in taking Odissi to the national as well as the international stage. While majority of professional dancers in Odissi tend to be female, the gurus continue to be largely male.
The liberalization is somewhat slower in Kerala. In Kerala Kalamandalam, male and female students are now allowed to study Ottam Thullal, which, at one time was known as “the poor man's Kathakali” performed only by men. Kalamandalam received substantial government scholarships for training and was obliged to open up admission to interested girls only due to lack of enrollment by young boys. Women, however, continue to be restricted in the traditional male world of Kathakali of Kerala. Adventurously, “In 1975, a group of skilled young women (including members of the Cochin royal family and descendents of the erstwhile maharajas of central Kerala) formed an all-female Kathakali troupe, the Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram Ladies Troupe (TKK).8 Today, 15 active members (of this troupe) perform regularly in Southern Kerala” (Daugherty and Pitkow 1991:138) and have given at least 500 performances so far. Performing members of the TKK accept payment for their appearances but deliberately announce themselves as "amateurs," not "professionals” for a reason. A female Kathakali performer laments that, "having become skilled in Kathakali, a Kerala girl has few opportunities to perform. She might occasionally perform with her teacher, a male relative, or a famous actor her family has hired, so that she can share the stage with a star. But performing with men on a regular basis would expose her to lewd gossip or improper advances from drunken actors, as endured by Chavara Parukutty, the only woman to attempt to earn her living as a Kathakali performer in Kerala” (Daugherty and Pitkow 1991: 140).
During the pre-modern era, the oral and performance traditions were simply the only mode of entertainment for the masses. In the era of globalization, these ancient traditions have been unable to withstand the competition and the allure that modern cinema and satellite television provide. Music, song and dance have constituted an integral part of Indian feature filins throughout its history. Melodrama, accentuated with numerous songs, danced to a heightened emotional expression are some of the most popular aspects of Indian cinema. The increasing popularity of Hindi cinema with its international music and dance appeal, the ever
Some Issues on the Gender Politics in the Bhakti Genre of Indian...
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