Kola tam

KUCHIPUDI

Kuchipudi, the most popular classical dance-drama forms of Andhra Pradesh, took its birth and flourished in the village ‘Kuchelapuram’ on the banks of the Krishna River. The father of this dance form is Shailendra Yogi of Kuchipudi village. He gave a definite form to it and taught it to a group of Brahmin boys, who handed down the tradition from generation to generations.

From its origin to the present day this dance form has undergone many changes and now occupies one of the supreme places in the classical dance forms of India.Originally, this dance form was an offshoot of religious traditions. It was performed only in the temples by the men belonging to the Brahmin community called ‘Bagavatulu’.

Earlier forms of Kuchipudi involved a group of characters. In due course of time it became more secular and came to be performed outside the temples in the open-air theatres and stages. Another striking change was the inclusion of women into its fold. Further the major change that occurred in the history of Kuchipudi is the emergence of a solo dance.

This positive development has broadened its scope and widened its horizons, giving a full-fledged freedom to an individual artist to perform his best.Before the actual performance of the dance, many stage conventions are practiced in front of the audience. First, the Suthradhara or the conductor arrives on the stage with a troop of supporting musicians. They play the rhythm or a tune using various musical instruments.

Then the principal performers introduce themselves to the audience with a daru. A daru is a specimen dance form intended for identification of the characters. Here, the character reveals her identity and displays the proficiency in the art. Kuchipudi is a perfect balance between three aspects- Nritta, Nritya and Natya, each being equivalent in nature.

The Nritta is a rhythmic sequence that concludes a song or a verse; the Nritya or sabdams are rhythmic passages followed by interpretations alternately; Natya is a complete dance drama with a story-line and various characters.The exuberance of Kuchipudi is best evident in the performance of Bhama Kalapam, which is a highly expressive form of Abhinaya.

The theme of this performance is the unrequited love of Satyabhama towards Sri Krishna. Satya Bhama expresses her anger on Krishna’s indifference towards her and recalls some of his amorous adventures. In the course of the performance Satyabhama enacts eight awasthas or sorrows.

The most popular Kuchipudi dance is the pot dance in which the dancer carries a pot filled with water on the head and dances, keeping the feet on the rim of a brass plate. The dancer exhibits dexterous hand movements without spilling even a drop of water, thus keeping the audience spellbound.The background music of Kuchipudi is the classical Karnatic music.

The common musical instruments used are mridanga, violin and a clarinet.The make up for the dance is not as elaborate as other classical Indian dance forms like Kathakali or Bharatanatyam.

The female characters deck themselves with ornaments and jewellery such as Rakudi worn on the head, Chandra Vanki worn on the arm, Adda Bhasa and Kasina Sara worn on the neck. They braid a long plait and decorate it with flowers and jewellery.Today, this dance form has reached its pinnacle.

Many renowned gurus like Vedantam Lakshimi Narayana, Chinta Krishna Murthy, Tadepalli Perayya, Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam etc have contributed to its enrichment.