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Indian
Performing Arts
In
India, various facets of performing arts are all pervading
bringing colour and joy to numerous festivals and ceremonies,
and reaffirming the faith of the people in their heritage.
These facets have been responsible for sustaining the
long continuities of ancient traditions. They are the
link between the past and the present. It thus exemplifies
the complex, organic interaction of all aspects of life
implicit in all tribal and folk art forms; art is not
seen as something apart from life, a mere ornamentation
or entertainment, but as an intrinsic part of it. |
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Pre-historic
Cave painting, Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh |
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Dancers,
Sun Temple, Konarak,
Orissa
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Under
the patronage of Kings and rulers,
skilled artisans and entertainers
were encouraged to specialize and
to refine their skills to greater
levels of perfection and sophistication.
Gradually, the classical forms
of Art evolved for the glory of
temple and palace, reaching their
zenith around India around 2nd
C.E. onwards and under the powerful
Gupta empire, when canons of perfection
were laid down in detailed treatise
- the Natyashastra and
the Kamasutra -
which are still followed to this
day. Through the ages, rival kings
and nawabs vied
with each other to attract the
most renowned artists and performers
to their courts.
While the classical arts thus became distinct from their folk roots,
they were never totally alienated from them, even today there continues
a mutually enriching dialogue between tribal and folk forms on the one
hand, and classical art on the other; the latter continues to be invigorated
by fresh folk forms, while providing them with new thematic content in
return. In addition, while links with their folk roots distinguish the
regional classical art forms, the myriad folk forms throughout India
are bound by common classical religious and mythological themes.
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In
India, religion, philosophy and
myth can not be divorced from their
art forms. Dance and music are
tied inextricably to ceremony of
any kind. Weddings, births, coronations,
entering a new house or town, welcoming
a guest, religious processions,
harvest time – any or all of these
are occasions for song and dance.
Music
and dance are probably the most
elemental art forms, spontaneously
expressing the entire garment
of human emotions and experiences.
There are tribal belts throughout
India, and although each tribe
has its own distinctive music
and dances, they all share a
similar form, with men and women
forming separate rows with linked
arms and executing intricate
leg movements in a gradually
increasing tempo that builds
up to a crescendo of vigour.
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Dance
of Shiva, Miniature painting,
Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
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Sculpture,
Dancer, Delwara Temple, Rajasthan
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The
folk music and dances of agricultural
communities celebrate the rhythms of
daily life, the turn of the seasons,
the highlights of the agricultural calendar,
religious festivals and important events
that punctuate the flow of life, such
as births and marriages. While folk music
and dance share common themes and concerns,
there is a wide variety of forms. Along
the entire Himalayan region, from Kashmir
to Darjeeling, folk dancers link arms
and sway gracefully in undulating movements,
celebrate the sowing of the wheat crop;
few can resist the infectious beat of
the dholak, the two-sided drum,
and pairs of dancers take turns to execute
complex acrobatic movements in the centre
of a circle of abandoned dancers. Women
perform the Giddha,
also characterised by its spontaneous
energy. Rajasthani women, their faces
covered with flowing veils, are swirls
of colour as they pirouette in the Ghoomar dance,
while their counterparts in Gujarat perform
the famous Garba,
dancing in a circle with batons. Their
men perform the Dandiya Ras,
a more vigorous version of the same dance,
leaping and crouching in twirling patterns.
In the fishing communities of Maharashtra,
men and women link arms and dance together
and the women climb on to the mens’ shoulders
to form pyramids. The women’s Lavani dance
from this area is notable for its unabashed
sensuality. There are also several forms
of dance-drama or folk theatre, such
as the Nautanki of Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Bhavai of
Gujarat, the irreverent Tamasha of
Maharashtra , the Bengali Jatra,
the spectacular Yakshagana of
Karnataka and Theyyam of
Kerala, all of which narrate legends
of local heroes, kings and deities. Martial
art forms throughout the country have
been stylized to quasi dance forms, notable
among which are the martial dances of
the North-eastern hill tribes, the Lazim dances
of Maharashtra, the Kalaripayattu of
Kerala, and the highly stylized masked Chhau
dances of Orissa, West
Bengal and Bihar.
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Together
these dances have formed a vast
reservoir from which the classical
dances have drawn sustenance.
There are seven major classical
dance styles — Bharatnatyam from
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Kathakali,
a classical dance-drama from
Kerala, Manipuri from
Manipur, Kathak from
Uttar Pradesh, Odissi from
Orissa, and Kuchipudi from
Andhra Pradesh and Sattriya from
Assam which has recently been
included in the fold of Classical
Dances. In their present format,
their history cannot be traced
back to over two to three hundred
years, but they all have links
with the ancient and medieval
literary, sculptural and musical
traditions of India and of their
particular regions. They all
adhere to the canons of classical
dance laid down in the Natya
Shastra, a second century C.E.
text ascribed to the sage Bharata,
to whom it was supposedly revealed
by the Creator, Brahma.
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Kathak
Dance, Miniature painting,
Kishangarh, Rajasthan
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Sculptural
relief, Dance Class,
Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho,
Madhya Pradesh
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Folk
theatre and dance-drama were
the common roots of both classical
dance and theatre , the traditions
of both of which were elaborated
upon the Natyashastra.
Kalidasa is India’s most famous
poet and dramatist, and his plays
are still performed today. Nawab
Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler
of Awadh, was a noted playwright
and staged elaborate dramas at
his court.
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Under
the aegis of Ministry
of Culture,
Government of India
15-A, Sector - 7, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075
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Centre for Cultural Resources and Training
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Telephone:(011)
25088638,
47151000
Fax: 91-11-25088637,
Gram: CENCULT
E-mail:- dg.ccrt@nic.in
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