Dance Terrains: Sacred and Dissolute

According to a legend, in the beginning of Dvapar-yug, greed, jealousy, violence and deceit started pervading in the world. In order to restore ‘satya’ and harmony amongst people, a fifth veda called Natya-veda was created taking textual themes from Rigveda, music from Samaveda, art of emoting from Yajurveda and aesthetic delight (rasa) from Atharvaveda. Natya in that period meant a performative art comprising dance, music. Bharat Muni, the composer of this text, worked on the performative aspect along with his hundred ‘shishyas’ in the heavens with an objective to refine the art before its descent to the ‘bhu-loka'. Once the methodology was refined, he instructed his disciples to teach and perform this divine art on the earth. Little did he know that his precious offering created through sacred thoughts and wise inputs of the sages and gods would face resentment. Due to the praises showered by the Gods and sages, the disciples had taken to pride, arrogance and wickedness ridiculing the wise ones. Enraged, the sages cursed the disciples to live the life of a disgraced on earth.

This legend takes our mind in many directions - towards the idea of sacredness of art and also towards the inauspicious, malicious and dishonoured aspect. While a central theme or concept may create an art-space in the dancer’s mind, what is more important is the effect created in the viewer’s mind. A dancer with sound training, expressive skills and involvement may lead the audience to a pleasing mind-space that can generate aesthetic delight and stimulate vivid imagination. On the contrary, a lesser capable dancer may not be able to initiate an immersive journey, but create boredom and disinterest. Can a junior dance learner perform on stage or do only the trained artists get this joyful opportunity? What if someone likes to dance but knows relatively little for a full-fledged stage show? How do good, bad, mediocre and ugly dances contribute to the cultural ecosystem of a place?

Places that are considered ‘culturally rich’ exhibit a certain kind of richness with respect to the quality of artists who live and work there, the intellectual awakened imagination in the ‘rasikas’ and the value for the precious art forms. A city like Aurangabad seems to be torn between the glorious cultural past found in the heritage monuments and the casual inconsistent engagement with heritage arts in the present. Learning a little Kathak or any dance through a convenient arrangement in dance classes and suddenly being ambitious to perform on stage for fame without sufficient understanding and maturity is often found valid in today’s times. What is appalling is the growing greed for monetary gains rather than reflection on their own art. Within the scope of Guru-shishya tradition, a guru guides the disciple to learn the art, to work hard and remain humble. A shishya would ideally continue the artistic journey with faith, gratitude and poise. When both remain true to their commitments, the art form blossoms bringing more stability, serenity and sacredness in its transference and showcase. In Kathak tradition, especially of my guru Padmavibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj, stage performances ranging from small roles to long duration concerts have been without any transactional component. There is no concept of ‘graduation’ performance as may be misunderstood by few. In cases where a self-proclaimed guru tries teaching not for the sake of spreading the light of knowledge, but for selfish motives and pride; it may lead to damage in a challenged cultural scenario.

Learn a chosen dance form, appreciate its beauty and respect its legacy. Perform on stage with responsibility, respect and gratitude. Dance can be sacred but it can also be dissolute. Let dance be taught and learnt with devotion and not out of shallow ambitions. Let the learners learn to learn beyond lessons and teachers learn to remember the lessons taught by their own teachers.

(The writer is Director, Mahagami Gurukul and Member, International Dance Council, UNESCO).