Traditions need modern touch-ups

I have more than a passing interest in classical dance. For I feel that it is one of the major inspirational mainstay of the creation of any art — form notwithstanding. I make it a point to attend as many dance recitals as possible also for the same reason. In these times of great consciousness about gender sensitisation and sexual liberation and sexual harassment, I feel Indian classical dance/music and painting is poised on the verge of major rethink.

The reason is not far to seek: I feel that not only must the arts be visually modern or contemporary, but also reflect the contemporary sensibility or the yug dharma of the times we live it. Specially in the case of amorous love being depicted, it has to be tight rope walking of the highest order.

So it was with a great amount of anticipation that I went to see a performance by Ramli Ibrahim, the Malaysian dancer whose fondness for Odissi is unquestioned. Performed under the aegis of the Sutra Foundation, the production Amorous Delight is described as “A case of possession by love” based on “contemporary” Odissi. It has been inspired by Amarushataka, the 9th century Sanskrit anthology on love.

The performance depicts the delight and frustrations, the sensuous charms and mad intoxication, the anguish of union-separation of the complex gamut of the sense of belonging and not belonging, found in the human obsession called love. Complicated description? Sure, wish the production was a little more complex than mere oodles of amour. In one section when the Vipralabdha Nayika or one deceived by her beloved, when the nayak is trying to make her come around, it seems as if molesting her.

Performed with the backdrop of a series of charming line drawings, the almost naïve sketches were beautiful with their attention to finer nuances like the palm leaf drawings so popular in Odisha. It was reminiscent of the amorous monochrome paintings from Odisha often done in circular forms and a charming style used to attach a circular palm leaf flap on them to hide the sensual paintings but embellished with more socially acceptable images on top.

However, the dance itself triggered off a whole gamut of thoughts. For one it highlighted the fact that tradition is something that needs to be updated all the time if it has to fit the bill of tradition that is like a flowing river. Or else it will become mummified and stink like putrid water.

Ashta-Nayika is a collective name for eight types of nayikas or heroines as classified by Bharata in his Sanskrit treatise onperforming arts — Natya Shastra. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (avastha) in relationship to her hero or nayak. As archetypal states of the romantic heroine, it has been used as theme in Indian painting, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance.

Indian classical painting, sculpture and literature too depicts the Ashta-Nayika Notable medieval paintings that depict the Ashta nayika are the Ragamala paintings, as those from the Bundi school of painting. Ashta-Nayika is a central theme in Pahari embroidery used to decorate the Chamba Rumal, from Himachal Pradesh. The Ashta Nayikas are usually portrayed in eight panels on the Rumal.

A famous example in Indian literature is Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda (12th century) as well as in the Vaishnava poet Banamali’s compositions, Radha dons the roles of the various nayikas while with her nayak is God Krishna. Dancers, painters and sculptors have all dipped into this creative fountain to create anew and I still sincerely wish Ramli Ibrahim had been a little more sensitive to the contemporary mood of the times rather than go by just blindly making cosmetic changes of costumes and mudras.

Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist and can be contacted on alkaraghuvanshi@yahoo.com