Abstract of Jyothi Chintalapudi MA (Kuchipudi) Thesis
Kūchipūḍi is the only art form of India which has the name taken from its birth place, Kūcipūḍi village of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh. The dance form was mainly divided into two categories, “Nāṭya Mela” which had emphasis on the drama element and was predominantly performed by the traditional Kūcipūḍi Bhagavata families, and the “Naṭṭuva Mela”, which had short, solo pieces and was predominantly performed by the Courtesans and the Devadasis. It is also very interesting to note in the cultural history of Telugu land, the parallel existence of these two dance streams. The Nāṭya Mela predominantly as the Puruṣa (men), Sāmpradāya (tradition) and was performed by men, Naṭṭuva Mela as the Strī (women) Sāmpradāya and was performed by women.
A drastic transformation in Kūcipūḍi dance form is seen in the twentieth century. From its rural, Kalāpās, Yakṣagānās origins in Andhra Pradesh, into one of the major classical dance forms of India with a pan-Indian and international reach and popularity. Many Legendary Gurus dedicated their lives, gave their best efforts to this transformation and gave a well-defined, structured format to future generation learners and gurus.
It is very important to understand history and roots of Kūcipūḍi, to understand its transformation in presentation and hence the changes in its basic technique too. Kalāpās were the first ones that gained a respectable place in Kūcipūḍi in the performance world. Bhāma Kalāpam and Golla Kalāpam were the two that gained popularity in their presentation. The basic tenets of these two Kalāpās structure connects very well with the performance conventions prevalent in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Both the storylines are very spiritual and philosophical in nature. These two Kalāpās are assets of dance literature complimenting each other and make us understand how art was envisioned as path to god in ancient days. Kalāpās were usually performed by only 2-3 artists. Bhagavatula Ramaiah (19th Century), a philosopher and performer is considered next to Siddendra Yogi for his contributions to Kalāpās (Golla Kalāpam). Vempati Venkatanarayana (1871-1935) is also considered as supreme in kalāpās and stood as epitome of perfection in presenting both the Kalāpās. Besides Kalāpams, the kūchipudi actors also performed Pagaṭivēsaṁ. Vēsaṁ basically means acting as a different character or impersonation.
The native Bhagavata brāhmin scholars were known for their vast knowledge in the fields of vedic sastra, music, dance and drama. They constantly strived for novelty and betterment in existing performance. As a result, a new form of presentation “Yakṣagānā”, evolved, which had less narrative and descriptive elements and more of dramatization with several characters taking story to its climactic conclusion. When compared to kalāpa, Yakṣagānā had more stage movements and made an impact on audience as a pleasing Dṛisya (visual) – Kāvya(music). Yakṣagānās covered a broad array of expressions.
Guru Chinta Venkatramaiah (1860-1949), was considered as father (Pitamaha) of Yakṣagānā. Many of the students trained under him, moved out of the village in search of livelihood and one of his prime students Vedantam Raghavaiah (1919-1971), who was well versed in female roles and exceptionally good in the Sriṇgāra Nāyikas moved to Chennai and entered the Cinema Industry. This situation created a void in Yakṣagānās for about 20 years. Later Chinta Krishnamurthy (1912-1969 S/O Chinta Venkatramaiah), along with world renowned artist Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma (1935-2012) brought back Kalāpās and Yakṣagānās to life. But by the 50’s Yakṣagānās slowly lost their glamour and were diminishing.
This once again paved way to Kūcipūḍi to evolve into a new style. Contributions of Guru Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry (1880-1957), need complete credit for this solo form of dance form that we see today. He toured extensively with his son Vadeantam Jagannadha Sarma and Ayyanki thandava Krishna. He was the first one to take out small dance segments of yakshagana like Radha and Krishna, Siva and Parvathi and presented them as independent pieces. He saw that these presentations were very much appreciated by audience. His deep understanding of Yakṣagānās, and love towards the abhinaya aspects of expert Mejuvani style of Kalāvantulu, brought forth a flow of solo items. It attracted women and men out of Kūcipūḍi families to learn Kūcipūḍi. From a male oriented art form, it gradually transformed into a female dominated one. Guru Lakshmi Narayana Sastry sensing need of the day, brought in several changes and elaborated even the technique. He added many new hand gestures and incorporated the drama element of Yakṣagānā in the form of story narration elaborating on a word or phrase of a song, or a detail Padābhinaya. Though the Vāchikābhinaya lost its place with the entry of solo presentations, the Āngikābhinaya and Sāthvikābhinaya got enhanced in his choregraphies. This became a boon to Kūcipūḍi.
This took the dance form to mainstream and helped in gaining the recognition that the art form rightfully deserved. Once when the solo form gained popularity, a very structured Aḍugus, Jatis and Repertoires covering all nuances of this art from was needed.
Lakshminarayana Sastry had many notable desciples like, Ayyanki Thāndava Krishna, C.R. Ācharyulu, Vedāntam Jagannadha Sharam (his son), Vempati Pedda Satyam, Vempati Chinna Satyam, Korāda Narasimha rao, P.V.G.Krishan Sharma, Dr. Uma Rao, Nataraja Rama krishna, who became prominent gurus later and made major contribution to dance form. Out of his discples Guru Padma Bhūshan Vempati Chinna Satyam, needs a special mention for his contribution in bringing a well-defined structure to all the basics. To retain the roots of Kūchipūdi from drama, he introduced Nriṭya Nātikas or dance dramas. With this Kūcipūḍi secured its position as classical dance form by par and beyond the other classical dance forms of india.
This is the glorious history and evolution of the Kuchipudi dance form. While the transformations happened as per the need of the day then, Jyothi believes that there is a need to revive the Kalāpās and Yakṣagānās, to preserve them for the generations to come. As part of the revival effort Jyothi Chintalapudi trained her students under the noble guidance of Vedantam Venkata Chalapti and presented “Usha Parinayam” yakshaganam as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations in 2023.