The dying applause

 

 

We’re in the ‘Village of Dance’, which is what Nrityagram translates to. A place where life must reverberate in the sweet tinkle of anklet bells, and swirl in the graceful flourish of limbs. Sadly, it is not the case as we make our way through the favourite piece of land of the late Protima Bedi. Nearly haunting in its air of bygone glory, Nrityagram tells the story of a lost tradition and a fading dream.

Situated 29 kilometres off the Bangalore city limits in a small village called Hesaraghatta, Nrityagram was set up by Protima Bedi, the bohemian who transformed from a self-confessed 'hippie' into one of the most eminent exponents of Odissi under the tutelage of the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Her life, a string of eccentric escapades, was just as nonconformist in the way of its tragic and sudden end.

A prominent model in the 1960s, Protima Bedi turned over a new leaf in 1975 at the age of 27. After watching an Odissi performance, she became a disciple to Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra, practicing the art for 12 to 14 hours a day. Notorious for her beatnik lifestyle until then, Protima’s stint at dance and later the birth of Nrityagram in 1990 was like the taming of her passions.

As soon as you step into Nrityagram, the city feels like a distant world. The tranquility of the residential dance gurukul, spread across 10 acres, can be imagined to be conducive not only for the perfection of dance forms, but also a relaxation for the human senses. This dance hermitage was designed by master architect Gerard da Cunha, for which it even won the ‘best rural architecture’ award in 1991.

Odissi remains the soul of Nrityagram. With a history of 2000 years, this dance form of Orissa has evolved since the days it used to be the prerogative of the Devadasis (women in the service of God). Characterised by ‘Tribhangi’ or the three postural breaks in the body, Odissi is evocative of Orissa’s temple sculptures, particularly the Sun Temple. Today, Nrityagram has only six main dancers. This six-member troupe represents Nrityagram on international forums.

In Nrityagram, dance is a lesson of life, a matter of faith and belief. Meant to be a gurukul, the students are also its keepers, gardeners, managers, etc. But in the 21st century, does the system still have it adherents? “The situation has changed now as have the requirements. We can’t blame the present generation for this. Apart from the six resident members, there are 50 students who come for weekend dance classes. To come and stay for six years learning dance in a forest is not easy,” says Lynne Fernandez, Managing Trustee of Nrityagram, in-charge of the Institution since 1997. The abode of dance, we observe, is also an abode for nature, as we walk between ‘kutirs’ or dwellings designed like in a village, and beautiful gardens and lush trees. On the walls of the temples in Nrityagram are carvings of ‘Nritya Mudrikas’, unique outfits of dance and ghungroos (anklets). Most of the construction is a throwback to Oriya architecture and lifestyle.

Next, we enter the Kathak Gurukul, which is built along the lines of Mughal architecture. The Mohiniattam Gurukul is, of course, done up in Kerala style. Sadly, Kathak and Mohiniattam Gurukuls have been closed down recently. In fact, the Mohiniattam Gurukul lies in a decrepit state, worse in the rains. “Kathak and Mohiniattam are finding fewer followers, and thus the condition of the respective Gurukuls,” says Lynne.

None too heart-warming either was the sight of Nrityagram’s open-air theatre. With a capacity to accommodate an audience of 4,000, this amphitheatre used to be the venue of the famous ‘Vasantahabba’, the grand festival of spring in Nrityagram. Held in 1990 for the first time, Vasantahabba was touted as the Woodstock of classical India, when performances continued for entire days and nights and people would pour in from far and wide to watch the fest. Spectators, from a mere 3,000 in its inaugural year, went up to 40,000 in 2003! Renowned artists like Pandit Vishwamohan Bhat, Kadri Gopalanth and Bombay Jayashree have given performances during Vasantahabba. Unfortunately, there has been no spring festival in Nrityagram since 2005. The stage where respected artists acknowledged plaudits from their audience now lies bare and unadorned. The tradition broken in 2005 on account of the Tsunami tragedy, it never resumed owing to cash crunch. The ‘Vasantahabba’ had become an extinct tradition. “Village people cannot afford a thousand rupees required for Pandit Ravi Shankar’s programme or the like. What Protima Bedi conceived as a medium of art to reach many an individual has now stopped for no sponsors are coming forward,” Lynne Fernandez tells TSI. Currently, Surupa Sen is the Artistic Director of Nrityagrama’s dance troupe, ‘The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble’. In her direction, Bijayini Sathpathy, Pavitra Reddy, Priyambada Patnaik, Ayona Bhaduri give performances around the world. Bijayini, who entered Nrityagram 15 years ago, says, “I feel at home in Nrityagram. A dancer needs artistic freedom and freedom to research. And you can never find this elsewhere. Odissi means learning, science, literature and everything for me.”

‘Whole Body Centre’ is a future project of Nrityagram. Knowing dance to be a synergy of the mind and body, the Centre proposes two studios with wood flooring for dance, a gymnasium and a yoga and massage room. One of the dance studios will also serve as an indoor performance space where around 120 people can sit and watch. ‘Centre for Nrityagyan’ is another of Nrityagram’s efforts to facilitate research work and study of dance. Still a work-in-progress, there is a whole library on dance for documentation purpose here.

In 1998, after the death of her son, Protima announced retirement from dance and set out on a pilgrimage. It was in the Himalayas that she became one with her Maker, leaving behind an exemplary legacy in the form of Nrityagram which, alas, was probably unable to keep up with the modern trappings of power and success. Gowri Ma, as Protima Bedi came to be called around in this place, is most mourned by Nrityagram, or would it be the other way round?