-Ranjani Govind

In a panorama of roles

Dr. Vidya Rao is one amongst the rare breed of classical dancers where her Bharatanatya research material will be put to use in her latest production ‘Gejjeya Kattidava’ at the Indian Institute of World Culture, Basavanagudi, on October 17, at 10am

Passion for classical dance was an intrinsic feature in young Vidya Rao even as a schoolgirl when she often performed Bharatanatya taking up Dr. Vidyabhushan’s recorded Haridasas compositions. The young student was soon recognized as an all-rounder, as she choreographed dance items, loved to sing and perform. A dance research scholar today, Vidya Rao, who heads the Department of Performing Arts and Cultural Studies at the Jain (deemed-to-be) University since 2021, is ardently committed to Dasa Sahitya and is focusing on the devotional compositions of Haridasas of Karnataka. Vidya’s M.Phil. Dissertation explored the works of Haridasas from the 15th to 16th CE, while her Ph.D. examined the compositions of 20 Haridasas from the 16th to 18th CE through the frameworks of Natyashastra and Alankara Shastra.

Completing her five year stint heading the Performing Arts Department at Jain College, Vidya’s commemorative dedication will see her taking up a unique dance programme, ‘Gejjeya Kattidava’  for the Indian Institute of World Culture at Basavanagudi on October 17. “It would be a presentation and performance based on my research work. The speciality is that my entire dance faculty would be performing with me. The compositions chosen are based on my exploration of the saint-composers during the last few decades. My presentation would be an endeavour to justify my study and work for the chosen Haridasa’s compositions,” says Vidya, who holds a post-graduation in Sanskrit and dance too, both fields that have steadily supported her scrutiny in delving deeper into choosing lyrics with the said bhava required for adapting them to dance formats, aiding her choreography.

Recipient of the ‘Best women achiever award’ from Unnati Foundation; ‘Shastra Kaustubha’ for her contributions to the field from Ananya Foundation, Vidya has presented research papers at national and international seminars in literature and culture; served as President of the Thai Kannada Balaga and performed for the Indian Embassy in Thailand. She has been on the Advisory Board of Kukke Subramanya Museum Trust; Indiranagar Sangeeta Sabha and the HSNC University in Mumbai, amongst others.  “I am indebted to my mentors and gurus Geetha Ananthanarayanan in Bharatanatya; Schlolar Dr. TS Sathyavathi in Sanskrit; Dr. Bharath Gupt in Aesthetics and Dance; and Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal as a cultural mentor,” says Vidya whose learning at the Kalakshetra Nrithya Parampara in the Pandanallur styling helped her seamlessly integrate performance, teaching, choreography and research, all helping her “preserve and innovate within the realm of classical dance.”

Vidya Rao spoke about her childhood aspirations, her enthusiasm to look into newer dance-formats and her improved blend of shastra and classical expressions being used for addressing contemporary mind-sets — in an exclusive for Avadhi online portal ahead of her dance show for the Indian Institute for World Culture on October 17.

Some excerpts….

Your childhood and cultural atmosphere played a great role in your achievements? 

My grandfather who was a saint-philosopher of the bhakthi movement Parampare was Shreenivasa Rao. His Kannada compositions with Shreesha Keshava as his ankita are published by the Department of Kannada and Culture. My parents Chandrika and CSH Rao in Shivamogga were thoroughly supportive in helping me pursue my interests. My mother, who is no more, was a trained classical musician. As my father, a pharmacist, belongs to the Haridasa parampare. Dasara kritis and many aspects of classical idioms have remained integral to our discussions at home. Bhajane too formed a part of our routine during festivals and family gatherings.

With that being my lineage, my upbringing was in an immersive melodic atmosphere. My parents had moved over to Mysore for a brief time, but later settled in Bangalore. I had my schooling at the Women’s Peace League Basavanagudi and continued my degree in commerce at Vasavi Vidyaniketan. 

When I was in my 8^th standard I joined the dance classes at the popular ‘Prabhat Kalavidaru’ and our batch of six girls got selected to perform at the  ‘Prabhat ballets’ and we travelled and performed all over Karnataka. My exposure to costumes, make-up, music, dance and travel was an imprint created at that impressionable age. Later I left ‘Prabhat Kalavidaru’ and joined Vidushi Geetha of Kalakshetra and my acquaintance with the new grammar of Bharatanatya in Pandanallur style started to take shape.

Apart from this, I completed Junior, Senior and Vidwat in Bharatanatya from Kalakshetra, and my eagerness saw me continue my study in Sanskrit from the Bangalore University.

We hear that a dance-documentary influenced you enough to take up studying all aspects of the classical form?

I used to dream of securing a Ph.D in ‘Haridasa Literature and Dance’ in 1988 during my Rangapravesha. As I belong to the lineage of Haridasas, I am fortunate that destiny too led me into taking up this subject for my area of research that I eventually completed. As a young art enthusiast in the 1980’s I used to be inspired by articles on culture and history in the media. The turning point was watching a few episodes of ‘Nectar in Stone’ an acclaimed docu-feature telecast by Doordarshan and researched by art historian Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal. The series centred on the architectural marvels of the famous temples of Karnataka. It was one of the most pleasing arts-and-dance documentaries highlighting “nectar” of poetry, divinity and motion captured in stone structures carved by medieval sculptors. The impact was strong enough to have my dreams cemented and “take the right steps” into journeying with dance and poetry. My travel henceforth and continuous study took me some time, and I received my MPA (Dance), MPhil (Guided by Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal) from Jain University; and PhD (Guided by Late. Dr. Gokulnath and Dr. Karuna Vijayendra) from the National Institute for Vedic Studies.

What are some of your best creative phases in dance?

In 2017 one of my gurus, Prof. Bharat Gupt offered me ‘Parvati Lasya’ a Sanskrit poetry of his Guru to be set for a production, and I had not been given too much time on this. The selected verses were soon presented by the alumni students of Jain University at IGNCA, Delhi under my direction that came in for a lot of appreciation. I am also glad that my researched and choreographed compositions are being used by artistes in the dance world, and I have been contributing my study papers to several journals and International seminars and conferences, having my study reach wider aspirants in the field. 

Coming to the production ‘Gejjeya Kattidava’ taken up for IIWC, and your research material of dasa sahitya, explain how you plan to go about it, and what aspects of dance do you wish to highlight that corresponds with the flow of dasa sahitya? 

My Mphil ’Bhakti-Abhivyakti’ is based on Haridasas of pre-Purandara time. There are three saint poets’ works which are taken into account from the Bhakti perspective. In my 2018 Ph.D work, ‘Haridasa Sahitya Mattu Nrityabhivyakti’ I have chosen the compositions of Purandara and post-Purandara (20 Haridasas) from the Natyashastra perspective. 

However much one has foraged and researched to have the windows of understanding opened up on our Haridasas, the perspective widens only when the study is shared with the performing arts field, as it is then that it gains visibility. With that thought as the criteria, I wanted my research to take form and have the nuances explained by dancers on stage, bringing alive the source material, ground work and matter. This programme will expose that understanding with ‘Gejjeya Kattidava’ at the IIWC with a presentation and performance, using my academic inquiry. My gratification is furthered with having my entire dance faculty as part of this production.

What are all the bhavas that this production would highlight?

Haridasa compositions have a wide range of bhavas or emotions. Though Bhakti is the soul of this literature, through their endless stream of flowing anubhava they have composed songs on Krishna, Rama, Hanuman, Shiva, Parvati, Lakshmi, Ganesha and many more. They also have worked on many literary styles such as Suladi, Ugabhoga, Dandaka, Mundige, keertane, Koravanji, Kolata etc…These compositions are based on the Natyashastra elements like Angika, Vachika and Aharya with different rasas and bhaktis coming in, which the dancers will depict.

What are the specifics of pedagogy at the Department of Performing Arts at Jains and how are the present-day students adapting to your styles of teaching? 

Our Department of Performing Arts at Jains (deemed-to-be) University was started and mentored by Prof. Shantamani in 2009. Here students are exposed to theory, music and dance in the banis of both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in all the four semesters. 

Our stylistics of teaching covers a gamut of expressive ideologies in our syllabus where the performing shastras of yore are handled suitably to tailor to the contemporary styles of expressions, and to help gain relevance with aesthetics and young minds.  

There is more stress on research content in the Masters’ Degree. It is a matter of pride that the alumni of this department have made a mark as performers, teachers and researchers.