Classical Guru

  • Meenu Thakur Sankalp
  • India
  • Sep 19, 2014

 

 

September 25 is a special day. This day commemorates one of India’s most innovative and path-breaking choreographer Gurus – but ironically the ceremony does not take place in India. While many even in the Indian Classical dance circles may not be aware of the legendary Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam, the doyen of Kuchipudi dance, September 25 is celebrated as Vempati Chinna Satyam Day in Ghana (Africa) - as a tribute to Guruji for his contribution to Kuchipudi dance. The role of the Guru in Indian Classical dance is an innovator, facilitator, teacher, creator, pathfinder and a torchbearer of culture. Chinna Satyam personified all these qualities, in his glittering dance career of more than seven decades - as a performer and as a Guru-choreographer. By influencing and shaping the history of a Classical dance form, Kuchipudi, Chinna Satyam has acquired and earned the status of a legend within Indian Classical dance. Kuchipudi is one of the oldest Classical dance forms of India, and originated from the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (now Seemandhra and Telengana). This dance form has captivated learners and connoisseurs alike – through its mercurial and scintillating movements, dramatic quality and breathtaking exuberance. It is based strictly on the principles of Natyashastra, the treatise of dance written by Bharata Muni. The pure nature of Kuchipudi has been preserved over the years through the efforts of gurus like Chinna Satyam and Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry (Vempati Chinna Satyam’s guru). When Natyashastra was translated into Telugu by Appa Rao, various gurus attempted to understand the aspects of pure dance. Chinna Satyam was the proponent of the ‘Nritta’ technique.
He understood and taught the relationship between the technicalities and the actual presentation of the Kuchipudi dance on stage.

Chinna Satyam had his share of hardships, before achieving success in the field of Kuchipudi choreography. Born to Chalamaiah and Varalakshamma, in a traditional Kuchipudi-practicing family in a village in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, Chinna Satyam was attracted to Kuchipudi dance from childhood. He left home, penniless, when he was about 18 years of age, and undertook a 400km trek to Madras (Chennai), the cultural capital of the South, to learn Kuchipudi from Guru Tadepally Perraya Sastry. After years of learning and practice, Chinna Satyam established himself as one of the foremost performers of Kuchipudi in Madras. However, commercial success came fairly late. In 1963  he established the ‘Kuchipudi Art Academy’ in Madras.  Chinna Satyam’s first drama composition was ‘Sri Krishna Parijatham’, and over the next three decades he composed more than 180 dance dramas and featured in more than 3,000 Kuchipudi performances, all over the world. His innovative style caught the eye of western choreographers in the 1970s. His major successes on stage included the ‘Padmavati Srinivasa Kalyanam’, ‘Sri Krishna Parijatham’ and ‘Hara Vilasam’. In many dance sequences, Chinna Satyam also decided to replace dialogues with songs, in order to cater to a wider audience. His method of teaching was practical and as a choreographer he took utmost care to bring out ‘abhinaya’ and grace from his pupils. Chinna Satyam is also credited with converting Kuchipudi from being a predominantly male dance form to a female performing dance. Chinna Satyam converted Kuchipudi from a practising folk dance form to a classical dance form. He introduced elements like ‘chari’ (chain of leg movements) in Kuchipudi. His choreography also brought into focus various homogenous features, like the grouping of dancers with common movements and corresponding combinations. Chinna Satyam’s contribution to systemising the movements of Kuchipudi, without compromising on the classical repertoire, and subsequently refining it to conform to the tenets of Natyashastra, has given Kuchipudi its present status - at par with the more popular Classical dance forms. 

Apart from being the choreographer in a few Telugu films and the Guru of well-known actors like Hema Malini, Vyjantimala and South superstar Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, Chinna Satyam also mentored dancing greats like Sobha Naidu, Swapnasundari, Sonal Mansingh, Shanta Rao and Yamini Krishnamurthy, Chinna Satyam was a recipient of many awards, including the Honorary doctorate degree from Andhra University, the title ‘Kalaimamani’ from the Government of Tamil Nadu, D.Litt. from Sri Venkateshwara University, National award from Sangeet Natak Academi, Honorary citizenship of Cleveland, USA, Golden Key award from Miami and the Padma Bhushan. Chinna Satyam was active to the end, mentoring young students, many from deprived backgrounds. His disciples have set up centres for the learning of Kuchipudi dance in many cities across the world. As Ghana celebrates his contribution to Classical dance on September 25, Indian mainstream media could perhaps take a leaf out of the African state’s gesture and feature Chinna Satyam’s achievements. It would be a fitting tribute to the genius of the legendary Guru-dancer-choreographer.


The Writer is a renowned Kuchipudi Danseuse and Choreographer


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