Temple dance show back after 42 years

A temple dance production called ‘Navasandhi’ is returning to Bengaluru on Saturday, 42 years after its premiere.

It is a take on the ritualistic temple dance once performed by Devadasis. The Devadasi system is now banned.

Veena Murthy Vijay was 18 when she performed the three-hour original production at a temple as the solo dancer. The year was 1981. Now a Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam exponent, Veena has slightly shortened the production for the modern audience. She has also passed the mantle of the nartaki (dancer) to her student Sangeetha Phaneesh.

Veena felt it was the right time to revive the Kuchipudi recital. “I see an awakening in youngsters concerning Indic studies and Indian heritage,” she explains.

Looking back

Veena feels the Devadasis were “much misunderstood”. “They were well-versed in music, literature and the Vedas,” she says, adding that the show is a glimpse of the traditions they had nurtured.

‘Navasandhi’ is based on a manuscript that can be traced back to the Devadasis in south India. Bhudda Dev, a nattuvanar (one who conducts the music ensemble for dance), had received the manuscript from his ancestors. “Devadasis would perform this dance during festivals and ceremonies like Brahmotsavam, when a small replica of the main deity was taken out on a procession on the streets,” she says. The Devadasis would dance in veneration of the central deity as well as the eight directional deities, believed to be the guardians of the eight directions. “Sandhi means a designated area. ‘Navasandhi’ refers to nine areas,” explains Veena.

Devotional dance was not limited to special occasions. “Devadasis would perform their daily temple duties through songs, dance and mantras. Their art was meant for gods but people visiting the temple would invariably gather and watch,” she says.

Stage challenges

It was Veena’s guru Korada Narasimha Rao who had taught this dance ritual to her. She had performed ‘Navasandhi’ inside the Kanyaka Parameshwari Temple at Sajjan Rao Circle. It was preceded by a procession, in which Veena was brought in a palanquin and her guru on an elephant. "There was so much crowd on the streets to watch the show. A short clip of the dance was later screened at a movie theatre as part of Indian News Review (India’s Film Division used to play reels of local and international news in cinema halls back in the day)," she recalls.

Constructing “the temple set” for the stage took about a month of work. The temple-like sounds will be recreated by a live band. They will sing and chant the Vedas and they will also play nadaswaram, veena and other Indian instruments. “I have restructured the music in terms of speed, melody, length, and prosody. I was guided by musicologist T S Sathyavathi,” says Veena, who will lead the music ensemble.

On December 30, 4 pm at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Vyalikaval. Entry free. Call 99801 25245