US, November 20, 2011 (First Post): Balasaraswati and her famous contemporary Rukmini Devi Arundale, both extraordinary dancers, disagreed on many things. Eventually, those differences played out on a national stage in a legendary 1945 concert that is one of the subject of a new book about Balasaraswati.
Bala’s outspoken criticism of carnality in Sringara rasa as presented by some traditional dancers had been a matter of public record by the 1930s. In 1945, a dance festival with both artists opened with a recital of bharata natyam by Rukmini Devi, who was the predominant performer throughout. “Srimati Rukmini Devi,” the festival booklet explained, “has regenerated this art and rescued it from degradation and virtual extinction and restored it to its pristine beauty, by permeating it with religious and devotional spirit. She has succeeded in dramatizing it with appropriate music and costumes, and has rescued it from all monopolies, especially as regards teaching and conducting.” In the inaugural performance on January 18, Rukmini Devi performed a traditionally formatted concert, and she included compositions whose poetry made reference to human love, Sringara rasa pieces from the traditional repertoire.
The night of Balasaraswati’s concert on January 21, saw a different approach. Her piece was a reconstruction of a kuravanji, an opera-like form that had evolved in the Thanjavur court. In a contrast to Rukmini Devi’s ornate stage decorations, Bala danced on an empty stage. The concert was one of great vigor and triumph. Bala danced wonderfully, abhinaya, tirmanams, with enormous energy. It was as if she decided to say, ‘I want to show art is not just stage trappings.’ And she proved her point. The audience was thrilled.
While their artistic rivalry unfolded, India’s respect and love for dance was about to take a blow. On January 26, 1947, India celebrated its first Republic Day. Four months later, the Devadasi Act was passed in the Madras Legislative Council. The act declared unlawful “the performing of any dance by any woman in the precincts of any temple or religious institution or in any procession of a Hindu Deity.” Bala later commented proudly and with respect that even after the passage of the legislation, Mylapore Gauri Ammal continued to dance in the sanctum sanctorum of Kapaaliswara Temple in Madras. Nevertheless, the hereditary art Bala had attempted to raise up in the eyes of the nation and of which she was so intensely proud had been overwhelmed. By the end of 1947, the defamation of the devadasi had been legislated, and it appeared that both the art and the artist had been banished and replaced.
For more on this subject and the new book on Balasaraswati, click on “source” above.