Today, I would share with my readers an overview of Indian classical dance in the context of gender perspective. To be relevant, every art form must reflect the socio-cultural nuances of its time. Dance always had far greater socio-political implications than mere reflection of aesthetic standards of a society.
Dance is commonly perceived as a feminine art. But in India, the god of dance is Nataraja. He danced Tandava, a masculine and dynamic dance symbolising the eternal cycle of creation, destruction and recreation of the universe. To counterbalance, Shiva’s consort Parvati danced Lasya, the soft feminine dance to preserve and nurture, a role which women are supposed to play all the time all over the world. In the very structure of the philosophy of our dance, there is gender codification.
In Hindu cosmic world view, the dance is of divine origin and enjoys high status. But our mythology speaks of apsaras, the celestial dancers whose job was not only to entertain gods, but also to use their art to seduce and distract ascetics who tried too hard to achieve divinity. Legend of Menaka and Vishwamitra is an example where dance was used as a deliberate tool of seduction. Seen in the context of contemporary discourse on gender, this raises the question that in spite of its divine origin, whether dance was being perceived as a form of entertainment especially meant for the male gaze.
In the medieval period, the institution of devdasi developed in the south. These were young women dedicated to the temples and trained in dance and music. Symbolically married to the presiding deity, they enjoyed immense ritual status. In the north, there developed a highly refined class of courtesans who were proficient dancers, musicians and poets. Both the devdasis and the courtesans enjoyed relative empowerment compared to other women of their time. Many of them were highly educated and individually wealthy. They had access to powerful patrons and had far greater experience, exposure and freedom than householder women. However, they also had to function within the broader context of a patriarchal society wherein they had to fulfill obligations, including sexual gratification of their patrons. Even the devdasis couldn’t escape this fate as sexual encounter between them and the senior priests had religious sanction. During the colonial rule, it is this particular aspect which made the colonial rulers define Indian dance as degenerated and clubbed the dancers together with prostitutes. It was highly educated, high-caste women like Rukmani Devi Arundale and Madam Menaka who made tremendous effort to bring classical dance into forefront of public consciousness and bestowed respectability to dance, paving way for other women to follow.
The women dancers of today, even while working within the traditional classical format, are raising new issues and questioning old ones. They are educated, aware of gender discriminations and politics of culture which gets reflected in their works. There are women teachers of high repute who enjoy equal status as the male gurus.
Interestingly, it is quite common for a male dancer to assume the role of a female protagonist and depict feminine emotions. For anyone who witnessed late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra or Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj depicting the longing of Radha to meet Krishna, it would be an unforgettable experience. For me, it is one aspect of classical dance that makes it transcend all gender stereotypes and truly remain a form of pure abstract art.
;The writer is a Kathak dancer based in Delhi.
;Email: mukherjee.sharmistha@gmail.com