Right through the unending onslaught of historical and political vicissitudes the country faced in the last few centuries, its state of arts has remained unfazed, weathering their inexorable deleterious consequences.
Even the imperialist might of the British could not diminish or disfigure their cultural edifice firmly ensconced in its colourful theatre, ornate paintings, lilting music and bewitching dance forms. The clandestine scheme of the British to defame them all as pagan and imposing their own counterparts failed to yield the desired results.
True, in the late 20s of the last century, the alien government’s gambit of banning Bharatanatyam as its underlying “Sringara” element was sensual and hence injurious, seemed to hold water for a time.
That too was short-lived, thanks to the ingenious Rukmini Devi and E S Krishna Iyer, who together fought a grim legal battle to establish that the sentiment in the art was pure “bhakti-sringara”, with its own aesthetic ramifications. Rukmini, in a way, hoodwinked the powers-that-be with her now famous dance-dramas, convincing them of the form’s purely artistic approach.
This move of Rukmini Devi verily saw the resurgence of Indian arts. In Bengal, the new trend in painting spearheaded by Abanindranath Tagore unfettered itself from the British influence wrought through its art schools in Mumbai, Chennai and in a way even Mysore.
The emergent style drew more on the Western concept of perspectives as against the flat hues that characterised the tested Indian technique. Even subjectwise, studies of human interest had made their way to portraiture and landscape.
The new trend thrived till the Bengal school spearheaded by Abanindranath changed it all, a distinct oriental sense of beauty characterising the style. K Venkatappa revelled in that mode, though his compositions were not free from sentimentality.
Yet the Western influence with its new found academic abstraction persisted in the new generation of artists, till artists like K K Hebbar, S G Vasudev, Yusuf Arakkal, Sheila Goud and their contemporaries elsewhere introduced a mixed media in which the Indian context dominated.
Like in dance and painting, Karnataka can be construed as a microcosm of India. If artists from all over the country have found a homely ambience for displaying their art through exhibitions and workshops, Bangalore is verily the adopted home for the entire range of Indian dance styles.
The influx started in the late 1930s when Sohanlal of Jaipur, who was earlier a member of the internationally acclaimed Ram Gopal’s troupe, set up his school for Kathak in Malleswaram. That, arguably, was the first school of dance, followed by those of U S Krishna Rao, V S Koushik and H R Keshavamurthy, each dedicated to Bharathanatyam.
Most contemporary teachers and performers are students of one or the other of the trio. The exceptions are Padmini Rao and Narmada, both wards of the reputed Tanjore-based maestro Kittappa Pillai.
Both had proved competent gurus, though neither of them can boast of a serious student who is vested with a status to command a following and perpetuate their memory.
That way the Krishna Rao couple is more lucky. More than one student of theirs like Sheila, who has made a name as a teacher in Canada, and Pratibha Prahlad in Delhi, who has chosen to stick to the performing arena, are continuing a tradition.
Another dancer of promise was Padmini Ravi, who had become instantly popular both as a teacher and performer. But she shifted her loyalties towards sponsorship, a real loss to the dance stage. But her namesake, another Padmini (Ramachandran) is going strong as a teacher.
Bangalore can be equally proud of its Institute of Kathak, with its director Maya Rao taking over from where her mentor Sohanlal had left it. The institute has carved a niche for itself through its classy choreographic sagas.
The Andhra style of Kuchipudi also has its own adherents in the city. If Manju Bhargavi keeps alive the Chinna Satyam dispensation through teaching in her Padmavati Niketan and her infrequent stage appearances, students of Korada Narasimha Rao, Veena Murthy and Vyjayanti Kashi are as active.
Odissi, which has the sprawling Nrityagram for its sustenance, came to the City with the unforgettable Protima Bedi. Alas, she is no more, but her trusted students like Surupa Sen and others have kept the flag of Odissi aloft.
Earlier, the Kathakali and Mohini Attam exponent Usha Datar had breathed life into the twin styles through her frequent appearances on stage. Some other teachers like Radha Sridhar, Revathi Narasimhan and P Bhanumathi have also proved as popular as teachers of Bharatanatyam, each having celebrated the silver jubilee.
Kannada theatre in the last quarter of the last century made great strides, overtaking even its ebullient counterparts in Bengal and Maharashtra.
An innovative playwright like Chandrasekhara Kambara, ace director B V Karanth who could also wield the megaphone and actors of the calibre of C R Simha, Girish Karnad and Jayashree have lent an enviable reputation to Kannada theatre, which earlier was reserved to all-time greats like Kailasam and Sriranga.
In music, the state is by far the only region where both Carnatic and Hindustani styles flourish side by side. A mehfil by Vinayaka Torvi or Parameshwar Hegde draws as large an audience as the concerts of seasoned Srikantan, Nagamani, Sheela or Padmanabha.
