The reunion of temple and dance

The 500 year old Sri Ramachandra temple in Ammapalle was the venue for last Saturday evening's dance, surprising everyone with its undiscovered existence near Shamshabad. In the final leg of the ‘Gudi Sambaralu’, a Kuchipudi recital seemed to be the most appropriate tribute to our rich heritage of dance.

The temple pond became the dais and the steps all around, framed by corridors made a perfect amphitheatre. One cannot imagine a more exotic location! The graceful and lissome Sandhya Raju, with her nimble movements, danced into the hearts of many an art lover, as people watched sitting on the multi level steps.

Her students struck statuesque poses in the arches around the pond that were subtly lit, just as the young Gangadhar (one of her prime disciples) introduced each number. The coconut palms all around the temple tank swayed in the gentle breeze, a joyous thanksgiving for the coming back of the good old times, when temples were settings for the sacred dance.

Far from the clutter and chaos, this ancient temple dedicated to Lord Rama exudes rustic charm and intriguing quaintness. Built by the Vengi kings in the 13th century, the temple’s seven-story tower is quite impressive and large by the standards of Telangana temples.

Reviving our rich culture of traditional temple worship, ‘Gudi Sambaraalu’, (the Telangana Temple Festival) is bringing out temples tucked away in remote corners: those serene shrines receiving quiet worship, removed far from the fanfare, rush and the commercial buzz. Watching sacred arts in these divine spaces, art lovers are able to derive great pleasure, thanks to the efforts of the dedicated team of Dr Srinagi Rao and Shashi Reddy.

Sandhya Raju opened her Kuchipudi recital with ‘Pranavakaram’ in Aarabhi, an Oothukadu Subbaiyer’s composition (though it was announced as Muthuswami’s), displaying a fine grip over nritta that is laced with elegance. Two of Annamacharya’s compositions followed, numbers usually found in a dancer’s repertoire. In ‘Muddugaare Yashoda’, her elaboration of “Rathi keli Rukminiki…..” with the delineation of Rukmini Kalyanam was impressive.

“Thandanana” brought out the concept of universal equality winning instant appreciation: as the audience related to the rustic tune and joined in the rhythmic clapping. It was in the concluding piece “ shringara veera….” that Sandhya excelled, with her fine abhinaya to the lofty theme of the divine love of Parvathi and Shiva.

Without much aid from the lyrics, the simple and inspiring instrumental music gave her ample scope to demonstrate through her lucid expressions, a story of eternal love and recurrent union. As we were leaving, I overheard some ladies talk about “garnering some merit” (punyam) by the temple visit. I couldn’t suppress a smile: if we need religion to reach art, so be it!