Dancer Anuradha follows in footsteps of tradition

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): If it were not for people like Anuradha Nehru, one of India's seven classical dance forms would have remained restricted to a small village in a southern state of the Indian subcontinent.

For over two decades Anuradha has been tirelessly performing Kuchipudi, an ancient dance that traces its roots back to the 2nd century B.C., around the world.

The doe-eyed, reed-thin dancer closely resembles an apsara, a mythical creature whose entire life is devoted to song and dance in praise of the creator.

She is no stranger to Jakarta. Anuradha first came here in 1982 when her father was a consultant to the International Rice Institute. Then a student of Public Health and Nutrition at an American university, she completed her thesis on vitamin A deficiency among Indonesians and worked for a while at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) offices here.

Those years in Jakarta seemed to be flooded with other magical moments as well, like her meeting with Vikram, a descendant of Jawaharlal Nehru, founding father of modern India and the country's first head of state, who is now her husband. After marrying Vikram, a senior economist at the World Bank, Anuradha stayed on in Jakarta until 1985 when she learned Balinese dance at a school in Kebayoran Baru and performed for a show organized by Guruh Soekarnoputra.

But it was really in Washington that she was able to make a home away from her native India. It was possible to give performances regularly, including at institutions like the National Geographic and the Smithsonian Institute and also to witness a wide variety of cultural events by other artistes. The greatest feather in her cap was when she founded the Kalanidhi Centre for the Performing Arts.

"For me to relocate from Washington was a very major decision. But I decided to return to Jakarta from Washington for the sake of my family and the friends I had made here," Anuradha told The Jakarta Post on the eve of Roots and Wings, a performance at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM).

Anuradha came back to Jakarta in 1997 because she remembered the people of this country as being refined and appreciative of aesthetic qualities.

"I thought that if I have to live outside Washington, I might as well live in Jakarta. I was very happy to be back," she says.

Actually, many changes have occurred recently in the dancer's life. With the performance at TIM, she feels that she will be finally shifting away from the protective shadow of Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam, her 72-year-old teacher. Vempati, who is a strict purist, finds any kind of experimentation with the traditional dance form rather difficult to digest.

But at this stage in Anuradha's life, her soul begs to be allowed to soar. In Roots, the first part of the performance at TIM ,the dancer will strictly follow in the footsteps of Siddhendra Yogi.

He was a brilliant scholar who lived in the 14th century and was deeply devoted to music and dance. He was pained to see moral depravity seep into the profession of the temple dancers who had brought the devotional act of dancing in praise of the gods into disrepute. He took his male dancers far away into a wasteland where they earned the name of Kachelu or itinerant actors and the place was called Kuchelapuri or village of the poor, a word that has come to be pronounced Kuchipudi, the name of both the village and the dance that originated there.

In a divine revelation Siddhendra Yogi saw visions of Krishna, the reincarnation of Vishnu, the god who according to ancient Hindu scriptures is the preserver of life. It occurred to him then that all love, lust and sensual desire must be sublimated to man's only desire for god. He was filled with longing only for Krishna and composed poetry, song and dance to express this exalted love. His compositions remain a favorite of dancers even today, especially one titled Bhamakalapa.

Kuchipudi suffered neglect during the 300 years of British colonial rule. It was revived only about 50 years ago after independence when it also became fashionable for women in the country to learn dance and music with the intention of attracting a wealthy husband.

Anuradha looks forward to Wings, the second half of the performance at TIM, where she has used all the creativity at her disposal to compose Deforestation. This is a theme that is inspired both by her love for the natural beauty of Indonesia and also by the tragic and ruthless destruction of forests here.

Two other dancers from India, Hemamalini and MVN Murthy, will accompany Anuradha throughout the performance and also during the performance of Nostalgia, an experimental piece by Yanni, the Greek pianist, from his concert Live at the Acropolis.

Anuradha has no idea as to where her new found wings will ultimately lead her. For the moment, all that concerns her really is that try she must.

Roots and Wings, an evening of Indian Classical Music and Dance will be performed on Feb. 18 at 6:30 pm at the Graha Bakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jalan Cikini Raya 73. For more information call 7209731, 7247786 or 0816713402.