Sucheta Chapekar (nee Bhide} is a Bharatanatyam dancer (debut: 1963} whose training under Acharya Parvati Kumar led her at first to get acquainted with, and later to become deeply attracted by the dance compositions of Shahaji (1671- 1711} and Serfoji 11(1793-1832}, Mahratta rulers of Tanjavur.

Acharya Parvati Kumar, founder of the Tanjavur Nrithyasala in Bombay and author of a scholarly treatise on the contribution of Serfoji to Bharatanatyam, is generally given credit for bringing to the contemporary dance stage King Serfoji's dance compositions. Prominent among these are seven nirupana-s or narratives, included in 'Sahityache finus'published by the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjavur. Each nirupana uses only one raga and one tala throughout (The original manuscript, on which the Library edition is based, contains thirteen such nirupana-s.}

Parvati Kumar chose Sucheta, who was associated with him in his research work in this area from the very beginning, to be the first dancer to interpret on stage the compositions of the Mahratta rulers. Later he trained many others to do so, including Parul fhaveri, at his school which he directs with the close collaboration of his wife Sumati Lajme.

In 1974, Sucheta presented a Bharatanatyam recital billed as 'Tyaga Prabandha'. It consisted of a selection of King Shahaji's pada-s and daru-s. It was Tanjavur Kittappa Pillai who composed the music and recreated the dances for the Prabandha. Sucheta trained under Kittappa Pillai for this programme and later continued as a disciple of his.

Her perception that her Bharatanatyam recitals featuring the Marathi compositions of the Tanjavur rulers, although set to music only in the Carnatic mode, evoked a greater degree of response and appreciation from audiences, led her a few years ago to experiment with the idea of presenting a full dance recital using Hindustani rather than Carnatic music Her deep interest in the theoretical aspects of dance — she has a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Bombay — was an asset in her attempt to synthesize the technique of Bharatanatyam and North Indian music.

This attempt reached fruition in 'Nrityaganga', a programme of solo dances, which she presented under the auspices of the Bhulabhai and Dhirajlal Desai Memorial Trust in April this year in Bombay. The inaugural performances, to which SRUTI critic and correspondent R. SETHURAMAN was a keen witness, evoked positive and favourable reactions, suggesting the possibility that this new synthetic form of Bharatanatyam performed to Hindustani classical music will become popular in Maharashtra and the rest of North India.

Sethuraman talked to Sucheta and filed this report Suchetaji, hearty congratulations on the success of your Nrityaganga performance. Can you tell me of your own emotions on this achievement?

I was overwhelmed by the spontaneous and generous response. Even as I danced, I was able to perceive a sense of appreciation and a positive reaction. And then many came to me at the end of the programme and said they were able to follow the meaning of the songs and the interpretative dances that I performed. This extent of appreciation was not there among North Indian audiences for the conventional Bharatanatyam recital, with the music composed in either Tamil, Telugu or Kannada. It was the language which made all the difference. I consider this as a big leap forward in my efforts and an important milestone in my artistic career. I shall persevere further to reach a great degree of perfection in this endeavour in which I have received invaluable support from my gurus, other eminent artists and men of letters, as well as from the Bhulabhai Memorial Institute and its director Solibhai [Soli Batlivala].

Can you tell us something about your efforts to evolve this new mode of artistic expression, and also about the necessity to depart from the commonly prevalent form of traditional Bharatanatyam set to Carnatic music? Also will you please explain in what respects you found the usual Bharatanatyam with Carnatic music inadequate?

Let me hasten to assure you that classical Bharatanatyam with Carnatic music is not at all deficient artistically or in any other respect. My efforts to evolve a synthesis of Bharatanatyam and classical Hindustani music should not be construed to mean that I have set about to make improvements in Bharatanatyam as it is now or as it has been all along. In my opinion, Bharatanatyam is the dance form which is founded upon a well-defined sastra. This is also the form which calls for perfect coordination of every limb of the dancer and demands the highest degree of artistry. I personally feel that there is a great deal more to be learned by going deeper into the subject.

If I have ventured into a new medium for expressing myself, it is because I want the people in Maharashtra. and in North India generally, to understand and appreciate Bharatanatyam in a greater measure than now. Audiences in a few metropolitan cities like Bombay and Delhi are exceptions. Elsewhere in the North, they do not understand the sahitya component of the Bharatanatyam recital, which usually is in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, etc. This is my experience as a Bharatanatyam dancer over a number of years. Due to this factor, the dancer is more or less handicapped in eliciting an emotive response from the hearts of the people in the audience, among whom possibly only a few can appreciate the meaning of the compositions. 

Dance is but visual music and the emotional content of the music is conveyed to the audience through the sahitya or lyrics. The hasta-s and mudra-s go further to amplify and heighten the effect of what is said in the lyrics. If the language itself is unintelligible to the rasikas, then to that extent their spontaneous appreciation, or undergoing a transformation of feeling, suffers. I, therefore, felt that something should be done about the language difficulty.

At about this juncture and during the course of my researches in Tanjavur on the works of Shahaji and Serfoji II, I came upon their Marathi and Hind I compositions created for Bharatanatyam. I presented some of these compositions in my dance recitals. I have even presented a full-length dance recital under the title Thyaga Prabhanda using the Marathi lyrics — like daru-s and pada-s — composed by King Shahaji.

One thing, however, stood out clearly and that was when set to music and sung in the Camati c mode, the Marathi or Hindi compositions could no longer be recognised as such. The pronunciations and accentuations, so characteristic of these languages, changed fully. I think this will interest you. In a tv quiz programme, I played three compositions, dance compositions, set to Camatic music. One was in Tamil, another in Telugu and the third in Marathi. The competitors, who were Maharashtrians, were able to identify the Tamil and Telugu compositions, but were unable to identify the Marathi composition! It, therefore, became clear to me that if the meaning, beauty and nuances of the Marathi or Hind i lyrical compositions were to be conveyed to the rasika, then it would have to be through the medium of classical Hindustani music, indigenous to these languages. This is the genesis of my endeavours to synthesise Bharatanatyam and Hindustani classical music

Was it difficult, this attempt to produce a synthesis?

Yes, it was a formidable task. My endeavour was to evolve a pattern of dance which would run somewhat parallel in sequence to, but not necessarily coincide in every respect with, the traditional Bharatanatyam recital set to Camati c music. I took great care to ensure that the traditional beauty and purity of Bharatanatyam did not in any way suffer or get diminished in any manner. I was fortunate to get the help and guidance of eminent musicologists and artistes, such as Vasantrao Deshpande [who has passed away since]; Prabha Atre and Sarla Bhide, both eminent Hindustani vocalists; and Pandit Suresh . Talwalkar, is a great tabla player. Each of these eminent artists thoroughly understood what was wanted. Pandit Talwalkar is well conversant with the patterns and finer points of laya in Carnatic music, which he learnt from mridanga vidwan Ramnad Easwaran who was in Delhi. Panditji was therefore well-suited to create the laya patterns and 'bols* [solkattu-s] which occur in the compositions presented in the Nrityaganga.

As a result of such pooled efforts, the innovation called Nrityaganga took shape. In it are included items such as the peshkar, sargam, chhota khayal, thumri, bhajan and tarana. While vandana, the opening item of the dance, peshkar and sargam serve to prepare the dancer for the main item, as in Bharatanatyam, I chose the chhota khayal as the programme equivalent of the varnam. Th e chhota khayal affords great scope for improvisation and delineation of sanchari-s and teermanam-s set to different laya patterns, as in a varnam. Th e thumri-s can be choreographed for abhinaya and, full of emotional appeal that they are, they can be presented as parallel to the pada-s. Th e other items using bhajans, tarana and so on can be danced exquisitely. As a matter of fact, many North Indian bhajans find a place in a conventional Bharatanatyam recital also, but of course sung in Camatic style. Thes e items will be more enchanting in the Hindustani style. I have framed my dance repertoire by using madhya laya to a large extent, because I am convinced that it is in the madhya laya (or the madhyama kala) that the dancer has the greatest scope for giving her best. Th e rasikas too will find this most acceptable.

Your efforts are commendable. Watching you dance at the inaugural Nrityaganga performance I was much impressed by the result. I may, nowever, mention one point. In Bharatanatyam, it is the varnam which is the crowning piece. I am sure that, as a Bharatanatyam dancer, you are well aware of the tight laya pattern and the scope for sanchari-s, abhinaya, ana so on in the varnam. I personally feel that the chhota khayal would need a lot more improvement and honing before it can be compared to a varnam. A conservative rasika like myself is apt to miss a varnam-like item in a full length Bharatanatyam recital.

Yes, I understand what you say. But one should know at the same time that, given the differences between the classical music systems of the North and the South, a bandish [composition] wholly identical with a Camati c varnam will be hard to compose in Hindustani style. On the other hand, a varnam with Hindustani or Marathi lyrics, as mentioned earlier, has its own disadvantages. Th e question therefore calls for the highest calibre of musical aesthetics and ability to reach out to the aim of creating a varnam-like composition in the Hindustani music style. One could always be in quest of such an ideal.

Why have you christened your synthesis of Bharatanatyam with the Hindustani classical music as Nrityaganga?

Ah, yes. Th e Ganga is the most hallowed heritage QJ all Indians; so is classical dance in all its various branches. Th e Ganga is perennial and is ever on the move, not stagnating one bit. Th e ancient art of Bharatanatyam too has gone through various stages of evolution and is also forever on the move, absorbing many new features within the framework of its sastras and traditions. So I called my synthesis Nrityaganga. My effort has been to evolve a mode of artistic expression in keeping with the highest traditions, which will establish a link between the two great classical cultures, Bharatanatyam and classical Hindustani music. This mode of expression, if found acceptable by the people, would be common to all Indians, like Ganga is. Or for that matter, to everyone, everywhere.   

Will you henceforward concentrate only on Nrityaganga?
No, not entirely. I will not forsake my moorings. Bharatanatyam is my base and it is thr6ugh this medium that I have expressed myself as an artiste on the stage, and I shall be attached to it forever. As I said before, there is a good lot more to be learned. I will endeavour to popularise this art in the form of Nrityaganga also, as the occasion may demand. Bharatanatyam, which is so unique in many respects, should be more widely understood and appreciated 'n our country, in all its regions. Nrityaganga is my humble effort to this end.

Can you tell us also about your research in Tanjavur on the Marathi works of the Mahratta kings?

My guru Sri Parvati Kumar, a great person deeply dedicated to Bharatanatyam, undertook research into the Marathi compositions of King Serfoji. I helped him by writing down in manuscipt all the sahitya-s brought to light and by copying hundreds of compositions in Marathi. Tha t was my first introduction to the otherwise unknown treasure-house of musical compositions of the Tanjavur kings in Marathi and also in Hindi and Sanskrit. Much later, early in the nineteen seventies, I undertook by mvself to study the works of King Shahaji. King Shahaji ruled Tanjavur from 1684 to 1711. He was learned in several branches of the fine arts and sastras and he was also a linguist. He had composed many daru-s, pada-s and prabhanda-s for classical natya, in Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit. Th e number of compositions amount to about 500. I went to Tanjavur several times and made a study of these compositions which are available at the Saraswati Mahal Library. Guru Sri Kittappa Pillai of Tanjavur helped me to understand them and guided me in choreographing and dancing to many of them. In 1974, for the first time, I gave a full-length dance recital consisting only of the Marathi compositions of King Shahaji. Sri Kittappa Pillai, to whom I am beholden, wielded the cymbals on the occasion.

King Shahaji was a great devotee of his family deity Sri Tyagesa of Tiruvarur. He composed numerous prabhanda-s and other musical pieces on Tyagesa. My dance recital in 1974, consisting of the compositions of King Shahaji, was therefore called Tyaga Prabandha. This performance, in its wake created a greater awareness of the musical compositions of the Tanjavur kings. I feel privileged to have danced to these compositions which, as I mentioned before, were set to Carnatic music. 

Have you presented these dance compositions in Marathi in Madras sabhas?

My first presentation of them in Madras was at a lecture demonstration at the morning sessions of the Music Academy's December series. It was way back in 1971. Earlier I had written long letters to Dr. V. Raghavan [then secretary of the Academy] explaining the research work done on King Serfoji's'sadir' compositions by guru Parvati Kumar and my presentation of it. Characteristically he sent a terse one line reply that I may visit and see him when I happened to be in Madras. To my utter joy, when I did meet him in Madras, he said he was giving me an opportunity for a demonstration of King Seffoji's compositions in the morning session. Not only that, he also invited me to practise in his own house since I was staying in a hotel room with my father. I danced, to taped music, three of Serfoji's Marathi compositions, a swarajati, jakkini daru and the pada Aji sonyacha divasa [Today is the golden day of my life]. Srimati D.K. Pattammal was presiding over the Academy Conference that year and later I was overjoyed to know that Srimati Balasaraswati was also present. Indeed that was a golden day in my life. In 1974,1 gave a recital consisting of King Shahaji's Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit compositions unde r the auspices of the Music Academy in its own auditorium. Dr. Raghavan himself compered the performance conducted by guru Kittappa. I think this was one of my best performances. Even now, ten years later, I meet people who have a vivid memory of that recital. Later I had more occasions to perform in Madras unde r the auspices of different organisations. I always look forward to such opportunities. I feel more at home dancing Bharatanatyam in Madras than in my native state of Maharashtra.

Have you danced abroad?

Yes, I have made several trips to Europe and many African countries. Wherever I danced, I was fortunate to be acclaimed as a good dancer. I am thankful to the Almighty for His grace. But may I say a few words about Tanjavur? -My researches on the compositions of the Mahratta kings revealed the great interaction between the cultures of the peoples of Maharashtra and Chola country and of the artistic attainments of the people and their kings in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This was really 'unity in diversity' and Tanjavur in those days could boast of many learned men, learned not only in the sastras and scriptures, but also in every form of the fine arts. Ther e was the confluence of several languages like Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and several European languages too. Truly great was that period. 

NRITYAGANGA

The inaugural programme of Nrityaganga consisted of the following items:

• VANDANA An invocatory composition consisting of three slokas sung in three different raga-s, offering obeisance to Ganesa, Gur u and Siva.

• PESHKAR: A composition, parallel to Alap in vocal music, consisting of 'bol-s' of the tabla. It has flowering patterns in slow and medium tempo which are represented through pur e dance. This particular Peshkar was specially composed by Pandit Suresh Talwalkar to suit Bharatanatyam movements involving the whole body.

• SARGAM: An exposition of swara patterns based on a composition in a particular raga. While the words are interpreted through hasta mudra-s the actual swara patterns take a visual shape through nritta or pur e dance. This sargam was specially composed by Prabha Atre.

• ASHTAMANGALA: A pur e dance composition consisting of eight tukra-s or nritta patterns, offered to the presiding deities of the eight directions. • ABHINAYA A composition of interpretative dance, abhinaya is based on two chhota khayal-s. T h e initial one depicts a virahotkandhita nayika or woman suffering pangs of love. In the subsequent composition, she turns to a khandita or a woman rebuking he r lord who, she feels, has betrayed her for another woman.

• NATYAGEET: A dance adaptation of a famous Marathi natyapad from Manapman. Th e nayika expresses her mock anger at her beloved's seemingly impertinent remark.

• SHIVA STUTI: A combination of a verse in praise of Siva and tabla bol-s which are recited, followed by a 'bandish', on this occasion a composition by Kumar Gandharva. • THUMR I Dance adaptation of the melodyoriented song type. This thumri portrayed a maiden of Vridavana and her ambivalent attitude towards Krishna.

• TARANA: A pure dance composition in which the dance follows and emphasizes the bold patterns of a bandish. The bandish on this occasion was a composition in madhyalaya by Vilayat Khan.

• BHAJAN: A devotional composition. In Marathi.

Ragas used: Saraswati; Sohoni; Mand Khamaj; Shankara; Kafi; Yaman Kalyan; and Bhairavi.

Talas used: Teental; Ektal; Rupak; Dadra; and Deepchandi.

Dance language used: Hasta-s and mudra-s all strictly those employed in traditional Bharatanatyam.