History Of Bhagwat Mela Dance In English

History Of Bhagwat Mela Dance In English

Bhagwat Mela Dance

• Bhagavata Mela is a classical Indian dance form performed in Tamil Nadu, especially in the Thanjavur region. It is choreographed as an annual Vaishnavism tradition in Melattur and surrounding areas, and is celebrated as a dance-drama performance art.
• The dance form has its roots in the historical migration of practitioners of Kuchipudi, another Indian classical dance art, from Andhra Pradesh to Thanjavur state.
• The term Bhagavata, state Brandon and Banham, refers to the Hindu text Bhagavata Purana.
• Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning “gathering, meeting of a group” and refers to a folk festival.
• The traditional Bhagavata Mela performance enacts legends of Hinduism, set to Carnatic style of music.

History

• The Bhagavata Mela has its origins in Kuchipudi, another ancient classical Indian dance found in Andhra Pradesh.
• The invasion of the region by Islamic armies led to the collapse of a Hindu kingdom, which triggered a large-scale migration of Hindu performing artist families to Tamil Nadu in the 16th century, where the dance evolved into the modern Bhagavata fair.
• Before its decline, court records of the Vijayanagara Empire based in the Deccan region – known for its patronage of Indian religions and arts – indicate that the drama-dance troupe of the Bhagavatas from the village of Kuchipudi performed at the royal court.
• The region saw wars and political upheavals, which culminated in the formation of the Deccan Sultanates in the 16th century.
• With the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire and the destruction of temples and cities in the Deccan by the Muslim army around 1565, musicians and dance-drama artists moved south, and records from the Tanjore kingdom show that some 500 such Kuchipudi artist families came from Andhra. were welcomed and given grants.
• land by the Telugu Hindu king Achuthappa Nayaka, a settlement that became modern Melattur near Tanjore (also known as Thanjavur).
• With the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire and the destruction of temples and cities in the Deccan by the Muslim army around 1565, musicians and dance-drama artists moved south, and records from the Tanjore kingdom show that some 500 such Kuchipudi artist families came from Andhra. were welcomed and given grants.
• land by the Telugu Hindu king Achuthappa Nayaka, a settlement that became modern Melattur near Tanjore (also known as Thanjavur).
• These families maintained their Kuchipudi-inspired dance drama culture in a form called Bhagwat Mela.

Repertoire

• The Bhagavata Mela is traditionally celebrated in the grounds of a Hindu temple or next to a temple, beginning after dusk and during the night, and like the original Kuchipudi performers, male Brahmins were the performers who portrayed the men and women in the underlying story. Played the characters.
• Modern productions feature both male and female performers, and have evolved to show influences from both Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam – the main classical dances of Tamil Nadu.
• These aspects of the Bhagavata Mela have their roots in the Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu text on the performing arts. Performances include dance, drama and drama. Dance performance is the abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of pure dance.
• Communication in the Bhagwat Mela takes place in the form of expressive gestures (mudra or hasta) which are in sync with the music.
• The stories of the Bhagavata Mela are usually from the Hindu epics or Puranas, with the Prahlad Charitram being particularly popular.
• The music is of the Carnatic style, and much of the underlying story is sung to the beat of the music while the dance artistes perform.