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TN CM accused of CHENNAI, Dec 27: The AIADMK today accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of ‘misusing sensitive institutions’ to demolish the party by ‘non-political means’. In a joint .....more Unveiling intrigues surrounding Devadasi NEW DELHI, Dec 27: It was a novel way chosen while resorting to unveil that element of intrigue surrounding the Devadasi, the sort of mysticism....more
Cong hand in glove with LUCKNOW,
Dec 27: Rashtriya
Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) president Mulayam Singh Yadav
today accused Congress of being hand...more BANGALORE, Dec 27: BJP today said the Vajpayee Government "has come to stay" and claimed that efforts of "third forces" to prop up an alternative Government with the Congress help had not received any response...more |
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CPI-M charged with
politicising planning board Ruling allies feud deepens as exchange of allegation on THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 27: The running feud between the two major political parties in ..more
Creation of new states no panacea: Thakre GUWAHATI,
Dec 27: Creation
of new states would not solve the problems of the people
concerned as long as ..more HYDERABAD, Dec 27: Union Urban Affairs Minister Ram Jethmalani today lashed out at proponents of "swadeshi" and said only....more
HM terms ABVP as MUMBAI, Dec 27: Union Home Minister L K Advani showered all praise on the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing..more |
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TN CM accused of demolishing party by non-pol means CHENNAI, Dec 27: The AIADMK today accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of ‘misusing sensitive institutions’ to demolish the party by ‘non-political means’. In a joint statement here, AIADMK Deputy General Secretary Chinnasamy and four party functionaries asked whether Karunanidhi was prepared to take a lie detector test to rebut their charge that he was pursuing his goal of destroying the AIADMK through certain chosen individuals, who were carrying out specific tasks assigned to them. Without elaborating, the AIADMK leaders hinted that the institution they were referring to was the judiciary, saying ‘only a free judiciary can protect innocent citizens from persecution by a rampaging executive. Those who seek to use state power to bully and coerce opponents and to force false testimony against them should be exposed and punished’. They alleged that the Chief Minister had assigned ‘sensitive tasks’ to certain individuals, and called for an investigation into the nexus with senior DMK functionaries. Among those who had signed the statement were two Rajya Sabha MPs, R Margabandhu and N Thalavai Sundaram. (PTI) |
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Unveiling intrigues surrounding Devadasi NEW DELHI, Dec 27: It was a novel way chosen while resorting to unveil that element of intrigue surrounding the Devadasi, the sort of mysticism tagged to her art and private life. Well-known classical dancer Swapnasundari sought to stage a ballet to encapsulate the various contexts in which the traditional Temple dancer performed during her heyday. The two-hour production ‘She-Vilasini’, staged in the capital recently, follows a typical Devadasi of Andhra Pradesh over a short period of her life. "Much is assumed, little is known about the social and artistic significance of the Devadasi and her dance. That she was neither a demi-goddess nor a common harlot," notes the Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam Danseuse, who has currently been researching on Andhra’s female dance form, Vilasini Natyam. Even as the South Indian state’s male dance form, Kuchipudi, withstood the change of times, its female counterpart faded into oblivion. An unfortunate degeneration of ethics attached to its artistes and a resultant anti-Devadasi law passed in 1947 virtually sang the requiem for the centuries-old dance. "Fortunately, however, a few artistes held on proudly and fiercely to their precious artistic inheritance. This helped me retrieve many pieces of its repertoire from authentic sources," says Swapna, who since 1994 began learning the art after meeting some aged Devadasi dancers in various parts of Andhra, and then codified and rechristened the form as ‘Vilasini Natyam’. Why choose the name Vilasini? "well, some early inscriptions of around the tenth century a.d. Refer to dancing women (in Andhra) as Vilasini. Notwithstanding the fact that the ‘Stree Sampradayam’ (female tradition) of dance was known in different parts under various names like Chaduru, Chinna Melam, Karnatakam and Bharatam, a panel of distinguished artistes and critics opted for this name in 1994," she recalls. On the Devadasis, the researcher-dancer says: "She was part of a professional group of learned and skilled women. She had a vital presence in worship, entertainment and education." Pointing out that Vilasini Natyam used to be not merely a dance form staged in temple premises alone, she says: "See, the form found stages at three venues - in Temples, where it is called the ‘Alaya Sampradayam’, in courts (Asthana Sampradayam) and public performance tradition (Aata-Bhagavata Sampradayam). Thus it necessitated an acquisition of various talents by the Danseuse. Besides being sure with the basics, she should have expertise in ‘Manodharma’ (impromptu improvisation), powerful memory to retain the text of long Bhagavatam sequences, develop fluency in Sanskrit and Telugu, culture her voice to sing sweetly and possess a power to lead her team..." An eclectic mix which helped Swapna too, during her ballet last Tuesday. Along with troupe members belonging to her Kuchipudi Dance Centre here as co-artistes on the stage, Swapna began with depicting the arrival of the Devadasi (Vilasini) at the Temple in the dawn to wake up the deity. A pure dance ‘Pallavi’ performed next essays Vilasini’s accompaniment to the breakfast meal being offered to the deity. Arrival of the local king at the Temple helps the audience get a change of the dance pattern from the Temple tradition to that of the court. The welcome salutation number called ‘Salam Daruvu’ follows before ‘Bilaharana’ - an offering to ‘Dikpalaks’. ‘Varnam’, the most colourful item in the Vilasini Natyam repertoire, finds chance to be staged in the ballet when the king invites Vilasini for a performance in the court. Taking cue from an interlude where the Devadasi adopts a student, the production gathers further momentum when the guru performs a Bhagavatam at an annual Temple festival where the shishya has her debut. A lullaby sung to the deity and a ‘Mangalam’ come as the conclusion. Delving into the research part of Vilasini Natyam, Swapna, who played the protagonist’s role and gave voice to her music in the ballet, says: "I had started reading relevant literature much before 1994 when I decided to learn this dance. Playwright and lyricist Dr Arudra, who authored the 5,000-page work about the history of Telugu literature, helped me sift fact from fiction regarding Devadasi culture. And of course, a codified text of ‘Desi Lasyanga’ by Jayappa Senapati, a 14th century commander-in-chief, was another torchlight. It threw much light on the original form of this dance." Sadly, the ballet has no traditional Devadasi of the modern generation figuring in it. Swapna’s co-artistes on the stage were mostly students of her 1981-founded Kuchipudi Dance Centre. "Andhra Devadasis are no more into their good old dance. They have formed a ‘Samajam’ (society), which has taken a pledge not to perform anymore. Thus the art continues to be dead in its homeland." when pointed out that some movements in the ballet appeared close to those based on the three-bent posture (Tribhanga) in Odissi, the dancer clarified: "Odissi and Kuchipudi, or any such Indian dance for that matter, are actually neo-classical in nature. One should not forget that they were all called ‘Desi’ dances before 1950s and were never water-tight compartments." Asked if she would switch
over to a live version of the ballet instead of the
present recorded application, Swapna replied in the
negative. "The Devadasi lived in the midst of a
moving crowd in the Temple premises. But in the ballet
the audience are fixed at a place and a moving Devadasi
singing ‘live’ music means fluctuations in the
voice. Nobody would want that." (UNI)
Cong hand in glove with BJP: Mulayam LUCKNOW, Dec 27: Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) president Mulayam Singh Yadav today accused Congress of being hand in glove with the BJP on the issue of tabling of various bills in the Lok Sabha. Yadav told newsmen here that Congress was helping the BJP in getting passed the Woman’s Reservation Bill, the Insurance Regulatory Act Bill and the Patents Bill, all aimed at benefiting the elite at the cost of the poor, downtrodden and farmers. "Congress has been playing a role of mute spectator in the Lok Sabha", he said adding both the Congress and BJP were succumbing to the pressures of international monetary agencies rather than keeping the nation’s interest. Referring to the Patents Bill, yadav said the two parties were more worried about the pressures of World Trade Organisation rather than those on the Indian farmers, whose interests would be adversely affected. The Congress party was equally fascist, Yadav said. However, the only difference between the two on this count was While each and everyone in the BJP was having fascist mentality, there were some secular leaders in Congress, he said. The RLM president claimed that the "third force" would become a viable political alternative and emerge as a force to reckon with soon after RLM leader Laloo Prasad Yadav was released from jail. Ground preparations in this regard were on in full swing and political leaders from like-minded parties would come forward soon to give a national alternative to the Congress and the BJP, Yadav said. He said Samajwadi Party’s three-day national convention will be held in Bhopal from January 29. Earlier, a condolence meeting was held at the party headquarters here to condole the death of Samajwadi Party leader Mama Baleshwar Dayal, who passed away yesterday in Madhya Pradesh. (PTI) |
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Creation of new states no panacea: Thakre GUWAHATI, Dec 27: Creation of new states would not solve the problems of the people concerned as long as economic development and building of infrastructural facilities were not given the due attention, BJP National President Kushabhau Thakre said here today. Creation of a new state for each section of society will not solve their problems but the Governments must instead take initiative to settle their grievances, he told reporters. Non-development of local areas, lack of roads and other infrastructure facilities, absence of economic development were the vexed issues facing the people, he said. Emphasising that an atmosphere of co-existence and peace has to be created by the Government among the different groups of society, he said, no democratic Government can allow living in isolation. Asserting a concentrated effort has to be made by both the people and the Government in this direction, Thakre said, it is a long process and a long-term plan has to drawn up for achieving this end. The BJP supremo attributed the ongoing violence in Assam to some people being misguided. (PTI) |
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 27: The running feud between the two major political parties in the ruling Marxist-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala has further deepened with CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan accusing the CPI(M) of having politicised the state planning board bringing distortions in the decentralised people’s plan campaign. Mr Bhargavan’s statement comes in the wake of CPI(M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s recent outburst against him for criticising the implementation of the people’s plan. While the two were busy engaged in replying to each others’ contentions, another constituent of the LDF, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), had extended its support to the CPI in the fight against the "politicisation of the state planning board." RSP state secretary and All India acting General Secretary K Pankajakshan said at a function yesterday that RSP activists were intentionally kept out of the people’s campaign. In a strongly-worded statement here, Mr Bhargavan said no discussion had taken place in the LDF on the formulation of the decentralised plan campaign. Party leader P K Vasudevan Nair had expressed the CPI’s criticism on this issue at the inauguration of the plan campaign itself. Reacting to Mr Vijayan’s recent statement that the existing planning board would not be reconstituted, Mr Bhargavan said his party had never demanded, either in the LDF or outside, that the planning board should be reconstituted on party-basis. That was not the perception of the CPI. It was the CPI(M) which had politicised the planning board, he alleged. Stating that the planning board should have experts, Mr Bhargavan said at present there were only three full-time members, including the Vice-Chairman. Two of them were members of the CPI(M) State Committee, appointed on political considerations, he claimed. He said his party had tried to point out the flaws and shortcomings in the decentralised plan campaign to make it more effective. The propaganda that this amounted to playing into the hands of the enemies would actually mean giving silent consent to the mistakes and distortations which had crept into the implementation of the campaign. Mr Vijayan had strongly criticised Mr Bhargavan for making public statements, saying "the reasons for unleashing such an open attack against the CPI(M) are still mysterious. There were fora within the ruling coalition where the constituents could air their grievances," he added. He said the present planning board headed by Chief Minister E K Nayanar with noted economist Dr I S Gulati as Vice-Chairman was constituted only after a proper discussion among the constituent partners, followed by a discussion at the State Cabinet. It was strange that the CPI had not raised the issue for nearly two-and-a-half years after the constitution of the board, despite the fact that it had representation in both the State Committee of the LDF and in the State Cabinet, Mr Vijayan argued. (UNI) |
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HM terms ABVP as most disciplined organisation MUMBAI, Dec 27: Union Home Minister L K Advani showered all praise on the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Sangh Parivar, saying that it is the "premier and most disciplined" student organisation of the country. Taking to reporters at the Prof Yashwant Rao Kelkar Nagar here, where the golden jubilee convention of the ABVP is being held, Mr Advani said, "it is one of the best student outfit of the country and qualitatively superior to any other student organisation." Mr Advani refused to answer any political questions at the venue of the convention, saying that he has come just to visit the convention and was not in a position to answer any questions on the political scenario. Later, he also attended the Ram-Katha being organised by the Banbhandu Parivar and Agroha Vikas Trust. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, when asked about opposition of the ABVP to major economic decisions of his coalition Government as was evident from its draft resolution, said, "I have not yet seen the resolution." "But, in a democratic country everybody is free to express their views...There is nothing wrong in it, and I appreciate that," the Union Home Minister said, adding, "I salute the discipline and culture of the ABVP." (UNI) |
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