Swarnamalya Ganesh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Swarnamalya Ganesh

In any living tradition, a continuous study and analysis of movement practice is required. Bharat... more In any living tradition, a continuous study and analysis of movement practice is required. Bharata’s Natya Sastra, the extant work on dramaturgy engages in theorizing the practice of art production. When performers examine and reconstruct written critical pedagogies, it manifests into movement practice.

The scope of this paper is to analyse the critical theory, movement practice and context of Bharatanrityam, a product of the 20th century. History is an interpretation of past events. In that sense, we have never witnessed the creation or evolution of any tradition or pedagogy of dance at all. But the advantage with Bharatanrityam is that it is contemporaneous to our times. It’s a system that has evolved in our midst in real time. Therefore we have the luxury of analysing its origins, methods and critical theories.

Papers by Swarnamalya Ganesh

South Asian Dance Intersections

Scholars have established over the past decades that the tradition of historiography in South Asi... more Scholars have established over the past decades that the tradition of historiography in South Asia was not altogether a Western import. This has allowed us to revisit South Indian vernacular literary texts in a new light. Historians A. K. Warder, Romila Thaper, Nicholas Dirks, and the trio of Sanjay Subramaniam, Velcheru Narayana Rao, and David Shulman have argued eloquently in their writing about seeing Indian literature as serious sources of historical evidence. For example, the trio identify sources such as Karanam-s (service gentry who were book keepers/accountants), Raya Vācakamū-s (chronicles of Vijayanagara Kings), and Tārikh-s (modern members of society who wrote history), all seemingly non-traditional sources authored by ministers, court chroniclers, accountants, army chieftains, and others as important materials. I further this argument to investigate the vernacular performative literatures of Abhyudayamu-s in the yakśagānamu style, from early Modern Tañjāvur. Raghunātha-a...

The Logical Indian, 2023

Much like mythologies, an entire body of performance and media narratives were being constructed ... more Much like mythologies, an entire body of performance and media narratives were being constructed as evidence to prove the already written theories. Although the ulterior motive of these being the ticket to gain relevance and validation in the world of dance for these writers, eventually feeding back into western academia for awards and promotions in their jobs was evident, it was becoming insufferable, particularly the tiresome inaccurate rhetorics.

Oriental Journal Of Asian Studies, Sastra University, 2012

The fourth chapter of the dramaturgical work called the Natya Sastra written by Bharatamuni, is s... more The fourth chapter of the dramaturgical work called the Natya Sastra written by Bharatamuni, is sculpted on stone panels and have been encoded on the walls of Sarngapani temple at Kumbhakonam. These icons are freezes from a dynamic unit of movement sets called Karanas. An incomplete series of 81 of the 108 Karanas are found at the Brihadeeswara temple at Tanjavur. But the Sarngapani series is complete with all the 108. Etched on the walls of the outer gopura, this panel series is very significant for another reason. It is here that we find, every panel accompanied by the corresponding sutra or couplet verse from the Natya Sastra inscribed in Grantha above. Thus, establishing the undisputable correlation between the textual work on Tandava Lakshana from the Natya Sastra and the sculptures that have encoded this dance technique, creating a pedagogy using visual application and textual theorization. These above facts have been well researched and documented by historians and dance researchers.

This paper concerns itself with the questions of who is represented as the dancing deity in these 108 panel series at Kumbhakonam. Is it Lord Shiva? Can we substantiate that with the facts that, predominantly Lord Shiva is accepted as the primordial Dancing God or that it is the Shiva icon sculpted as dancing the 81 karanas at Tanjavur and therefore also at Kumbhakonam? Could these figures be that of Lord Krishna or Visnu? After all, Sarngapani is a Vaishnavite temple. Or is it the mythical dance disciple of Shiva? Is it Bharata himself? Who is this young man? This paper uses iconographic indicates such as, Silpa Sastra and Alankara Sastra, a correlated view of Natya Sastra, epigraphical sources, geo-political study of the Sarngapani temple, detailed analysis of the sculpture panels from various Tamil and Sanskritic historical angles and literary sources to review this very important iconographic series.

The identification of the deity who is dancing these Karanas, unravels not only a study from the iconographic perspective but also helps reinstate a new dancing lineage, its associated cultural and social markers, widening the scope of pedagogy along a diachronic axis in Tamil Nadu. This brings Bharatanatyam to its inherited memories and cultural practices closer

India International Center, New Delhi, 2015

If the art world is indignant when people point fingers at them for being discriminatory, at the ... more If the art world is indignant when people point fingers at them for being discriminatory, at the turn of time when UNESCO has recognized the Chennai music festival as heritage, will we moot a resolution to the lawmakers, that the use of the term Devadasi or ‘tevidiyal’ as a pejorative term should be declared unconstitutional and punishable under law? Do we have the collective tenacity for this small, first step? No doubt the secularization of art has been a welcome move for all others as it is based on the power of willing freedom. But we owe it to the community, to talk to them, rather than talk about them.
KINDLY CLICK THE URL LINK PROVIDED TO READ THE PAPER

The gender neutrality that Michel Foucault presupposes in "Discipline and Punish" suggests that t... more The gender neutrality that Michel Foucault presupposes in "Discipline and Punish" suggests that the power exerted on a male body is quite similar to that exerted on a female body. He finds no need to distinguish degrees of power and resistance between the sexes. Counter arguments expose the lapse in his line of argument. Angela King observes, the female body as systematically engendered, making the power/resistance paradigm quite different on the female body. Keeping the above premise, this paper looks at the discursive nature of sex and gender within performance and the location of power and resistance in it. Using examples varying from biographical anecdotes, ethnographic and emotional stance of the teller, historic, literary and poetic references to performed gender, we move to establish the meandering nature of power and the ability and inability of both sexes at various levels, to maneuver it. Since it is for publication in a journal on Intercultural Philosophy, I was restricted by word count. A longer and more inclusive paper is currently being written by me to add more dimensions to my arguments.

Ranga Mandira school of Performing arts as well as Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance / Perform... more Ranga Mandira school of Performing arts as well as Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance / Performance and Indic Studies impart Bharatanatyam as Sadir. It recontextualises the art for practitioners to fully understand the identities, legacy and agency of transmission in the dance. To join us or to know more about our practices visit www.rangamandira.com or write to us at rma@rangamandira.com/ rangamandiratrust@gmail.com

A Subterranean view of the life, art and aesthetics of the Sangam women shows that several traits... more A Subterranean view of the life, art and aesthetics of the Sangam women shows that several traits of theirs have links to chthonic female characters who lived in trees, crossroads, caves and funeral grounds, who sang and danced in gay abandon, were fearsome in battles and magical powers (Jain 2004). The Sangam recognizes women as both beautiful and terrible. She is the converse of the same form. As she enters the pantheons of civilized society, much of her is transformed from the ugly to the beautiful, crudity to culture, the teacher to the learner, a murderer to a creator and a protector. When she enters a systematized society her primordial status is elevated at times, but also threatened at others. We can identify the agency of this psychic continuum through eras till contemporary times. Research essay published in "voyages of body and soul; selected female icons of India and beyond" by Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Everyone can learn Bharatanatyam. Popular history of this art form will tell you how post-colonia... more Everyone can learn Bharatanatyam. Popular history of this art form will tell you how post-colonial India achieved this. A dance form that was practised only by one community, Devadasis, (often addressed as caste) of women up until then, was freed of its “evils” and was democratized. “The vagueness with which caste is used as a rubric under which to organize society” was the larger problem in pre-colonial India. The ambiguity in understanding this complex social order remained a huge problem in colonial and post- colonial Indian politics. This paper which is a excerpt of a longer essay touches upon these aspects. It is a published version of what appeared in TheNewsMinute daily paper.

Political discourse about Isai Vellalar marks them as an oppressed caste with a Sudra identity. T... more Political discourse about Isai Vellalar marks them as an oppressed caste with a Sudra identity. Their social history is far more complex. A research that can make many uncomfortable.The history of the Isai Vellalars is tied up to the shifts in power between the four varnas. While the conventional understanding places the four varnas in a strict hierarchy, evidence suggests that this was not the case.

Myths are a set of cultural beliefs that are governed by man’s need to find some social order. We... more Myths are a set of cultural beliefs that are governed by man’s need to find some social order. Western scholarship has approached mythology as “fables” or stories that have been “invented” within a cultural group to validate its beliefs. But, current academic interest is beginning to understand myth from the viewpoint of it being a “reality”. The Bhagavatha tradition traces its origin to the Sri Vaishnava cult. Achyutappa Nayaka a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire ruled Tanjore between 1590-1617 CE. It was during Achyutappa’s time that Bhagavatas from Krishna district, West Godhavari regions of Andhra migrated into the Tamil country. The most prominent among these today is of course, Melattur. This paper traces the idea of ritual performance as "true story".

The Thiruvazhaputhur dancers arrant merely the dancing bodies that embodied the creations of Pand... more The Thiruvazhaputhur dancers arrant merely the dancing bodies that embodied the creations of Pandanallur nattuvanars, but are emblems of the lineage itself. Yes, the highly patriarchal Pandanallur Nattuvanar lineage owes a lot to these women for they carry on their shoulders a connection that is deeper and more complex than that of a student-teacher. I use an adjunct narrative style to tell you the stories of these women.

Bharatanatyam is termed in Post colonial India as the classical art of Tamil Nadu, differentiatin... more Bharatanatyam is termed in Post colonial India as the classical art of Tamil Nadu, differentiating it from other dance forms here that have been termed "folk" in contrast. The important question is; what defines Bharatanatyam as classical? Rather, what is classical and by that definition which aspects of Bharatanatyam lend it its classicism? Is classical a notion?

Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings, 2015

Bharatanatyam has manifold systems of writing/documentation. They are in the form of sculptures, ... more Bharatanatyam has manifold systems of writing/documentation. They are in the form of sculptures, paintings, inscriptions and treatises. They are also in the form of personal notes by dance masters (Nattuvanars), notated descriptions by scholars, by wealthy merchants, travellers and the court and temple dancers (Devadasis) themselves.

Conference Presentations by Swarnamalya Ganesh

Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance/ Performance and Indic Studies Aspiration, leadership, mot... more Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance/ Performance and Indic Studies
Aspiration, leadership, motivation, resources, peer groups, passion are the maxims that drives this academy, where the learner is taught to integrate disciplines and develop skills that will find them a career in humanities and the arts in very innovative avenues. We encourage the study of arts as a lens to study the world. The programs offered encompass and seek to integrate knowledge from a wide range of subject areas and uses a multi-disciplinary approach. Students will learn in a multi-faceted way, in classroom, seminars, tours, and in experiential settings.
The aim of our dedicated courses are; 1) To make available, specialized training in a post- discipline fashion 2) To provide an overview of how to integrate multiple disciplines and avenues for exciting careers, jobs, research prospects and opportunities.
In today’s world, it is very important to study performances and practice the arts, as societal interests. World over, Indian arts, religion, philosophy, history, linguistics, anthropology and politics are studied in class -room styled methods.
But our method is uniquely experiential, as we have the proximity to all our subject materials and a true interdisciplinary vision, opening the doors to seeing how in contemporary worlds diverse communities co-live finding their own patterns of social-institutional, cultural and artistic platforms which involve everything from traditional values to subversion of the same, use of technology and contemporary know-how to connected creations.
With world -class tutors, who not merely teach but impart, participate and inspire to see beyond the discipline, to see post-discipline, inter- discipline and more. This academy will be your answer to seeing the world as a connected globe, acquiring high standards of academic knowledge and vocational skill, finding a career that will keep you inspired and most importantly becoming a citizen of the world with an identity.

In any living tradition, a continuous study and analysis of movement practice is required. Bharat... more In any living tradition, a continuous study and analysis of movement practice is required. Bharata’s Natya Sastra, the extant work on dramaturgy engages in theorizing the practice of art production. When performers examine and reconstruct written critical pedagogies, it manifests into movement practice.

The scope of this paper is to analyse the critical theory, movement practice and context of Bharatanrityam, a product of the 20th century. History is an interpretation of past events. In that sense, we have never witnessed the creation or evolution of any tradition or pedagogy of dance at all. But the advantage with Bharatanrityam is that it is contemporaneous to our times. It’s a system that has evolved in our midst in real time. Therefore we have the luxury of analysing its origins, methods and critical theories.

South Asian Dance Intersections

Scholars have established over the past decades that the tradition of historiography in South Asi... more Scholars have established over the past decades that the tradition of historiography in South Asia was not altogether a Western import. This has allowed us to revisit South Indian vernacular literary texts in a new light. Historians A. K. Warder, Romila Thaper, Nicholas Dirks, and the trio of Sanjay Subramaniam, Velcheru Narayana Rao, and David Shulman have argued eloquently in their writing about seeing Indian literature as serious sources of historical evidence. For example, the trio identify sources such as Karanam-s (service gentry who were book keepers/accountants), Raya Vācakamū-s (chronicles of Vijayanagara Kings), and Tārikh-s (modern members of society who wrote history), all seemingly non-traditional sources authored by ministers, court chroniclers, accountants, army chieftains, and others as important materials. I further this argument to investigate the vernacular performative literatures of Abhyudayamu-s in the yakśagānamu style, from early Modern Tañjāvur. Raghunātha-a...

The Logical Indian, 2023

Much like mythologies, an entire body of performance and media narratives were being constructed ... more Much like mythologies, an entire body of performance and media narratives were being constructed as evidence to prove the already written theories. Although the ulterior motive of these being the ticket to gain relevance and validation in the world of dance for these writers, eventually feeding back into western academia for awards and promotions in their jobs was evident, it was becoming insufferable, particularly the tiresome inaccurate rhetorics.

Oriental Journal Of Asian Studies, Sastra University, 2012

The fourth chapter of the dramaturgical work called the Natya Sastra written by Bharatamuni, is s... more The fourth chapter of the dramaturgical work called the Natya Sastra written by Bharatamuni, is sculpted on stone panels and have been encoded on the walls of Sarngapani temple at Kumbhakonam. These icons are freezes from a dynamic unit of movement sets called Karanas. An incomplete series of 81 of the 108 Karanas are found at the Brihadeeswara temple at Tanjavur. But the Sarngapani series is complete with all the 108. Etched on the walls of the outer gopura, this panel series is very significant for another reason. It is here that we find, every panel accompanied by the corresponding sutra or couplet verse from the Natya Sastra inscribed in Grantha above. Thus, establishing the undisputable correlation between the textual work on Tandava Lakshana from the Natya Sastra and the sculptures that have encoded this dance technique, creating a pedagogy using visual application and textual theorization. These above facts have been well researched and documented by historians and dance researchers.

This paper concerns itself with the questions of who is represented as the dancing deity in these 108 panel series at Kumbhakonam. Is it Lord Shiva? Can we substantiate that with the facts that, predominantly Lord Shiva is accepted as the primordial Dancing God or that it is the Shiva icon sculpted as dancing the 81 karanas at Tanjavur and therefore also at Kumbhakonam? Could these figures be that of Lord Krishna or Visnu? After all, Sarngapani is a Vaishnavite temple. Or is it the mythical dance disciple of Shiva? Is it Bharata himself? Who is this young man? This paper uses iconographic indicates such as, Silpa Sastra and Alankara Sastra, a correlated view of Natya Sastra, epigraphical sources, geo-political study of the Sarngapani temple, detailed analysis of the sculpture panels from various Tamil and Sanskritic historical angles and literary sources to review this very important iconographic series.

The identification of the deity who is dancing these Karanas, unravels not only a study from the iconographic perspective but also helps reinstate a new dancing lineage, its associated cultural and social markers, widening the scope of pedagogy along a diachronic axis in Tamil Nadu. This brings Bharatanatyam to its inherited memories and cultural practices closer

India International Center, New Delhi, 2015

If the art world is indignant when people point fingers at them for being discriminatory, at the ... more If the art world is indignant when people point fingers at them for being discriminatory, at the turn of time when UNESCO has recognized the Chennai music festival as heritage, will we moot a resolution to the lawmakers, that the use of the term Devadasi or ‘tevidiyal’ as a pejorative term should be declared unconstitutional and punishable under law? Do we have the collective tenacity for this small, first step? No doubt the secularization of art has been a welcome move for all others as it is based on the power of willing freedom. But we owe it to the community, to talk to them, rather than talk about them.
KINDLY CLICK THE URL LINK PROVIDED TO READ THE PAPER

The gender neutrality that Michel Foucault presupposes in "Discipline and Punish" suggests that t... more The gender neutrality that Michel Foucault presupposes in "Discipline and Punish" suggests that the power exerted on a male body is quite similar to that exerted on a female body. He finds no need to distinguish degrees of power and resistance between the sexes. Counter arguments expose the lapse in his line of argument. Angela King observes, the female body as systematically engendered, making the power/resistance paradigm quite different on the female body. Keeping the above premise, this paper looks at the discursive nature of sex and gender within performance and the location of power and resistance in it. Using examples varying from biographical anecdotes, ethnographic and emotional stance of the teller, historic, literary and poetic references to performed gender, we move to establish the meandering nature of power and the ability and inability of both sexes at various levels, to maneuver it. Since it is for publication in a journal on Intercultural Philosophy, I was restricted by word count. A longer and more inclusive paper is currently being written by me to add more dimensions to my arguments.

Ranga Mandira school of Performing arts as well as Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance / Perform... more Ranga Mandira school of Performing arts as well as Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance / Performance and Indic Studies impart Bharatanatyam as Sadir. It recontextualises the art for practitioners to fully understand the identities, legacy and agency of transmission in the dance. To join us or to know more about our practices visit www.rangamandira.com or write to us at rma@rangamandira.com/ rangamandiratrust@gmail.com

A Subterranean view of the life, art and aesthetics of the Sangam women shows that several traits... more A Subterranean view of the life, art and aesthetics of the Sangam women shows that several traits of theirs have links to chthonic female characters who lived in trees, crossroads, caves and funeral grounds, who sang and danced in gay abandon, were fearsome in battles and magical powers (Jain 2004). The Sangam recognizes women as both beautiful and terrible. She is the converse of the same form. As she enters the pantheons of civilized society, much of her is transformed from the ugly to the beautiful, crudity to culture, the teacher to the learner, a murderer to a creator and a protector. When she enters a systematized society her primordial status is elevated at times, but also threatened at others. We can identify the agency of this psychic continuum through eras till contemporary times. Research essay published in "voyages of body and soul; selected female icons of India and beyond" by Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Everyone can learn Bharatanatyam. Popular history of this art form will tell you how post-colonia... more Everyone can learn Bharatanatyam. Popular history of this art form will tell you how post-colonial India achieved this. A dance form that was practised only by one community, Devadasis, (often addressed as caste) of women up until then, was freed of its “evils” and was democratized. “The vagueness with which caste is used as a rubric under which to organize society” was the larger problem in pre-colonial India. The ambiguity in understanding this complex social order remained a huge problem in colonial and post- colonial Indian politics. This paper which is a excerpt of a longer essay touches upon these aspects. It is a published version of what appeared in TheNewsMinute daily paper.

Political discourse about Isai Vellalar marks them as an oppressed caste with a Sudra identity. T... more Political discourse about Isai Vellalar marks them as an oppressed caste with a Sudra identity. Their social history is far more complex. A research that can make many uncomfortable.The history of the Isai Vellalars is tied up to the shifts in power between the four varnas. While the conventional understanding places the four varnas in a strict hierarchy, evidence suggests that this was not the case.

Myths are a set of cultural beliefs that are governed by man’s need to find some social order. We... more Myths are a set of cultural beliefs that are governed by man’s need to find some social order. Western scholarship has approached mythology as “fables” or stories that have been “invented” within a cultural group to validate its beliefs. But, current academic interest is beginning to understand myth from the viewpoint of it being a “reality”. The Bhagavatha tradition traces its origin to the Sri Vaishnava cult. Achyutappa Nayaka a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire ruled Tanjore between 1590-1617 CE. It was during Achyutappa’s time that Bhagavatas from Krishna district, West Godhavari regions of Andhra migrated into the Tamil country. The most prominent among these today is of course, Melattur. This paper traces the idea of ritual performance as "true story".

The Thiruvazhaputhur dancers arrant merely the dancing bodies that embodied the creations of Pand... more The Thiruvazhaputhur dancers arrant merely the dancing bodies that embodied the creations of Pandanallur nattuvanars, but are emblems of the lineage itself. Yes, the highly patriarchal Pandanallur Nattuvanar lineage owes a lot to these women for they carry on their shoulders a connection that is deeper and more complex than that of a student-teacher. I use an adjunct narrative style to tell you the stories of these women.

Bharatanatyam is termed in Post colonial India as the classical art of Tamil Nadu, differentiatin... more Bharatanatyam is termed in Post colonial India as the classical art of Tamil Nadu, differentiating it from other dance forms here that have been termed "folk" in contrast. The important question is; what defines Bharatanatyam as classical? Rather, what is classical and by that definition which aspects of Bharatanatyam lend it its classicism? Is classical a notion?

Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings, 2015

Bharatanatyam has manifold systems of writing/documentation. They are in the form of sculptures, ... more Bharatanatyam has manifold systems of writing/documentation. They are in the form of sculptures, paintings, inscriptions and treatises. They are also in the form of personal notes by dance masters (Nattuvanars), notated descriptions by scholars, by wealthy merchants, travellers and the court and temple dancers (Devadasis) themselves.

Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance/ Performance and Indic Studies Aspiration, leadership, mot... more Ranga Mandira Academy of World Dance/ Performance and Indic Studies
Aspiration, leadership, motivation, resources, peer groups, passion are the maxims that drives this academy, where the learner is taught to integrate disciplines and develop skills that will find them a career in humanities and the arts in very innovative avenues. We encourage the study of arts as a lens to study the world. The programs offered encompass and seek to integrate knowledge from a wide range of subject areas and uses a multi-disciplinary approach. Students will learn in a multi-faceted way, in classroom, seminars, tours, and in experiential settings.
The aim of our dedicated courses are; 1) To make available, specialized training in a post- discipline fashion 2) To provide an overview of how to integrate multiple disciplines and avenues for exciting careers, jobs, research prospects and opportunities.
In today’s world, it is very important to study performances and practice the arts, as societal interests. World over, Indian arts, religion, philosophy, history, linguistics, anthropology and politics are studied in class -room styled methods.
But our method is uniquely experiential, as we have the proximity to all our subject materials and a true interdisciplinary vision, opening the doors to seeing how in contemporary worlds diverse communities co-live finding their own patterns of social-institutional, cultural and artistic platforms which involve everything from traditional values to subversion of the same, use of technology and contemporary know-how to connected creations.
With world -class tutors, who not merely teach but impart, participate and inspire to see beyond the discipline, to see post-discipline, inter- discipline and more. This academy will be your answer to seeing the world as a connected globe, acquiring high standards of academic knowledge and vocational skill, finding a career that will keep you inspired and most importantly becoming a citizen of the world with an identity.