The Dancing Girls of Hampi

Published on: 22/01/2018

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Photograph: Jose Ramapuram

Relief carvings in Hampi commonly depict dancing girls. These and other historical accounts (mainly temple inscription and travelers accounts) attest to a thriving culture of courtesans and devadasis.

In the Devadasi tradition, a girl (usually at a young age) is dedicated to a deity or a temple. The dedication ceremony is similar in many ways to a marriage ceremony. The Devadasis originally performed rituals and took care of the temple but over time they learned and practiced a dance form named Sadir, which today is widely known as Bharatanatyam. As dance and music were an essential part of worship, they enjoyed a high social status. Very often they married wealthy patrons but continued to perform their temple duties.
 

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Photograph: Jose Ramapuram

Courtesans, on the other hand, were not dedicated to a temple but were under the patronage of the king or the nobility. The courtesan was an accomplished woman who was proficient in music and dance. While the Devadasi performed inside a temple complex, essentially as part of temple rituals, the courtesan performed in a more public, though restricted by privilege, sphere. The courtesan and the devadasi were both equally and singularly responsible for the development of Indian music and dance.

The Vijayanagara kings drew inspiration from the Chola kings of modern day Tamil Nadu and nurtured a large number of courtesans and devadasis. However, during the Vijayanagara times, the artistic aspects assumed importance. This emphasis on both music and dance over time led to a well-defined tradition of music and dance in southern India – the Carnatic tradition of Indian music.

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Vikram Nanjappa

Vikram Nanjappa likes to be described as an interested and well-informed amateur. He draws his inspiration from the band of men called the Orientalists, most of whom were amateurs. By profession, they were soldiers and administrators. However, today, they are remembered as giants of scholarship. Like them, his field of enquiry is ‘Man and Nature : whatever is performed by the one or produced by the other’.

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