Engendering Performance: Indian Women Performers in Search of an Identity

326 Pages·2010·3.518 MB·English

by  Bishnupriya Dutt, Urmimala Sarkar Munsi

Indian Women Performers
in Search of an Identity
Bishnupriya Dutt
urmimala sarkar munsi
Copyright © Bishnupriya Dutt and Urmimala Sarkar Munsi, 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in 2010 by
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
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Published by Vivek Mehra for SAgE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 11/15 pt Ado-
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dutt, Bishnupriya.
Engendering performance: Indian women performers in search of an identity / Bishnupriya
Dutt, Urmimala Sarkar Munsi.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Women in the theatre—India. 2. Dance—Social aspects—India. 3. Theatre and society—
India. 4. Women dancers—India. I. Munsi, Urmimala Sarkar. II. Title.
PN2881.5.D88 792.02'8082—dc22 2010 2010023245
ISBN: 978-81-321-0456-8 (HB)
The SAGE Team: Elina Majumdar, Swati Sengupta, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma
and Trinankur Banerjee
For
Aditya, Manasi, Namrata, Noel,
Ahvana and Debashish
Contents
List of Photographs viii
Foreword by Samik Bandyopadhyay x
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction xiv
Section I : The Story of the Actress
Chapter 1
Actresses of the Colonial Space: English Actresses
in India (1789–1842) 3
Chapter 2
Locating a New Space and Identity: Coming
of the Indian Actresses (1872–1910) 47
Chapter 3
The People’s Actress: A Journey to Modernity 86
Chapter 4
Actresses in the Jatra Space 121
Section II : Of The Woman Dancer
Chapter 5
Natyasastra: Emerging (gender) Codes
and the Woman Dancer 165
Chapter 6
The Body and the Woman Dancer: What She is,
or What She is Expected to be 185
Chapter 7
Emergence of the Contemporary Woman Dancer:
Contribution of Tagore, Shankar and IPTA 209
Chapter 8
Tale of the Professional Woman Dancer in Folk Traditions
in India: Commodification of Dance and
the Traditional Dancing Women 233
Conclusion: In Conversation with Samik Bandyopadhyay 267
Bibliography 290
Index 297
About the Authors 304
LIst oF PHotoGRAPHs
1.1 Pen and ink drawing of the interior of the Chowringhee
Theatre in Calcutta 154
1.2 Our Theatricals, Captain g.F. Atkinson 154
1.3 Madame Vestris 155
2.1 Teenkori Dasi as Kanchan in Sadabar Ekadasi 155
2.2 Viola Tree 155
2.3 Binodini as gopa in girish ghosh’s play Buddhadev 156
2.4 English Actress Mme Melbo 156
2.5 English Actress Ellen Terry 157
3.1 Sova Sen as the nineteenth-century actress Vasundhara
in Tiner Talawar (1972) 157
3.2 Sova Sen as gunavati in Tagore’s Bisarjan.
Bishnupriya is the little boy Dhruva 158
3.3 Tripti Mitra as Sudarshana in Raja. The actress in self-reflection 158
3.4 Nandini in Raktakarabi directed by Tripti Mitra 159
3.5 A poster print of the film Chinnamul, about to be released in USSR.
Sova Sen as Batasi 160
4.1 Barnali Bandyopadhyay costumed as the femme fatale.
The character is significantly named Sati in the play Mayer Achale 160
4.2 Jaysree Mukherji in typical roles of the domesticated wife 160
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS ix
4.3 Jaysree Mukherji in typical roles of the courtesan 161
4.4 Barnali Bandyopadhyay as goddess Manasa 161
4.5 Chhanda Chatterjee as the wife 161
7.1 Report on IPTA Performance, Blitz, 20 April 1946 258
7.2a Fisherman’s dance—a group dance featuring Reba Roy,
Dina gandhi and Shanta gandhi, IPTA, 1946 259
7.2b A folk dance by men, 1952 259
7.3 The tradition of troupe members participating in the process
of making masks, head-dresses, ornaments and costumes,
which started with Uday Shankar and was carried forward
by IPTA and even later. Little Ballet Troupe members are seen
in this photo engaged in making masks and costumes 260
7.4 The ballet ‘Labour and Machinery’ as seen in the film Kalpana 260
7.5 A scene from Tandava Nritya with Uday and Amala Shankar
at the centre 261
7.6 Uday and Amala Shankar with students from author’s class
at Uday Shankar India Culture Centre, Kolkata 261
8.1 A Jogamma at Saundatti 262
8.2 Jyotsna Debi, a Nachni performer during her performance, Purulia 262
8.3 The Jogamma’s ritual burden—the basket she has to carry around
while begging for alms 262
8.4 Jogammas leading a procession to the Yellamma Temple in Saundatti 263
8.5 Painting of Sindhubala, a legendary Nachni 263
8.6 The family lives with the memory of several national and state
awards Sindhubala received 264
8.7 Maibi women dancing during the ritual of Lai Haraoba 264
8.8 Maibi women dancing along side the ‘Phamnaiba’ or the clan heads
during a ritual ceremony in Moirang, Manipur 265
8.9 With the legal ban on Devadasi system in Karnataka, these
posters banning the act of dedicating Devadasis are all over the
temple area 265