An Exploration of women's performance practices in India.

The ancient Indian mind suffered from no prudery and evinced deep interest in the study of music dance and sex in an  objective spirit.

From the Vedic period , a mass of literature was produced on the Natya Shastra and the Kama Shastra which was considered to be of divine origin. The Natya Shastra, a treatise on dance was compiled by the sage Bharata. While rehearsing a dance drama he realized that the lasya (lyrical) could only be performed by women, whereupon celestial nymphs , the apsaras, were created to entertain the gods. 

Poets have sung of the ravishing loveliness, grace and charm of Apsaras and how they delighted the gods by dancing merrily to the music created by Gandharvas, the celestial singers. There are numerous sculptures in Indian temples of Apsaras and Gandharvas portraying scenes of music and dance. The Apsaras were celestial courtesans who offered erotic delights to the  seduced sages and rewarded the heroes on their attaining heaven with supernatural pleasures.  The Apsaras had their human counterparts – the Devdasis in the temples for whom sexual activity was a sacred duty.

In most Hindu families, psalms in praise of gods, avatars and others, personified as idols, are taught as a part of daily prayer.

The legacy of the deity Krishna has had a lasting influence on all forms of art. Adored as Kanhaiya and other names, he personifies all that makes a hero of a mortal man: wise, brave, romantic, charming, a lover, flautist, supporter of all right causes and infallible. The number of songs sung and ascribed to his particular myth run into thousands.

Buddhism found acceptance all over India in the year 260 BC. When King Ashoka of the Maurya dynasty became a devotee of its austere way of  life. As long as it prevailed in the subcontinent, Buddhism broke the barriers of high and low in terms of cast, creed and colour. The codes of conduct, versified and narrated in lyrics appealed to a large cross section of sociert, moreso to the poor and deprived. Perhaps the tradition of street singing emerged with the Buddhist monks or bhikshus who would roam with their begging bowls, rendering hymns and collecting food for themselves and their peers who would be engaged in the superior act of meditation.

The performing arts were recognized by the government as a means of livelihood and as a source of entertainment as far back as the third century BC, during the reign of the Maurya Dynasty. Kautiliya Chanikya, the great thinker who lived during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya, in his famous treatise Artha Sashtra, on the art of governance and administration, formulated rules and regulations for the progress and protection of people involved in the art of music, song, dance, and drama. Under the heading 'Courtesan' he writes: The maintenance from the King's exchequer to be provided to the teachers who impart (to courtesans and female slaves who live by the stage) the knowledge of the arts of singing, playing on musical instruments, reciting, dancing, acting, writing, painting, playing on the lute, the flute and the drum, reading the thoughts of others, preparing perfumes and garlands, entertaining in conversation, shampooing and the courtesan's art...and the teachers should train the sons of courtesans to be the chief of those who live by the stage and also of all types of dancers. Their women who are conversant with various kinds of signs and languages, should be employed, under the lead of their kinsmen, against the wicked, for spying, killing or making them blunder. 

While the functions and objectives of the various forms of the performing arts were well emphasized, performers nonetheless, were looked down upon as slaves, and persons of lower social status. This attitude prevailed for centuries in feudal aristocratic environments and to a certain extent still exists in the orthodox section of society. However, religious songs, bhajans, and dances in praise of deities and high priests or to supplicate the gods for good harvests, supremacy over enemies, and fruition of desires, were considered virtuous enough to be performed by any class of society.

From the earliest known periods, women were an integral part of Indian musical culture.
The Natya Shastra itself specifies that female voices are preferred for certain genres.

Indian dance has two well defined facets: The Nritta, pure dance which is dependent on the accompanying music and rhythm. And Nritya or Abhinaya which embodies the external expression of the theme of the song lyric.

The Natya Shastra analyses the movements of every part of the human frame. Working through rhythmic body movements, the dancer creates a vocabulary of gestures of head, of eyes, of hands and of feet movements. As well as facial expressions to portray moods, emotions, sentiments, actions and ideas. The dancer creates an ambience where the theme, the song and the rhythm all combine to produce a particular emotion or Rasa, of which there are eight kinds. Shringara the erotic, Vir the heroic, Karuna the pathetic, Adhbhuta the marvelous, Hasya the comic, Bhayanak the terrible, Bhibhatsa the odious, Roudra the furious.

The characters portrayed by the dancers include gods and goddesses as well as heroes and heroines of dramas ,where literature played an important role.

Devotional songs and lyrical poems were specially composed for dance performances (E.g. the Geet Govind a Sanskrit classic and works of saint poets Meera, Surdas and the Sufis)

The style of dancing, based as it was on the Natya Shastra, was more or less the same throughout the country.

The practitioners of dance, known for their talent and beauty, were much sought after by the religious minded  and those secularly inclined.

The transformation of dancing  into a profession was marked by the advent of Devdasis in South India, Naikins who trace their origin to the Apsaras and the Gandharvas on the west coast and nautch girls in the north in their variant forms - Tawaifs,  Nautchinis or Nautchwalis and street dancers who catered to men of all social classes.The nautch girls and their counterparts  - the Ganikas, Devadasis, Nartakis and the Tawaifs – belonged to a class of professional entertainers who were accomplished  singers and dancers as well as adepts in the art of  lovemaking.

Devdasis as temple dancers were the first to receive the divine knowledge of dance. The  relationship of dance with religion and worship of the deities formed the foundation on which the entire structure of the Devdasi system was built. Taught to read and write, the Devdasis received intensive  training in dance and music from Nattuvanars, the dance masters. The first dance performance of a Devdasi generally took place in a temple in the presence of a king who honored her with titles and gifts. Devdasis were highly respected by the community and enjoyed  many rights and privileges on a hereditary basis. The style of dancing was more or less the same throughout the country.

While Kathak flourished in the north, Dassi Attam or Sadir nautch, dominated in South India.

Often the dance itself was the pantomime of a whole story and made a direct appeal to the emotions. The dance was more feminine and suited solo temple performances. There was greater emphasis on pure dance while for abhinaya or expression, songs in praise of gods were recited, which could be interpreted in human terms by the patrons.