MANI PURI DANCE

MANI PURI DANCE:

Manipuri dance is one of the major Indian classical dance forms. It originates from Manipur, a state in north-eastern India on the border with Myanmar (also known as Burma). In Manipur, surrounded by mountains and geographically isolated at the meeting point of the orient and mainland India, the form developed its own specific aesthetics, values, conventions and ethics. The cult of Radha and Krishna, particularly the raslila, is central to its themes but the dances, unusually, incorporate the characteristic cymbals (kartal or manjira) and double-headed drum (pung or Manipuri mridang) of sankirtan into the visual performanceManipuri dancers do not wear ankle bells to accentuate the beats tapped out by the feet, in contrast with other Indian dance forms, and the dancers' feet never strike the ground hard. Movements of the body and feet and facial expressions in Manipuri dance are subtle and aim at devotion and graceThe musical accompaniment for Manipuri dance comes from a percussion instrument called the Pung, a singer, smallcymbals, a stringed instrument called the pena and wind instrument such as a flute. The drummers are always male artistes and, after learning to play the pung, students are trained to dance with it while drumming. This dance is known as Pung cholom. The lyrics used in Manipuri are usually from the classical poetry of Jayadeva, Vidyapati, Chandidas,Govindadas or Gyandas and may be in Sanskrit, Maithili, Brij Bhasha or others.

MOHINIATTAM

MOHINIATTAM:Mohiniyattam, also spelled Mohiniattam (Malayalam: is a traditional South Indian dance from Kerala, developed by the Tamil nattuvanar(dance master) Vadivelu,one of the Thanjavur Quartet. It is one of the eight Indian classical dance forms. It is considered a very graceful dance meant to be performed as a solo recital by women. The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and "aattam" meaning graceful and sensuous body movements.In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon Bhasmasura. The name Mohiniyattam may have been coined after Lord Vishnu, and the main theme of the dance is love and devotion to God, with usually Vishnu or Krishna being the hero. Devadasis used to perform this in temples. But it also has elements of Koothu and Kottiyattom in it. Mohiniyattam is a drama in dance and verse.

The costume includes white sari embroidered with bright golden brocade (known as kasavu at the edges. The dance follows the classical text of Hastha Lakshanadeepika, which has elaborate description of Mudras (gestural expressions by the hand palm and fingers).

The vocal music of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu. The lyrics are in Manipravalam, a mixture of Sanskrit andMalayalam. The Mohiniyattam dance is performed to this accompaniment by the subtle gestures and footwork of the danseuse. The performer uses the eyes in a very coy yet sensual manner, the purpose being to enchant the mind without enticing the senses.

ETI KOPPAKA TOYS

ETIKOPPAKA TOYS:

The traditional landlords of the village, the Rajus, belonging to the Chintalapati family, settled here over 200 years ago under allegiance to the MahaRaja of Vizianagaram. They have been far in advance of their time. It is through their efforts that India's first co-operative sugar mill came to be located in Etikoppaka in the early 1930s.

Padmanabha Raju in the early 1900s, saw business possibilities in the lacquer products of Etikoppaka. He searched out dyes and processes that would enhance their quality and appeal. Despite these efforts, by the mid-1980s, fewer and fewer craftsmen were available to make the lacquerware because of increasing employment opportunities in the sugar industry.

The downward spiral was reversed by one of Padmanabha Raju's descendants, Chitti Raju. He gathered the few remaining and aging craftsmen together and exposed them to new designs and concepts at national-level craft exhibitions all over the country. However, it was left to Chitti Raju's nephew, C.V. Raju, to reverse the trend and make Etikoppaka a byword for quality handicraft.

He is the contemporary face of Etikoppaka's craft today, who looked at lacquerware in all its dimensions from design to marketing. The Fine Arts Department of Andhra University, the National Institute of Design and even the National Institute of Fashion Technology were involved in the design and development of new designs and products.

Elegant candle-stands for the German market was followed by specially designed lacquer casings for a unique range of timepieces for Titan. Better packaging saw the transit breakage rate come down and a special tie-up with the Postal Department has ensured safe delivery of the delicate hand-crafted items to far away markets.

As the base of the lacquer product, the softwood trees became scarce, C.V. Raju sought and got the assistance of the State Forest Department to improve plantation yields and also experiment with other wood that could take lacquer just as well.

Over the years, this combination of strategies has paid off handsomely and today, Etikoppaka's lacquer-ware has found good markets not only within India but also overseas, especially in France, Italy, Germany and the US.

The growing demand for lacquerware nationally and internationally, has enthused C.V. Raju and his family to set up a well-equipped design centre to train new people in the craft at Etikoppaka itself. A simple but comfortable guest house has been constructed to encourage experts to visit Etikoppaka to advise and train craftsmen locally. C.V. Raju has also continued the tradition set by his uncle, and constantly exposes his craftsmen to new ideas by taking them along to craft exhibitions and workshops across the country.

BURRA KATHA

BURRA KATHA:

Burrakatha started as devotional songs of nomadic people and became a popular art form and is played on Radio and TV regularly in Andhra Pradesh. It is a new name (twentieth century) for the theater show known as Jangam Katha. The jangams were wandering minstrels who worshiped and sang of Siva. Two performers participated in these plays: the storyteller and his wife. With societal and cultural changes, the secular aspect was incorporated into this form.

Modern form has three performers of any gender.

The main story teller(called as Kathakudu) narrates the story. He plays Tambura and dances to music. He also wears a metal ring called as andelu on his right thumb, holds another ring in his other hand and adds more music by colliding them frequently. The co-performers plays gummeta(also called as dakki or budike), earthen drums with two heads. All three or only kathakadu will be wearing anklets(also called as gajjelu), which add even more music when they dance.

Significance:Burra katha was a pastime event in villages. It is seen even now during Dussehra or Sankranti festival seasons to describe events in epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat and also some of best and moral kingdom stories like kambojaraju katha,chinnamma katha,muggurumoratila katha etc.

It played effective role in conveying message to people and awakening them during Indian Independence Movement. Burrakatha was banned in Madras by the British government and in Hyderabadkingdom by Nizam government, because it was the medium to enlighten the people of the current political situation in various political meetingS.