A Raja Ravi Varma oleograph depicting Ardhanarisvara
| Photograph Credit score: Particular Association
There it stands, behind a glass case on the rotating platform within the centre of the Egmore Museum Bronze Gallery. Completely proportioned, rhythmic curves on one facet, and swish, well-defined traces on the opposite. Is the Ardhanarisvara purported to characterize distinction between man and lady? Or is it purported to be a illustration of equality?
The reply lies a bit of deeper, within the queer communities that worship Ardhanarisvara as an icon of liminal sexuality. The god is neither man nor lady, and falls on a spectrum in Hinduism that just a few mainstream characters can lay declare to. Whereas dancers have interpreted and reinterpreted the idol (most popularly by means of compositions by Dikshitar and Sankaracharya) can classical dance declare understanding or exploration of the queer expertise?
Bharatanatyam exponent Praveen Kumar with disciple Divya Hoskere depicting Ardhanarisvara
| Photograph Credit score:
Courtesy: Simha’s Pictures
Lately, dance has expanded its views on mythological content material by spotlighting queer characters, and tapping into the a number of tales from our wealthy literary custom that display a pre-colonial Indian perspective on the matter. Productions corresponding to Harikrishnan’s ‘When Siva Kissed Vishnu’ and Himanshu Srivastava’s depiction of Shikhandi, use conventional choreography abilities with a contemporary sensibility to deal with the topic of the queer expertise. But, it nonetheless appears like a lot of LGBTQ+ materials is taken into account taboo amongst classical musicians and dancers. It’s nearly as if some self-appointed guardians of the artwork kind see queerness as overseas to India, and particularly to bop and music.
Does India have inherently queer efficiency traditions?
In India there are indigenous trans communities with particular efficiency traditions, such because the jogappas of Karnataka.
| Photograph Credit score:
BHAGYA PRAKASH
A overwhelming majority of geographical areas in India have indigenous trans communities with particular efficiency traditions, such because the jogappas of Karnataka. A few of these traditions are historic and nicely included into the cultural material of the area they characterize, begging the query of whether or not the stigma round queerness is exclusive to the classical realm.
To search out a solution, we should journey again in time. Along with quite a few mythological tales, sociological texts such because the Kamasutra refer freely to homoerotic encounters. Equally, we’ve got proof of trans performers within the royal courts of south India, typically serving as interlocutors for skilled dancing girls. These figures have been extraordinarily vital as they traversed across the palaces simply, shifting from areas restricted to girls, into the personal chambers of the king carrying with them distinctive musical and mimetic means in addition to delicate info.
An Ardhanarishvara idol at Jhalawar in Rajasthan
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
To search out visible illustration of the LGBTQ+ group in sacred structure is easy. From Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh to Odisha, all method of queer social and sexual actions are depicted on our temple partitions, with some sculptures boasting a historical past of 1000 years or extra. The Madurai Meenakshi temple incorporates a gorgeous sculpture of a determine with breasts, a beard and a moustache, thought of by students to be an outline of Brihanalla. The variety in depicting queerness visually spans throughout geographical areas, cultures and media — together with portray, sculpture, music and dance.
Moreover, literature appears to mirror the identical kind of variety in views. There was a lot debate about whether or not Kshetrayya’s open love for his lord Muvvagopala has erotic undertones. Equally, an in depth studying of the Tiruvaasagam reveals extraordinarily detailed, romantic descriptions of Shiva, lending a queerness to the voice of Manickavasagar. Whereas extra conservative students dismiss these particulars because the writer “impersonating” a girl as a literary machine, the descriptions are so detailed that one is compelled to discover all the reasons for this model of writing.
Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra depicting a swish Radha. There may be area inside the custom to tackle a number of identities.
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
On the subject of dance mimetics, we didn’t bat an eyelid when Pt. Birju Maharaj or Pt. Kelucharan Mohapatra depicted a swish, ultra-feminine Radha or when Yamini Krishnamurthy portrayed the good-looking type of Rama. There may be area inside the custom to tackle a number of identities and develop into a vessel for gender — a actuality that can be mirrored by the cross dressing Lila-Hava depictions of Krishna and Radha in North Indian portray.
With varieties which can be so expressive and malleable, it’s hardly a shock that many queer dancers and musicians have used their classical observe to ascertain deeper connections with their identities, and discover their voices. Among the earliest items that started the dialog round queerness and the classical area got here by means of Web platforms — particularly the work of Indian Raga (“Revelations”) and Patruni Chidananda Sastry. It’s no shock that proscenium phases in Chennai are nonetheless hesitant to showcase this material. When queer dancers themselves battle for acceptance, how can we count on the topic of queerness in artwork to be unequivocally accepted?
Maybe, the reply lies in seeking to the previous, earlier than our sensibilities have been encumbered by Victorian beliefs, to a society that produced the picture of Ardhanarisvara — neither man, nor lady, however each concurrently.
