Completing our tour of Dance over the past few weeks is a modern artiste who has been described as “Elegance personified”. A Natyacharyaa in her own right, she is a doyenne of dance and a treasure of the Andhras.
The topic of our next installment in the Continuing Series on Andhra Personalities is none other than the masterful and beautiful danseuse, Srimati Sobha Naidu.
Background
Sobha Naidu gaaru’s story begins in the sleepy town of Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh (in Visakhapatnam district). She was born into a culturally conservative yet professionally progressive family. Her engineer father, Venkanna Naidu, wished for her to become a medical doctor. [2] However, young Sobha was destined for dance, and passionately sought it out. Her mother, Sarojini Devi, sensed her talent, and despite familial objections, obtained lessons for her under dance instructor P.L. Reddy, at Rajamahendravaram.
Her talent only blossomed from there, and she eventually studied Kuchipudi under the legendary exponent and maestro, Sri Vempati Chinna Satyam gaaru.
Kuchipudi is a cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh. Being a Telugu girl, it is but natural that I get a feeling that I should propagate this art in my own way. [2]
For twelve years she studied this classical dance under the rigorous standards and guidance of its greatest and most progressive reviver. It was, after all, Vempati gaaru who fully implemented Vedantam Lakshminarayana gaaru’s policy of opening up this dance to women, after 500 years of being under the purview of men.
Along with completing her Kuchipudi studies in Chennai, Sobha Naidu also earned a degree from Queen Mary’s College. Despite marrying and having the obligations of traditional family life, her husband was understanding of her talent and dedication [6], and she has since travelled the world, training over 2,000 students. In fact, the greatest concentration of her most devoted students can be found in the United States and Russia.
As a Narthaki, she is perhaps best known for her performance as Satyabhama, but she has come to define the element of Strong women in general. Other than Sri Krishna Parijatham and her second most famous ballet called Bhamakalapam, again as Satyabhama, she performed as aspects of the Devi in the Navarasa Natabhamini, in the 2011 Nrityotsav. [4]
Achievements
Celebrated for her agility, her fluidity of movement, and her exceptional grace, [2] Sobha Naidu is considered the Atiloka Acharyaa of Abhinaya.
Having learned from the illustrious Sri Vempati Chinna Satyam, the famous Natyacharya of Kuchipudi, Sobha gaaru has become a Natyacharyaa (extended aa for female teacher) herself. She climbed to such heights as a Narthaki, that the great Bharatanatyam guru, Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai, offered to teach her the style free of cost. She respectfully refused, noting that despite her admiration of Bharatanatyam, her whole life would need to be dedicated to properly master Kuchipudi. Although she has performed for decades, she remains active to this day, her most recent performance being in 2015.
- Credited with 80 solo numbers and 15 ballets as choreographer [3]
- Has performed all over India and around the world
- Honoured with the Kala Saraswathi-Andhra Ratna Award by the AP Kalavedika
- Recipient of the title of “Nritya Choodamani” by Krishna Gana Sabha of Chennai
- Award from the Central Sangeeta Nataka Kala Academy in 1991
- Received “Nrityavihar” given by Sri Sringara Samsad of Bombay
- Granted the Hamsa Award and N.T.Rama Rao Award by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh
- Honoured by Telugu University with “Telugu Puraskara” Award
- Established the now 30 year old Kuchipudi Art Academy of Hyderabad
- She has trained more than 1500 students from India and abroad
- Awarded the Padma Sri in 2001 by the Government of India
She has been acknowledged as an outstanding dancer with a great gift for nritta, natya and abhinaya; a brilliant choreographer and a highly successful teacher. [3]
Legacy
The Legacy of Smt. Sobha Naidu is one that defines the era since Yamini Krishnamurti, whom she admires. While the latter was an exponent of both Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Sobhi Naidu focused on the Andhra dance alone, purely for its Abhinaya. She has become as associated with it as Jaya Senapati was with Nrtta. Much like the elegant and stylish Satyabhama (warrior queen and wife of Sri Krishna), Sobha gaaru has come to define elegance in the world of dance.
In fact, she famously was captivated by this strong and fashionable character from the Mahabharata, and longed to play her. She achieved this dream in Vempati gaaru’s Sri Krishna Parijatham, and became synonymous with Satyabhama and Kuchipudi, developing into the doyenne of dance we know today.
Sobha Naidu as Satyabhama in Sri Krishna Parijatam
According to her, states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala lead the way in giving patronage to dancers and other artistes. While Andhra Pradesh does give some support, she believes it must do much more in order to revive the traditional and High Arts. The obligation is double for the people and business elites, who of late, seem more enraptured by bollywood and hollywood culture, than their own.
Indeed, she has bemoaned the fact that although there are audiences for classical dance, performers and patrons alike continue to gravitate towards pop culture films. She hopes that those with wealth will take on the obligation of preserving our common culture so that it can be passed on to youth. She herself has noted that whatever the current obsession with serials and other drivel, it is inevitable that people will tire of it and return to our illustrious Samskruthi. But it must be there when they are back!
Wise words from Srimati Sobha Naidu gaaru:
People should realise that by being westernised, they are respecting the neighbour’s mother and neglecting their own mother.
As long as electronic media influences the new generation, classical arts will always struggle for survival.
We have such a great heritage and culture that the whole world respects it. We are not able to make out the value of our own culture. [3]
Therein lies a lesson for our “New Generation” Girls and Guys. It is your culture which gives you respect, not no-class song and dance sequences from kitschy phillims. Even if you do not learn Kuchipudi, learn a lesson from this great danseuse:
Wedded and dedicated to her art, she has rejected lucrative offers from the film industry with a feeling that art should be developed with its Pristine purity .
References:
- http://sobhanaidu.org/
- http://www.deccanherald.com/content/245521/dancer-difference.html
- http://www.hyderabadbest.com/discoverhyd/personalities/dance/Shobhanaidu.asp
- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/buoyant-bhama/article3813796.ece
- http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/nine-aspects-of-the-goddess/article2533952.ece
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Kuchipudi Dancer Shobha Naidu Exclusive Interview.HMTV.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs1J-XTMhdk
Namskaram to Padmasree Sobha Naidu Garu. It is a very nice article, so that we can come to know the history of success mam. Mam, you have reached many milestones in your life but i can see the dance thirst still in your eyes, that is what your success mam. What ever height we have reached in our life, we should not be saturated easily.. we should have the feel that still we should do so more…This what the success…I see the success in your eyes mam. Salute mam.