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Panje Mangesha Rao (Part 1)

In the history of Kannada revival, Panje Mangesha Rao (Maṅgeśarāya in Kannada) must be definitely remembered as an important scholar and a noble person. His zest in literature, his gentle behaviour, and his genuinely friendly nature, makes him unforgettable. Long before I met him, I had heard about him from B M Srikantaiah. Towards Panje, Srikantaiah had deep respect and unwavering pride. Srikantaiah had shown me, with profuse admiration, the many poems that Panje had written under the pseudonym ‘Kaviśiṣya’ (student-poet). Thus I was eager to meet with him.

Mahābhārata – Episode 31 – Naḻopākhyāna – Naḻa comes to Vidarbha

The brāhmaṇas left in search of Naḻa, as per the words of Damayantī. Several days later, a brāhmaṇa named Parṇāda came back and said to Damayantī, “Mother! As per your directions, I set out in the search for the king of Niṣadha, Naḻa, and after traveling for many days, I ended up in the royal court of Ayodhya. I narrated your account there. Neither the king Ṛtuparṇa nor his associates had anything to say about this. However, his charioteer, Bāhuka came to me when I was alone. He is ugly-looking and of a short stature.

The World of Rasas – Kinds of Heroes and Heroines

Let us first consider the different categories of heroes (nāyakas). While it is the male that has all the charm in the animal world, it is quite the opposite in the world of humans. The variety of heroes is limited. Nāyakas are usually classified into four kinds – Dhīrodātta (example: Śrīrāma), Dhīroddhata (example: Bhīma), Dhīralalita (example: Udayana) and Dhīraśānta (example: Cārudatta of Mṛcchakaṭikam). These categories have their associated rasas and all rasas find their place in one or the other kind of heroes.

“ಅಭಿನವಭಾರತಿ”ಯ ಕೆಲವೊಂದು ವೈಶಿಷ್ಟ್ಯಗಳು—ನೃತ್ತಕರಣಗಳು

ಅಭಿನವಗುಪ್ತನು ಅಭಿನಯಹಸ್ತಗಳ ವಿನಿಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಕುರಿತಂತೆ ತುಂಬ ವಿಶದವಾಗಿ ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನವನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ವಿವರಗಳು ಯಾರಿಗಾದರೂ ಬೆರಗನ್ನು ತಾರದಿರವು. ಅವನು ಇಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೇ ಸೀಮಿತನಾಗದೆ ಈ ಬಗೆಯ ಹಸ್ತಗಳ ವಿನಿಯೋಗಕ್ಕೆ ಮತ್ತೆಷ್ಟೋ ಎಡೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಣುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅಂಥ ಒಂದು ಸಂದರ್ಭವು ಚಾರಿಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಯಾವ ಬಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಸ್ತಗಳನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿಯುವುದು ಸಮುಚಿತವೆಂದು ವಿವೇಚಿಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಆ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಅಭಿನವಗುಪ್ತನು ನಾಟ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಧಚಂದ್ರಹಸ್ತವನ್ನೂ ನೃತ್ತದಲ್ಲಿ “ಪಕ್ಷಪ್ರದ್ಯೋತ” ಮತ್ತು “ಪಕ್ಷವಂಚಿತ”ಗಳನ್ನೂ ಒಳಿತೆಂದು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ:

“ಅರ್ಧಚಂದ್ರೋ ನಾಟ್ಯೇ ನೃತ್ತೇ ತು ಪಕ್ಷಪ್ರದ್ಯೋತೌ ಪಕ್ಷವಂಚಿತಾವಪಿ” (ಸಂ. ೨, ಪು. ೭೭).

The World of Rasas – Śṛṅgāra – its Kinds and Modes of Execution

Among the four vṛttis that Bharata describes in his Nāṭyaśāstra (namely, the sāttvikī, kaiśikī, ārabhaṭī and bhāratī), kaiśikī renders itself the best for the portrayal of śṛṅgāra. Kaiśikī is a softer and more graceful mode of expression and is usually associated with curvilinear movements and ornate expressions. This has four limbs, namely narma, narmasphiñja, narmasphoṭa and narmagarbha and many secondary limbs. Bharata, Dhanañjaya, Dhanika and others say that one must understand these categories by close observation of the world.

Mahābhārata – Episode 30 – Naḻopākhyāna – Parallel Lives of Naḻa and Damayantī

Thereafter Damayantī continued walking in the dense forest. After crossing several hills, mountains, and rivers she finally came across a walking trail. She began walking on the path when she found a river that had a fleet of merchant ships parked on its bank. Emaciated, with dishevelled hair, and covered in but half a sari, Damayantī appeared like a mad woman; looking at her, some shrunk away in fear, some ran away, and some others mocked her with derisive laughter. Only a few approached her with empathy and asked her who she was and what she was doing there.