Mahabrinda Natyam [kuchupudi dance] enters Guinness records

The ‘Mahabrinda Natyam’, is in news ~  a performance by 5,794 artistes, comprising from the tender but nimble-footed three-year-olds to the 65-year-olds, bagged a coveted place in the Guinness Book of World Records yesterday.

To us engrossed in Worldly activities, there are many spheres of art not so well known.  Long ago, in mid 1980s came the film ‘Sagara Sangamam’  in  Telugu directed by K. Viswanath,  starring Kamal Haasan, Jayaprada, Geetha, Sarath Babu, S. P. Sailaja.   In Tamil it was ‘Salangai Oli’.  The movie would start with a bearded alcoholic Kamal attending a performance of danseuse Shylaja (SP Shylaja) ~ and when everyone would go gaga over her performance, would criticize the performance.  In an immediate scene, the critic Balu [played by Kamal] would show where she went wrong in Bharatanatyam style and would demonstrate the same in other forms such as Kathak and Kathakali.  The performance was no doubt appealing, though ordinary mortals like us could not understand the subtle nuances……. – that film brought to the fore, that various such forms do exist……

Kuchipudi is a Classical Indian dance from Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also popular all over South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a village in  Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh from where this form is believed to have originated.  Kuchipudi dancers are quicksilver and scintillating, rounded and fleet-footed, they perform with grace and fluid movements.  Understand that Kuchipudi is also performed to classical Carnatic music and  shares many common elements with Bharatanatyam.  

The acclaimed performance ~ the  ‘Mahabrinda Natyam’,  is a performance by 5,794 artistes, comprising from the tender but nimble-footed three-year-olds to the 65-year-olds,  and has bagged a coveted place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “largest Kuchipudi dance” at the GMC Balayogi Stadium here on 25^th Dec 12 evening. Organised by SiliconAndhra to mark the close of the 3 International Kuchipudi Dance Convention, it was a tribute to the late Vempati Chinna Satyam, one of the greatest masters who practised the 600-year-old dance form and who has thousands of disciples across the globe.

The Hindu reports that Praveen Patel, adjudicator for Guinness Records, announced that he was delighted to witness the ‘largest Kuchipudi dance’ and handed over the certificate to Silicon Andhra chairperson, Union Minister D. Purandeswari and State IT Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah. The earlier record was set at the second such convention at the same venue in 2010 when 2,850 artistes performed.

It was  an occasion for ‘Telugu pride’ to be showcased like never before and it was apt too, considering that it was just two days before the inaugural of the World Telugu Conference in Tirupati.

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book series of all time. It is also one of the most frequently stolen books from public libraries in the United States.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

26^th Dec 2012.

Photo courtesy : http://www.kuchipudi.siliconandhra.org