Kuchipudi’s remarkable journey from 10th century Andhra village to Kerala school fete

Kuchipudi dance gains popularity at Kerala School Arts Festival, evolving into a crowd favorite with authentic performances.

Shortly after the Kuchipudi contest ended at the Central Stadium on a warm Monday afternoon, Anupama Mohan talked about the surprises, pleasant as well as unpleasant, she had when she watched the State School Arts Festival for the first time nearly two decades ago.

“It was a pleasant surprise to see such a big crowd for Kuchipudi, but I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t the authentic form of the dance that is so close to my heart as a performer,” she tells The Hindu. “Now, I am happy that Kuchipudi is now being performed in the way that it should be.”

She is delighted that Kuchipudi has become one of the most popular events at the school festival. There was an excellent crowd that turned up to watch the 26 girls perform in the HSS category. And they stayed back till the results were announced by the judges, who praised the contestants for their show.

The Kuchipudi contests have witnessed even bigger crowds at the festival in the past. “I was shocked to see the massive crowds that turned up to watch Kuchipudi at places like Thiruvanathapuram and Thrissur,” says Architha Anish, one of the more talented dancers to emerge from the school festival in recent times. “The quality of the Kuchipudi at the festival has improved greatly after Anupama Mohan started training students in Kerala; I was among her earlier students.”

Though she is also well-trained in Mohiniyattam, Kerala’s own classical dance, Architha has chosen Kuchipudi as the dance form for her career as a professional performer. Karthika S. Nambiar, one of the contestants here, also loves Kuchipudi.

It is indeed remarkable that a dance form that originated in an Andhra Pradesh village called Kuchipudi in the 10th century has captured the imagination of Kerala’s favourite arts festival. It isn’t difficult to understand why. Just watch some YouTube videos of dancers like Alkekhya Punjala or Ajay Kumar, or legends such as Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma.

It is an incredibly beautiful, graceful dance form with plenty of drama. The stunning costume, jewellery and elaborate hairdo help, too.