Classical Dance: Historically in Indian states, classical dances were those dances that were performed either in the temples according to religious rituals or in royal courts accompanied by classical music. The advent of British rule brought a decline to all forms of classical dance as they were considered overtly seductive and unwholesome. A bill was passed against temple dancing and cultural oppression took place. Let me talk in detail about a few of these dance forms and what happened to them.
In South India, Bharathanatyam (then called Dasi Attam) was performed in temples by Devadasis who were supported by their admirers and they in return received sexual benefits. The British could not understand this system and started disregarding Devadasis as prostitutes. They also found the moves very erotic and therefore banned the temple dance. As the dance form was dying, some people felt strongly about it and took measures to revive Bharathanatyam. Rukmini Devi is considered to be the most important revivalist of this dance. She brought in many modifications like removal of sringaar elements, introducing musical instruments and brining in innovative costumes. In 1936, she established Kalakshetra, a cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of Bharathanatyam.
In North India, Kathak was performed by story-tellers in temples as well as in courts to please the Nawabs. Again the Victorians publicly announced that the art form was overtly vulgar (although it is said that they privately indulged in court room dancing) and termed it as 'nautch', which meant 'dance performed by a girl to seduce a man to obedience'. It was a period of hardship for the art-form as it was looked down upon and considered a means of livelihood for women of very low status in society. It was revived by the Maharaj family consisting of Birju Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj etc and its popularity has been regained and spread.
Something similar happened in Eastern part of the country with Manipuri and Odissi dance forms. In 1891, Manipur was annexed by the British. Manipuri dance was considered old-fashioned and dancing itself was frowned upon and regarded as immoral. Only the temple of Govindji at Imphal was able to sustain this dance tradition. Manipuri was mostly revived by efforts of Rabindranath Tagore, especially when he included it in his programme of study at Shantiniketan. The Maharis (Odissi temple dancers) were associated with being prostitutes of the kings and they were disrespected and suppressed under British rule.
Martial Arts: It is not surprising that all Indian martial art forms and practice of warfare were suppressed during British rule as the British wanted to prevent rebellion and did not want their colony to be strong. British troops were well trained to use with explosive and guns, but they were lacking the physical combat skills. This fear lead them to impose restrictions on Indian martial arts. Most of the martial arts during this time had to be practiced in secret in rural areas.
Paika Akhada is an Orissa based martial art form. In March 1817, Paika rebellion happened against the British rule in which the British commander was killed. When the rebellion came to an end, the colonists completely stamped out the martial practices of Odisha. Today, Paika Akhada has been preserved in the form of a dance meant purely for performance, but recent government efforts aim to revive the art in its original martial form.
South Asian martial arts also underwent a period of decline after the full establishment of British colonial rule in the 19th century.More European modes of organizing kings, armies and governmental institutions, and the increasing use of firearms, gradually removed the need for traditional combat training. The British colonial government banned Kalaripayatu in 1804 in response to a series of revolts. Silambam was also banned and became more common in the Malay Peninsula than its native Tamil Nadu. But traditional fighting systems persisted, sometimes even under the patronage of enthusiastic British spectators who tended to remark on the violence of native boxing and the acrobatic movements characteristic of South Asian fighting styles.
In 1920s, the resurgence of public interest in Kalaripayat began as part of a wave of rediscovery of the traditional arts throughout south India which characterised the growing reaction against British colonial rule. During the following three decades, other regional styles were subsequently revived such as Silambam in Tamil Nadu, Thang-ta in Manipur and Paika Akhada in Orissa.
Indian Contemporary Dance: We have already seen how all classical art forms were being suppressed by Britishers. Artists and musicians were struggling to maintain their position. The environment was changing and British cultural influence was spreading over the country. There were constant debates over India’s future identity and culture. Cultural groups were being formed to preserve the Indian traditions in dance and music. People who believed the essence of Indian culture could be found in its ancient traditions, were looking to the past for the “real” definition of national culture and identity. One such example is the Bengali elite group formed in Eastern India during the mid-19th century. They created new forms of dance that asserted India's cultural difference from the British. These new forms emphasised India's spiritual domain bearing the marks of cultural identity.
On the other hand was a dancer Uday Shankar who was exposed to Indian classical forms when he was young but he also learnt ballet and Western techniques during his stay in Europe from 1918 to 1927. When he came back to India, India was nearing the end of its transition from a British colony to a newly independent nation. The cultural environment was that I explained above. Uday Shankar, however, proposed that his invented style and approach of art defined India’s new culture instead. His style brought together a variety of different traditions that corresponded to the variety of cultures that the Indian nation had united for the first time. He thought, perhaps idealistically, that a new nation should have a new culture.
Although now he is recognised as Father of Modern Dance in India, at that time he was rejected. People could not accept the incorporation of colonial influences on Indian dances. He died a broken man and was soon forgotten. Therefore I would like to conclude that people at the time of British rule were not ready to accept the Indian contemporary form but the seeds were actually sown during that period itself. Because of the mixing of cultures, more and more people were experimenting with the fusion of Indian dances with Western elements and eventually this term 'Indian contemporary dance' came into being.
Yoga: Yoga is the collection of physical, mental and spiritual practices which originated in ancient India with a view to attain moksha or nirvana. Like other topics of Indian philosophy, yoga also came to the attention of the Westerners when India was under colonial rule. Initially, the British associated yogis (yoga practitioners) with Tantrics and militants. The yogis became objects of morbid fascination for European tourists. A major transformation of the concept of yogi occurred when Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) sanitised the term yoga and popularised it as a positive spiritual export. At the same time, the promotion of India as an idealised spiritual centre started because colonialism brought a lot of Europeans to India and they slowly started believing in yoga's practical and scientific benefits in terms of health and well-being. There was deep collaboration between Indians and Europeans and what came out of it is 'modern yoga' which is what we today call yoga.
Traditionally, Yoga was a complete system, of which the postures were a small part. The entire purpose of Yoga was spiritual in nature. In modern times, the postures have become the most important and defining aspect of yoga. People believe that the word "Yoga" refers to Asanas, and that the goal of these is physical fitness.
