By Kollengode S Venkataraman, Written in July 2001
It is that time of the year again, when many of our young, bright, and charming women will have their debut in Indian classical dances in Pittsburgh in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi for now. In the years ahead, Odissi and Kathak too would be part of this rite-of-passage for most of our girls — and also a few boys, one hopes.
Last year, someone innocuously asked me why The Patrika uses Arangetram in announcements when Rangapravesha and Rangapravesam were the terms used in some of the announcements.
That triggered in me a train of thoughts touching a) Dravidian and Aryan etymology, b) nuances in compounding words in Indian languages, c) phonetic transformation of Indian word clusters because of Panini’s sandhi rules, d) regional modifications in vocalizing words in India, and e) the challenges in transliterating Indian words in Roman alphabets. This list is long enough to make you wonder if I am insane or under some psychedelic drugs. But withhold your judgment, please…
First, take the etymology part. Arangetram is an Aryan-Dravidian compound word. Arangam is a tamil modification of rangam, meaning a stage. Aetram is purely Dravidian; it is a Tamil noun meaning ascension. Its verbal root aeru in Tamil means “to climb. ” Since in those days the stage was always at a higher level than the place where the audience sat, the artiste had to literally climb the steps to get onto the stage. Hence the compound word arangetram, to indicate the first time the dancer climbing on stage to perform in front of a supposedly discerning audience.
Ranga-pravesam is an all-Sanskrit compound word, pravesam literally meaning entrance. For a variety of socio-culturally sensitive reasons, while Kannadigas use ranga-pravesha, people from Andhra prefer ranga-pravesam.
This etymological excursion still does not answer why The Patrika uses arangetram and not rangapravesam or rangapravesha. That explanation is complex, and is likely to touch more raw nerves.
In today’s India, classical dances, which had a distinctly regional identity fifty years ago, have become truly pan-Indian, even as we recognize and celebrate these art forms’ regional roots. Now youngsters from all parts of India living anywhere globally learn any of the Indian classical dance forms they like without any regional hang-ups. This is a refreshing trend in post-Independent India.
Understandably, this dance debut is a big event for dance teachers and the taught as it brings to fruition several years of their painstaking collaborative work. For parents, the debut gala also heralds their arrival Rangaprash)a(m)? socially, culturally, and also economically, ready to cough up several thousand dollars for an evening event.
On another matter, as Hindustanis, it is our inalienable right to morph original Sanskrit terms to suit local vocalization traditions. For example, the Sanskrit Ramayanam becomes Ramayana and Ramayan; and Kamala, Vimala, Praveen, Dharmendra, Tyagamurti morph into Kamla, Vimla (or Bimla), Parveen, Dharmender, and Thiagamoorthy.
Naturally, parents spending thousands of dollars to have their kids’ dance debut would want to spell it the “right” way they’re used to “back home.” The Patrika, having to cater to a diverse demographic group even within the 10,000-plus desis here — 12-plus languages, one hundred or more castes, eight major religions — should be sensitive enough to consider a whole slew of options to satisfy regional variations in spellings. Any spelling different from their regional variations is fraught with censure.
As it is, folks from Andhra only want rangapravesam, and Kannadigas want nothing but rangapravesha. Unfortunately, in the phonetically perfect Sanskrit, it is neither “sa” nor “sha” in praves(h)a(m) but something in between phonetically, which can only be written using a diacritical mark as “śa,” as in rangapraveśam. But from temple publications, we know that diacritical marks in transliterating Sanskrit into Roman script have a soporific effect on us.
Then, Maharashtra purists would demand we use ranga-pravesh, while people from the Original Gandhi country would insist on using only ranga-praves for their dance debut. Those tracing their heritage to Rajasthan/Haryana would want rang-praves, while people from the Hindi belt would demand rang-pravesh, nothing else. Or else…
And people from the Five-River area in northwestern India would stipulate that their children would have nothing other than rang-parves, while people from Eastern India would want ranga-prabesh.
If you also take into consideration the Lukhnowis’ and Hyderabadis’ penchant to make words sound Persian, you may have to consider also rang-parvez and rung-parvaiz (!)
So, in order to avoid the confusion in spelling the word in all these possibilities, The Patrika decided to use the Aryan-Dravidian compound word arangetram, at least for Bharatanatyam/Kuchipudi debut, in the hope that this term nobody could mutilate.
Then again, you never know. Keralites and Sri Lankans may object to arangetram, preferring the Kerala and Sri Lankan style arangettam!
And Kathak and Odissi teachers may come up with their own terms for their debut for subtly telling us that their art form is quite different, even as ALL Indian dances, including the folksy Yakshagana, trace their roots to the ubiquitous Bharata’s 2000-year-old Natya Shastra.
Then I’ll throw up my hands and settle for Indian Dance Debut, or look for a Latin or Greek equivalent to make it sound high-brow. END