The name Kālai Kāviri was selected to mark her belonging to
the local tradition and soil.
Kālai means art, the living tradition
of the cultural heritage of the country, and
Kāviri is the name of
the river flowing through the area and city of Tiruchirapalli.
At the core of Kālai Kāviri's creation was the search for more radical ways
of communication, more radical than, say, electronic media. There was something
providential in realising that this could be a natural blend of traditional
culture in our mission. The issue of communication raised a question about
the status of the Church in the Indian situation: "Is the Church identified
as a part of Indian culture?" A big 'no' was the answer.
Two thousand years ago, the Christian Good News was brought in all its glory
to this land of great tradition and culture. However, the Church in India has
become like a pot-plant; even until today, she remains pot-bound, failing to
be implanted in the soil of Indian culture. In the first centuries she was
without the trappings of Graeco-Roman culture. However, in the last five centuries
in particular, she has had alien associations. Had she been removed from the
pot of Western culture, and distanced from western institutions and rule, and
planted in the soil of Indian culture, she would have sent her roots deep down,
grown into a big tree, blossomed and seeded.
The Church has had the most dedicated resources of mission spirit, manpower
and a colossal infrastructure all over the country. For many centuries she
has been promoting the cause of education, welfare, social and economic development,
and medicine alongside her faith and spirituality. Even so, the Church is still
considered foreign. Only if the Church becomes part of the culture of the country,
will it be possible for the people of India to accept her as Indian.
It is true, such iconic figures as Fr Robert De Nobili in the 17th century,
Fr. Joseph Beschi in the 18th century and Fr. D.S.Amalorpavadass in the post-Vatican
Council period since the 1960's have each contributed enormously towards inculturation
of the Church in India. Just as the Church has contributed in other fields,
she must take up cultural promotion also with her innate spirit of total commitment.
Kālai Kāviri's Purpose and Growth
All the evidence indicated to us that
it is Kālai Kāviri's prime duty to
bring the Church into the main stream of the Indian culture. 'Cultural
promotion' is a broad area and we chose to enter specifically into the field
of fine arts, exploring both classical and folk art forms.
As a first step, we integrated these within the communication apostolate of
the Church. We started by using Indian dance, music, drama and literature to
communicate the Good News and social development values. All our efforts, especially
the Dance Troupe, found a remarkably enthusiastic reception amidst people of
all religious
and social categories. This confirmed the relevance of our involvement in fully
Indian art forms. It gave us confidence to explore further commitment within
the Indian cultural heritage.
We searched for ways to contribute to the art of dance,
Bharatha Natyam,
and South Indian Classical Music, which have been generally ignored by the
Church in the past. Consequently, the performances of the Dance Troupe since
1978, as well as the publication of the Tamil epic
Yesu Kaviam on
the life of Christ written by the popular Poet Laureate Kannadasan in 1982,
created public expectations that Kālai Kāviri could further serve the people
in the field of arts.
The idea of giving systematic training in dance inspired us to start a Part-Time
School for
Bharatha Natyam in 1983. The large number of admissions
showed us that this had been a long-awaited need of the people in our City.
A steady upsurge prompted the Part-Time School for South Indian Classical Music
in 1988, the Full-Time University Diploma course in
Bharatha Natyam in
1990, and Music in 1992, followed by the Post-Diploma course in
Bharatha
Natyam in 1993. This was followed by the first ever Bachelor's Degree
in 1996 and Master's Degree in 1999. Approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu
and affiliated to the Bharathidasan University, Kālai Kāviri College became
the first of its kind in the state of Tamil Nadu, whose population of some
58 million is on a par with the size of the United Kingdom. Our Research Department
started in 2002 to offer a PhD. programme in
Bharatha Natyam, the
highest academic achievement possible. This is the only college in the southern
region of the country to give this academic facility to the art of
Bharatha
Natyam.
Furthermore, by upgrading it as the Government Aided College and honouring
it as 'the Best Cultural Institution for the year 2000', the Government of
Tamil Nadu has authentically recognised the cultural involvement of the Church,
especially in the furtherance of our social policy and vision (
see separate webpage).
Folk Dance
Though we have given academic emphasis to classical dance and music, we were
actually more concerned about the rural folk arts. It was easier for us to
earn academic status for the classical art forms because they have an organised
form and discipline for teaching. In the absence of such grammar and discipline
for folk art forms and the academic status which would accompany them, we thought
that at least we should portray the entire life of Christ in folk music. This
was much harder than our other work because it was difficult to compose music
for 114 folk songs with the limited folk tunes available. Even so, we have
done it.
An additional flavour is that all the songs are tuned to be used for folk dances.
It gives us enormous pleasure and satisfaction to think that, as with
Yesu
Kaviam, this work in folk song and dance has also come to live with the
people for ever. For centuries in the future, people will certainly acknowledge
the achievement of bringing Christ to life in folk music.
Our interest in folk art is such that 60 percent of the dances that we give
in our internationally reputed dance programme are of folk style.
Conclusion
Those trained at Kālai Kāviri in dance and music are spread all over India
as well as in Sri Lanka, USA and Canada, representing her promotional services
in the field of Fine Arts.
The Dance Troupe enjoys wide acceptance, to the extent of performing inside
Hindu temples, and at national and international levels. The blend of classical
and folk dances of different regions given on the same stage is a unifying
force of the diverse cultures of India.
Kālai Kāviri's dance programme bears testimony to the force and vibration of
these art forms in touching the inner-self of the spectators. We carry the
richness and beauty of Indian dance and music to the different countries, for
them to experience and enjoy the same.
All these contributions by Kālai Kāviri over 25 years in the field of promoting
fine arts have given a new cultural image to the Church. The pioneers of inculturation
in the 17th, 18th centuries and the post Vatican period were within the Church
circle. By contrast, Kālai Kāviri's cultural contributions have been flowing
as a major force outside, to merge with mainstream Indian heritage. Kālai Kāviri
has thus made the presence of the Church a fully Indian contributing force
in the cultural field.
Fr. (now Monsignor) S.M.GEORGE
Founder and Director of Kālai Kāviri, 1977-2002
(edited version of chapter in Resurgence 25th Anniversary
handbook)
Postscript, not part of text.
Two young crops of Royal Palm were planted in to posts and were kept side by
side in the garden of Kālai Kāviri two years ago.
Of the two, one has broken the bottom of the pot, sent its roots deep into
the soil, branched off and fostered the growth to the amazement of all.
The other confined its roots within the pot and remained static. It is an agonizing
sight to see the latter.
Similarly, for several centuries the Church had confined to all the roots of
her activities totally enclosed. The church should have broken the barriers
long ago and sent her roots deep into the soil of local culture and tradition
in order to branch off and yield abundant fruits.
Kālai Kāviri's entire commitment has been for this inculturation through the
promotion of Fine Arts for the past 25 years. 