Kuchipudi Dance (400 Years History) - Guinness Book Record

Kuchipudi (కుచిపుడి) is a classical dance form from Andhra Pradesh, a state of South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a small village in the Divi Seema of Krishna district that borders the Bay of Bengal and with resident Brahmins practising this traditional dance form, it acquired the present name.

With the dance form attaining perfection by the time of Golconda king Abdul Hassan Tanesha, Kuchipudi brahmins are said to have received 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land as an endowment from Tanesha for the great presentation before him.

Siddhendra Yogi is said to be the first scholar to give it the current form of dance drama. Bhamakalapam is one of his celebrated compositions. He also reserved the art to males by teaching it to young brahmin boys of the village. However, in modern times, the art has been dominated by women.

The performance usually begins with some stage rites, after which each of the character comes on to the stage and introduces him/herself with a daru (a small composition of both song and dance) to introduce the identity, set the mood, of the character in the drama. The drama then begins. The dance is accompanied by song which is typically carnatic music. The singer is accompanied by mridangam (a classical South Indian percussion instrument), violin, flute and the tambura (a drone instrument with strings which are plucked). Ornaments worn by the artists are generally made of a light weight wood called Boorugu.

Some of the well known people in this tradition are Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam[1], Vedantam Lakshminarayana, Dr. Uma Rama Rao, Tadepalli Perayya, Chinta Krishna Murthy, Padma Sri Vedantam Sathya Narayana Sarma,Mrinalini Sadananda,Sobha Naidu, Pasumarthi Venu Gopala Krishna Sarma.

A Guinness Book world record was set in Cupertino as the largest number of dancers (318) performed Kuchipudi, the ancient Indian classical dance form, here on June 21.
The feat was authenticated by Danny Girton of the Guinness Book of world records at the site in DE Anza College in Cupertino, Silicon Valley, California.
About 2,000 people attended the conference, Participants included dancers from five continents assembled to set a world record and participate in the three day International Kuchipudi Dance conference on June 20- 22.

Also present were Mayor Dolly sandoval of Cupertino, Supervisor Liz Kniss and Fremont City Councilmember Anu Natarajan, Minster of State HRD Purandeswari and others.

Organizers also held a parade titled 'Kuchipudi Shobha Yatra,' led by Mayor Dolly Saldoval, and other local digintaries as wel as those who have kept the art alive.
Also on display were several festive statues brought from Kuchipudi village in India.

The event honored renowned Kuchipudi exponents like Vempati Chinnasatyam, Yamini Krishnamoorthy, Raja and Radha Reddy, Pasumarthi Gopalakrishna,Vedanta Satyanarayana Sharma and others.

Various performances by local Kuchipudi dance schools and also grad ballads conducted by renowned dance teachers were presented.

Chilkur Balaji

Chilkur Balaji Temple is located at Chilkur in Moinabad mandal in the Rangareddi district, Andhra Pradesh, India.

This temple is also popularly known as Visa Temple because many devotees come here with the wish of going abroad.
It's customary to go around the temple (known as Pradakshina) eleven times and pray to god for a specific wish. Once this wish comes true, the recipient has to go again and take 108 Pradakshinas.

This is one of the few temples in India which does not accept monetary donations.
Chilkur Balaji temple is one of the most famous temples in Hyderabad area. The nice concept that is implemented in darshan of the lord Balaji, is that all people must stand in queue with utmost discipline. There are no VIP passes and there is no Hundi for donations. When people ask for wish from the god here, they have to do 11 pradakshinas and ask their wish with the witness of Lord Anjaneya. When the wish gets fulfilled, they need to do 108 pradakshinas. The 11 pradakshinas have a significant meaning according to the temple priests. When people wish anything from god, mind has to think about only god and one's self i.e 11(1-1) signifies that god takes care of everybody and everybody should understand that.

There is a Shiva temple in the complex.

History
Twenty Five kilometers from Hyderabad off the Vikarabad road and on the banks of Osmansagar is the picturesque village of Chikur with its ancient temple dedicated to Sri Balaji Venkateshwara. From the style, structure and appearance, it can be inferred that the temple was built half a millennium ago. Set in sylvan surroundings, the temple attracts thousands of pilgrims every year and is an ideal place for sequestered retreat and meditation. It enjoyed in the past, great days of pomp and glory.

The temple is one of the oldest in Telengana, having been built during the time of Akkanna and Madanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramdas. According to tradition, a devotee who used to visit Tirupati every year could not do so on one occasion owing to serious ill-health. Lord Venkateshwara appeared in his dream and said, "I am right here in the jungle nearby. You don't have to worry." The devotee at once moved to the place indicated by the Lord in the dream and saw a mole- hill there, which he dug up. Accidentally, the axe struck Lord Balaji's idol covered by the mole-hill below the chin and on the chest, and surprisingly blood started flowing profusely from the "wounds", flooding the ground and turning it scarlet. The devotee could not believe his eyes when he saw this. Suddenly he could not believe his ears also when he heard a voice from the air which said,"Flood the mole-hill with cow's milk. "When the devotee did so, a Swayambhu idol of Lord Balaji accompanied by Sridevi and Bhoodevi(a rare combination) was found, and this idol was installed with the due rites and a temple built for it.

Sri Balaji venkateshwara, the Pratyaksha Daiva in kaliyuga, is thus available at Chilkur to shower blessings on His devotees who for any reason are unable to go to Tirupati. Many devout worshippers flock to the temple, to receive the blessings of the Lord and his consorts throughout the year particularly during the Poolangi, Annakota and Brahmothsavams

With the earnest desire to revive the former glory and importance of the temple, the idol of Ammavaru was installed in 1963 the year following the Chinese aggression, and when the aggression was unilaterally vacated, Ammavaru was given the name of Rajya Lakshmi, signifying this welcome event. The unique feature of this idol is that lotus flowers are held in three hands and the fourth hand is in such a position towards the lotus feet which signifies the doctrine of Saranagathi.

The temple has been visited by great Acharyas from time to time. A visit to the temple is a must for the Jeer of Sri Ahobila Mutt every time he visits the twin cities, and in the temple is installed the idol of the first Jeer. The Tilakayaths of Sri Vallabhacharya Sampradaya have been regularly visiting the shrine. Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya of Sringeri Mutt and his disciple graced the efforts of the trustees in improving the temple.

Recent Governments were trying to take Chilkur Balaji Temple. The endowments deparment is hell bent and is trying to keep hundi in temple to mint money as the foot falls to the temple are very high. The only temple in India where evey man is equal, irrespective of religion, caste and creed. We request you to support us in fighting againt the governments to protect chilkur balaji temple. In India it is the only temple temple which is effectively managed without taking single paisa.

How to reach Chilkur
Chilkuru is around 30 k.m. away from Hyderabad and it takes about one hour to reach the temple. When one comes to Hyderabad/Secunderabad, quite a large number of buses, taxies, auto-three-wheelers, etc. are available from any place. Chilkuru (or Chilkur) is the name of the tiny village where the temple is located. The nearest places from where one can find buses, taxies etc. in the city leading to Chilkur is MEHDIPATNAM or LANGAR HOUSE. Shared three-wheeler/auto charges are somewhere around Rs. 10-12 per person, one way. Bus charges are also in the range of Rs. 9 or so, one way. Travelling from Mehdipatnam takes about 50-60 minutes. Since the village is very nearby to Hyderabad city, coming back to the city by night is recommended for outstation pilgrims.
Places worth visit nearby: Golconda Fort. While going to Chilkuru, one can have a glimpse of the Golconda Fort from a distance.

May the Lord bless you with a Happy Darshan...! And a VISA too...!