Maya, Tradition and Modernity in Shaji Karun’s Vaanaprastham

Authors

  • Julie Marsh University of New England

Keywords:

Folkloristics, Maya,

Abstract

The 1999 Indian/French film, Vaanaprastham (The Last Dancer), reflects the changing world of a South Indian community by depicting life episodes of a Kathakali dancer. Still engaged with traditional social mores and mythologies, the community struggles to absorb influences of modernity—altered expectations of the individual and of gender and caste relations. The story is mediated through the foundational philosophy of maya: that appearances are illusory.

Author Biography

Julie Marsh, University of New England

c/- School of Humanities, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351.

References

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Dallmyr, F., and Devy, G.N. (eds.), Between Tradition and Modernity (New Delhi: Sage, 1998).

Kakar, Sudhir, The Inner World (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1978).

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Lutgendorf, P., ‘All in the Raghu Family’, in To Be Continued…Soap Operas Around the World, ed. by R.C. Allen (London: Routledge, 1995).

Noble, A.G., and A.K. Dutt (eds.), India: Cultural Patterns and Processes (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1982).

Pitkow, Marlene B., ‘Putana’s Salvation in Kathakali: Embodying the Sacred Journey’, Asian Theatre Journal, 18.2 (2001).

Sampson, Leela, Rhythm in Joy: Classical Indian Dance Traditions (New Delhi: Lustre Press, 1987).

Singh, S.S., (ed.), Indian Dance: The Ultimate Metaphor (Chicago, IL: Art Media Resources, 2000).

Smith, David, Hinduism and Modernity (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003).

Unni, N.P. (trans.), Natyashastra Vol. 3 (Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1998).

Zarilli, P., The Kathakali Complex (New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1984).

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Published

2010-11-05

Issue

Vol. 25 (2010): A Celebratory Issue

Section

International and Comparative Studies

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