Rukmini Devi Arundale

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Rukmini Devi Arundale

Rukmini Devi Arundale (born February 29, 1904 in Madurai , † February 24, 1986 in India ) was an Indian dancer , politician and theosophist .

Live and act

Childhood, adolescence and marriage

Rukmini Devi was born on February 29, 1904 in Madurai, one of eight children of Nilakanta Sastri and his wife Seshammal. The family belonged to the Brahmin caste , the father was an engineer and a well-known Sanskrit scholar , the family was very respected and wealthy. When Rukmini Devi was 7 years old, the family moved to Chennai because the now retired father wanted to join the local Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG). Since then, Rukmini Devi has also been in contact with theosophy. For a time she was Annie Besant's secretary , in the second half of the 1910s she met the theosophist George Arundale , became his servant and companion, and in 1920 she married him. The wedding sparked a scandal among the Conservative Brahmins as her husband, an Englishman , was viewed as a foreigner and marriage to a Brahmin was contrary to tradition. Rukmini Devi was 16 at the time, but her husband was 41 years old. To smooth things over and also to bring the Adyar-TG, who was also criticized by the marriage, out of the line of fire, the couple left Chennai and drove to Mumbai . Since difficulties loomed for the Adyar-TG there too, they went to Europe together for several years to work there for theosophy. Rukmini Devi accompanied Arundale on most of his trips around the world, and they also worked on most of the activities inside and outside the TG together. The marriage remained childless, her husband George died on August 12, 1945 when she was 41 years old, she did not marry a second time. Rukmini Devi was the sister of Nilakanta Sri Ram , who later became president of the Adyar-TG.

Working for the Adyar-TG

Since her youth, Rukmini Devi has worked on numerous Adyar-TG projects. In 1923 Besant appointed her president of the All India Federation of Young Theosophists and in 1925 president of the World Federation of Young Theosophists . After Annie Besant's death , Rukmini Devi's husband, George Arundale , became the new president of Adyar-TG in June 1934. In 1934 they founded the Besant Memorial School together and, after hearing about the work of the educationalist Maria Montessori , invited her to India to sign her up for the school. In 1939 Montessori accepted the invitation, not least because Benito Mussolini had declared it to be undesirable in Italy . Together with her son Mario , she took over the teacher training at the Besant Memorial School and designed the school according to her principles. This was later renamed Besant Theosophical School and still exists today (2006) as a university in Varanasi . In 1980 she applied for the presidency of the Adyar-TG alongside Radha Burnier , but was defeated in the vote.

The dancer

From childhood Rukmini Devi was interested in art, especially music and dance . In this she was encouraged by her mother, who had the same area of ​​interest. At many meetings and gatherings of the Adyar-TG, there were also artistic performances. In the 1920s, Rukmini Devi got to know a wide artistic repertoire on her travels, from theater to painting , music, opera and ballet . She finally learned ballet from the Russian master dancer Anna Pawlowna Pawlowa and this convinced her to study classical Indian dance . She got to know and appreciate the dance style Bharatanatyam , which triggered another scandal among conservative forces, as this dance was usually only performed by the Bajaders , dancers close to prostitution, and Rukmini Devi, as a brahman, had to stay away from it. However, she did not allow herself to be discouraged, but developed the Bharatanatyam further by regrouping the music, changing costumes and perfecting the presentation in terms of aesthetics, following the idea of art without vulgarity . To this end, she even set up her own textile workshop, in which the costumes were made according to her instructions.

Finally, on January 6, 1936, she and her husband founded The International Academy of Arts on the Adyar-TG site , later renamed Kalakshetra . For this she engaged the most important musicians and dancers in India. Her first student was the later president of the Adyar-TG Radha Burnier , and the first successes soon became apparent when the middle class sent their daughters to dance training. Inspired by traditional dance dramas, she staged them anew, took over the choreography and, despite only minor changes, created a modern bharatanatyam, thus revolutionizing the Indian dance scene.

Little by little it developed into a real art academy with a focus on music and dance. In 1962/63 the Kalakshetra moved to Thiruvanmiyur , a district of Chennai , where it is still located today (2006). Kalakshetra is now a cultural academy for the preservation of traditional Indian values ​​and consists of a. from high school , college, and university .

In 1967 Rukmini Devi Fellow of the Indian Academy of Performing Arts .

The politician

In April 1952 she was appointed to the Rajya Sabha by the Indian President Rajendra Prasad and confirmed in this position again in 1956. Here she was mainly involved in animal welfare, especially because she herself was strictly vegetarian . She was also significantly involved in setting up the Indian national park program. She was later offered to run for President of India, but she declined. From 1955 until her death in 1986 she was Vice President of the International Vegetarian Union (IVU).

Death and obituary

Rukmini Devi Arundale died on February 24, 1986, shortly before the age of 82. In India, Rukmini Devi is still today (2006) one of the most famous and famous people in the country. Rukmini Devi Day is celebrated on her birthday . In addition to many awards that she received during her lifetime, numerous schools, streets and parks are named after her.

Works

  • Art and culture in Indian life . Kerala University Press, Trivandrum 1975
  • Selections, Some selected speeches & writings of Rukmini Devi Arundale . Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai 2003

literature

  • Indra Gupta: India's 50 Most Illustrious Women . Icon Publications, 2003, ISBN 81-88086-19-3 .
  • Kalakshetra Foundation (Ed.): Rukmini Devi Arundale birth centenary volume . Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai 2004.
  • Kalakshetra Foundation (Ed.): Shraddanjali, brief pen portraits of a galaxy of great people who laid the foundations of Kalakshetra . Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai 2004.
  • Avanthi Meduri (Ed.): Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986), A Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and the Performing Arts . Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2005, ISBN 81-208-2740-6 .
  • S. Sarada: Kalakshetra-Rukmini Devi, reminiscences . Kala Mandir Trust, Madras 1985.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Arundale, Rukmini Devi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian dancer, politician and theosophist
DATE OF BIRTH February 29, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Madurai
DATE OF DEATH February 24, 1986
Place of death India