KATHMANDU:

He was not a good dancer in school, but Fulbright scholar Aaron ‘Ted’ Samuel’s Karagattam (Tamil folk dance) performance at Gurukul on June 22 left everyone agape.

One moment he was on stage dancing with a brass pot balanced on his head, the next

moment he was rolling around on the floor (the pot still balanced on his head) and when he

stood up next, he had expertly draped a saree around and was gracefully swaying.

Describing what he called a stunt, Samuel explained, “Karagattam is a folk dance

in which the dancer demonstrates his/her skills in balancing a brass vessel on the head.”

This dance form that can be traced back 2,000 years and was meant for male performers alone. Based on the graceful walk of priests returning from the river with vessels full of water, it became more elaborate as it evolved and was later performed by everyone interested in doing so — both for religious and entertainment purposes.

Samuel developed his interest in Karagattam when he was doing a research on transgender issues in India. “I took a five-month intensive class to learn the art as it was a folk dance unique from other classical dance forms popular in US universities,” he said.

After his two short performances, Samuel gave a talk on ‘Karagattakarigal: Exploring the Expansion of Gender Roles in Karagattam’ and presented case studies of two female Karagattam dancers and the hardships they had to face in society because of the sexual stigma attached to the dance. He said the situation is improving with Karagattam stirring academic interest and use of this dance in positive light in Tamil movies.

The dance was organised by the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nepal and Nepal Centre of the International Theatre Institute UNESCO.