Attentive Minds: A History of the Indian Performative Art of Avadhāna from the Origin to Modern Times

Hermina Cielas, Ph.D. (2018), Jagiellonian University in Kraków, is a Researcher in the Department of Languages and Cultures of India and South Asia at that university. She is the author of several articles on Indian culture and literature.

Contents


Acknowledgements


List of Figures


Abbreviations


Introduction





Part 1: Towards the Avadhāna


1 Celebration of Cognitive Skills


 1 Concentration and Attentiveness


 2 Memory, Memorization, and Chanting Vedas


 3 Retention





2 Riddles, Skills, and Arts


 1 Creating and Solving Riddles


 2 The 64 (or More) Arts and Skills


 3 The Influence of Theatre and Nāṭyaśāstra





3 Performing Literary Composition


 1 The Underlying Principles of Indian Poetry


 2 The Four Types of Poetry


 3 Multilingualism


 4 Kavigoṣṭhī





Part 2: The Great (Systematized) Improvisation


4 The Systematization of Avadhāna


 1 The General Tenets and Basic Division of Avadhāna


 2 Hidden behind the Numbers


 3 The Duration of a Performance


 4 Mnemonic Forms of Avadhāna


 5 Technical Avadhānas and Their Tasks


 6 Artistic Forms of Avadhāna





5 The Languages of Avadhāna





6 Performing Traditions, Fostering Communities


 1 A (Cultural) Performance


 2 The Ritualistic and Liminoid Aspects of Avadhāna





Part 3: Voices from the Stones and Scriptures


7 Tablets, Stones, and Copperplates


 1 The Inscription from Vallimalai


 2 The Nandampundi Grant and Nārāyaṇa


 3 Mallikārjuna Bhaṭṭa and Someśvara in the Epigraphs from Belagami and Ablur


 4 Devaśarmā in the Inscription from Halsi


 5 Viśvanātha from Belvola in the Inscriptions from Kembalu and Haranahalli


 6 The Avadhānīs of the Nānāka praśastis





8 Avadhāna in the Literary Sources


 1 Vedāvadhānīs


 2 Avadhāna at the Mughal Courts


 3 Female Artists at the 17th-Century Nāyaka Court in Tanjore


 4 Avatāṉis


 5 The Others





9 Spatial and Temporal Aspects of Avadhāna


 1 On the Origin of Avadhāna


 2 The Time and Place of Avadhāna Performances





Part 4: Figures on the Stage


10 The Preparation of Avadhānī


 1 The Ideal Kavi and Preparation for Performing Sāhityāvadhāna


 2 Preparing to Perform Technical and Non-literary Artistic Avadhānas


 3 Memory Training and the Methods of Enhancing Cognitive Skills





11 In the Milieu of Avadhānīs


 1 The Avadhānīs and Their Position in Society


 2 Women in Avadhāna


 3 The Role of the Teacher in Avadhāna


 4 The Questioners





12 The Challenges of the 20th and 21st Centuries


 1 Changes of Patronage, Critique of the Art, and the Crisis of Sāhityāvadhāna


 2 The Revival, Influence of Technology and Media, and Commercialization of Avadhāna


 3 Organizing Avadhāna


 4 The Prospects




Appendix 1: Selected Examples of Historical and Contemporary Practitioners of Avadhāna

Appendix 2: Selected Verses Composed by Avadhānīs and Pṛcchakas

Appendix 3: A Glossary of Terms Connected to Avadhāna

Bibliography