Siddhendra Yogi Adi Guru of Kuchipudi

The body of achievements of those blessed souls, who have attained mastery of rasas and are lords among poets, do not suffer from old age or death.” -Bhatruhari

Art grows and blossoms in the hands of visionary masters. They reshape it into forms so mesmerising that their creations are talked, remembered and celebrated even after centuries. Kuchipudi, which has 500 years of recorded history, owes its greatness to masters who shaped it over the years. Siddhendra Yogi, a doyen of Kuchipudi, lauded as Adi Guru by Kuchipudi dancers, gave life and blood to this dance form in its budding stages. He is the author of ‘Bhama Kalapam’, the jewel of Kuchipudi and he is the one who brought a distinctive style to Kuchipudi.

Life of Siddhendra Yogi and his origins has never been clearly established. But there is an agreed consensus that he lived in the 13th and 14th centuries. There are many stories about the life of Siddhendra Yogi, but the popular version is that of Kuchipudi Bhagavatulu. And it goes like this:

Siddappa, was born into a Chinta family in Kuchelapuram (present day Kuchipudi). As a child, he was never interested in studies and was considered a dullard. With hope that marriage would make him active, his parents got him married to a girl from Bhagavathula family.

One day Siddappa ran away from Kuchelapuram and landed at Varanasi. He became a disciple of a Vaishnavaite pandit, who was a master of Alankara Shastra and Abhinaya. Under his tutelage, Siddappa learnt the art of abhinaya. He was praised all around Varanasi for his strong grasp. After his training, Siddappa set forth back to his native village, Kuchelapuram.

Longing to see his parents and wife, Siddappa tried to cross the flooding Krishna river, as his village was on the other bank. Midway, he lost hope that he would make it. Surrendering himself to the almighty, and expecting that his end was near, he renounced all worldly bonds, and took the vows of an ascetic. He ceased struggling, accepting his fate of imminent death. However, he drifted to the bank and opened his eyes, only to realise that he was an ascetic and all the bonds he craved for were banished forever.

It is this struggle between worldly bonds and spiritual bliss which is the undercurrent of his magnum opus, the Bhama Kalapam. Bhama’s materialistic convictions and how Krishna removes those illusions forms the crux of the story’s symbolism.

Some opine that Siddappa had run away not to Varanasi, but to Udupi, where he imbibed his Madhura Bhakti in the service of Udupi Sri Krishna, and as such was influenced by the Bhakti Movement which was sweeping across India at that time. Some opine, he did not leave Kuchelapuram and its surroundings at all.

Even in the case of Bhama Kalapam’s authorship, the portions written by Siddhendra Yogi have not been clearly identified. Centuries of additions and improvisations have rendered the original text unrecognisable. While all extant versions of Bhama Kalapam acquiesce to his primary authorship, scholars are never sure of the exact parts which he had written.

However unclear Siddhendra Yogi’s life may remain, the dance form he has systematised is present today on the world stage in sparkling glory. Its vivaciousness has touched the shores of every country including America, Australia, Kenya, South Africa, France, Hong Kong, Argentina and South Africa. Its practitioners are swelling, and every week around the world at least one Bhama enters the stage proudly proclaiming her royal lineage.