} personality {

[moderatoassai]

Having been dedicated to the grand temple of Agni (the Hindu fire deity) in Golconda since she was prepubescent – a decision she made in even just a childish recognition of how she had no desire to marry, Nikiya was in every way considered pure (unmarried to a man and therefore unable to become a widow) and thought of herself in those terms as well before she met Gamzatti. She took pleasure and honour in performing the daily acts of worship every single day and soon rose in standing amongst the other devadasi to enjoy particular favour by the High Brahmin, to a degree where he had fallen in love with and began to pursue her. In the face of his attempts at wooing her, however, she was unwavering and stood by her standing as a devotee of the god whom they both served. As such, Nikiya displayed her determination to live up to her own ideals, her respect for and acceptance of what is expected from her in her position and (perhaps underlying both the others) her strength as a person – assets that should prove paramount when she meets Gamzatti later and initiates a relationship with her.

Because where Nikiya has, up until that point, been blindly focused on her duties as a temple dancer, the entrance of Gamzatti into her life becomes an eye opener. Not only does Nikiya have to realize that the reason why she was insistent enough on not marrying to step into temple service was because she’s attracted to other women, but Gamzatti – with her spoiled and carefree nature, her inner fire – forces her out of her comfort zone. Obviously in admiration of Nikiya’s strength of character and calmly collected attitude, she manages to test both the very traits that she so admires, Nikiya fighting to hold back at first and keep her distance. Because what Gamzatti awakens in Nikiya is a free spirit that has lain dormant beneath her dedication and determination, maybe even a wildness which has otherwise only ever expressed itself in her dancing. Having served the fire god for so many years, Nikiya does acknowledge the fire within herself when it’s so clearly presented to her and after a few moments of hesitation, she not only gives in to Gamzatti, but to herself as well. Embracing this new side of herself. Accepting, finally, also what she can expect from herself, not only what others expect of her.

And Nikiya drowns herself in it. She doesn’t quell the fire within, she can’t now that Gamzatti has set it aflame and made it burn so brightly, but she drowns herself in the sudden tsunami of emotions that comes with falling in love – such contrasts to the much more monochrome and monotone life she led before, dedicated only to her servitude and her dances. Although their bond may have grown immediately strong and flaming, as two women of a close to equal standing in Hindu society and although this strength and inherent flame may have been reflected in their mutual attraction as well, Nikiya is not allowed to forget for very long that Gamzatti is betrothed to Solor and their wedding plans well underway. In her encounter with Solor later, she betrays how she can also – beneath her calm, like a large ocean with strong currents playing beneath the water’s surface – be both temperamental and impulsive. Traits that have mainly featured in her ritual dances until that point.

Yes, it becomes evident that she is fully capable of a desperation fierce enough that she can overcome her own serenity and make attempts at a man’s life. Such is the desperation Nikiya feels when Solor forbids her to continue her relationship with Gamzatti and threatens her to stay away from her. That she, in a fit of burning passion, grabs a nearby knife and attacks him – a course of action that surprises her just as much as it does him which only proves to show that these feelings are not usually ones that she struggles with. Anger, revengefulness, violence… They are foreign to her and born of the character development that she has undergone in light of her love for Gamzatti.

As such, it can be concluded that although Nikiya is, by way of her position in society as a devadasi, a serene and serious woman who keeps her more heated emotions under control, expressing them only in her servitude of the fire god, she is fully capable of passionate love, passionate anger and passionate action on a more personal basis as well. Aspects of her personality freed by her relationship with Gamzatti.