Bharathanatyam (
Tamil:
பரதநாட்டியம்) is a form of
Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of
Tamil Nadu.
[1][2][3][4][5] It was described in the treatise
Natya Shastra by
Bharata
around the beginning of the common era. Bharata Natyam is known for its
grace, purity, tenderness, expression and sculpturesque poses.
Lord Shiva
is considered the God of this dance form. Today, it is one of the most
popular and widely performed dance styles and is practiced by male and
female dancers all over the world, although it is more commonly danced
by women.
Etymology
The name Bharata Natyam is of relatively recent origin when
performers like Rukmini Devi revived the dance in the 20th century. The
original names of Bharata Natyam were
Sadir,
Chinnamelan and most commonly
Dasi Attam.
A possible origin of the name is from
Bharata Muni, who wrote the
Natya Shastra. The word
Bharatnatyam combines "
Bhavam" meaning expression, "
ragam" meaning music, "
thalam" meaning rhythm and
natyam meaning dance
Dance tradition
One of the 81 Bharata Natyam dance positions carved on the outer wall of the upper storey of
Peruvudaiyar Koyil, Thanjavur. completed in 1010.
Surviving texts of the golden age of
Tamil literature and poetry known during the
Sangam period of
ca. 3rd century BCE to c. 4th century CE, such as the
Tolkappiyam (தொல்காப்பியம்), as well as the later
Silappadikaram
(சிலப்பதிகாரம்), testify to a variety of dance traditions which
flourished in these times. The latter work is of particular importance,
since one of its main characters, the courtesan Madhavi, is a highly
accomplished dancer. The
Silappadikaram
is a mine of information of ancient Tamil culture and society, in which
the arts of music and dance were highly developed and played major
roles.
[8]
Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata Natyam dance postures
karanas. In fact, it is the celestial dancers,
apsaras,
who are depicted in many scriptures dancing the heavenly version of
what is known on earth as Bharata Natyam. In the most essential sense, a
Hindu deity is a revered royal guest in his temple/abode, to be offered
the "sixteen hospitalities" - among which are music and dance, pleasing
to the senses. Thus, many Hindu temples traditionally maintained
complements of trained musicians and dancers, as did Indian rulers.
In
Kali Yuga, the center of most arts in India is
Bhakti
(devotion) and therefore, Bharata Natyam as a dance form and carnatic
music set to it are deeply grounded in Bhakti. Bharata Natyam, it is
said, is the embodiment of music in visual form, a ceremony, and an act
of devotion. Dance and music are inseparable forms; only with
Sangeetam (words or syllables set to raga or melody) can dance be conceptualized. Bharata Natyam has three distinct elements to it:
Nritta (rhythmic dance movements),
Natya (mime, or dance with a dramatic aspect), and
Nritya
(combination of Nritta and Natya). "Natya" portrays a character and
"Nritya" can be seen as a type of story telling, using lots of hand
gestures and emotions.
Tamil Nadu, especially
Tanjore,
has always been the seat and centre of learning and culture. It was the
famous quartet of Chinnayya, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu of the
Tanjore Court during the Marathi King Saraboji’s time (1798–1824) which
made a rich contribution to music and Bharata Natyam and also completed
the process of re-editing the Bharata Natyam programme into its present
shape with its various forms like the Alarippu, Jathiswaram, Sabdham,
Varnam, Tillana etc. The descendants of these four brothers formed the
original stock of Nattuvanars or dance teachers of Bharata Natyam in
Tanjore. The dance forms can be big or small.
Essential ideas
Bharata Natyam is considered to be a
fire-dance
— the mystic manifestation of the metaphysical element of fire in the
human body. It is one of the five major styles (one for each element)
that include
Odissi (element of water),
Kuchipudi (element of earth),
Mohiniattam (element of air) and
Kathakali
(element of sky or aether). The movements of an authentic Bharata
Natyam dancer resemble the movements of a dancing flame. Contemporary
Bharata Natyam is rarely practiced as
Natya Yoga, a sacred meditational tradition, except by a few orthodox schools (see
Yoga and
dance).
Bharata Natyam proper is a
solo dance, with two aspects,
lasya, the graceful feminine lines and movements, and
tandava Ananda Thandavam (Tamil) (the dance of
Shiva), masculine aspect.
In most solo performances, Bharata Natyam involves many split
characters that are depicted by the dancer. The dancer will take on
numerous characters by switching roles through the swift turn in circle
and creates a story line that can be easily followed by the feat of one
individual. The characters will be understood by the narrative of the
song and the expression, or "abhinaya." However, in more modern times,
Bharata Natyam performances have taken stage as group performances
involving dramatical performances that require many characters depicted
by various dancers. In addition, these dance performances include
numerous transitions and formations that are creatively choreographed to
enhance the movements along with the music.
Spiritual symbolism
Bharata Natyam is the manifestation of the ancient idea of the
celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the
beauty of the material body. Some Bharata Natyam techniques can be
traced back to the Kaisiki style. The Natya(I.44) reads, "... I have
seen the Kaisiki style during the dance of the blue-throated lord
(Shiva). It consists of elaborate gestures (
Mridu Angaharas, movements of limbs), sentiments (
Rasas), emotional states (
Bhavas). Actions (
Kriyas) are its soul. The costume should be charmingly beautiful and love (
Sringara) is its foundation. It cannot be adequately portrayed by men. Except for women, none can practise it properly".
Apart from the Kaisikii style, Bharata Natyam imbibed some others.
These reflect other yogis of spiritual revelations, such as the vision
of two sages, Vyagrapada and
Pathanjali in
Chidambaram. In
Hindu mythology the whole universe is the dance of the Supreme Dancer,
Nataraja, a name for Lord
Shiva,
the Hindu ascetic yogi and divine purveyor of destruction of evil. The
symbolism of the dance of Shiva (in the form of Nataraja) is represented
by the attitude called "Ananda Tandavam". Also known as the cosmic
dancer, he is here the embodiment and manifestation of the eternal
energy in five activities (
panch-kriya): creation, pouring forth, unfolding; maintenance or duration (
sthiti); destruction or taking back (
smhara); concealing, veiling, hiding the transcendental essence behind the garb of apparitions (
tirobhava); and favoring, bestowing grace through a manifestation that accepts the devotee (
anugraha). Shiva is depicted dancing on the dwarfish body of the demon
Apasmara purusa, "forgetfulness, loss of memory" called in Tamil
Muyalaka
(PRIT) -- who represents ignorance, the destruction of which brings
enlightenment, true wisdom, and release from the bondage of existences.
Medieval decline
Local kings often invited temple dancers (
devadasis) to dance in their courts, the occurrence of which created a new category of dancers -
rajanarthakis—and
modified the technique and themes of the recitals. A devadasi had to
satisfy her own soul while she danced unwatched and offered herself
(surrendered) to the Lord, but the rajanarthaki's dance was meant to be
an entertainment.
The Natya Shastra-based
margi elements, such as karanas, that were meant to spiritually enlighten the spectators, were gradually replaced by
desi karanas which were later replaced by
adavus. The Bharata Natyam recitals and ballets started more and more popularly viewed as a form of
desi entertainment.
The quartet of Chinnayya Pillai, Ponniah Pillai, Sivanandam Pillai and Vadivelu Pillai of the Tanjore Court, during the rule of
Maratha
King Saraboji II (1798–1832), made a rich contribution to music and
Bharatanatyam and also completed the process of re-editing the
Bharatanatyam programme into its present shape with its various items.
The descendants of these four brothers formed the original stock of
Nattuvanars or dance teachers of Bharatanatyam in Tanjore. Some of the
well known Nattuvanars were Guru Meenakshisundaram Pillai, Guru
Muthukumara Swami Pillai, Guru Ramaiah Pillai, Guru Kittappa Pillai,
Guru Kubernath Tanjorkar, Guru Dandayudhapani Pillai and others. The
fall of the Hindu kingdoms in the South marked the eventual decline of
Natya, as the Muslim invasion in the North has completely wiped out
Natya there. The sacred dance, one of the constituents of the Sodasa
Upacharam, was replaced by rice offerings.
Modern rebirth
Rukmini Devi Arundale
is considered the most important revivalist in the Indian classical
dance form of Bharata Natyam from its original 'sadhir' style
E. Krishna Iyer was one of those who raised the social status of Bharata Natyam and greatly popularized it.
Rukmini Devi Arundale was also instrumental in modifying mainly the
Pandanallur style
of Bharata Natyam and bringing it to the attention of the West. E.
Krishna Iyer said about Rukmini Devi, "There is no need to say that
before she entered the field, the art was dead and gone or that it saw a
renaissance only when she started to dance or that she created anything
new that was not there before".
Rukmini Devi Arundale
introduced group performances and staged various Bharata Natyam-based
ballets. According to Shri Sankara Menon, Rukmini Devi raised Bharata
Natyam to a
puritan
art form, by removing certain emotional elements evocative of the
erotic, such as hip, neck, lip and chest movements) from the Pandanallur
style. Not all love was portrayed, at least outside parameters
considered "chaste".
Balasaraswati
said that "the effort to purify Bharata Natyam through the introduction
of novel ideas is like putting a gloss on burnished gold or painting
the lotus". Having studied Bharata Natyam for three years, in 1936
Rukmini Devi Arundale founded the school
Kalakshetra outside the city of
Madras to teach it and to promote other studies in Indian
music
and art. She was one of first teachers to instruct a few men to perform
the dance. The dance, at that time, was exclusively performed by women,
while men, called
Nattuvanars, had only been teaching Bharata
Natyam without actually performing it. It is worth noticing that most of
the contemporary Bharata Natyam dancers do not satisfy the criteria for
a professional danseuse stated in the scriptures.
Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, who was originally trained in the
Vazhuvoor
style of Bharata Natyam, was another figure that greatly influenced the
development of Bharata Natyam. She started her research on
karanas in early sixties, and later announced the creation of a new Bharata Natyam variety,
Bharatanrityam, which was a Bharata Natyam-based reconstruction of Natya Shastra's technique. While the
Pandanallur style,
Tanjore or Thanjavur,
Vazhuvoor,
Mysore,
Kancheepuram were based on the art of rajadasis and are
exoteric in nature, some others, like the
Melattur style and
Balasaraswati's style grew out of the devadasis' distinctly different
esoteric art.
The development of the Bharata Natyam dance form has therefore been
surrounded by controversy as some including Ashish Khokar the Indian
dance historian have seen it as a means by which many women, have
appropriated certain
Devadasi traditions while disassociating themselves with other aspects of the contemporary devadasis' practices.
[10]
At present, Bharata Natyam recitals are usually not performed inside
the temple shrine but outside it, and even outside the temple compounds
at various festivals. Most contemporary performances are given on the
stage with a live ensemble. In popular culture, the adapted, or
"semi-classical", Bharata Natyam has been exposed largely through
depiction in popular movies and TV programs.
Learning Bharata Natyam normally takes many years before the
arangetram (debut). There are academic and commercialized dance institutes in many countries. Many people choose to learn
Carnatic music along with Bharata Natyam as they go together.
At present, not only Hindus but many Christians and Muslims also
learn it, bringing it beyond the rigid forms of religious boundaries.
Bharata Natyam simplified
There are 3 aspects to dance; Nritta, Nritya and Natya. Nritta is a
pure dance without any emotions, expressions or sahityam. Nritya has
sahityam (a sentence which means something). It has emotions,
expressions and has a meaning shown by the hastas. Natya is when a
person is portraying a character. There are 4 types of abhinaya in
dance. They are
- Anghika - Physical or body movements.
- Vachika - the song being played, poetry
- Aaharya - Ornamentation of a character/dancer e.g. jewellery, costume
- Satvika - Involuntary movements e.g. trembling, break of voice, tears
Items
- Alaripu
- A presentation of the Tala punctuated by simple syllables spoken by the dancer. This really is sort of an invocation
to the gods to bless the performance. Alaripu is performed in different
jatis. Tishra, Mishra, Chatushra, Sankirna are the different types of
jatis.
- Kautuvam
- Ancient temple dance item performed in the beginning of the recital, containing rhythmic syllables sung for jathis.
- Ganapati Vandana
- A traditional opening prayer to the Hindu god Ganesh, who removes obstacles. See also Pushpanjali
- todayamangalam
- a starting dance in which we show respect towards the god. This item
was adopted from the karnatic music margam.A beautiful example of a
todayamangalam is "jayajankaki Ramana"
- Jatiswaram or Jathiswaram
- An abstract dance where the drums
set the beat. Here the dancer displays her versatility in elaborate
footwork and graceful movements of the body. Here the Dancer displays
the Korvai in a rhythmic form. Jatiswaram or Jathiswaram brings out
three aspects of dance: unity of music, rhythm and movements.
- Shabdam
- The dancing is accompanied by a poem or song with a devotional or amorous theme. Shabdam is usually depicting graceful movements in a story or a poem
- Varnam
- The center piece of the performance.
It is the longest section of the dance punctuated with the most complex
and difficult movements. Positions of the hands and body tell a story,
usually of love and the longing for the lover.
- Padam
- Probably the most lyrical section where the dancer "speaks" of some aspect of love: devotion to the Supreme Being; or of love of mother for child; or the love of lovers separated and reunited.
- Stuti
- Hymn in praise of a deity that may contain a feigned mockery, etc. See also Stotra
- Koothu
- Item containing a lot of dramatic elements.
- Javali
- Javalis are relatively new, pure abhinaya types of compositions of
light and pleasing nature. Like Padams the underlying theme of Javalis
is Sringara Rasa depicting the Nayaka-Nayaki bhava.
- Tillana
- The final section is a pure dance (nritta) when the virtuosity of
the music is reflected in the complex footwork and captivating poses of
the dancer.
Apart from these items, there are items such as
Shlokam,
Swarajathi,
Krithi etc. The performance concludes with the chanting of a few religious verses as a form of
benediction. Certain styles include more advanced items, such as
Tharanga Nritham and
Suddha Nritham. When a dancer has mastered all the elements of dance, as a coming out performance, he or she generally performs an
Arangetram (debut).
- Angikam
- This is a devotional song on Lord Shiva and an item dance in Bharata Natyam. It can also be performed in byapti
slow motion. The words for the shloka are " Angikam Bhuvanam Yasya,
Vachikam Sarva Vangmayam, Aaharyam Chandra Taradhi, Tvam Numah Satvikam
Shivam"
Style 
In expressional numbers a dancer sometimes chooses to enact the role
of Satyabhama, the proud and self-assured queen of Lord Krishna, from
the dance-drama Bhama Kalapam. She goes through various stages of love.
When in separation from Lord Krishna, she recalls the happy days of
union and pines for him. At last they are reunited when she sends him a
letter.
