ART AND CULTURE:- BHARATNATYAM- A UNIQUE DANCE PATTERN OF INDIA
Ever
since from its past, the country India is diverse in its culture. This is
because of the variety of people that reside over the extent of the country.
There is a variety in the food, clothing, traditions norms and beliefs. All
over the world, India is known to be the “Land Of Gods” of which people
worship. People of the country observe the ethnicity in the diverse form but
there is a unique feature in all and that is “Love and Brotherhood”.
In
the same way there are various dance patterns in the country India. One of such
form is the “Bharatanatyam”. It is a classical dance from south India. It is
said that this dance pattern has its origin in the place called “Tanjavur” in
Tamil Nadu. Long ago, if we go into the history of this dance, it is said that the
dance was performed by the devdasis in the temples of Tamil Nadu.
Some
Facts about “Bharatanatyam”:-
- The Bharatanatyam is derived from the three very basic concepts known as Bhava, Raga and Thaala.
- The form of Bharatanatyam was regularized by the famous Tanjavoor brothers, the Ponnayya, Chinnayya, Shivnandam and Vativelu
- The dance is based on the theories from the book “Natyasaasthram” and “Abhinaya Darpanam”
- The sequence of the dance performance is 'Alarippu', 'Jathiswaram', 'Sabdam', ‘Varnam’, 'Padam' and 'Thillana'. After 'Thillana', with a 'Mangala Slokam' the dance program ends.
- The costume of the dance is a “Pajama” and jacket of “Kanchipuram silk and Banaras silk.
- The dancer wears a lot of ornaments of shining stones on neck, ears, hands, and head. A jasmine garland is wear in the hair and foot is decorated with trinket with small bells.
·
Some of the famous Bharatanatyam
performers are Bala Saraswathi, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Rukmini Arundel, Kamala
Laxman, Padma Subramaniam and Cithara Visweswaran.
The
format of the dance is the combination based on the Steps or “Adavu” and Hand
Gestures or “Hasthamudra”. The Adavu is divided in nine different parts. The
communication is maintained through “Bhavabhinaya” and “Hasthamudra”. The
performers of the dance start with the prayer of Ganapati and Natraja. The
music of the dance is based on the Carnatic classical Music. The music of this
dance is the combination of veena, the flute, mridangam and violin. The music
is combined with singing where two singers are the part of the crew.
Various
styles of “Bharatanatyam”:-
It
is over 200 years that the Bharatanatyam has been evolved. There are over 100’s
of styles of the dance. The evolutionary phase of this dance pattern is the
efforts of various dance masters. It was under continuous study since many
years. Out of various patterns some of the most significant forms are
- · Vizhuvur style
- · Pandanallur Style
- · Tanjavur Style
- · Mysore Style
- · Kanchipuram Style
Decline and Modern Rebirth of Bharatanatyam:-
In
medieval India, the dance reached its peak. The local kings used to invite the
dancers in the court and it was a part and parcel of the daily routine of the
court. In later phase it declined and lost its glory as the dance performers
refused to perform in the open court.
But
in modern day it re-emerged in the later phase of 20th century. The
people who were instrumental in remerging the dance were, E Krishna Iyer,
Rukmini Devi Arundale who introduced various styles or mudra’s and patronized
various instrumental combinations. Various schools were introduced. A
pioneering work was done by Kalakshetra on the outskirts of the city of Madras so
as to teach it and to promote other studies in Indian music and art.
In
this way, the stance and glory of this dance pattern originated and evolved
which represents the richness of the country India.
VAIBHAV PRAMOD RAJDEEP
rajdeepvaibhav706@gmail.com
