Bharatnatyam is one of the classical dance forms of Bharat (India). It belongs to the state of Tamil Nadu. I have interest in Bharatnatyam since I was very young. In recent years, I have the good fortune to be in close association with the dance.
Like everything else in Bharat, the earliest history of this dance form is given in form of mythology. The dance is supposedly starts with Lord Shiva, as the Nataraj he is the king among the dancers. The dance is codified by Bharat Muni (sage) through his book Natya (Drama) Shastra (treaties). Although the book is real, historically nothing is known about Bharat.
Each of the classical dance forms in India follows the codes of Natya Shastra. Bharatnatyam follows the codes most strictly and it is closest to the depictions in the Shastra. Literally it means “Dance of Bharat”, named after Bharat Muni.
There are two kinds of back stories of Bharatnatyam. One is the mythological one beginning with Natraj and the second one is the recorded history. I was looking to know more about historical evolution of the dance form when I came across this book named “Bharatnatyam in Tamilnadu”.
The writer Dr. Kalarani Ramachandran is a dancer and has done PhD in Bharatnatyam. This book is based on her thesis.
There are 6 chapters in the book and then an exhaustive glossary and a useful bibliography.
ESSENCE OF THE CHAPTERS WITH MY COMMENTARY
Chapter I: Introduction
As early human evolved, dance as a form of expressions of emotions through rhythmic body movement too evolved all around the world. The difference between ancient India and other countries in terms of the evolution of dance is the ultimate objective of dance. While dance represents aesthetics, beauty, joy, and entertainments everywhere, in India along these factors dance became a form of religious prayer, auspicious activity, and a path to gain the ultimate wisdom of Brahman.
According to Hindu philosophy, Brahman is the only truth in the universe. It is the source of whole creation. Due to curtain of illusions human beings can’t realise the Brahman and become engrossed in false ego and pleasures. Ancient teachers have given many methods to realise Brahman. Dance is one of those methods. Through dance, the dancer understands their own self and ultimately realises Brahman. Once one realises Brahman, they get freedom from the recurring births and attain Nirvana (when they become one with the eternal Brahman).
True dance form gives Nirvana to both the performer and the audience.
The earliest text on dance, Natya Shastra is supposedly written by Bharat Muni. In Natya Shastra and in Vedas dance is depicted at a higher level. Earth and other celestial beings are constantly engaged in a rhythmic dance recital. From falling down of rain drops to dance of peacock, each element of the nature teach human beings dance steps.
As in ancient India, human started learning and developing dances, it evolved into two separate lines. One is strictly codified and the other one is easy going. The first one becomes classical dance and the second one is folk dance.
The writer has mentioned few ancient texts apart from Natya Shastra and Abhinaya Darpana.
The philosophy about Brahman is simplified by the Vaishnavas (worshippers of Vishnu) and Shaivas (worshippers of Shiva) for the masses. They have an important impact on dance as the verses and songs they composed for the masses are used in classical dance.
The earliest known cultural era in Tamil Nadu is the Sangam era. During this time the names of dances mentioned are Kootu and Adal. Apart from these two, Velan Veriyadal is a dance performed in the temple by the possessed priests. Earliest inscriptions on dance is found in Arachalur (200 to 250 AD), it has some syllables in style of Sholkottu. It has commonalities with present day sholkottus.
Under the rules of the Pallava dynasty and then Chola dynasty every art from flourished in Tamil Nadu. The Nataraja (dancing Shiva) idol, the thrust of Bharatnatyam originates in the Pallava era.
As everyone knows in evolution of Bharatnatyam, Devdasis (literal meaning is female servants of Gods) play the most crucial role. When the system comes to an end in 19th century, it was considered same as prostitution. It can never be known definitely how much of this ill reputation was the truth and how much comes from a place of prejudice. In initial days Devdasis were something like nuns of in Christianity. Young people (both men and women, majorly women though) leave society to dedicate their lives to the Gods and temples. Ritualistically, multiple times they used to perform music and dance in a day. On festival days there used to be special performances.
Children from rich family used to donate all their wealth to temples before joining the temple as Devdasi.
The writer gives an outlune about religion and politics of Tamil Nadu.
Chapter II: The Art of Dance Before the Advent of the Nayaks
As the title suggests the chapter deals in very details about the dance before Nayak dynasty ruled over Tanjore.
Earliest known information on dance in Tamil Nadu, is taken from Silappatikaram, a latter Sangam era text. Dance is called Adal in Tamil. The varieties of dance were classified under Kootus. According to Silappatikaram various Kootus were dedicated to specific gods such as Vishnu, Indra etc.
It can be seen there is a pan Indian tradition in dance with common gods and common sensibilities.
The root of pan Indian dance tradition is Bharata’s Natya Shastra. The writer has then written about some basic topics from this book. Then she has written about few books written as notes or interpretations of Natya Shastra. Apart from these she has mentioned a book Bharatarnavam, most part of which is lost. In the available portion, there is depiction of Abhinaya (emoting) and Margi style (Margam in Bharatnatyam).
Dance flourished under the sponsorship of the kings and temples.
During this time, the Bhakti movement was a major cultural element. It did impact dance, music, literature, architecture etc.
Then the writer given an exhaustive note on dance in this period. It includes the classification of Devdasis, stage design, music, costume, jewellery etc.
Chapter III: The Art of Dance During the Nayaks of Tanjore
Nayak dynasty originates from Telugu speaking region of India. Their rule starts in 16th century. They encouraged dance actively. In fact, many from the royal family were artists themselves. In this period Telugu and Kannada culture and style got assimilated into Tamil Nadu’s dance.
Apart from temples, there were dancers in royal court now. So, dance entered the second phase. It used to be religious and now it is performed for the entertainment of the Kings and courtiers. This leads to composition of dances celebrating the greatness of specific kings. Also could be seen erotic subjects.
Dances are divided into two broad style in this period – Margi and Desi. Margi is classical dance form following Natya Shastra while Desi is independently developed. But Desi is not folk dance of today. It becomes codified and sophisticated over time.
Many dance numbers become organised such as Varnam, Padam etc. Jati was introduced. A structure is introduced in the items of a performance.
Like last chapter, there is detail depiction of dance, music, religion, politics, costume, dress, stage, temple performances of the period.
Nayak era shapes up most of the dance items we see today in Bharatnatyam. The point to be noted is, till now there is no mention of the term Bharatnatyam.
Chapter IV: The Art of Dance During the Marattas of Tanjore
Maratha is the conventional spelling but in the book Maratta spelling is used (maybe based on the Tamil pronunciation). Marathas belong to Maharasbtra. Their rule over Tamil Nadu starts in 17th century. They continue the sponsorship of art and dance. They brought many elements of North and West India to Tamil Nadu. North Indian Tarana becomes Thillana in Tamil Nadu. Like Nayak dynasty many Maratha royal members were artists themselves.
This era sees a rise in the glorification of kings in dance items. The nautch girl costume becomes more aggressive.
There is an exhaustive narration on every aspect of dance in this era.
Maratha rule gets over in the 19th century.
Chapter V: The Art of Dance After the Marattas
This chapter discusses the developments in Bharatnatyam leading to the shape it is today. After fall of the last Hindu kingdom there is fall of temples and absence of royal sponsorship. This leads to desperation of the dancers and artists. This leads to moral degradation. There was a demand for abolition of Devdasi system. When it happened many dance forms got vanished. In this scenario, the nattuvanars (conductors) play important roles in keeping this art alive. They established various dance institutions and paved the way for modern Bharatnatyam tradition.
According to the writer, it is a misconception that Bharatnatyam name is originated from Bharat, the writer of Natya Shastra. Because the rules of the book guide not only Bharatnatyam but all other classical dance forms of India. In addition there is no mention of specific Bharatnatyam items such as Alarippu or Mangalam in Natya Shastra. He has used only generic terms like Nritt and Nritya.
In 1920s the then Secretary of the Madras Sangeetha Nataka Sangam Mr. E. Krishna Iyer coined the term Bharatnatyam to give respectability to the Devdasis and their art. He strongly resisted the strong anti-nautch movement of the time by using the name of Bharat Muni and his Natya Shastra. The name stuck since then.
The writer has narrated about Margam (a combination of dance items performed together) and its pieces. She has given in details about the modern day changes and experimentations in the dance.
Chapter VI: Conclusion
It sums up ths chapters in brief.
WHAT I LEARNT FROM THE BOOK
Bharatnatyam does not have a linear evolution. What we know today as a single dance form was not a unified system in the beginning. Different items of the dance form evolved over the time
Although it is supposed to belong to the state of Tamil Nadu but history is not that straight forward. The dance form is developed with contributions from people and culture of other southern states, Maharashtra, and even other Northern states.
It started as a form of prayer to the Gods. Over the time it branches out to accommodate depiction of glories of kings and other great personas. And then a branch of it becomes overtly romantic and erotic.
With Muslim and British invasion the temple lost its prominence, with regular looting and lack of donations they can’t employ dancers for daily rituals. With Hindu kings gone, no one to give royal sponsorship. Unlike Kathak, Bharatnatyam did not change to adapt to Muslim culture. Although there have been few failed attempts. So, the only branch left with the dancers is to be the nautch girl focusing on eroticism. Thus, giving a bad name to the dancers and dance.
In the guise of protecting women from getting exploited as Devdasis, the British government wanted to ban the dance form. Few good men and couple of women kept the dance alive and, in the process coined the term Bharatnatyam.
Today all the branches are unified under one umbrella of Bharatnatyam. Hence, different kinds of dances can be seen from prayers to lovers’ pining.
MY TWO PENNIES
The book is full of information but the writer seems to have problems in processing so much of information in an organised and useful manner.
There are lots of issues in editing. Themes and eras change without so much as change in paragraph in the book.
In most places it is not certain, what the writer wants to convey.
I can’t start about the spelling mistakes and other such editing errors.
In the end, I would like to say the book is comprehensive and too informative. If the reader is willing to process and interpret the information themselves then the book works. It helps if one is already proficient in the theory of Bharatnatyam.
The bibliography and glossary of the book are extremely useful.
END WORDS
It is commendable, the way the writer has taken up an area where hardly any other book has been written. The book needs a little time and patience but in the end it is enlightening.
Musings 