Indian Classical Dances - Bharatnatyam

Indian Classical Dances

"Dance is the hidden language of the Soul"

• Evolution of Indian Classical dances
• Different forms of Classical dances
• Their evolution, features and some of the famous personalities associated with them.

Evolution of Indian Classical Dances 

• Bharat Muni's Natyashastra is considered as the earliest treatise on dance, drams and music.
• As per the story goes in Natyashastra, Bharat Muni created this book on the request of Lord Brahma.
• As per the instruction of Lord Brahma, he took the following elements from the existing Vedas.
1. Pathya (Words) - Rigveda
2. Abhinaya (Expression) - Yajurveda
3. Geet (Music) - Samaveda
4. Rasa (Emotion) - Atharvaveda
• As per the Natyashastra, there are two aspects of Indian Classical dances. They are -
1. Lasya
2. Tandava

1.  Lasya 

• It is feminine aspect of the dance which is characterised by soft and beautiful movements, expression and grace.
• The first mythological example of Lasya was the dance of Goddess Parvati.

2.  Tandava 

• It is the masculine aspect of the dance.
• It is characterized by aggression, strength, determination and fast movement.
• The first mythological example of Tandav is Lord Shiva's tandava.
• Tandava has two components -
1. Bhairav tandav - It is related to destruction of the universe.
2. Ananda tandav - It is related to the creation of the universe.
• Second mythological example of tandava is Lord Krishna's dance on the head of Kalia Naag.

Three elements of Indian Classical dances 

1. Nritta (which is Pure dance movement)
2. Natya (which is Dramatic expression)
3. Nritya (which is Dance movement along with expression)

Later, Nandi Keswara wrote Abhinaya Darpan, in which he highlighted the importance of 9 emotions or rasa in Classical dances.

1. Shringar Ras (श्रृंगार रस) - Love
2. Veer Ras (वीर रस) - Courage
3. Hasya Ras (हास्य रस) - Comedy and Laughter
4. Vibhtsa Ras (विभत्स्य रस) - Disgust
5. Raudra Ras (रौद्र रस) - Fury
6. Bhayanak Ras (भयानक रस) - Fear
7. Adbhut Ras (अद्भुत रस) - Amazement
8. Karunya Ras (कारुण्य रस) - Tragedy
9. Shanti Ras (शांति रस) - Peace

Different forms of Indian Classical Dances - There are 8 different forms of Indian Classical dances.

1. Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu)
2. Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh)
3. Kathakali (Kerala)
4. Kathak (Uttar Pradesh)
5. Odissi (Odisha)
6. Mohiniyattam (Kerala)
7. Sattriya (Assam)
8. Manipuri (Manipur)

Bharatnatyam

• It is the oldest Classical dance form of India.
• It derives its name from Bharat Muni and the word Bharata.
• The meaning of the word 'Bharat' is -
• BHA - Bhava (i.e., expression)
• RA - Raga (i.e., melody)
• TA - Tala (i.e., Rythm)

Evolution of Bharatanatyam 

• It emerged from the Devashi System of Tamil Nadu, whereby young girls were donated to the temples and they were symbolically married to the main god of the temple. They were supposed to live inside the temple to the whole of their life time and serve the god in the form of dance.
• During 1930s, the provincial government of Madras banned this Devdashi System in the light of the news of exploitation of devdashis (young girls).
• After this the dance form started to decline. In this scenario a freedom fighter, E. Krishna Iyer revived the dance form.
• Later, Rukmini Devi Arundale gave global recognition to Bharatnatyam.

Evolution -

Devdashi Pratha (which is popular in South India), whereby young girls were married to god, who performed dances in temples. But there were instances of exploitation of young girls/devdashis. So, in 1937 the provincial government headed by C. Rajgopalachari banned the Devdashi System and thus the dance form started to decline. It was given a new life by E. Krishna Iyer who started to teach this dance form to their students and later Rukmini Devi Arundule gave it a global recognition.

Features of Bharatnatyam 

• It is considered as mother of many classical dance forms. Many dance forms made references from it.
• There is a very high emphasis on the steps of Bharatnatyam which are as follows -
1. Step 1 - Alaripu (It is an invocatory piece of dance to seek the blessings of god)
2. Step 2 - Jatiswaram (It is pure dance movement)
3. Step 3 - Sabdam (It is the beginning of Abhinaya, i.e., expression)
4. Step 4 - Varnam (It is the elaboration of Abhinaya)
5. Step 5 - Padam (It is the last stage of Abhinaya; Mastery over Abhinaya)
6. Step 6 - Jawali (It is the beautiful dance on short love lyrics)
7. Step 7 - Thillana (It is the exuberant and joyous movement symbolising temporary salvation)
• Bharatnatyam is also known as Fire dance because the movement of dancers resembles the movement of flames (like sudden change in posture; sudden shifting of posture from one posture to another like flames).
• Bharatnatyam is also known as Dashiattam (i.e., dance of dasis).
• Ek Charya Lasyam is a special performance in Bharatnatyam whereby one single dancer takes up the role of many.
• Katak Mukta Hasta Mudra is the most important mudra in Bharatnatyam whereby first three fingers are joined together to symbolise OM.
• Carnatic Classical Music is used during the performance.
• It incorporates the use of Mridangam, Veena, Violin and Flute.

Famous proponents/personalities of Bharatnatyam 

1. Rukmini Devi Arundule
2. Yamini Krishna Maruti
3. Padma Subramaniam
4. Mrinalini Sarabhai (wife of Vikram Sarabhai)
5. Mallika Sarabhai (daughter of Vikram Sarabhai and Mrinalini Sarabhai)

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Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own. 

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