Indian Classical Dances(part 1)

Bharatanatyam 

 Bharatanatyam, also called Sadhir Attam. Bharatanatyam is one of the very famous traditional Indian dances in South India. It is usually performed in the temples of Tamil Nadu, by professional dancers.


Bh+ra+ta + Natyam ?
According to the Hindu tradition the of Bharatanatyam is derived from the two Sanskrit words Bharata  and Natyam where Natyam means dance and bharata is a mnemonic comprising bha(bhava), ra(raga) and ta(tala) which respectively means bhava that is emotions and feelings; raga that is melody; and tala that is rhythm. Traditionally the word refers to a dance form where bhava, raga and tala are expressed.

History and evolution...

According to legends Lord Brahma revealed Bharatanatyam to the sage Bharata who then encoded this holy dance form in Natya Shastra. The text that consists of thousands of verses structured in different chapters divides dance in two specific forms, namely ‘nrita’ that is pure dance comprising of finesse of hand movements and gestures, and ‘nritya’ that is solo expressive dance that comprises of expressions. According to Russian scholar Natalia Lidova, ‘Natya Shastra’ elucidates several theories of Indian classical dances including that of Tandava dance, standing postures, basic steps, bhava, rasa, methods of acting and gestures.

One of the five great epics of Tamil Literature, ‘Silappatikaram’ (~2nd century CE) has a direct reference to this dance form. The Shiva temple of Kanchipuram that is decorated with carvings dating back to a period between 6th to 9th centuries CE manifests the development of this dance form by around the mid first millennium CE.  Many ancient Hindu temples are embellished with sculptures of Lord Shiva in Bharatanatyam dance poses. The eastern gopuram of the 12th century Thillai Natarajar Temple, Chidambaram, of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Lord Shiva bears sculptures depicting 108 poses of Bharatanatyam, referred as karanas in ‘Natya Shastra’, that are intricately carved in small rectangular panels. Another notable sculpture can be seen in the Cave 1 of Karnataka’s Badami cave temples dating back to the 7th century where a 5 feet tall sculpture of Lord Shiva is depicted as Nataraja doing Tandava dance. The 18 arms of the Shiva sculpture expresses mudras or hand gestures that are part of Bharatanatyam.


Costumes
The style of dressing of a Bharatanatyam dancer is more or less similar to that of a Tamil Hindu bride. She wears a gorgeous tailor-made sari that consists of a cloth specially stitched in pleats that falls in the front from the waist and when the dancer performs spectacular footwork that include stretching or bending her knees, the cloth widens up like a hand fan. The sari worn in a special manner is well complimented with traditional jewellery that include the ones that adorn her head, nose, ear and neck and vivid face make-up specially highlighting her eyes so that audience can view her expressions properly. Her hair neatly plaited in conventional way is often beautified with flowers. A jewellery belt adorns her waist while musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles. Her feet and fingers are often brightened with henna colour so as to highlight gestures of her hands.











 

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