“Yatho Dhrishtisto Manaha!” Bharatnatyam, a temple-turned-classical beau art
Time: 4000 BC – Sage Bharata
That’s whence it started. People called them DEVDASIS. Bringing forth exaggerated feminism, they were reduced to courtesans. It was confined to a temple dance to please Hindu deities, and it served men from this culture for forbidden acts too.
Every act performed by them on stage was pre-designed by Bharata (Ref, Natyashastra).
Besides…
I agree! It’s highly dramatic. One moment it could be the mudra; the next moment it could be rasa. So much of poetry incorporated with drama! Nrityagram matters as much as hands and body moves to rhythm. Heavily drawn eyelashes are the first thing that ever strikes our mind. A temple-turned-classical dance, Bharatnatyam talks its history in quietness, unlike materialistic bureaucrats show it in the false light of money and race.
How did the temple dance form turn into pride?
If Bharata could confine so much, such an art was in need of revolution! Indeed! They are seen spotting so much without going weary. A few artisans understood that it’s time for the beau art to be lifted up with finesse. Even the revolution took place in a historical nuance it deserved.
Time: 10th century BC
Courtesy: Renowned musiciansVadivelu, Ponnaiah, Sivanandam, Chinnaiah
Spot: Tanjore
Thence came the era, where Sadir Natyam turned into Bharatnatyam. It was when conservative South Indian women stepped out their doors. Rukmini Devi Arundale pioneered carrying its classical values to the Indian society. Revolution by the musicians mentioned above, it was uplifted with a sense of humane values.
Balasaraswati, on ‘Margam’…
(Quotes courtesy: WWW)
“I believe that the traditional order of the Bharatanatyam recital viz., Alarippu, Jatiswaram, Sabdam, Varnam, Padam, Tillana and the Sloka is the correct sequence in the practice of this art, which is an artistic yoga for revealing the spiritual through the corporeal. The greatness of this traditional concert-pattern will be apparent even from a purely aesthetic point of view.”
(Pictures courtesy: WWW)
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