History of BHARATA NATYAM

Bharata Natyam, which originates from the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, is one of the most popular dance styles in India. A popular interpretation of the name of the style is:

BHAva (expression) + RAga (musical mode) + TAla (rhythm) NATYAM (dance) = BHARATA NATYAM

The highly cultivated art of Bharata Natyam has been handed down over the centuries by teachers called nattuvanars and ritualistic dancers called devadasis, in the temples of south India. This style is a direct descendant of devotional dances performed in the temples of South India from the tenth century to the middle of this century.

Besides the school of Bharata Natyam associated with the state of Tamil Nadu, there is a Mysore school of Bharata Natyam which retains the traditions of temples and courts of the ancient Mysore state of Karnataka state. (For more information on this school please refer to Dr. Sathyanarayana's book " Bharata Natya - a critical study" - a wonderful scholarly read for anyone interested in Bharata Natyam).

Southern India has a very long history of stylised dance and this has been well recorded both in visual and textual documents. In the Tamil epic "Silappadikaram" or "the story of the anklet" describes many dances styles prevalent in ancient times. Similarly the karana sculptures in the Cidambaram - Nataraja temple, and others Kumbakonam - Sarangapani temple show a rich history of stylised dance in the southern region (for the meaning of karana see the section on karanas in the website). Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, is a present practitioner of style which is derived from a study of these sculptures. These dance traditions were the heritage of performers who were part of the courts of kings or performers who were part of religious traditions. One must remember that society was more homogenous (though not completely devoid of external influence)during ancient periods. So the performers were either travelling bards and dancers, or performers belonging to different courts. What is perhaps unique to India is the long tradition of women dedicated to temples. These 'handmaids of god' or devadasis were dedicated to the temples (both Shiva and Vishnu temples), and they were part of the daily ritual of worshipping the deity where they performed dances in praise of the god. This was almost a pan Indian phenomena. Unfortunately over a period of time due economic and social pressures these devadasis fell into disrepute. This led to dance itself receiving a bad reputation because of the practitioners who were in a untenable situation.

Besides the devadasis the court traditions also carried on the traditions of dance. The Tanjore Quartette being the most well known. They were court artists under a Maratha Ruler of Tanjore. (The Marathas ruled between the period 1674-1885 AD). They are responsible for the present day repertoire of Bharata Natyam. They composed and directed many dance items and to this day their contributions are held in high esteem and are performed in present day dance recitals. The format remains the same with a few changes here and there.

It was in the 1930's that pioneers like Rukmini Devi and E. Krishna Iyer revived dancing traditions and set the tone for the Bharata Natyam dance traditions of today. E. Krishna Iyer learnt dance and performed them, which led to awareness of the richness of these traditions among the cognoscenti. It is during this time that the style culled by E. Krishna Iyer and Smt.Rukmimi Devi came to be called Bharata Natyam. Rukmini Devi who loved classical Carnatic music and dance took one step further. She acquired land outside Madras at Adyar and established 'Kalakshetra' and institution for dance, music and allied arts (http://www.surfindia.com/kalakshetra/homepage.htm). The institution has become synonymous with the high standards expected of Bharata Natyam dancers and practitioners today. Classes conducted under trees with rigorous and strict discipline prepare excellent dancers and dance teachers. Many dance schools who have kept to the rigorous discipline demanded by the style are present today not only all over India but are spread by its practitioners all over the world. Smt. Mrinalini Sarabhai also established Darpana in Ahmedabad, where the great traditions of classical dance are still continued by her equally famous daughter Mallika Sarabhai (www.darpana.com).

One of the greatest performers in the last century have been - Balasaraswati, and she has been almost as influentially in popularizing Bharata Natyam, as much as Rukmini Devi and others. Balasaraswati was known for her soulful renderings of abhinaya or mimetic pieces in which she not only danced but also sang. Since Balasarawati there have been other greats like Kamala , Vyjayanthimala Bali , Padmini ( and her sister Ragini), Indrani Rehman and Ritha Devi.

The greats that followed them are Yamini Krishnamurthy, Sonal Mansingh,
Chitra Visweswaran, Sudha Rani Raghupathy, Lakshmi Vishwanathan, US
KrishnaRao and Chandrabhaga Devi. More recently we have Malavika Sarukkai, Alarmel Valli, Leela Samson, and Srinidhi Cidambaram.

Other great stalwarts are the Dhananjayans, who have launched a training institution called 'Bhaskara', Guru Adyar Lakshman and Smt Kalanidhi Narayanan from Chennai. From Mumbai/Bombay we have Gurus Mahalingam
Pillai and Guru Kalyanasundaram (of the Rajarajeshwari School of Dance), Guru Parvati Kumar a great scholar and teacher, Guru Mani (Kalasadan), Guru Rajee Narayan, Guru Kadirvelu and Guru Soundararajan. The Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya founded by Padmashree Dr. Smt Kanak Rele in Bombay has a graduate and postgraduate program in Bharata Natyam.

The audience is equally important in the Indian art experience. The person in
the audience is expected to be a rasika i.e. a person well versed in appreciating the arts, and also a 'sahridaya' or a person who has come with
an intention of appreciating, learning and savouring the richness of the art.