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| Wednesday, 4 February 2004 |
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Classical Indian and Kandyan dance forms : Similarities galore by Subashini Pathmanathan India and Sri Lanka are closely bound by historical, geographical, cultural and religious ties. Even languages and formation of letters resemble each other to some extent. Silapathikaram, the Tamil classic, describes Santhi Koothu which consists of four main Koothu forms namely, Chokam, Mei Koothu, Abinaya, and Nadakam. Chokam is the pure Nirtha dance. The Mei Koothu consists of three main categories: Desi, Vaduku and Sinhalam.Desi was a dance form belonging to the Tamil country. Vaduku was a dance form belonging to Telugu Desam, and the word Sinhalam, was apparently a reference to a dance form belonging to Sinhala country. Unfortunately, apart from the word Sinhala, there is nothing about the dance form in Silapathikaram. Even the great Tamil poet Subramaniya Bharathi spoke of constructing a bridge to Sinhala Deepa.
Traditional Kandyan dance is a pure Nirtha dance firmly based on Thala, Laya, and on Thandava Karana stance and based on rhythm. Like Bharatha Natyam, Kandyan Dance was also danced in temples, and temple festivals. But both these dance forms enjoyed the royal patronage. Today Bharatha Natyam has moved to public halls from temples. Kandyan dance is still danced in temple peraheras (processions), and sometimes in social functions. In ancient times Sathir was performed in temple processions. Earlier a dance form called Gegge Natuma the dance of Devalaya existed like Sathir. But today Degge Natuma is no longer in existence, like Sathir. In Bharatha Natyam many items have disappeared in the course of time but today all that remains are the references found in literary works. Traditions Most of the Indian classical dance forms are based on Natya Sastra. But those dances developed and were influenced by regional, religious, cultural, and social traditions of each region. Kandyan dance appears to have grown out of Natya Sastra, as there are discernible similarities between the classical dance forms of India. In Bharatha Natyam the term Adavu (a pure nirtha) is confined to a step (a foot work), a body movement accompanied with a hand movement, and hand mudras (hastas) based on a particular thala and laya. In Kandyan dance the term Adavu is used for a collection of pure nirtha movements. According to Dr. Ragavan, "the most alluring of Kandyan dance is the Ves' Dr. Ragavan also points out "Among these are features which point to a certain affinity in the Ves dancer's costumes, to the highly ornamental and elaborate make up of the dancer in Kathakali of Kerala". There are many links between Kandyan and Kathakali Dances. Vannam, one of the Kandyan dances, is the latest inclusion in the dance. There are altogether 18 Vannams and each Vannam is based on a separate theme. The addition of Vannam to Kandyan dance provided a limited scope for some Nirthiya movements in Kandyan Dance. Like Bharatha Natyam female dancers also play a significant role in Kandyan dance. Some of the similarities between Kandyan dance and Bharatha Natyam are the half sitting position, separation of feet, (the gap between the two legs are wider in Kandyan dance than the gap between the two legs in Bharatha Natyam), knee facing two different directions (right and left), stretching the arms at the shoulder level and neck movements. In Bharatha Natyam certain pure classical pieces are seen (Alaripu and Jetheswaram). But these pieces are anyhow interwoven with Classical Carnatic Music, Thala, and Laya. However, in Kandyan dance pure Nirtha is interwoven with Thala, Laya and Rhythm. Similarities In Kandyan dance 'Udekki' is another important category of dance which derives its name from the drum named 'Udekki'. In Bharatha Natyam also this drum plays an important role because in the division of Sabtha Thandava and in the 108 Thandavas this drum Udekki is always found in the hands of Thandava Murthi lord Nataraja. The drum is called Udduku. It is believed that all the creations arise out of the sound of Udduku, according to Thiru Manthiram 'thotram thudi thanil'. This Uddku also plays an important role in Hindu rituals. Terms There are a lot of similarities in the terminologies between Bharatha Natyam and Vannam. In Kandyanh dance, for instance, Gajagavannama (Elephant), Nagavannama (Cobra), Hanuman Vannama (Godhanuman), Musaladi Vannama, (Rabbit), Mayura Vannama (Peacock) are some of the common terms found in both. Some of the Vannams are based on Hindu mythology. For instance, Vannama in praise of Lord Ganesha and Kukkuda Vannama are some of them. Bharatha Natyam, Oddisi, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Kathakali are deeply devotional and these dances are firmly based on Hindu mythology. North Indian classical dance form Kathak has certain affinity between Kandyan dance. For instance, both these are firmly based on Thala and Laya and firm Nirtha movements. Both these dance forms have fast and circular movements. In Manipuri, an east Indian dance form, male dancers wear turban, and they carry drums while dancing, as the male dancers in Kandyan dance. **** Back **** |
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