Development of Bharatha Natyam in the 20th Century
Subashini PATHMANATHAN
The origin of Bharatha Natyam could be traced back to 19th and 20th
century. Bharatha Natyam originated from the ancient temple art form
Sathir. Earlier temple Sathir dancers, of South India, and Northern Sri
Lanka were called Sathirkaris. They danced in the temple festivals, and
temple occasions, these sathir dances were called Sathir Kacheris.
Devadasis were the sathirkaris. Their dance took place through out
the night. It was a good entertainment for devotees as well as for the
audience. Sri Lankan Tamil music, dance, devotional music, Pun music,
temple paintings, temple sculptures, are very much influenced by the
South Indian culture, practices, and tradition.
Today Bharatha Natyam is regarded as Tamil Nadu state dance. And also
regarded as Tamils' cultural dance form which is totally based on Hindu
philosophy, and Hindu religion.
|
Bharatha Natya performance |
With the passage of time when the devadasis lost the reputation in
South India and consequently practising Sathir in Temples, it was also
legally banned in India. In Northern Sri Lanka Sathir gradually lost the
reputation yet it was practised in the Jaffna village temples till the
Nineteen Seventies.
When the art was waning Rukami Devi Arundale, and krishna Iyer,
revived the art and renamed it as Bharatha Natyam. Bharatha Natyam dance
started growing in a steady, stable and new dimension form. Earlier
there were four different styles in Bharatha Natyam, but later two
different styles only flourished.
One is Pandanallur style and the other Vazhuvoor style. Rukmani Devi
was the student of the guru Panthanallur Meenakshi Sundaram pillai.
Rukmani Devi established the institution Kalashethra in 1936, and so
many students from Sri Lanka studied at Kalashethra. Several others
studied at the Vazhuvoor school.
The Vazhuvoor school does not have any particular institution, but
the students studied under the individual outstanding Gurus, most of
them studied under Vazhuvoor Ramiahpillai.
Most of the students went from Colombo, and Jaffna to India to learn
Bharatha Natyam. Even many of the outstanding individual dancers from
India, and dance troupes from India visited Sri Lanka and had numerous
programmes, and conducted a few lecture demonstrations.
Among them who visited Sri Lanka was Balasarswathi, 'the queen of
Abinaya' in 1943, along with her troupe and gave a performance at the
Jaffna Town Hall.
Later, Travancore Gopinarth, and Thankamani also gave a performance
it was not a pure classical Bharatha Natya show but it was an admixture
of Kathakali and Bharatha Natyam. Similarly the famous Mrinalini sarabai
visited Sri Lanka with her husband and gave a performance.
In 1954, Kamala Laxman gave an excellent performance under the
guidance, of her Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiahpillai at the Saraswathy hall,
Colombo, and Jaffna.
The distinguished artistes of India who impressed the younger
generation of Sri Lanka, induced them to learnt the devotional art.
Numerous student population who got the training in India, started
classes in Sri Lanka in the latter part of the Nineteen Forties, and
Nineteen Fifties. Among them a music and dance school, named 'Kalalaya'
was established in Colombo in 1948.
One of the first and foremost dance teacher was Srimathi Kamala
Johnpillai, who was the first Sri Lankan who entered the Kalashethra, at
1945 and returned to Sri Lanka after four years.
Similarly Srimathi Tirupurasundari Yoganantham, started the
Vazhuvoorar style Bharatha Natyam dance school in Sri Lanka in Jaffna
under the name of Kalai mandram. |
