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Book Review:
Understanding Bharatha Natyam
A long-felt need in the Bharatha Natya scene in Colombo has been
fulfilled with the publication of ‘Bharatha Natyam: A Basic Study’ by
the well-known dancer and dance teacher Subashini Pathmanathan.
Subashini is reported to have authored four books earlier on Bharatha
Natyam but they were all in Tamil.
With a growing interest in this dance form among Sinhalese and
non-Tamil speaking dancers and parents, what was needed was a dance
treatise in the English language. This book meets that need to
perfection.
The author has modestly titled her book as ‘a basic study’, but the
book is much more than that. No dance form could be ideally practised or
even appreciated fully unless one understands the genesis, history, and
the philosophy behind it. This book tells it all.
The author of this book is tutored in the Vazhuvoor style of dancing,
unlike most dancers and teachers in Sri Lanka who qualified at the famed
Kalakeshetra dance institution in Adyar, Chennai. Catering as it does to
several students at the same time. Kalashetra specialised in innovative
dance dramas, while the Vazhuvoor style emphasised individual
excellence.
The author of this book was among the privileged few who learnt the
art under Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai who was himself an institution in the
Madras of old, with one of his first pupils Kumari Kamala, a dance
celebrity of that time. In performing Bharatha Natyam, one tells a
story, the carnatic vocalist says it in song, the dancer says it through
dance. But how can one tell a story without hand movements and facial
expressions (abhinaya)? Bodily movements of a performer however
beautifully done (nritta, pure dance based on rhythm) cannot alone
communicate with the audience. After all, all art is communication, is
it not?
What is called bhava in which the dancer’s face becomes the mirror to
varied human emotions (love, laughter, anger, astonishment, fear,
bravery) has to be done so convincingly that no other language is
necessary for the audience to grasp the meaning. There is a story told
about the renowned Indian artistic Balasaraswathi, known as the ‘Queen
of Abhinaya’.
She was dancing to a Telugu love composition. ‘Krishna nee begane,
varo, varo... (Krishna my beloved, come to me, come, come...). So
mesmerised was a member of the audience by Balasaraswathi’s facial
expression and repeated hand gestures that he forgot himself and started
walking towards the stage in a daze.
Going through the contents of the book, one gets pleasantly surprised
that it has more than what the title promises. The book does not confine
itself to the different aspects and repertoire of Bharatha Natyam alone.
The 40 chapters in the book have a broad sweep encompassing the dance
theme in general.
The relationship of Bharatha Natyam to other regional Indian
classical dances - Mohini Aatam and Kathakali in Kerala, Kuchipudi in
Andhra, Odissi and Manipuri and the North Indian Kathak, the Kandyan
dance in Sri Lanka are all explained in detail. But what is of most
practical value in the book to all students who wish to take to Bharatha
Natyam are the beautiful colour plates and sketches to illustrate the
various muthras (Hand gestures) and adavus (leg movements and foot
positions).
There are altogether 53 sketches illustrating the single hand muthras
and combined hand muthras with an explanatory note to each. The adavus
are categorised and explained, while 44 colour plates using a live model
illustrating the various leg positions add richness to the book. Even
dance teachers could profitably use this book as a teaching manual.
While this writer would wish to congratulate the author for bringing
out this book, it is regrettable that far too many words in capital
letters are littered all over the book. Such excessive use of capital
letters are not only completely unnecessary but are an irritant to the
eye. One hopes that readers do not get distracted by this blemish in
order to profit by the contents of the book. As a hard cover edition of
182 pages with a beautiful cover it is a worthwhile gift to anyone
interested in the art of dance, students, teachers and lovers of
Bharatha Natyam.
The book is published by India-Sri Lanka Foundation, c/o High
Commission of India and priced at Rs. 600.
- Kalpana
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