Dance in paintings

Subashini Pathmanathan

[ Painting influence]

* Much information about ancient dance could be gathered from paintings
* Some paintings depicted brahmins, kings, merchants and vellalars
* MakendaraVarman is a king skilled in painting
* Some paintings depict lords Siva and Nataraja
* Unlike sculptures and rock inscriptions, paintings are likely to suffer damages and destructions

Sculpture and inscriptions, apart from much information about dance, can be gathered from paintings which adorned the walls of the dance halls and temple courtyards. Indian paintings can be viewed regionally. For instance North Indian paintings are different from South Indian paintings. The South Indian paintings could be viewed according to the linguistic, religious, regional and social factors. Mainly in south Indian paintings one sees sketch work, and colour paintings. Most paintings reflect social, political and cultural influence of their time.

That sketches existed in ancient times is evidenced by certain verses, appearing in epics Manimekali and Nedunelvadi.

Certain verses in ancient works show that in order to enable dancers to learn the dance strictly they were encouraged to learn from works on paintings.

The Silapathykaram, the ancient Tamil classic, states that in the dance hall where Mathavi held arangetram were four paintings depicting brahmins, kings, merchants and vellalars. The ancientness is also depicted in dance halls, pillars, its walls and its curtains.

Most research, dealing with dance and paintings, began with Pallava period of Tamil history. Although the Pallava period reflected continuations of earlier periods, there is no concrete evidence to support it. Mainly the paintings, which have been studied, dated from the seventh Century AD. Among Pallava kings, MakendaraVarman, who was celebrated as a famous painter, was called ‘tiger among the painters’. MakendaraVarman’s skill in painting was recognized according to a stone inscription: MakendaraVarman wrote a thesis on paintings called Thatchana Chithiram.

In the famous Chithanal Caves, during MakendaraVarman’s reign by his order, numerous paintings were painted. Paintings related to dance were painted on walls. One celebrated painting is that of lord Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, at the entrance of the cave. Moreover, it is after seeing this painting that the saint Thirunavukarasa Nayanar sang what else is there to see!. The paintings during the Pallava period still appear in the Kanchi Kaillasa Nathar temple and Mamandur caves.

Following the Pallava period, the paintings received a boost. During the Chola period, in Thanjai Bragatheeswarer temple, numerous paintings of dancers were painted in walls and roof.

One painting depicts lord Siva seated on a tiger skin and watching a dance performance of the Apsaras. Another painting depicts the cosmic dance of lord Nataraja watched by devotees and brahmins on one side and on the other the ruler Raja Raja Chola and his three consorts enjoying the performance.

In most of these paintings, the expressions are very clear. Tragically the most famous paintings on the walls of Thanjai Bragatheeswarer temple were damaged by a fire. However, efforts are being made to resuscitate.

Unlike sculptures and rock inscriptions, the paintings are likely to suffer damages and destructions due to natural or man made causes.

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