PAPER: 3

Detail Study Of Bharatanatyam, Devadasis-Natuvnar, Nritya And Nritta, Different Bani-s, Present Status, Institutions, Artists

Module 27 Modern Development And Future Trends In Bharatanatyam

Present day Bharatanatyam is progressing to a new avatar while partaking of old structure and substance. Each new person, educated, city-bred, global, is trying to infuse new energy and light into this form. Many have succeeded tremendously (as in the case of Malavika Sarukkai) in giving it a new dimension, while others (Alarmel Valli) have retained its classical roots and gone back in time to bring back gems of bygone era (Sangam poetry, etc.). Some have used group works (Leela Samson) to create anew and some have gone beyond the solo structure and infused it with group dynamics (B. Bhanumati).

What we see are not new banis but new bodies and groups being created. Bani / बानी is now a reference point. Only few retain and guard it without alloying or diluting. While each one comes with certain historical reference point called bani/training, they have all tried to create anew. Partly due to demands of each season and what new work each capable star dancer can present and partly because of sponsors clamoring for new wine in old bottles or vice versa! But Bharatanatyam remains quintessentially the same. Its structure can be marginally changed but form is same. Bent at knee

1

legs are bent at knee legs because that’s what the style’s structure demands (called araimandi / अरैमंडी). One may make the fan of costume longer so one has to sit less! But the basic position still remains that else it can’t qualify to be called Bharatanatyam.

Bharatanatyam as a form allows maximum innovation and interpretation. Its structure, grammar and material are akin to bricks or slabs one can make any house or building or pattern from. It can be a simple hut, a palace or a stadium! The basic bhakti element represents its simplicity. The complex jatis represents tiles and patterns. Varnam / वर्णम represents its architectural plan. Padams / पदम ् and javalis / जावऱी are doors and windows to love and soul. Tillana / ति쥍ऱाना concludes like a roof above head and mangalam / मंगऱम is decorative plants and trees. Thus, how does this traditional material, centuries old, become modern?

Modern is a language, not a fashion. Just like in films or clothes, there are new trends and colours, patterns and shapes so also in Bharatanatyam there are modern trends and development. One major development is group work. For over a century, Bharatanatyam was the art of the soloist or at best twins or twosome (to show left and right symmetry in poses and stances). Then came a small group of 3 or 4 to illustrate a theme. Now there is corps de ballet, or a group of dancers, 20-30 in one big production, like Kalakshetra in Chennai, Nalanda in Mumbai or Bhanumati’s dance company in Bangalore.

This solo to group work development took place to fill big spaces…stadium shows, film events where classical forms were used

2

and also to dance to large audiences say in dance specific festivals of Khajuraho, Konark or Chidambaram, where thousands sit and watch from afar. If one person is dancing - unless a big star - audiences will not come or become restless. Group work affords variety and opportunity for all.

In fact, group works are the vogue because once a solo dancer gets established, she then becomes a star. Secondly, all can’t be stars so groups are a good way to include the good, the not-so-good and the plain ordinary dancer! It also gives students of the institution an opportunity to show their training and accomplishment in the dance. It showcases a style in multiple numbers. It also covers large stages and spaces. If a theme is undertaken say from mythology or modern poets, then it is easy to have many characters. So, one main development and trend, is group work.

Second important development and trend is discovering old material and interpreting it, say in way of poetry, or in way of material. Valli uses Sangam poetry and projects some century old verse in new ways on interpretation, sometimes the commentary being in French or English. She uses works of modern poets like Arundhati Subramaniam and the poet recites along. So another development and trend, is supplementing.

Dancers with imagination and an ability to reflect upon present day issues, including two world wars, deviated from the traditional margam and from the nayaka-nayika / नायक-नातयका themes. It was inevitable with the rapid shift in the background of the performers that there would be also a shift in the content of the dance. Dancers sensitive to the gap between their own lives and what they

3

performed on stage started questioning the relevance of the nayaka- nayika theme. Mrinalini Sarabhai, trained in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Indonesian dances, used the Bharatanatyam technique to tell stories of dowry deaths and suicide, substituting silence in place of music. She handled abstract concepts of Rig-Veda scripture, created dance works on ecology, pollution and extended both the vocabulary of dance and its themes, which showed contemporary awareness of social issues.1

Working with and making a departure from the exclusive classicism of Bharatanatyam, Chandralekha started thinking and experimenting in her choreographic work; how to explore, expand, and universalise the form. She began to see it in relation to other allied physical disciplines in India like yoga, ancient martial arts, and allied life activity. A firm believer in the need for resuscitating traditional forms with contemporary energy, she worked towards exploring the structures and internal strength of Bharatanatyam, martial forms like Kalaripayattu and therapeutic forms like yoga to comprehend and interpret the body in a modern sense. She postulated a new, non- sublimated content of the dance. Her body of choreographic works ranging from Angika / अंगगका (Traditions of Dance and Body language of India, 1985), Lilavati / ऱीऱाविी (1989), Prana / प्रार् (Breath, 1990), Sri / श्री (Traditions of Woman and Empowerment), Yantra / यंत्र (Dance Diagrams, 1994), Mahaka / महाकाऱl (Invoking Time, 1995) to Sharira / शरीर (Fire/Desire, 2001) reveals what new directions Indian dance has taken (Menon, 2005).2

4

Apart from the traditional repertoire of Bharatanatyam, thematic presentations are on the increase. The reason for this is the exponential growth in the number of learners of Bharatanatyam. These presentations accommodate those who just want the performing experience but may not take to full time performing. Group dancing also helps dancers to understand the concepts of synchronization, performing space and sharing the spotlight with others. Alongside these we can also find a growing attraction for another kind of group production based on fusion - where both the music as well as the dancing, are not strictly classical.3

One example is dancer/actor Shobana’s productions that are a mix of everything from rock music, English narration and fusion movements. Some dance gurus excel in their group productions like Sheela Unnikrishnan and Anitha Guha in Chennai, who generally concentrate on mythological themes. Jayanthi Subramaniam has done a production called ‘Jonathan Livingstone Seagull’ where dancers do Bharatanatyam but wear the Odissi hip belts! Lakshmi Ramaswamy works with old Tamil texts. Radhika Shurajit combines cinema songs with Bharatanatyam like in the olden day films. Ananda Shankar Jayant has done a group work on navarasa, one called ‘Ode to the Eye’ and ‘Panchatantra’ on tales for children. Rama Bharadvaj has presented a work on problems faced by immigrants in the US. Savitha Sastry’s solo productions are based on new stories written for dance, where it becomes less of Bharatanatyam and more of dance theatre. A future is not far that there will be many more Bharatanatyam dancers than audience!

5

Apart from the mega productions, small Bharatanatyam groups still delight with traditional themes like Radha Shridhar of Bangalore, Parul Shah of Baroda with her company Anjali Memorial Committee, Geeta Chandran of Delhi to name a few. Current rage is themes on environment, protection of animals, social maladies like suppression of women, rape, suicide, famine, pollution and so on. Late Smt. Anjali Merh, Head of the Dance Department at the M S University of Baroda dared and challenged the traditional beliefs by creating the “Navagraha Kriti-s” of Muthuswami Dikshitar in 1979 in pure Bharatanatyam style in the group. She was trained in Kalakshtra, one of the firsts, and imbibed the best of the creative as well as artistic traditions of her beloved Guru Smt Rukmini Devi Arundale. Anjaliben’s “Shri Chandramaulishwara Kuravanji” dedicated to the Lord Shiva - Chandramauli of Somanatha in Gujarat is a land mark production. Being a proud Gujarati, conversant in both Carnatic and North Indian Music, with a flare of writing she created this production in 1975-76. It was not only performed in the major cities of India, but was specially invited for the 50th year’s celebration of the “Pran Pratishha” of the Somanatha temple by then Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. Here was a Kurvanji, written in Gujarati, set to music with 37 ragas / राग and more than 10 talas / िाऱ from the North and Carnatic music, with Bandhani and specially designed costumes and wooden beads jewelry, smoothly blending the classical and folk elements to their best. The dance- drama performed at the Brihad Natyanjali Festival in 2006, made the organizers comment “the dance going from Thanjavur to Baroda is now a complete circle and has completed the cycle”. The trend

6

started by her of using local language, costumes and themes continues in Gujarat by most of the artistes.

Regarding dance technique, there is a greater precision of body lines that enhances the visual appeal of the dance. On the other hand, we can often see a craze for speed that is coupled with the pressure to cover the stage space. Invariably this results in unfinished adavus, as the dancer launches into a frenzy of movements to whip up excitement. The “ottam adavu” – running on the toes is very common now! No doubt, a mirror to what is happening in society all- round. A number of new compositions on social and secular subjects have been adapted to dance. New hastas (hand gestures) have taken shape and new viniyogas (usages) for existing hastas have been devised. Finer nuances are giving way to the dramatic mode of presentation as the dancers’ communication is tailored for audiences in a larger setting. On a lighter note, there is the ‘anglicization’ of abhinaya. With the globalization of natyam, there are more dancers who do not speak the vernacular. At some rehearsals, dancers practice the contextual dialogues in English for the abhinaya for Tamil songs. This does not affect the accuracy of the emotion but there is a change in its flavor.4

The third development and trend is costume. Gone is the traditional, shining silk look with heavy jewelry. Minimalism is in….this started with many Bharatanatyam dancers who were past their prime and still wished to dance and gave aharya a go by. While Bala did it for convenience, Chandralekha did it for making a style statement. She even bleached her hair white to go against the classical look of “dark- haired beauty with kohl-rimmed eye.” Instead of using the full heavy

7

headset, some dancers wear just the chutti, like Mrinalini Sarabhai and Shanta Rao did long ago.

Aharya / आहायण is such an important part of today’s performance ethos, especially in the dance world where colour, texture and fabric play an important role in enhancing the entire experience. Priyadarsini Govind goes for specially designed costumes. Malavika Sarukkai sports sedate colours while Alarmel Valli’s preference is invariably traditional. The choice of colours and the style of the costume (whether a pyjama / पायजामा costume or a sari one) is part of the chemistry the dancer shares with the dance. Many follow time-tested styles and combinations such as yellow and purple, green and red or a pink and purple. Then there are those who try to innovate with long-forgotten styles. Bharatanatyam’s tryst with the Kanchipuram sari is rich and visually appealing. Says Sudharani Raghupathy who has seen the transition of styles over the past 60 years, “When I started out, costumes used to be cumbersome. The Devadasis wore real flowers, jadai, pinnal and heavy jewelry. One couldn’t really dance with all that. But eventually it became simpler. The pyjama costume used to be tightly fitted. There were hardly any pleats. The colours used were standard, no experimentation. I used to get my saris dyed, thanks to my association with Kamala Devi Chattopadhya. The colours, however, were gorgeous – yellows, reds, greens, oranges, dark pink - in silk with real gold zari. Now it is plastic zari and costumes don’t last more than four performances.” Geeta Chandran recently had a wonderful exhibition of her 40 years of Bharatanatyam Costumes “When the Pleats Dance” curated by the famous designer Sandhya Raman.5

8

Singers like Gnanasundaram were trained by dancers such as Balasaraswati to sing for dance recitals. “Those days the singers would stay with the dancer for long periods of time. They knew each other so well that the dancer would know when the singer would take up the next line and the singer knew when the dancer lifted a hand to show the next sanchari / संचारी. They made a perfect team. When Balasaraswati danced and Gnanasundaram sang, the audience was baffled because they did not know whether to listen to the singer or watch the dancer. Such was the caliber of the singer. Sangatis must be moulded and crafted for dance especially. They cannot be predictable. Bala used to identify or work on sangatis that were sculpted specially for natya. Not like it is now. Singers look at the paper, the pauses are all wrong and they sing in the same manner everywhere,” says Nandini Ramani.6

Vocalist Hariprasad recounts that a lot has changed since the time when singers and instrumentalists used to sit behind the dancer. Rukmini Devi Arundale is believed to have changed this and musicians were given a place on the left side of the stage. Today, the orchestra has to incorporate different rhythmic patterns, musical forms and a variety of instruments such as the keyboard, rhythm pad and other electronic instruments.7

“Earlier, the nattuvanar would train and be an important part of the recital. Nowadays, you have nattuvanars you can hire on a freelance basis and the singer keeps the entire kutcheri together,” says Nandini Ramani.8 A live orchestra lends majesty to a dance recital. But dance vocalists take up too many assignments as dancers far outnumber the accompanying musicians, so quality tends to suffer and 9

sometimes vocalists have been known to back out of programs at the last minute leaving the poor dancer in a fix. Over the last few years, dance musicians have also hiked up their fee to an exorbitant amount, almost holding dancers to ransom, making many opt for recorded music.

Indian classical dance forms provide various possibilities to explore emotions. Pieces from ‘Kamba Ramayanam’ or from Jayadeva's ‘Gita Govinda’ are of course, stories about Rama and Krishna, gods revered by many. They are tributes to these gods by their devotees. They are in praise of these gods. But equally they are stories of love and union, of pain and separation. They are human stories about separation from loved ones (Rama and Sita getting separated when Sita is captured, or Rama's separation from his family during exile), and the excitement and intoxication of being in love (pieces about Krishna, and the gopis and sakhis). Similarly, there are tillanas in Bharatanatyam dedicated to gods, but equally beautifully choreographed. Tillanas exist that make no reference to the divine and instead speak of institutions and human beings such as Kalakshetra (Bilahari tillana / बबऱहारी ति쥍ऱाना ) and Rukmini Devi (Natabhairavi tillana / नािाभैरावी ति쥍ऱाना ). In addition to the religious and mythological narratives, there are many ‘secular’ aspects to Indian classical dance that may arouse the interest of non- religious people. These secular aspects do not and indeed, should not impinge on the cultural memory of dance pieces which have significant religious, spiritual and mythological undertones. Rather, for the religious audience they enhance the enjoyment of the narrative aspects of the dance forms. As for the ‘secular' (in the

10

‘western’ sense) audience, they provide other avenues to appreciate Indian classical dance.9

The relationship between tradition and modernity in the context of Indian dance is an intricate and interesting one. On one hand, modern dance in India has borrowed a great deal from India‟s traditions. On the other hand, the example of Bharatanatyam also seems to suggest that the „revival‟ of Bharatanatyam was perhaps an „invention of tradition‟, or indeed the creation of a modern dance. Could Bharatanatyam then be modern? By emphasizing tradition, changes introduced do not seem alien and unfamiliar. Thus, they are more easily accepted by society. The boundaries between tradition and modernity become seamless. In fact, Bharatanatyam was modernized in several ways. Rajeev Bhargava states that “the generation of new types of collective identities such as the nation” is an important feature of modernity. By linking the „revived‟ dance with the nation, a modern collectivity, „revivalists‟ modernized Bharatanatyam. Educational institutions of dance modernized the guru-shishya / गु셁- शश�य relationship as well. The incorporation of Ballet into the reconstruction of Bharatanatyam (as suggested by Janet O‟Shea) is yet another characteristic of modernity. Finally the presentation of Bharatanatyam was also modernized – the costumes were changed, and the musicians were placed on the side of the stage, rather than behind the dancer as was traditionally done.10

Another development and trend is verbalising dance with too much talking. The content may not be much, but its marketing and branding is. Future developments and trends emerge out of these. Program notes become important since most in the audience do not have a clue to what is being done on stage. Language is another 11

aspect to focus on, since most of the songs are in Telugu. Make it more accessible to those not familiar with vernacular language specific to dance. The latest is of course numerous workshops in various dance styles conducted during the summer months in India and by visiting Indian artistes in US or UK, where items are learnt in 3 to 5 days, or sometimes even over a few hours! Arangetrams have become mega celebrations with four costume changes, lavish expenditure on invitations, gifts and dinner for all present.

New Bharatanatyam moulds get created through research also as is the case of Padma Subrahmanyam. New terms like Neo Bharatanatyam and modern Bharatanatyam are being created. It is generally observed that those outside India of Indian or foreign origin who learn Bharatanatyam wish to adhere to “classicism,” not new Bharatanatyam, even if they decide to work on new themes. There is also a trend to use multimedia for Bharatanatyam recitals like Malavika Sarukkai did with ‘Vamatara: To the Light’ in 2014. Different dance forms are juxtaposed and performed together as duets, like Alarmel Valli and Madhavi Mudgal in Bharatnatyam and Odissi or Anuradha Vikrant and Shama Krishna in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi styles. There is also experimentation with music. Rama Vaidyanathan performed ‘Chitravali’ to Hindustani music and a backdrop of changing miniature paintings. To feature guest dancers in big productions is a new phenomenon and helps them get extra recognition. Another development is revisiting past with films and archives, like recreation of themes based on devadasi traditions. Recent films on the theme are ‘Vara: The Blessing’ featuring Geeta Chandran, ‘Shringaram’ about a devadasi directed by Sharada

12

Ramanathan (produced by dancer Padmini Ravi) and ‘Of Friend, This Waiting’ directed by Justin McCarthy.

“In my days, dance in cinema was dignified. It was a blend of tradition and some modernity. They were complete dances. We had to dance in one take. If someone made a mistake it went all over again. Today there is so much technological help. Everything is cut and paste, even dance. That's why you see girls, who are not dancers, seemingly dancing so well,” says Vyjayantimala Bali.11

13