It was poetry in motion when celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan took to the stage, along with four of her students, at the Madhavi Festival in New Delhi last year. Strikingly, the dancer withheld the core classical dance form while incorporating a fresh perspective, making movements more fluid and expansive, such that the jam-packed auditorium reverberated with applause every now and then as the audience remained spellbound.
Watching her performance, the audience could not help but notice how this dance form has evolved, in style, themes and appearance, while staying true to its core. Originally a temple dance form, Bharatanatyam has ceased to remain restricted to temples. Incorporating secular and universal themes while holding on to tradition has surely played a role in its popularity within the state and outside.
Among the themes Vaidyanathan showcased in her performance, in front of a diverse audience, was that of love— a universal theme that she performed with Lord Krishna as the symbol.Anant Ambani’s pre-wedding celebrations clock in at Rs 1200 crore, wedding bill is to cost approximately…Meet Sheila Singh, mother-in-law of MS Dhoni – She is the CEO of a Rs 800 crore company: Take a look at her journey and net worth7 budget-friendly alcohol brands to try this summerFrom dishwasher to dosa king: The inspiring journey of Jayaram Banan, the founder of Sagar Ratna
Beyond a closed identity
While this dance form originated in Tamil Nadu, largely performed in the temples, it spread across India and beyond. A simple YouTube search can tell you that it has been taken up with equal fervour by Indians and even non-Indians. So what makes Bharatanatyam, a dance form rooted in south Indian temples with Hindu mythology as a prominent theme, reverberate across religions and borders?
“While the tale might appear to revolve around Lord Krishna, the theme is a universal one, that of love,” Vaidyanathan says about her performance.
Although in India, many see Indian classical dance forms caged in a particular identity, secular themes have always found a way into performances that often invoke Shiva, Rama, and Krishna.
Explaining the phenomenon, Kamalini Dutt, former director, central archives, Doordarshan, New Delhi, says, “Bharatanatyam is a secular dance form rooted in Hinduism, which is why it attracts dance enthusiasts from across the world. The lyrics, even if it is addressing or describing Shiva, Krishna or Rama when performed, go beyond the religious content, touching wider sensibilities.”
A Bharatanatyam prodigy, Dutt met with an accident rendering her career as a dancer impossible. However, this did not ebb her fondness for the arts. Dutt is celebrated for her work of archiving old Doordarshan content of art and culture, dance, music and drama, dumped as the TV transitioned from black and white to colour.
According to her, Bharatanatyam ceased to be a religious art as soon as it moved out of temples and entered the secular space. Soon after India’s independence in 1947, the then-Madras presidency abolished the Devadasi system. Devadasis were women who were dedicated to a deity or temple for the rest of their lives. They learned, performed and preserved this temple dance form, among other things. The abolishment of the Devadasi system democratised the dance form but at the expense of the women, who had remained its protectors for years, losing their livelihood, power, and prestige. Since then, tall artistes such as Rukhmini Devi Arundale, Yamini Krishnamurthy, Balasaraswati, Mrinalini and Mallika Sarabhai have become stalwarts in the field.
Bharatanatyam exponent Divya Devaguptapu showcased the secular evolution of the form as she performed on the famous Kabir poem Moko kahan dhoondo re bande… at the World Dance Day Festival, curated by dancer and Padma Shri awardee Geeta Chandran in New Delhi last year. “Art should be universal just like Kabir,” Devaguptapu says. At the festival, dancer Pavitra Bhat’s performance centred around a man’s and a woman’s emotions. “These are universal, but yes, the hero here was the shiva linga in Brihadeshwara form, but that just represents the male identity.”
Notably, Bharatanatyam is viewed as a women-dominated field. However, over the years, many male performers have made a name for themselves. It is despite the stigma that many face. “We get asked this question often, but luckily I didn’t face any such issue,” Bhat says, adding that these days, not only do many male Bharatanatyam dancers get ample opportunities to perform but also conferred with several awards.
Speaking on his performance, Bhat agrees that at times, the religious symbolism for universal themes can be difficult for a wider audience to understand, but here, “You have to be a bit smart in choosing your composition, and if you are very rooted in your tradition, then you can definitely uplift your audience to your form,” he says.
Before their performance, several artistes also communicate with their audience, narrating the theme in a language that they understand. It not only helps in engaging the audience but also makes the composition more comprehensible for them.
Beyond religious and general themes, this dance form has also been employed to raise awareness on a host of issues. “Apart from my usual performances, I have also performed for cancer organisations, underprivileged children, and the deaf and mute,” Bhat says. Not only these, gender inequality, the Dalit movement and such themes have also found their way to the stage, serving as a testimony that this ancient dance form has not remained untouched by the socio-political climate around and has evolved much from its initial components.
Stage to smartphone
No art form can remain unchanged. It transforms with time. It also envelopes it within it, the state of society. The same holds for Bharatanatyam. Watching a past performance and comparing it with a recent one can easily show how society has transformed over the years.
As a producer for Doordarshan, Dutt has witnessed Bharatanatyam transform during her career spanning 40 years. She explains, “When I joined Doordarshan in 1972, life was simple, and so was society. As any art form is a reflection of society, so was classical dance. The gurus (teachers) were dedicated, students committed and ambitions not too high. However, slowly, the society started becoming more and more complex. Speed accelerated, and lifestyle became more and more glossy. We lost the simplicity. Dance also reflected the same aspects. Speed, complex rhythmic jugglery and glossy showmanship are the mainstay of today’s dance.”
According to Chandran, a Bharatanatyam stalwart, the dance grew in two ways. Explaining it beautifully, she says, “The lake of Bharatanatyam was dug deeper into tradition, even while some artists chipped away at its borders to recast the contours of that lake. Both actions were equally important and added to the gravitas of the dance form.”
While these changes are more intrinsic to the dancers, the audiences can also see changes with the venues having become larger, the costumes jazzier, and the make-up more enhanced.
While initially performed in open spaces, the dance form has found a newer audience on social media, where longer performances have been replaced with those lasting a few minutes. In the course of this change, the dance form, too, adapted to the newer media.
Speaking on the transition from stage to social media through television, Dutt says, “Proscenium gave the classical dance forms large space. As a result, the movements became wider, having to cover the space. In television, there are many spaces a dancer has to deal with, the given space to perform, a particular space of mid-shot or close-up, the camera offers. Close-up looked deep into the emotional space of the performer and brought a different kind of visual energy.”
Now social media is the hot venue, which, according to Dutt, has played a role in widening and increasing viewership.
While this is the case, the experience for a dancer is not the same. “I would perform on stage for a live audience, as there is a connection there,” says Bhat, who also runs a YouTube channel to showcase his dance performances.
Boxes to tick
While Bharatanatyam once offered Devadasis avenues to gain property, power, and prestige; earning a living through it now can be a concern for several dancers. While the support from family and teachers kept Bhat going, the concern for income can be discouraging for performers.
“You need to invest time and money in dancing just like in every other profession,” thinks Vaidyanathan. “Initially, nobody is going to pay you for dancing or learn from you. For that, you have to build a brand for yourself,” she adds.
However, building that brand today requires a lot of things beyond the dance. “Sound and light technologies and stagecraft are now expected of dancers,” says Chandran. “Dancers are expected to do everything by themselves, right from conceptualising dance pieces, setting the music, directing rehearsals, designing costumes, organising the event, and driving the publicity,” she says. While a lot is expected from a dancer, the ecosystem to support her has not evolved much.
Elaborating on this, the Bharatanatyam veteran says, “While conceptualising and delivering mega productions are expected from the dancer, we have not thought through how those new works would be financed. Dancers are expected to invest their own money into creating works. As I said, a vibrant equal ecosystem to support dance and dancers is totally lacking,” Chandran says.
“There are so many jobs that can be created if only one focuses on dance as a sector. An important study on the entertainment sector that included classical dance was presented over a decade ago to the (then) Planning Commission. It is languishing there to date. Alas!” she adds.
https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/in-step-with-the-times/3470249/
