The Chronicle Time of Bharatanatyam

Probably the oldest of India's contemporary classical dance styles is BHARATANATYAM. Its assertion to origin rests not on the name derived from the word "Bharata" and hence identified with the Natyasastra, but on the available compelling textual, sculptural and contemporary evidence. The name Bharatanatyam was coined by Dr. Rukimini Devi where ‘Bha’ means ‘bhaav’, ‘Ra’ means ‘raaga’ and ‘Ta’ means ‘taal’.

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The texts and literature of Sanskrit reached Tamil Nadu and the Southern States early on. There is the Dakshinaya, among the many modes and dance styles mentioned in the Natyasastra. There is also another generalized version called the Ekharya Lasyanga. There is one actor occupying several positions in this form. The Natyasastra talks to the actor as the narrator in this way, too. The solo actor portrays, through the four kinds of abhinaya, the basic dominant condition, instead of multiple actors presenting a dramatic plot (sthayibhava). It is possible to trace the present Bharatanatyam back to that form. The human movement approach that this style follows can also be dated back to the fifth century A.D. through sculptural evidence. It has been founded that the ardhamandali (margi style) with the out turned knees was the position common to the classic dance. This basic role was prevalent in dance styles from Orissa to Gujarat and from Khajuraho to Trivandrum in the 10th century A.D. From the tenth century or so A.D. it was founded that this fundamental location of the lower limbs is common to reliefs in almost every part of India in sculpture of dance.

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In the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Maratha court of Tanjore provided the environment for further expansion of this art form. In the hands of these poets, singers, kings and their distinguished courtiers, Sadir Nritya acquired a definite form and style. The name 'Sadir' originates from the Marathi word ‘Sadir’ which means ‘To present’. This form was also known as Dasiyattam. In the early part of the twentieth century, the culture of both temple dance and dance persisted in the court surroundings. The Devadasi performed dance as part of the Seva in the temples and trained dancers performed before the patron king and a crowd in the court surroundings. In the latter time, musical compositions that travelled from the Courts of Baroda to Tanjore had some influence. Through an act of the Madras Presidency that outlawed temple dancing altogether and looked down on those who practised the art, this rich and lively practise came to a halt. Although, because of the low status granted to the Devadasis, there may have been valid sociological motives for banning dance, the ban proved to be a death knell for the artists.

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Bharatanatyam continued as part of the presentation of the Bhagavata Mela tradition in the villages of Nellore, Melattured, Soolmanglam etc. However, the dance was only done by men here. After a lot of efforts of artists from various backgrounds, who studied Bharatanatyam and performed were able to bring the emergence of dancers from families and traditional archives. In the mid-30s, two streams emerged together: (1) traditional dancers, becoming inheritors of the Devadasi tradition, who now started to appear outside the temple and the court surroundings before public audiences. (2) girls and women of high social standing with an affluent history belonging to the Brahman community, such as Rukmini Devi and Km. Kalanidhi's. As a creative and scholarly discipline, they taught themselves in art. Before large crowds, all styles of artists performed. For such recitals, the Music Academy, an organisation committed to the preservation and conservation of these arts, proved to be the forum. An age of revival and reconstruction was the post-Independence period. Institutions initiated by Rukmini Devi, Balasaraswati recitals, and disciples taught by Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, such as Shanta Rao, all had a profound influence. Others continued their peers' tradition, while others reconstructed and recombined fragments that they uncovered into a new whole.

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sources: Kapila Vatsyayan. INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE. Publications Division. Kindle Edition.

NATYASHASTRA by Bharata Muni, translated into english by Manomohan Ghosh