The Study of Classical Indian dance- Where are we
going with it ?
by Vasanti Gopinath Jayaswal
Whose limbs are
the World
Whose speech is
the all -abiding Sound
Whose decorations
are the Moon, Stars and such
To that pristine
Shiva, salutations.
Dance as practiced today may be best
described as a marketable commodity. Most students learn this art to compete in
the market place or use it as an ornament to add to their trousseau. Poverty,
greed and a blinding race for fame seem to play a dangerous game that dictates
the teaching techniques of many a teacher even the so- called traditional ones.
We have lost the spiritual moorings of dance. Terms such Natyaveda and
Sampradaya have lost their true connections to practice.
The pursuit of a fine art is the pursuit of an integrated
discipline. The fine arts of India as envisaged by the rishis
traditionally facilitate the teacher and the student to evolve while engaged in
the process of art transmission and reception.
This evolution takes place naturally if two conditions converge. The
student must have his or her faith in the teacher's hands and the acharya must
be knowledgeable yet clearheaded regarding the potential growth of the student.
We are now part of a generation that
accepts both the two faced teacher and the bargaining student.
The sanctity of this art form, quite
unlike the mock rituals that take place in theaters and sabhas today, was a
significant and meaningful event in ancient times. In the Bharataarnavam there
is a detailed description of a typical preamble to a dance performance. Here
the teacher, the dancer, the musicians and the instruments were sanctified
prior to the performance. The entire arena thus became a holy kshetra. It is
amazing that the Muslim performers of Indonesia who perform the Ramayana
maintain this better than we Hindus do. The audience who were knowledgeable in
the arts got blessed because of their sheer participation in this auspicious
event.
The paddy field setting of Kerala with
the ambience of the coconut groves, the temple architecture, the gigantic oil
lamp served as the only props highlighting the larger-than-life characters from
the Ramayana or the Mahabharata . This surpasses anything that can be produced
in the best of auditoriums with the latest in the state of the art light and
sound.
Dance has moved away from the
Natyamandapas and has comfortably settled in the Western Concert
Tradition. Fancy brochures, programs,
lengthy introductions and the wining and dining of reviewers are a vital part
of today's productions.
The gifts yielded from the study of
dance are not in the theaters nor is it in the academic halls of western
universities. Here showmanship alone is the ruling rod. The gifts are still to
be found in the small bare classrooms where the teacher and the taught, like
the blacksmith at the forge, hammer again and again at the process of molding.
The closest comparison is seen in how athletes train for the Olympics. The
result is obvious. Unfortunately in dance training this process is not allowed
to flower in its own time, any more. India is selectively choosing certain
western attitudes of `get rich quick ’, `instant food' and `substituting for
the real ' thus adjusting the study of fine arts to suit Eurocentric standards.
During the fifties many traditional teachers of Bharatanatyam for instance
would insist on a two to three year study of the basic adavus or foundation
steps.. The target student was generally under twelve years of age. Contrast
this to the scene where students study once or twice a week for three to five
years and lands with an arangetram, or a mother in her thirties whose limbs are
already set like plaster in a cast who gives her debut. Those dancers who
underwent the rigorous training of the fifties can be singled out even today for
their quality performances inspite of their age. Many of them did not get any
funds that would pay them in the name of research to simply dip into an age-
old tradition and emerge as an overnight expert. They did not have rich parents
who would buy the teacher out. It was
sheer love of the art plus a desire to make life a little better for themselves
that propelled them. Often they did very menial jobs to help their guru. This
in turn helped in the refinement of the student’s character. Today’s teacher is
least concerned with how his personal behavior affects the student nor is he
concerned with the overall growth of the student’s personality.
There was a time they say when an
apprentice teacher would work at a single aspect of a selected talam for years
in order to get siddhi in that. No wonder they could materialize visions of the
Saptarishis, the Trimurtis and other celestials.
The abhyasa of shareera (body) and
manas (mind) through discipline, rigor, guru bhakti, and swadhyaya (self
pursuit) are the main tools necessary
for one's growth. Bhakti, Gnana, Karma,Hata yoga and tantra are all included in
dance. The fine art of dance which takes its origins from none other than Lord Shiva,
has in it all the ingredients for the making of a sadhana.
From a beginning of simply wanting to
use the body as an instrument to project the beauties of this art one can grow
to a stage when the center of the world coincides with that of the jeeva and
even beyond dance his life becomes harmonious with the spheres.
The shloka, whose English meaning is
given at the outset of this article, is often studied by dancers. Herein lie
the clues for the four basic types of expressive communication or Abhinaya that
is seen in Dance. These clues are not merely pointers in the technique of dance
but provide clues for a holistic growth of the sadhak.
Aahaaryabhinaya ( Communication through Attire)
The donning of a costume suggests a
change from the secular to the sacred. In USA a remarkable change occurs in the
psyche of the dancer when jeans and t-shirts are cast away and the traditional
jubba and pajama or saree and choli are worn. An awareness of the body quite
unlike the sensuous approach that they are accustomed to takes place. The hair
tied back, the sash around the waist and the dot on the bare forehead is the
gear that helps them enter the world of dance.
The wearing of heavy jari sares and the overloading of jewelry takes
away the demarcation of patterns of bodily movements. The day we started using
elaborate backdrops, props, grand lighting and sound effects, that day marked
the eventual degradation of abhinaya. By
using the term "ballet " as in Indian ballet,we have fallen into the
western theatre trap.
The transition from a student to a
performer takes place as soon as the appropriate costume is worn. Often items
of decoration are reminders of other truths. For instance the sun and the moon
decorations that are placed on the head of a Bharatanatyam dancer correspond to
the nadis, pingala and ida. In Kathakali
before the kireeta, is worn a silent gesture of respect is shown by touching
the crown and getting blessed by it. The noopura is often taken to the teacher
for blessing. The culmination of this
psychological transformation is seen in many art forms such as Yakshagana,
Kathakali , Nangiar Kuthu and and Bhagavata Mela where, with the first stroke of facial makeup the
artist stops all conversation. He then begins to contemplate on the role he is
to play. Not until the last piece of ornament is removed will the actor descend
to the level of his human identity. Unfortunately the modern audience
especially in the US, often lacking first hand knowledge of puranic stories,
returns home after seeing a program having gained only the superficial “
jhootaniyan “ ( leftovers ) of the sacred meal.
Vaachikabhinaya (
Vocal Communication
)
The first response that is evoked from
the student is that for sound. Mnemonic syllables or cholkettu, vaithari or
bols peculiar to the percussion instruments and dance, are accompanied by steps that match. The
student learns to sort the sound patterns recognising the stresses, spaces and
divisions. The inner akasa of the mind is measured and the resting point or
sama where the finale and the prelude meet is the shayana sthana of the divine.
The execution of these in the form of movements involves countless trials and
errors.
The second response is to the notes of
our ragas. Sensitivity is to be developed in order to recognize every color,
shade and tint of emotion that is suggested by them. The body portrays the
subtleties thereafter. When the music graduates to one with words, then the
highly specialized gestural and facial language is employed to suggest the
meaning. Nuances that are peculiar to the vernacular has to be balanced with
the contents of thoughts expressed.
The musical compositions of modern day
programmes often lack the sensitive connection between the understanding of the
text, the emotional thrust of the chosen raga and the abhinaya on the face of
the dancer. Very often attempts are geared for the camera. If the music is not
a cacophony then it is so good that it outweighs the capacity of the dancer. It
is not unusual for the audience of the modern day to ignore the dance and just
revel in the music due to this mismatch.
Aangikabhinaya ( Communication through body parts)
If the created world represents god
then the body of the dancer is its microcosmic counterpart. The geometric
connections between the world and man are drawn by the karanas, the brahmaris
and the charis. The cognition of the tandava and lasya in the portrayals
reminds us of the male and female principles that exist everywhere. Aadinatha's
tandava and Laasyeshvari's lasya keeps the world going for the fruition of our
karmas. “ Tavaadhaarey mooley saha
samayayaa laasyaparayaa, navaatmaanam manye navarasa
mahaataandavanatam.Ubhaabhyaam etaabhyaam udayavidhim udhishya dayayaa, sanaataabhyaam
jagney janakajananeem jagadidam.” (
Soundarya lahari )
The body is the instrument for
expression. This body then is held different in the various classical dance
styles of India. The straight stance of Kathak, with the dropped elbows,
contrasts with the wide stance and raised elbows of Kathakali. The footsteps, the movements the stylized
abhinaya of each style is tailored for that sampradaya. It is very hard to see
that separation of sampradayas in performances these days. The best of
Bharatanatyam has very often elements of Kathak in high speed numbers. The best of Kuchipudi dance
dramas has borrowed heavily from Kathakali's dramatic techniques. The best of
Mohini attam mimics Bharatanatyam .
Odissi has introduced gestures from Kathakali.
Kathak and Manipuri have a hand and glove relationship with the movies.
Kathakali technics have reduced so much that it has become a lazy entertainer
for the western tourist who is fascinated by the colorful appearance, often
considers this as tribal legacies.
The basic stance is often forgotten. For example the
floor length frontal pleats seen in the Bharatanatyam costume is a new trend.
This has compromised on the knee positions and basic sitting stance that is
crucial by sampradaya standards. Such a weight of fresh flowers and wigs are
worn that young dancers cannot turn their necks efficiently. Thus ignoring the
bhanga of the upper torso.
Hastabhinaya is so well developed in the Bharatiya
dances that it is not just a mere vocabulary.
These gestures have intricate connections with shilpa shastras and
tantra. A simple example is that of the
chinmudra, where the thumb and the pointer meet. This same mudra held different
ways can represent mind, decision, forgetfulness, memory and contemplation. The
thumb represents parabrahma ( Cosmic Divinity ) and the pointer stands for
ahankara.
The execution of the hastas (hand
gestures) corresponds very closely to the nuances of the language that nurtured
the particular style. The abhinaya of
young dancers in the US
is tinged with Anglicized nuances. This
dichotomy is absent in young dancers in India who do not think in English even
though they may speak it. However Indian dancers are beginning to reflect the
mannerisms of heroes and heroines of the
television and movie industries.
All dance styles have a twofold origin. One that is based on the shastras and the
other that is based on regional customs. The best of any classical style is
seen when it is rendered in its original language. Thus the use of
Bharatanatyam or Kathakali gestures to Hindi bhajans can never bring the type
of expression that one attains in the original Tamil or Malayalam respectively.
Mukhabhinaya is the exclusive domain of Bharatiya
nritya kala. Every part of the face and every single muscle is excercized to portray the navarasas. The sthayi bhava and its various sancharis
represent the entire gamut of human emotions. The student must reduce his
personality to utter transparency so that the emotions of the character or the
story can filter through. The time spent on this aspect of dance is vital to its
survival as a Heritage- Art. Unfortunately video, movie cameras, the
glaring lights are all distractions to this sophistication. The human eye does
not receive the same impulses as the eye of the camera. This has resulted in a
drastic change in the role of dance. The demands made on classical dance is the
same as that of the movies. It is the production techniques that seem to turn
on the audience of today. Very few are interested in the actual style. To have
the latter take place the audience should want to actively participate not
passively look. This would mean that some education on the part of the audience
is required. A Rasikapriya is an
educated onlooker who has the sensitivity for the fine arts. It seems that only
those who are in their sixties now and beyond are the only ones who seem to
match that requirement.
The struggle to stick
to the original intent of our traditional classical dance styles namely to
bring scriptural truths to the common
man in an aesthetically palatable form
is a tough one. If it has to compete with the larger
than life heroes and heroines of Indian movies and the trendy performers of the
western world, it will have to dig deeper into its original form and reach man
where Preyas ends and Shreyas begins. The gains will be everlasting only then.
The artist and the audience will be an integral part of a Self- Refining
process only then.
When
classical dance styles are studied and performed with the original intent in
mind then not only the performers but even the audience can be transported to
mystical dimensions. This then becomes the prasad that we quietly ruminate. Its
effects spread over space and time. Where the
hand is, there the look follows . Where the look follows ,there the mind goes.
Where the mind rests, there the emotion results. Where the emotion is portrayed
there results the Rasa
Rasa.
Saatvikabhinaya ( Ethereal Communication)
When all previous forms of expressive
communication have been mastered over years of intense discipline that began
when young, maturity sets in. The artist becomes a repository of the wealth
gained from the scriptures. Life's experiences mold him with a rare wisdom born
out of acting so many a role. The essence of the itihasas and the puranas come
to life, at the hands of such a mature dancer. He lends an ethereal quality to
his portrayals then on. This pristine quality is not lost even after he leaves
the limelight. With the mere glance of his eyes, a flicker of the hand, or a
curve of the body an aging master can suggest to the onlooker a hint of the
Divine Dancer himself. It is this satvic quality that remains in the memory of
the observer, like a fragrance that lingers forever.
This article was featured in Tattwaloka magazine.
SHUBHAM