Sacred Dance of India

Author(s): Mrinalini Sarabhai
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 14

(mrıdangikah) Between them stand the singers (gitakarah) In this order, should the group be arranged on the stage"
Shri Meenakshisundaram Pillai, the learned gūru of Bharata Nātyam, related the story of the birth of Jatis' The Great One, Nataraja, when He danced the Ananda Tāndava, the dance of Eternal Bliss, which is so beautifully depicted in the temple of Chidambaram, loosened a bell from His anklet and it rose high into the air and fell on the Lord's shoulder and then down to the ground, making the sound 'tha-thi-tham-num' In that moment of eternity, time and rhythm were born in the form of a “jati
After Alarippu, the 'jatı' (now known as jatıswaram) was also recited but music in the form of rāgas was added later to render it more pleasing
Another interesting story tells of the birth of sound from the drum of Shiva The sacred OM resounded throughout the three worlds and the people shook with fear, so Shiva broke the drums into two and welded the outer ends together The sweet sound drew people close again Thus the first mridangam was created
The gateswaram is created in any rāga, and all the manifold patterns of tāla are incorporated within a given framework Here the dancer executes varied rhythms to the same pattern of musical notes in the chosen rāga The gateswaram has no sahitya (verbal) passages, but uses only the musical notes (svaras) in various rāgas It is divided into two sections--the pallavi, usually composed in Vilamba Kal (slow tempo), or in the Madhyama Kal (medium tempo) and the Anupallavi, ending in Dhruva Kal (fast tempo) The musicians sing the svards choosing a particular rāga while the dancer executes them in various combinations of 'adavus' and the mrdangam follows suit Beginning with a fast 'jati', the dance shows perfect harmony with the music and the various gamakas of the rāga The dancer expresses in feet movements the akshara kalas of the tāla, keeps intricate rhythm in between and with the main beat of the song
Bharata Natyam-Mallika
Serebendra Bhupala 'Kuravanjı'-Mallika as 'Madanavall'
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