The three-day NatyAmrita Manthan Seminar organised by well-known Bharatanatyam dancer-teacher- academician Lakshmi Ramaswamy, her dance institution Sri Mudhraalaya and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha to commemorate its 25th anniversary, presented speakers from the fields of music, dance and literature.
As dancers see academic scholarship as an extension of the practical study of Shastreeya Nrtya, Lakshmi’s gurus agree with its importance. Senior Bharatanatyam dancer Chitra Visweswaran said, “Reading and looking at something holistically is very important. We have to look beyond dance, it is not an end in itself. Finally, everyone is always a student; the more you see, the more humbling it is.” Dr. Raghuraman, Tamil scholar and sought-after resource person feels that, “Theory is the basic foundation for performing arts. Through theory we can understand changes in dance. Periodically so many texts were written during the 5th-14th centuries. When we are not aware, we do not interpret the Samskrt or Tamizh texts properly.”
Unlocking lakshana
Vijay Madhavan, a well-known Bharatanatyam and Melattur Bhagavatamela artiste, a senior student of Chitra Visveswaran and a research fellow with the Ministry of Culture, academician and inventor of Natyagraphy, a technique of documentation of Bharatanatyam, presented a session on ‘Unlocking the Lakshanagranthas.’
He explained a lakshanagrantha as a documented manual for the performing arts, as against ‘lakshyam’ which denotes the ‘performance’. As to their relative ranking, Vijay quoted eminent musicologist Prof. Sambamoorthy who opined that in case of a conflict between a lakshanagrantha and the lakshyam, the lakshanagrantha should be modified or adapted.
There are innumerable lakshanagranthas. They have been classified as per their antiquity: Vedic period to 11th CE - Natyasastra, Abhinavabharati; 12th CE to 16th CE medieval period - Maanasollaasa, Sangitaratnaakara, Nrttaratnaavali, Abhinaya Darpana (there is enough evidence to disprove the 3rd CE dating according to Dr. Vijay) and post 16th CE modern period- Sangitaraja, etc.
According to Dr. Vijay a lakshanagrantha cannot be studied in isolation, since it reflects the cultural, political and religious scenario and aesthetics across time. He quoted Suzanne Youngerman who defined Dance History as a study of anthropology, as dance is in any case a multi-faceted phenomenon.
Vijay briefly outlined some important texts: Natyashastra (2BCE-2CE), known as the ‘fifth veda’ as it is believed to have come from Brahma and believed to have been the first treatise on dramaturgy, may have been 60,000 verses long, not 12,000 as is commonly known. Incidentally only 6,000 verses are available. Bharathamuni, its scribe, was believed to be from Kashmir but Dr. Vijay quotes new theories that suggest he could be from Eastern India.
Abhinavabharathi by Abhinavagupta (10-11th CE) is the oldest commentary available on the Natyasastra. This version of the Natyasastra maybe taken as most reliable, because it pre-dates known manuscripts. Abhinavagupta (Dr. Vijay says that it is just a pen name) validates the Natyasastra sutras, often adding extra dimension as was demonstrated by the speaker. The nrtta hasta, ‘Uromandali’ is explained in the Natyasastra as ‘after circling movements, one hand be raised up…’. Abhinavagupta adds to its visualisation by extending Sanskrit grammar case rules to the noun ‘Ura’ (breast) which will either be ‘from the chest’ movement or ‘at the chest’ depending on the fifth or sixth vibhakti, to indicate where the circling movement of the hands takes place.
The 12th CE Maanasollaasa, written by King Somesvara III, deals with dance as a royal past time in the fourth section, ‘Nrtyavinoda’. It differed from the Natyasastra with reference to the major limb classification, Angas and minor limbs, Upangas. It listed head, shoulders, chest, stomach, two sides and hip, leaving out the hands and feet, and in the upaangas to the Natyashatra list of eyes, eyebrows, nose, lower lip, chin and cheek, teeth and tongue have been added. Pratyangas, minor limbs- arms, wrists, hands, knees, shanks, toes, are not found in the Natyasastra. Another interesting deviation is the description of an unnamed dance form, quite different from the mainstream classical Natyasastra, which was later termed Desi or regional.
The words Nrtta (pure dance) and Natya (theatre) were dealt with in the Natyasastra, but the concept of Nrtya, a combination of nrtta, abhinaya from natya, music and lyrics, believed to have existed but not given a distinct identity in the ancient period, was given a specific name around the 12th CE.
The seminal Sangita-ratnakara by Sarangadeva from the 13th CE medieval period stands out for the clear demarcation of classical Marga and regional Desi styles in music and dance and for the classification of nrtta, natya and nrtya in the Nartana Adhyaya chapter on dance. The text reflected the journey of dance from being a part of theatre to emerging as a separate art-form. Sarangadeva was a Kashmiri like Bharatamuni and Abhinavagupta; he follows the former in his discussion on the four types of abhinaya - angika, vacika, aharya and satvika, and follows the latter in his declaration of navarasas as compared to the former’s count of eight. Sarangadeva lists the qualifications of the Acharya (teacher), the Nata (actor), the Nartaka (dancer), Vaitalika (clown), Carana (multi-dialect to understand desi dances), and Kolatika (acrobat) as well.
According to Dr. Vijay, nrtta hastas had disappeared from usage around the time of the 13th CE Jaya Senapati’s Nrtta Ratnavali. This text is only on dance, describing the co-existing Marga style according to Natyasastra and the regional Desi dance styles, some of which are prevalent even today. Dance had emerged from the dance-drama tradition as a solo art form during that period.
Abhinaya Darpana, which emphasises angika abhinaya, gestures and movements of the hands and feet, used in communicating ideas, refined the original hastas mentioned in the Natyasastra.
Dr. Vijay concluded with a mention of texts post 16th CE such as the Sangitaraja, Sangita Damodara from Bengal, Nartana Nirnaya by Pandarika Vithala and Sangita Saramruta by Tulaja Maharaja, the last son of the Marathas in the 18th CE. The last being the most significant, as it described adavus and sollus that are in use today.
Dance theory, as we know it, is limited to Samkrt texts, the authority being the Natya Sastra (2BCE-2CE). What many of us may not know is the antiquity of Tamizh texts. It is commonly believed that Silappadikaram (1-2 CE) was the first text that referred to dance. But this has been disproved by scholars such as Professor Raghuraman whose book ‘History of Tamizh’s Dance’ presents texts such as Tolkappiam and Koothanool that pre-date Silappadikaram.
Dancer Lakshmi Ramaswamy, disciple of Guru Chitra, and Professor Raghuraman spoke about the contributions of two texts — Tolkappiam and Koothanool. Tolkappiam by Tolkappiar (2BC-2CE) is the earliest available text for Tamizh grammar; it may not be a text on dance, but it is relevant as it analyses interpretation of texts and mentions dance for specific occasions (victorious warriors, ecstatic dance of Velan, dance in front or behind the victorious king’s chariot, men and women dance for wealth, etc).
Lakshmi concentrated on the aspects of interpretation. There are three sections in Tolkappiam — letters, words and subject — each having nine sub-divisions. Classification of Porul (subject matter) into Aham (inside or personal), Puram (outside), Kalavu (before wedding), Karppu (after wedding), Poruliyal (substance), Maipattiyal (body language- bhava), Uvamaviyal (comparison), Sieyuliyal (poetry) and Marabiyal (DNA etc) provides perspective into the text.
Rasa theory
Tolkappiar has discussed rasas and rasa theory. He mentions eight rasas (no Srungara or Veera as in Natya Sastra, though pleasure and pride may be close). Srungara is given separate treatment with six stages of romance, three before marriage and three after marriage. Lakshmi says his Rasa Theory details four stages of occurrence just as modern psychology does: from outside impulse to sense organs to nervous system to reactions on the body. Each rasa has four causatives (vibhava). Tolkappiar details 32 Tunai Meiypadu (sub-rasas that maybe equated to vyabhichari bhavas).
Kooththanool by Saattanaar, believed to be a contemporary of Tolkappiar, begins with reference to Siva’s dance with Uma and Sage Agathiya being asked to write the first text on dance, after which he traces subsequent texts, placing himself in the line of authors on ‘Kooththu’. The text has nine sub-texts, each dealing with different aspects of dance such as rasa, body classification, landscapes and folk dances, music, tala, some of which are available, in full or in part.
The Rasa Theory is dealt with differently, according to Lakshmi, coming as it does from the point of view of qualities of the mind — sattva (calm), rajas (desire-driven activity), tamas (ignorance, inertia), with three arising from each guna, to make the total nine. Kooththanool propagates 48 vyabhichari bhavas (transitory states) as compared to thirty-three in the Natya Sastra. Dr. Lakshmi concluded the theory-driven presentations by saying that such text throws up unusual thoughts, one being that she found ‘veruppu’ (hatred) the strongest rasa in this text, compared to srungara (romantic love) or roudra (anger) in most.