Dances of India.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKAin Tamil. The Tiraisilai (the hand-heldcurtain) is used in all these forms tointroduce major characters. Except theKoodiattam, all these other theatre formsare enacted only by male artistes.14DANCES OF INDIABharata’s tradition. Hence, like a livinglanguage, the performing arts of India havealso been undergoing changes constantly.This does not mean that they ever losttheir roots at any point of time.Bharata’s Natya is so comprehensive thatits elements are invariably met with in ascattered manner, even in the remotestcorners of our country. Its compendiousnature is a testimony to the unparalleledartistic and intellectual synthesis of ancientIndian theatre. With the help of this Sastra,we are able to analyse and appreciate anytheatrical form of the world. It is amazinghow this art had been fully developed in allthe possible aspects, even at a period whensome parts of the world were still sleepingin the cradle of civilisation. The unlimitedscope it offers for creativity, in spite ofrecording even the minutest detail of theart of action and acting, speaks for theunending variety of interpretation, thatgenerations of artistes have been able toconceive for the same rules.The general impression of some scholarsthat Indian theatre offers no scope forcreativity and imagination is actuallybaseless. The Natya- sastra and othertexts are like grammar and the artistes whohandle them are like poets. The freedomwhich poets have within the frame-workof the rules of grammar and prosody, iscertainly enjoyed by the actors anddancers. The terms Margi and Desi in bothmusic and dance signified the older andnewer forms. As centuries passed, thespontaneous creativity of the artistes ofvarious regions were also codified underthe name of ‘Desi’; ‘Margi’ signifiedThe Indian artiste finds audience of thelevel of appreciation which is equal to herown mental calibre. After all, Natya is saidto yield all the fruits of life-Dharma, Artha,Kama and Moksha. Hence the artistes havebeen and are still serving as poets, usingthe rules laid down in the Sastras to createtheir own worlds of art.Bharata’s Natya has its deep roots in everypart of our country. It has also spread itsprinciples at all the levels of appreciation.Natya is an imitation of the three worldsand hence all types of characters areincluded in it. It has always had theresponsibility and capacity to satisfy peopleof various tastes. In spite of laying thequalities of even an ideal spectator,Bharata says that the inferior and commonpersons in an assembly which consists ofthe superior, the middling and the inferiormembers, cannot be expected toappreciate the performance of the superiorones. And hence an individual to whom aparticular dress, profession, speech andan act belong as his own, should beconsidered fit for appreciating the same.That is why we need Sahrdaya (audienceof equal mental calibre) to make theperformance of Natya a real success. Aswater finds its own level, Natya too findsits own audience at various planes ofhuman perception.