Tillana: It is the concluding piece of any bharatnatyam recital and is purely a nritta number ending with a short line of Sahityam. In terms of movements, Tillanas have designs in space along straight lines, diagonals, triangles and rectangles. The outstretched arm positions, leg extensions, bhramaris, the pirouettes etc give the tillanas a certain dynamic quality. The […]
By definition, tillana is a musical composition used profusely in bharatnatyam. The pallavi and anupallavi use only solkattu and occasionally swaras. At the end, there is usually a short charanam in praise of a king or God. It is generally performed towards the end of a recital. It is the concluding piece of any bharatnatyam […]
Although bharata himself makes no direct reference to lasya in the natya shastra, the term lasya, in the context of Hindu mythology, describes an extremely feminine, graceful and fluid type of dance, generally with shringara as the dominant rasa, that the goddess Parvati performed. It was as a response to the male energy of the cosmic […]
Angiga Abhinaya is shown by the body and the use of the limbs. It can be further classified into three categories, namely, the anga, the Upanga and the pratyanga. Anga – The angas include the following six parts of the body, head, hands, chest, sides (flanks), waist (hips) and feet. Some scholars include the neck also […]
Jatiswaram is an example of a pure dance or nritta sequence in which the performer weaves several patterns on a basic musical composition. Just like its name, it is executed to the tune of a combination of swara passages in a particular raga and tala. It is so named on account of the fact that it is […]
In Bharatnatyam, like in any other classical dance form, there is a close relationship between rasa and bhava. In simple words, bhava is the sentiment and rasa is the emotion or love, which it develops into. “Anubhavyate anen vagang krotobhinaya iti”: This shloka by Bharata simply defines the bhava as the constant state of mind […]
Long acknowledged as a social skill, required for success in any field of life, being people smart was for the first time regarded as intelligence by Gardener in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. It basically involves understanding how to communicate, collaborate with and understand people. Interpersonal intelligence is primarily the ability to understand and interact […]
Spatial intelligence encompasses visual perception of the environment, the ability to create and manipulate mental images and presentation of body in space. Visuo-spatial intelligence forms the very basis of reading and writing including a strong sense of laterality, closure, sequencing, memory and observing the many dimensions existing within space and time. This intelligence relies on the […]
Traditionally music was considered an art and being good at it was considered talent. Though, it was never given any importance in evaluating or assessing intelligence, music has been used from ancient times as an effective tool of learning. Most of the scriptures or shlokas in Sanskrit are read aloud in a certain rhythm. Seminaries, whether […]
At times also referred as scientific thinking, logical or mathematical intelligence involves inductive and deductive thinking and reasoning. It deals with numbers and computing skills, recognizing patters and relationships, timelines and order, proficient use of abstract patterns. This ability to solve problems through logic is backed up by reasoning and calculating. So we can easily […]