Indian Classical dance or ShastriyaNritya is an umbrella term for various performance arts rooted in religious Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text NatyaShastra. These dances are traditionally regional, all of them include music or recitation in local language or Sanskrit and they represent a unity of […]
The Hindustani and the Carnatic Tala Systems form the backbone of Indian music and dance. They are well developed, intricate systems using different kinds of beats in various mathematical metric cycles during performances of dance, music or other musical instruments. Although the comparison between these two systems can be quite elaborate, we have tried to […]
The heritage of dancing in India is at least 5000 years old. Since prehistoric times dance had been a mode of expression. Through ages, dance has been used as a vehicle of worship and manifestation. Dance has been an indispensable element of the ancient Indian society. Hindu mythologies associate many deities with this art form. […]
Although the Karanas are a series of body movements (as opposed to the popular notion that they are mere poses or adavus) and have to be performed in accordance to the interpretation of their Sanskrit texts, they all derive their names from a single source which gives each Karana its unique name. Hence, each Karana […]
In the Indian classical dance tradition, hand gestures or mudras are widely used to convey everything from emotions to objects to happenings to living beings to situations. Mudras are used skillfully with facial expressions, poses and dynamic movements to convey stories in Bharatnatyam. As we had written earlier there are two kinds of hand gestures, […]
Touch, to me, has always meant love, compassion and support. It reminds me of my mother, who was and is, a constant in my life. It means friendship, it means easing away pain and sorrows. The greatest healer in life can sometimes be just the human touch. Touch is a symbol of an unbreakable bond […]
It’s the first week of September, with two significant days for me personally, the birthday of Smt Vijayalakshmi Krishnan, my Guru for Carnatic music and of course the Teacher’s Day. So, today’s blog is dedicated to Smt Vijayalakshmi Krishnan, the Guru who inspired me and scores of others to take up Carnatic vocals. Kind and […]
Anga of Rupaka Talam with Talalipi of all Jatis The Rupaka Talam of the South Indian Tala System has only 2 angas- the Dhrutam which has 2 beats (symbolised by a 0) and a laghu which has variable beats according to the jati (symbolised by l). Hence in talalipi, the symbol of Rupaka talam is […]
In Bharatnatyam dance endless stories are depicted through pure dance and emoting by male and female characters. The male lead is the Nayak or the hero who can have various shades to his character. Nayika, the female lead, is also presented in her many moods and hues. Before we go into the details of Nayak […]
Tala means cyclic rhythms of beats. According to some scholars, it is derived from ‘ta’ (referring to Shiva’s Tandava aspect) and ‘la’ (referring to Pallavi Lasya). The union of these two or of the right and left hands produce tala. The smallest unit measured in tala is one akshara kala. There are mainly three angas […]