Bharatanatyam -- Form or Content

Bharatanatyam - Form or Content ?
The compositions of the Bharatnatyam Margam bring out the essence of this style. While compositions like Alaripu , jatiswaram , Tillana ; Jatis and swaram-s of the Varnam express the Nritta , Varnam , Sabdam and Kautvam express the Nritya ; and Padam-s and Javali-s just focu s on the Abhinaya.
The form and the content are explored in its entirety in th this Margam. So all of us would obviously choose Form and Content in its balanced state for presentation. However the treatment and approach of exploring the form and content varies . It is this element of subjectivity which some performers and connoisseurs accept and some refuse to accept as they would like it to be more objective. Just like popular genre , universality has been one of the leading key guides to decide the trend in the changing degrees of Nritta , nritya and Abhinaya . This trend comes into existence , when an artiste tries to introduce or interpret some aspect of Nritta , Nritya or Abhinaya and it gets appreciated and invisibly or visibly followed by other artistes in their performances and some of these introductions or interpretations are rejected as well.
Form or Content , Form and content
In the recent years, the constant refrain of all the critics and Guru-s is , why does one need such long Jathi-s , as the focus of the varnam is the content of the varnam . Ultimately people end up remembering technique which is the foci of the Jathi-s?
One very obvious reason could be the dancer doesn't have the capacity to do Abhinaya and explore the layers of the text on different levels and has better Nrtta skills . But we have also seen dancers with very good capacity of Abhinaya choosing the longer jathi route.
At this point I take the help of an anecdote. I remembered what my 17 year old student commented when I was teaching a varnam to her . She had learnt 3 Nayika based varnams earlier , and she was learning the fourth. She remarked " How submissive is this woman , she totally lacks dignity . This whole "female atma male parmatma " theory is quite a smart excuse to keep on doing these varnam-s showing weak women " This particular answer for me became a perfect key to why longer jathi-s might have become a preferred choice over shorter jathi-s . Somewhere the dancers subconsciously cannot relate to the atma parmatma mysticism which translates into the craving Nayika for the omnipresent Nāyaka, I feel the long jathi-s become a power tool to show a radical contrast , the contemporary rational Bharatanatyam dancer and the highly romanticized craving Nayika. However, this is my interpretation and definitely not a proven theory.
Another reason which I feel could be the interdisciplinary exchange which has increased over the years in the performing arts arena. The mridangists are becoming nattuvanars , the performers are collaborating with percussionist to assit them with special rhythmic patterns which stand out in the varnam or other compositions with Nritta passages. This has led to dancers exploring some interesting choreographic choices of the body in the space in the context of rhythm . Another important pointer to longer jathis is that the audience too claps vociferously at the end of every jathi signifying the fact that they are comfortable with the abstract interpretation of the jathis . So the longer jathi-s break the typical traditional interpretation of a varnam , this is nothing but evolution . A style which has transitioned itself from a temple art form to the proscenium. It signifies a conscious thought on the form and the manner in which the form can be presented on the stage . Even the society and media contribute in sensiting about the form of the body and its final depiction on stage. I feel the contemporary Bharatanatyam, is the era of the form . That doesn't mean the content has been denied its fair share. But definitely what can visually please , enrich and enthrall comes as a first choice and definitely not an easy one. There are other reasons too-- the burgeoning cosmopolitan culture developing in the urban scenario , where the diversity of languages is not a preferred situation. Therefore working on the form or presenting compositions with the form as a central piece becomes a preferred choice.
When it comes to the content, Artistes have created their own narrative structure which need not be a typical margam and that has been appreciated by members of all sections – critics , artistes and the audience. In a style like Bharatanatyam which is Natyadharmi yet not so natyadharmi as Kathakali , where the language of gestures are symbolic and suggestive , narratives become an inevitability but definitely not obligatory. Some dancers are of the view that Bharatanatyam cannot be moulded into any contemporary or abstract theme or music . My answer has been the inherent Natyadharmi nature of Bharatanatyam and the fact that this style has a very strong spiritual and religious sanctum sanctorum , which is why it is a challenge to break the form for "contemporary" needs. A style which has a temple upbringing for around four centuries , cannot be broken to suit the needs of the contemporary viewers. But looking at the other side the Natyadharmi ,it offers a rich palate to the dancers to explore myriad narratives in multifaceted ways. This boon of Natyadharmi linked to the strong narrative capacity is another reason that solo performances were ,are and will always be a very strong culture of the Bharatanatyam form and content . It is interesting to note that it is this very Natyadharmi nature of Bharatanatyam which is leading to many dancers creating their own contemporary narratives thus adding a totally new dimension to thecontent and the form of Bharatanatyam . This is also resulting in novel ways of exploring abstraction in Bharatanatyam.
Ritualism and Creativity
During the pre-80's era of Bharatanatyam , it was still looked up as a temple art form , therefore the whole inclination was towards conserving the tradition than indiviudal , aesthetic , logical thought behind each and every aspect of the form and content. To cite an example the practice of performing one line on the right and the other on the left in interpreting the pallavi and anupallavi sahitya in a varnam has been passed on from generations to generations in mostly all the bani-s. If we look at the proscenium theatre , this kind of performance practice looks misplaced which actually is suitable to the temple architecture since the dancer would address the devotees on the right and the left with the idol facing the front. However the choice of continuing certain traditional choreographic elements sans logic entirely rests on the shoulders of the artistes and the Guru-s.
Ritualism was and still to some extent is a very strong part of the Margam . To cite an example a complete Margam has now been squeezed into a 75 minute capsule . The compositions like sabdams , jathiswaram-s are rarely preferred but very few choose to replace the varnam which still is the centre piece . Ritualism is a thoughtful practice resulting from knowledge streamlined from several generations, it certainly brings discipline and the intention is to do away with mediocrity, but every artiste or Guru needs to apply his or her discerning power to avoid ritualism becoming synonymous to rigidity. I think all of us as artistes are constantly struggling . There is one side which is the mammoth called tradition , and there is the other side which is the eternally burning flame called creativity . For some these two merge together for me they are at times together and at other times they become individual entities .Our choices and decisions with regards to the form and content of Bharatanatyam , and our judgements about an artiste , composition or a choreography are constantly juggling between these two pillars – tradition and creativity.
It is not surprising that Bharatanatyam is being utilized by each dancer in different ways when it comes to the approach and treatment .Yet it communicates what the dancer needs to and what the rasikas relish.
Some dancers have chosen a combination of theatre and Bharatanatyam , some have made Bharatanatyam theatrical , some have chosen the language and the music of that particular region where they reside to experience Bharatanatyam , some have chosen a combination of Bharatnatyam and contemporary thought and some have conformed to the traditional mould. To put in a nutshell , some like to use it as a language with other structures , and the others are engaged in playing and experimenting within the grammar of that language . This is another reason why I feel Bharatanatyam has not limited itself to mythology only, but narratives are definitely and will always be an inseparable part of the content , the reason being its strong Natyadharmi nature derived from the inherent symbolism of the language of gestures.
To each his own.
Indian art and culture has never been talibanistic about itself and Bharatanatyam is as liberal and as ritualistic it can get.