Bharatanatyam, a pre-eminent Indian classical dance form presumably the oldest classical dance heritage of India is regarded as mother of many other Indian classical dance forms. Conventionally a solo dance performed only by women, it initiated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and eventually flourished in South India. Theoretical base of this form traces back to ‘Natya Shastra’, the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts.
The style of dressing of a Bharatanatyam dancer is more or less similar to that of a Tamil Hindu bride. She wears a gorgeous tailor-made sari that consists of a cloth specially stitched in pleats that falls in the front from the waist and when the dancer performs spectacular footwork that include stretching or bending her knees, the cloth widens up like a hand fan. The sari worn in a special manner is well complimented with traditional jewellery that include the ones that adorn her head, nose, ear and neck and vivid face make-up specially highlighting her eyes so that audience can view her expressions properly. Her hair neatly plaited in conventional way is often beautified with flowers. A jewellery belt adorns her waist while musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles. Her feet and fingers are often brightened with henna colour so as to highlight gestures of her hands.
The Bharatnatyam dancer is accompanied by a nattuvanar (or taladhari) that is a vocalist who generally conducts the whole performance, a part often executed by the guru. The person can also play the cymbals or any other instrument. The music associated with Bharatanatyam is in South India’s Carnatic style and instruments played comprise of cymbals, the flute, a long pipe horn called nagaswaram, a drum called mridangam and veena. The verses recited during performance are in Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.
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