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| Bharatam the performing art |
 As we saw earlier, this dance form, known as Sadhir, underwent various changes and reached its present form. With the passing of the bill for rooting out the Devadasi system, it came to be known as Bharata Natyam from 1927 onwards. We will call this dance form as Bharata Natyam from now on. Let’s see how it came to be practised by all strata in the society and its practitioner gained social acceptance and respectability.
Within few years of the passing of the bill for removal of Devadasi system, many women showed keen interest in learning Bharata Natyam, with the yeomen services rendered by doyens like Rukmini Devi. In the 1930s there were considerable number of women from many communities other than Devadasis who came forward to learn Bharatam and dance before an audience. This was a revolutionary change, going by the standards of those days.
The Thanjai Naalvar perfected the manner in which Bharatam is to be performed before an audience, starting with Pushpanjali. (See:
Bharatam - the
metamorphosis) Let’s see in brief the meaning of each term.
Pushpanjali
 It is the beginning of a performance. The danseuse enters the stage with flowers in her hands and worships the presiding deities of all the eight directions as also the sky and the earth. Then she moves to the idol kept on the left side of the stage and worship Him with floral offerings. Usually it is the Nataraja idol performing the cosmic dance that is kept on the stage because He is the presiding deity of Bharata Natya. This Pushpanjali is offered to the Lords of all directions and to the Supreme one, seeking their blessings for the orderly conduct of the programme without hindrance of any kind.
The Pushpanjali is performed to the oral recitation of ‘talam’ or ‘sol kattu’ and would be sung in a specific raga. This is not composed of any words like a sahitya. It would be something like
‘tham dith tham thai dith thai…’
The Pushpanjali would be followed by an invocation, usually a Sloka on Vinayaka or Shiva. The dancer would dance to the singing of the Sloka, bringing out its import with her hand and facial expressions. Many dancers use lyrics on Ganesa, Shiva, Hanuman, Durga etc., in these days. Many start the programme with Ganesa Kautuvam or Navasakthi Kautuvam.
 Some performances begin with the singing of ‘mallaari.’ Mallaari is an item played on the Nadhaswaram. It is played when the deity of a temple is taken out in procession. It is intended primarily to provide timing for those who walk around, carrying the deity on their shoulders, to move in unison. As we mentioned earlier, the Nadhaswaram team, called the ‘periya melam’ would play their instruments before the Lord and the danseuse called the ‘chinna melam’
would dance in consonance with the tune. The palanquin bearers would walk rhythmically, swaying side to side, slightly. (See:
Dance in those
days) Mallaari is played in many temples even in these days, in the mornings and evenings. Unlike Sahitya, Mallaari doesn’t contain any words and are made of what is known as ‘sol kattu.’ It is played in three different paces - fast, medium and slow (not necessarily in that order).
Dancers use Mallaari for stage performances only very recently. This practice came into vogue around ten years back.
Krishangini - Neeraja Nagarajan
Postures by Neeraja Nagarajan
Translated by Hari Krishnan
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