Bharatanatyam in History

meena · Post by **meena** » 19 Jul 2006, 03:05

Nice writeup by sree TS Parthasarathy:
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rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 19 Jul 2006, 06:28

Nice article Meena!
The nATya vEda referred by TSP was the fifth vEda: vAk or speech from rig, gAnam from sAma, abhinaya from yajur, and rasa from atarva vEda was put together by brahmA to create the fifth vEda which could be practiced by all men and women (unlike the first 4 which could be practiced only the 'twice-born' men). The practioner of the nATya vEda was called naTa/naTI - he/she was adept at acting, singing and dancing. The first performance of nATya was supposed to have been 'kshIra sAgara manthanam'. Over time, the naTA/naTI specialized and became experts in 'only' singing, or 'only' dancing, or 'only' acting, and the current system of musicians, dancers and actors evolved. yakshgAna/bayalATTa and the traditional 'bhAmA kalApam' are some examples of speech/singing and dancing being woven together by the performers...unlike the now traditional arrangement of musicians singing for the dancer...
TSP indicates that Balasaraswati was the first to dance to someone else's singing (he mother's), but when Mrs. Nirmala Ramachandran talks about 'bAlA', one of the things she mentions are the mikes that used to be strung from top for her dance at the academy so that she (Balasaraswati) could be heard singing as she danced! I don't think she sang entire songs, or for all of the items in her mArgam, but I think she definitely could, and did sing as divinely as she danced.

Comments welcome!

Ravi

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 19 Jul 2006, 10:22

she (Balasaraswati) could be heard singing as she danced! I don't think she sang entire songs, or for all of the items in her mArgam, but I think she definitely could, and did sing as divinely as she danced

Ravi
you wont have to leave anything to imagination .We were saved by recording technology at the right time.

http://rapidshare.de/files/26249129/03- ... m.mp3.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/26249988/01- ... a.mp3.html

there are a few lines in Mayamalavgowla alapana , where i could feel myself touching the clouds.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 19 Jul 2006, 17:04

THANKS...THANKS...THANKS....mere thanks seem inadequate!
In your akshayapAtram, do you have recordings of RDA singing?

Ravi

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 19 Jul 2006, 20:11

who is RDA ??

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 19 Jul 2006, 20:22

who is RDA ??

Rukmini Devi Arundale

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 20 Jul 2006, 00:16

Ravi
you wont have to leave anything to imagination .We were saved by recording technology at the right time.
http://rapidshare.de/files/26249129/03- ... m.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/26249988/01- ... a.mp3.html
there are a few lines in Mayamalavgowla alapana , where i could feel myself touching the clouds.

Kulkarni sa'ab,
The samples that you posted should serve as a reminder to all of us that Smt. Balasaraswati remains to date, not just the third woman, but AFAIK, the ONLY dancer to be honored with the sangIta kalAnidhI title from the MMA (not nATya kalAnidhI, but sangIta kalAnidhI - but, for her, dance was just an extension of the music, so it was very apt).
Ponayya Pillai was also honored with the SK, but he was a naTTuvanAr, composer, singer and teacher and not a dancer.

Ravi

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 20 Jul 2006, 07:44

Time for the full concert , I guess

as i prepare myself , keep listening to some glorious Bharatanatyam singing by Higgin's disciples..
Three great ragas ..and a feeling of limitless possibilities..

I specially love the moments when they glide from one raga to another -they give me goosebumps..

http://rapidshare.de/files/26352621/bha ... s.mp3.html

No wonder I always find the dancer a distraction in a dance recital

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 21 Jul 2006, 01:43

Here is a dance number by Balasaraswathi.

http://rapidshare.de/files/26445874/01- ... c.mp3.html

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 21 Jul 2006, 06:06

Thanks...

Sounds like a padavarNam ...
Ravi

Umesh · Post by **Umesh** » 21 Jul 2006, 10:20

I think it is 'samiyai azhaittuvadi sakhiye endan' in khamas of Ponnayya (or Ponnayya Pillai? there is always some confusion), in praise of Lord Sundareshwarar, but the words don't match another recording I have.

There are some great recordings from Balasaraswathi's troupe online. I don't have the link right now but I believe I posted it in the Swathi Thirunal thread in the Vag. section. Keep changing the track numbers in the link and you'll get some great listening pleasure! I believe Ganeshan nattuvannar has sung most of it.

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 21 Jul 2006, 20:59

When TB got her SK, during the regular evening performance she sang a little bit. In addition to there was also a demonstartion during one of the morning sessions when she sang and simeltaneously performed abhinayam. Over this entire session she must have sung for about 30 to 45 mins. I felt that, if she had chosen to be a singer, she would easily have been the no.1 female singer of the period.

Suddudu in his review wrote that during the "season" two persons had sung while performing abhinaya( pAdikondE abhinayam pidiththArgaL). One was Balasaraswathi and the other was M.D.Ramanathan. ( People who had attended MDR's concerts will remember his actions matching the sahithya. For instance during his normal marathon mangalam, while singing "A samyamuni thyagaraja" he would point his index finger behind him so as to indicte 'then'. ) I think for both TB and MDR it was part of their artisitic creative expression and neither the rasikas nor the artistes took this seriously. But the comment has stuck to my mind.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 21 Jul 2006, 22:49

Thanks kaapi for that recollection.

TB was unique in all respects. I am glad her tradition is preserved and being taught!

I thought (was also being told) that Subbudu's devastating comments while on TB is complimentary, the one on MDR was a backhanded one. The one that you refer to perhaps was jocularly the invitation to the need for a nature's call

(according to Subbudu)

raghu26 · Post by **raghu26** » 24 Jan 2008, 12:05

coolkarni wrote:
she (Balasaraswati) could be heard singing as she danced! I don't think she sang entire songs, or for all of the items in her mArgam, but I think she definitely could, and did sing as divinely as she danced
Ravi
you wont have to leave anything to imagination .We were saved by recording technology at the right time.

http://rapidshare.de/files/26249129/03- ... m.mp3.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/26249988/01- ... a.mp3.html

there are a few lines in Mayamalavgowla alapana , where i could feel myself touching the clouds.

HI,
Could you please repost the mp3 files. since I am very much interested in listeening to them. Now that uploding files is upto 10MB if it is below it could you send it to my email id ymr26@yahoo.com??
Thanks in advance.
Raghu

anjali · Post by **anjali** » 25 Jan 2008, 09:47

Hey, the rapidshare links are not accessible to me. Am I doing anything wrong. Its giving a message "File not found".

nigamaa · Post by **nigamaa** » 25 Jan 2008, 15:03

anjali,

these links get usually dead or broke
since the content often has a copyright
and the owner of that right asks them to be removed

sorry for that sad situation
I suffer with you

yesterday utube seemed to have stopped to support some downloading programs and I get message: file not available or I give a link to slur in SL
and it appears that the content of the page is empty or lost after a few days and it looks silly?

knandago2001 · Post by **knandago2001** » 16 Mar 2008, 19:55

Our heritage
http://www.tanjorequartet.org/tanjorequ ... uartet.htm

Dance as ritual worship
http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9812/98120480.htm