Bharatha Natyam, a bridge between communities

By R.S. Karunaratne

Subashini Pathmanatan started her dance career at the age of two and a half. Her maiden performance was at the age of four. From then on she has been continuing her dance career and is one of the outstanding Sri Lankan born internationally famed Bharatha Natyam dancers. She is one of the few dancers who have dedicated their whole life to dance. In an interview with Montage she comments on some of the key elements of dance.

Excerpts

Question: How do you do two different careers at the same time?

Answer: My father was my guru and mentor in my life. He passed away in 2008. It took me a long time to recover from that shock. With the passage of time, I decided that it is my duty to fulfil all his desires and expectations.

Due to the prevailing situation in the North my father sent us to India at a very young age to continue our education and dance career.

From my school days I started contributing articles to newspapers as a hobby. My father encouraged me to read books, magazines and newspapers. That laid the foundation to my writing career. Writing is my hobby.

In 1991 I won the Esmond Wickremesinghe Award for Journalism.

When we were small he put up a children's library at home. This encouraged me to read books. I started writing to newspapers at the age of eight. Since 1983 I have been contributing to local newspapers and foreign journals regularly. I have written hundreds of articles and ten books.

Q: Who encouraged you to become a dancer?

A: It was my mother who encouraged me to study dance at the age of two and a half. She is a flutist. She played the flute for all my programs till my father's demise. She is also a poet and creative artist. She took me to the world-renowned Bharatha Natyam maestro, the late Padmasri Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai, at the Vazhvoorar Classical Bharatha Natya Centre, Mylapore, Chennai. The Vazhuvoor style in Bharatha Natyam is a rare style. At present I am the only one practising this style in Bharatha Natyam in Sri Lanka.

All the outstanding dancers in the world are his students. Some of them are Kamala Lakshmanan, Lalitha, Padmini, Rahini, Vijayanthimala Bali and Dr. Padma Subramanium.

I was his last student. He gave me a vigorous training under his strict discipline. Such traditional Gurus are not available for the present generation of students. Their training methodology is entirely different from that of others. They imparted the nuances of the art form, music and philosophy. I did two Master's degrees in two different fields and two diplomas in Bharatha Natyam.

He was an exceptional teacher who hailed from a traditional Nattuvanar family. He choreographed more than 300 dances for the Tamil and Telugu cinema from 1950 to 1970. At present I am reading for a PhD in dance.

Different styles

Q: What are the different styles in Bharatha Natyam?

A: Bharatha Natyam is unique but its styles are reflected in Adavus. Adavus (steps) are common in all the dance forms, but in Bharatha Natyam the way of execution of methodology of Adavus is the chief cause for the style differences. The slight variations are mainly due to the different approaches of teachers.

Q: What is the uniqueness in Vazhuvoor style Bharatha Natyam?

A: Vazhuvoor style is still preserved by the traditional Nattuvanar family. Another is the Pandanallur style. It has moved to institutions. As a result it has preserved the pristine purity and the grace of the art. It gives more priority to the execution of facial expression, Bhava and Rasas.

I did my studies at the Government College for Women Chandigarh, one of the most popular colleges in Chandigarh which is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. I also did a postgraduate degree at the Punjab University. I did Political Science because at that time my only aim was to be a lawyer. I came back to Sri Lanka to pursue a legal career, because my great grandfather, my grandfather and father were lawyers practising in Anuradhapura. But in 1977 my father was forced to leave Anuradhapura due to the prevailing situation.

Legal career

I came to Sri Lanka in 1991 to pursue a legal career. However, circumstances did not permit me to become a lawyer. So, I became a dancer.

It was during that time that I started developing my writing skills, I wrote on dance, history, traditional arts including painting, sculpture and culture.

Q: How do you feel about the dance today, mainly the differences between the present and the past generation?

A: Earlier those who were interested in dance only learnt under reputed teachers. They took a lot of pains and mastered the art without expecting any paper qualifications. Earlier there were a very few teachers. But today there are numerous institutions to teach dance. They have commercialised the teaching of dance.

Most of the dance teachers do not maintain the standards today. Even students seek paper qualifications, awards and rewards. Some dance for exercise. Then there are students who follow dance courses, under parental pressure.

Challenges

Q: What are the challenges of the present traditional dance teachers?

A: Most of the yesteryear dancers are the present dance teachers of Sri Lanka. They give up their performing career when they grow old.

This is the main reason for the failure of Sri Lanka to produce professional Bharatha Natyam dancers.

Q: What is the marked difference in the earlier training and the present teaching methodology?

A: Earlier traditional Gurus maintained the Gurukula tradition. They imparted the knowledge in a vigorous manner.

They were not worried about examinations or certificates. The students were also a disciplined lot. The Gurus wanted the students to master the art with devotion.

Today students are burdened with numerous extracurricular activities. As a result they do not follow classes regularly.

The majority of students live in apartments, where they cannot practise what they learn.

Standards

As a result teachers find it difficult to maintain standards. However, students and their parents want to have a grand Arangetram.

For middle class parents and children Arengetram remains the only dream.

Q: Bharatha Natyam is a Hindu and Tamil art. How do you feel that other communities in this country appreciate this art form?

A: Sinhalese students outnumber Tamils in Bharatha Natyam classes. They learn with great enthusiasm, devotion and dedication. Dance serves as a bridge between the two major communities.

But due to the lack of language proficiency, and religious barriers some of the students find it difficult to master the finer points of Bharatha Natyam.