The Bharatanatyam repertoire (margam): Pushpanjali to Thillana
The order of items in a full Bharatanatyam recital is called the margam (path).
- Pushpanjali: offering of flowers; a prayer to God, teacher, musicians and audience.
- Alarippu: the first rhythm piece; only rhythm syllables; opens neck, eyes and body.
- Jatiswaram: pure dance to musical notes (swaras); no words.
- Shabdam: dance with words; the dancer shows the meaning of the song.
- Varnam: the longest and main item; joins nritta (steps) with nritya (story). It is the centre of the recital.
- Padam: a slow, soft song of feeling, often love; strong abhinaya with the face.
- Javali: a short, light love song, faster than a padam.
- Thillana: the happy, fast ending, with pure steps and pretty poses.
Notice the pattern: rhythm without story first, then story and feeling, then pure joy at the end.
Features: costume, music and basic posture
Costume: a bright silk sari stitched in pleats that open like a fan when the knees bend, a belt, jewellery, flowers in the hair, red colour on hands and feet, and ankle bells (ghungroo).
Music: Carnatic music. The nattuvanar (teacher) keeps time with small cymbals and calls the rhythm syllables. Others are a singer, mridangam (drum), violin or flute, and sometimes a veena.
Basic posture: the aramandi (half-sit): back straight, knees bent and turned outwards, heels together, weight even on both feet. All steps (adavus) start from it.
Manipuri repertoire: Ras Leelas, abhisar and nartan
Manipuri dance comes from Manipur. Its main item is the Ras Leela: Krishna, Radha and the gopis dance in soft circles. There are different Ras Leelas for different seasons and stories.
Two main scenes are abhisar (Radha goes out to meet Krishna) and nartan (the joyful dance of the two together).
Pung Cholom and Kartal Cholom
Pung Cholom is a drum dance. Men play the pung (a two-faced drum) and leap, turn and sway while playing. Kartal Cholom is the dance with cymbals (kartal), clapped in time with the beat. Both come from the Sankirtana tradition of Manipur.
Lasya and tandava; footwork; whole-body abhinaya
Lasya means soft, graceful dance; tandava means strong, bold dance. Manipuri has both: Ras Leela is mostly lasya, Pung Cholom is tandava.
Footwork is gentle and gliding; feet touch the floor softly, knees bend a little, and movements are round and flowing instead of sharp.
Abhinaya in Manipuri uses the whole body: the face is calm, and feeling is shown by the arms, hands, bending of the body and the walking, and the dancer sings little by little with the group. The costume has a stiff barrel-shaped skirt (kumil) with a light veil for the girls, and a dhoti with a crown with peacock feather for Krishna.
Key formulas and definitions
- Margam order: Pushpanjali → Alarippu → Jatiswaram → Shabdam → Varnam → Padam → Javali → Thillana
- Aramandi = half-sit posture with knees turned out
- Nattuvanar = teacher who keeps time with cymbals
- Manipuri: Ras Leela, Pung Cholom (drum), Kartal Cholom (cymbals), lasya and tandava
Worked examples
1. Arrange: thillana, varnam, alarippu, padam.
Alarippu → varnam → padam → thillana.
2. Which items have no story or words, only steps and rhythm?
Alarippu (rhythm syllables) and jatiswaram (notes). Thillana is mostly pure dance too.
3. Why is varnam placed in the middle of the recital?
It is the longest and hardest item, joining steps with story. The dancer is warm by then, so it comes after the warm-up items and before the lighter ones.
4. A group of men play drums while leaping and turning. Which Manipuri item is this and is it lasya or tandava?
Pung Cholom. It is strong, so it is tandava.
Common mistakes
- Mixing the order of padam and varnam. Varnam comes first; the padam is after it.
- Saying Bharatanatyam music is Hindustani. It is Carnatic.
- Thinking the aramandi is a full squat. It is a half-sit with the back straight.
- Saying Manipuri uses ghungroo and sharp steps like Bharatanatyam. Manipuri is soft and gliding.