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Bharat Natyam – Sixth Year Guru/Teacher: Bina Master Page 1 of 4

Varnam

Varnam is the most important item in Bharatnatyam. It tests the skill of the dancer. Varnam literally means colors. It is a joyous combination of all the three components of dance namely Nritta. Nrityal, and Natya. Varnam is dedicated to either Gods or Kings. In this importance is given to sringara rasa. A versatile dancer’s favourite dance is Varnam. With experince and practise Varnam gives brighter colors. Varnam is bascially divided into two parts. First deals with pallavi, Anupallavi, Chittaswaram and Sahityam based on swarams. The beginning of Varnam is with Mukkal tirumaanam and their abhinays is shown based on the sahityam. Whenever there is tirumaanam or swaram there is Nritta and whenever there is padam there is Nritya. Them of Varanams are usually viraha. Wherein the nayika is waiting for the beloved. Philosophically it is the longing of the Jeevatma to meet the Paramatma. In Varnam one sees Talalsanchari, Bjavasancahri and Ragasancahri. In olden times Varnams were danced for one and half hours to two hours but now it is reduced to 25-30 minutes.

Contents of a Varnam

The varnam is subdivided into several sections: 1. Pallavi: The first section of the Varnam, sung with lyrics or

sahithyam. 2. Anupallavi: A sort of recapitulation, sung with lyrics or sahithyam

also. 3. Mukthaayi Swaram: Sung completely with syllables—or swaras --

(like sa ri ga ma pa dha ni saa). In Pada Varnas it is known as Mukthaayi Swaram-Sahithyam.

4. Charanam: Sung with lyrics 5. Chittai Swarams: Sung completely with syllables. In a Pada

varnam, there are lyrics which correspond to the Charanam swaras. The swaras occur in several groups or stanzas.

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Generally, a varnam is sung as follows: • Pallavi • Anupallavi • Muktayi Swaram • Pallavi (in double speed) Repeat, then Pallavi sung in triple speed, or in original speed. • Charanam • Charanam Swara Group 1 • Charanam • Charanam Swara Group 2 • Charanam • Charanam Swara Group 3 • Charanam • Charanam Swara Group 4 • Charanam There are generally 3–5 swara groups in every varnam. In a concert, the entire charanam section is sung at approximately 1.5 speed. Sometimes when repeating the Pallavi the Annupallavi and Muktayi Swarams are repeated in double or triple speed. Varnams are generally sung in two varieties of talas, or metric systems, Adi Tala (8 beat cycle) and Ata Tala (14 beat cycle), where Ata Tala varnams are generally more complicated and advanced. In most of the Adi Tala Varnams the tala is placed in the 2 kalai version. So therefore each beat and finger count is placed twice.

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Arangetam

Arangetram is a tamil word.Aranga meaning raised floor and Etram meaning climbing in Tamil,one of the south indian languages. It is also called Rangapravesha in Kannada, another south indian language, Ranga meaning Stage and Pravesha meaning Enter. Ideally this should be the first public performance of an artist. After learning bharatanatyam under the guidance of an accomplished guru, this is the occation for the proud guru to present his/her deciple to the public. This is the testing time for both the guru & the shishya(deciple) as the guru's knowledge & the deciple's talent both are judged by the public. Hence, the guru will decide when the deciple is ready for public appearence. Atleast 10 - 12 years of training is necessary to give a comendable performance. This arangetram was known as Gejjepooje in old mysore district, meaning worshiping the jingles in kannada, a south indian language.For a dancer, jingles are considered devine. In olden days, deciples were not allowed to wear jingles till their first public performance. In their first performance, they were made to worship the jingles, wear them & then perform. Accompaniments play a major role in the making of a memorable dance performance.Basic accompaniments are a Singer, Mridangam player, Violin player and ofcource the Natuvanga. Veena,Flute and other instruments are optional. These people sit in the corner of a stage or in a place in front of the stage which will be in a lower level than that of the stage. The artist will wear lot of jewellery, make-up and a specially stitched dress. Jingles are a must. Usually duration of an arangetram will be 2 1/2 - 3 hours. To perform for such long hours one must have good stamina and concentration. This time is divided into two halves.

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In the first half the artists generally perform 1. Pushpanjali and Allarippu 2. Jatishwara 3. Shabdam 4. Varanam

In the second half

5. Keertanam 6. Padam 7. Ashtapadi or Devaranama 8. Tillana 9. Mahgalam