Role of Bandish in Dance: Special features of Bandish with reference to BharataNatyam

At the outset before turning to the focus of this session, "Role of Bandish in Dance" in general and the subject of this paper "Special features of Bandish with reference to Bharata Natyam" in particular I would like to delve a little on the subject of Bandish as a concept. Technically Bandish is a preconceived, definite musical structure. dogmatically Art is ethereal and Music is illusive, but Bandish makes it perceivable. To my mind music is like unfathomable flow of a river and Bandish is like a clasp of hands which can actually hold it when one wants to quench one's thrust. In a broader sense of the term, isn't Raag itself a Bandish? Being a very broad and deep musical structure Raag itself has the capacity to create and sustain myriad structures having definite purpose, including that of generating definite emotions.

Though Raag literally means emotion, we do know that ideally Raag itself does not show any particular emotion. It is the Bandish which adds a colour of a particular emotion to it, and an able musician-composer can create Bandish-s which have the capacity to paint two totally different emotional colours in the same Raag. The different structures of Bandish-s like Bada Khayal, Chota Khayal, Tarana in Hindustai music and Kriti, Raagam-Tanam-Pallavi, Padam and Tillana in Carnatic music can further dilute, intensify or create different shades of this colour. Just as Bandish paints different colours it also creates different visuals i.e. linear structures. In pure music, i.e. in Alap and Sargam singing, they are
abstract while in poetic Bandish they are absolute. In a way an expressive vocalist musician, with his natural reactionary gestures of hands seems to be giving visual to these musical structures. The different manners in which the classical vocalists make a variety of flowing hand gestures while they sing has always been a matter of interesting study for me.

Indian dancer gives these musical reactions a further larger graceful form by using a coordinated total body movement and further invests theatrical sense into it by using poetic word element as a seed making it grow through her stylized hand gestures and the whole body language. Nandikeshwara's Abhinayadarpan [a 12th century Sanskrit text] aptly defines the technique of dance as "Angen Alambayet Geetam Hasten Artham Pradarshayet,Chakshurbhyam Darshayet Bhavam Padabhyam Taalamacharet"=the whole body should sing the song, the handgestures should convey the meaning of the words, the eyes should pour out the emotions while the feet are sounding the rhythm. Indeed this is the concept of visual music in dance.

If one understands this very special all-inclusive, intrinsic, internal relationship of performing arts one would agree with Sharangadeva that "Geetam Vadyam Nrityam Trayam Sangeetam Uchyate" I have experienced this eternal relationship not only in our own 'Sangeet' but also in Western classical music and Ballet. In fact the more ably and prominently it is expressed in one's own medium of art, higher the level of artistic
expression it reaches.

In short, the concept and commodity of Bandish i.e. Prabandha according to Sanskrit texts, Rachana or composition in general and Samrachana or choreography in dance is an all-important universal concept common to all artistic expression. It transforms idea into artistic reality for the Rasika-connoisseur to relish. In other words, I wish to stress that Bandish is importantly a concept which transforms Kalaanubhava - a mere artistic experience into Kalaanubhuti - an ontological, spiritual aesthetic experience.

With this discussion as a base, I would now like to turn to my subject "the special features of compositions in Bharata Natyam".

Bharata Natyam traditionally belongs to South India and is synonymous with Carnatic or South Indian music. The format of all the present day Carnatic music compositions can be found in the Prabandha-s. The 17th century text "Sangeet Darpana" of Chatura Damodara written in South India, has defined Prabandha as a pre-composed musical piece having four Dhatu-s - four limbs of a Prabandha Purusha and six Anga-s - constituent elements. The four Dhatu-s are Dhruva- the opening line of the composition which repeats after the completion of each part. Melapaka - the joining line between the first and the third part. Antara- First stanza and Abhoga- the last stanza which invariably carries the signature phrase of the poet. The Anga-s or constituent elements are Swara- musical notes, Pada- poetic verse, Pata- percussion language, Biruda- words of eulogy, Taal- rhythm and Tenaka- auspicious sounds like Tom tanana derived from Omkar. The text further notes that for a Prabandha to come alive atleast one Dhatu and one Anga is necessary and their different combinations can actually create hundreds of composition formats. One can observe that all the present day Bharata Natyam compositions are reflections of this Prabandha though called by different nomenclatures.

There is a certain chronology followed in the presentation of compositions in a traditional Bharata Natyam recital called Margam in Sanskrit or Vazhi in Tamil. The recital begins with simple rhythmic composition Alaripu which apart from being symbolic of votive offering also serves as a physical warmup. This is set to a composition of Mrudangam mnemonics which is recited. It is followed by Jatiswaram again a pure rhythmic dance interpretation of musical notes which adds a charming flow to the recital. On the third step enters the interpretative aspect through the poetic composition of Shabdam. This is more dramatic and narrative in nature to make the audience slowly enter into the realm of Abhinaya. On the fourth level comes the climax through Varnam which is the most elaborate composition combining all the aspects of dance technique, the rhythmic as well as interpretative. After this come the different Pada-s which are purely interpretative poems usually portraying the various shades of love. To balance this onset of emotional exposition comes Tillana which is the high point of pure rhythmic dance. After this physical catharsis comes the tranquil point in form of a devotional poem Bhajan or Shloka. This can be presented without the binding of Taal.

This traditional Margam or the sequence of presenting the variety of compositions adheres to the following principles-

1) The ultimate aim of the recital is to create peace of mind leading to self realization.
2) To achieve this it keeps the equal balance between the pure interpretative and pure rhythmic
type of dance. The themes usually portray the three dominant emotions of human life, i.e. Rati-erotic love, Vatsalya-motherly love, and Bhakti-devotion.
3) The principle of visual music is followed where the dance choreography expands the possibilities of the variety of musical interpretation through movement.
4) Only the suggestive poetry is used which can generate many different interpretations through dance language which is a constant challenge to the imaginative power of the dancer as well as the audience.
5) The musical structure of Nritya- prabandha is intelligent but never too complex in nature. It is never complete in itself. It has suggestive poetry and enough musical space that leaves scope for the dancer to build her own imaginative castle of visual interpretative ideas.
6) The structure of the Margam as a whole is comparable to South Indian Shiva temple where entering through the Gopura, one trades through the vast Prakara to enter the main shrine, climbing the stairs reaches the interior hall and finally needs to climb down into the Garbhagrihasanctum sanctorum where one realizes God.

If one studies the Sanskrit dance texts from Natyashastra through medieval times, one can see the conceptual similarity between the ancient Dhruva-s and the structures of medieval Prabandha-s. In medieval texts like Sangeet Darpan, Sangeet Saramrita & Bharatarnava, one comes across a large variety of Nritya- prabandha-s, some being similar to present day form and some extinct. This only conveys the fact
that Prabandha or Bandish is primarily a concept that has the resilience to bend, expand or totally change its actual structure to suit the changing times and situations. Many a new formats of Bandishes have been added by professional dancers to suit the present day occasions and social situations. Today classical dance is adding ever new dimensions to its traditional format. And the credit goes to those intellectuals
who have propounded and analyzed the concept like Bandish for posterity.

In conclusion, I would like to reinstate that as an all-encompassing musical form, Bandish is an inevitable everlasting concept common to all Sangeet.