Bhartanatyam is definitely steeped in Tamilnadu and more prominent in that state. As Kalakshetra is situated in Chennai, Bhartanatyam has been institunalised and respected for a while in Tamil Nadu. So naturally Tamil, Sanskrit dominate the compositions from the dancers trained here.

One cannot ignore the Mysore style, which has existed for a long time. The best exponents of this style were Jatti Tayamma and her disciple Venkatalaxamma. Mysore Maharja’s were the patrons of this style and the artists. Both of them have composed for many Devaranamas and Javalis in Kannada. Javalis are primarily love songs, hence sringara rasa dominates the composition. I regret that I don’t remember many of these compositions or songs, which Venkatalaxamma used to perform brilliantly, even in her 70s. Jatti Tayamma and Venktalaxamma made a very conscious effort to include many Kannada songs in the early 20th c. I don’t know if they were conscious of national, regional spirit or it was an impulse of women from devadasi community to dance to their own language. Perhaps this was their way of answering to the dominance of Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu. One should remember Tayamma and Venkatalaxamma were masters of all these languages. I remember the stories, Venkatalaxamma used to tell us, about how Maharaja would arrange pandits to teach them all these languages. The pandits were hard taskmasters.

I hope some of Venktalaxamma’s students have preserved these compositions as they teach in the Fine Arts College in Mysore. I long for those simple movements and emphasis on abhinaya in Mysore style whenever I see dancers dancing for the lights, smoke, beats in the name of experiment. I know we cannot always cling on to old ways in the name of tradition, but we don’t have to kill an art form in the name of experiment.

I wish you could have seen Venktalaxamma perform to Gita Govinda you wouldn’t have witnessed a sarcastic or furious interpretation. By the time I came to know her she could only do abhinaya. But those shows were so astounding; we teenagers couldn’t perform like her. Her abhinaya was amazing.

i have you listed on mine as a Bella recipient… I am sure I am not the first.

Thanks again for this interesting post. I love your insights!

I haven’t seen the Chessplayers in years. What a treat. I’ve been so focused on transnational flows and the resulting aesthetic influences infusing back into Indian dance… it was a nice break to ponder regional interactions/movements and the push-pull between codification and innovation that illuminates dance as a dynamic cultural entity. I love hearing about your sister’s part in it all. Such a treat. Thank you.

I have a question for you or your sister, but I am having troubles phrasing it in a general way that makes sense and isn’t too obtuse. I’ll work on it a bit more and pose it in a bit. Thanks for the great post!