As the artistic
director and guru of Kalairani Natya Saalai, for 20 years, and known for having
a large collection of Bharatanatyam costumes (I have often joked that I could
have built a house for the amount of money invested in KNS costumes and props),
I have given my thoughts about the Bharatanatyam costume in this section. I trust it will be useful to my own students
and others. --
About KNS www.ranidevi.com/kns.htm
About Christian items www.ranidevi.com/Christian.htm
About dance tapes you cannot get anywhere www.ranidevi.com/dancetapes.htm
About my dear Sishyas www.ranidevi.com/Sishyas.htm
About myself www.ranidevi.com/guru.htm
History
The world existed with 4 vedas;
VEDA means philosophy. The four Vedas were RIG, ATHARVA, SAMA, YAJUR. Sages felt these Vedas were too rigid and
wanted something more uplifting and enlightening. God INDIRA
came up with the idea to create a 5th Veda and told God BRAMMA who reviewed the presentation
and summoned sage BHARATAMUNI to
undertake the task. (Muni
means sage so actual name is Bharata). Bharatamuni took
assistance from TANDU who felt there
was a lack of grace called LASYA or LAYA
so a 100 APSARAS (females) were
created to portray grace. It was only after that, Shiva mastered the dance
style. Words (Vachikkam)
were taken from RIG Veda. Emotions (Saatvikkam)
were taken from ATHARVA Veda. Music was taken from SAMA Veda. Gesture (Aangikkam) was
taken from YAJUR Veda.
And a 5th Veda called NATYA Veda was created. A 5th element of AHARYAM or Décor
was added to this Natya Veda.
Sloka
on Shiva goes like this: Aangikkam Bhuvanam
(your gesture is the world) yeshya (and) Vachikkam Sarva Vaang Mayam (your words/music
prevail every where in all languages); Aharyam Chandra Taraditvam (your décor is the moon and stars); namaha (we bow) Saatvikkam Shivam (your
emotion is Truth).
The present
costume is about 60-70 years old. Here
are two pictures of what the costume looked when the Devadasis
wore them in the 18th century.
In fact, cinema in the 50’s played a vital role in reviving
Bharatanatyam and the costumes worn then were quite different.
KNS 1st
Bharatanatyam costume
As a child I danced mostly
for my mother and my brother – their face lit up with a smile and a sparkle and
those were my biggest applause. When I
was ready to come to
Jewelry
Salangai is
sacred. Traditionally, the student
should take the blessings of the Guru (Teacher) before wearing it each
time. It should be worn only during the
dance performance. The little bells above the ankles are made of bronze; they
have sacred meaning and emphasize the rhythm of the dance.
HAIR
– having long hair is the foremost
requirement if you are training to be a Bharatanatyam dancer. I am proud to say that many of my students
(being raised in
Flowers: White jasmine flowers should go
around the Rakkodi so half inch of the flower is seen
from a front profile.
Make-up: Use long lasting base to match your
complexion. Care must be taken in highlighting the eyes!
Pottu (Tilak – Bindhi) should
be a noticeable red dot.
Mehndhi – Finger tips, palms and toes are colored in red to
symbolize the petals of the red lucky lotus. Designs should be
1. 
Front and back of the palm
2. On the feet
(a) swastikam (b) flower (c) leaf
· 
Nethi Chutti should be placed quarter inch above the hair.
· Mattel
-- Thodu – Jimmikki (earring)
· Mookuthi (nose
ring)
· Necklace
or choker
· Muthu Maalai (bead necklace)
· Kaasu Maalai (coin necklace)
·
Vallayal (bangles) & Rings
· Odiyanam (belt)
·
Raakkodi (goes at the back of the head on top of the
bun)
·
Kunjalam (at
the tip of the braid)
What you should know about Bharatanatyam Costume…
I. Material
The
two types of materials – (a) China Silk (b) Dharmavaram
(a)
China Silk with attached borders is half the price of Dharmavaram
– which is art silk that has a grand look.
If you are a child artiste or a Junior who will
most likely outgrow the costume, then you should go for China Silk.
(b)
Dharmavaram has a richer look and naturally is twice
the cost. It is not pure silk like Kancheevaram but for the same richness you would have to
pay 10 times the price if you go for Kancheevaram
pure silk. Since this is not a daily
wear, you can easily settle for art silk.
One important feature when you buy the saree,
if you are a teenager or an adult, make sure the Dharmavaram saree has double side
borders. If you shop in Chennai, you can
specify you are looking for a saree to make a
Bharatanatyam costume. In fact, at Kumarans, they have a special section only for this type of
sarees.
II. How
many
If
you are a beginner or a Junior and under 15, then it
is best to use China Silk and own only one costume. Try to use the costume several times in a
year, before you outgrow; and when you do, dry clean it and hand it to your
sibling or a friend or another dancer for a lesser price.
If
you are preparing for an Arangetram, it is best to have 4 costumes. (1) Pick
the color that will give you confidence and use it for the opening items (Anjali, Gouvthvm, Shabdam etc.). This should be pant type. (2) Use the 2nd
pant type for Varnam (3) Use the skirt model for after intermission -- for the padhams (4) Keep your favorite (pant type) for Tillana and Mangalam – you will
be meeting people and taking pictures after the show.
III.
Blouse
You
should next decide the pattern of the blouse according to your age – which are
basically three types
1)
For
a child – small fan type
2)
For
bigger girls -- ‘dhaavani’
type sewn on the blouse
3)
Saree look
IV. Pattern
Here
are 12 different patterns to choose from
1.
TR Traditional – where the saree
paloo is made into a fan
2.
1F One long fan (some tailors refer to this
as sun fleet) –
3.
2F Two Fan
4.
3F Three Fan
5.
3FP Three Fans from paloo
6.
SK Skirt model
7.
SA Saree model
8.
CRP Pant cross model
9.
CRS Skirt cross model
10.
DW Dwaraka
11.
PV Paavai Vilakku
Here
are some samples
TR: The traditional style is normally done with a
saree where the paloo (munthanai) is used as one fan. Sometimes the blouse matches with the fan
1F: One Fan - and how is this different to the
Traditional style – this can be done
with both China Silk and Dharmavaram. Notice how the blouse 
matches with the
band.
2F: Two Fans – you can use China Silk or Dharmavaram
3F: Three Fans -- this is the most common type because
the glamour is seen more in three levels in the fan. You can use China Silk or Dharmavaram
3FP: Three Fans with a Paloo
in between. This is identified as a
separate section because if you have a fancy paloo in
the Dharmavaram saree and
yet want a different look, you can use a variation like this. This model is three fans but in between you
use a larger piece from the paloo. Notice in one of these, the same Paloo matches the blouse.
SK
- Skirt model. This is very common
especially for teens and adult dancers.
If you are preparing for an Arangetram, it is best to have at least one
in this model, to use for padhams after the intermission. Avoid using Skirt model for items that have a
lot of jathis. Although you see here a
picture of a child wearing such a model, it is not meant for small children.
SA - Saree model. The only difference between the Skirt and Saree model, I would think, is the hanging of the paloo to the side.
CRP
– Cross model – pant type. This is a
newer trend where the adaptation is from Kuchupudi
models. You can have this as a secondary
costume, not primary.
CRS
– Cross model – saree type. Same as above but saree style.
Again, you should have such a costume only as a secondary piece, not as
the main (primary) costume.
DW – Dwaraka style. This is pant or saree
style but the border runs in the middle.
PV – Paavai Vilakku
style. Paavai Vilakku means ‘lamp’. This seems to be the most recent
style. Again, in my opinion, you should
keep this as a secondary costume. There
is not much glamour in the fan, but looks pretty.
V. Care
·
Bharatanatyam
costumes are made in
·
It’s
advisable to use panty hose, so the sweat does not affect the costume.
·
If
the program is long, carry a change of clothing. It is disrespectful to walk around with the
costume and salangai.
·
Watch
out for the hand paints – such stains are not easily removable.
·
Bharatanatyam
costume should not be machine washed. It
should be dry-cleaned, making sure the dry cleaner has
experience handling these type of costumes.
VI. Measurement
Bharatanatyam
costume is tight (and exact) fitting. If
you have a
tendency of changing size (gaining weight) be sure to tell
the tailor to leave space for adjusting later.
Ask that the blouse be stitched shirt style, which will make it easier
to expand, if need be.
Here’s how you take the measurement (here’s an easy way to remember)
6 Horizontal
(a-b1-b2-c-d-e)
3
Top Vertical (f-g-h)
3
Bottom Vertical (i-j-k)
3
Sleeves (l-m-n)
Fill/Cut/Copy
this down
a.
neck
bone to shoulder ________
b1 above bust around (under armpit)_______
b2 on bust around ________
c.
waist
around ________
d.
hip
around ________
e.
ankle
around ________
f.
shoulder
to bust mid point ________
g.
shoulder
to below bust ________
h.
shoulder
to waist ________
i.
waist
to hip (band length) ________
j.
waist
to knee ________
k.
waist
to ankle ________
l.
around
the armpit ________
m.
length
of sleeves ________
n.
around
arm (end of sleeve) ________
figure
drawn by
KNS Graduate, Geeta Etwaroo