A nut shell of the 1st chapter of Natya Shastra.

Hello every one,

Today, we will be completing the 1^st chapter of Natya Shastra. I am continuing from where I left last week. Brahma, after finishing his details about the representations in the art form, continued, by saying that praying and offering pooja to the stage is very important before starting the performance. Also, Vigneswara, Maheswara (Shiva- the Lord of dance) and Brahma (author of Natya Veda) are invoked before the performance.

The 1^st chapter in a nut shell, brings out , how the people related to Natya should be.   

1. The poet composing the literary piece should be as creative as Brahma, the creator of the Universe.
2. The sponsor and the stage manager should have the organizing ability as Indra.
3. The preceptor (teacher) should be as versatile as Bharatha himself.
4. Sons of Bharatha and the celestial Damsels can be compared to the male and female dancers respectively.
5. The instrumentalists should be as knowledgeable and experienced as Sage Svati.
6. The person in charge of music should be great like Sage Narada.
7. Last but not the least, the people who visit the theatre should have full aesthetic sense and should not have prejudices any way.

This brings us to the end of the 1^st chapter of Natya Shastra. The 2^nd chapter is about the characteristics of the Play House. We will start the fresh chapter next week.

I want to talk about problems related to the Guru or teacher. I would like to insist one point here. Popularity is different from accomplishments. So, please don’t run behind just brands while selecting a teacher. After you start your classes with the teacher, be patient in matters concerning the teacher – student relationship. Parent plays a major role in maintaining the relationship between the child and the teacher.

Just like you adjust to the problems with your school teachers, adjust to your music or dance teacher too. Just like doing your school home work, practice the art regularly. This will make your teacher feel good about you and also himself/herself.  Practice will make you improve which in turn will induce more interest which will again make you practice more. Trust your teacher thoroughly. Do not, I repeat, do not expect immediate or quick results. Long term commitment, patience and perseverance are very very important. I will speak more about this in my next week’s blog too.

This week’s ‘The Hindu’ brought to our attention that the Great dancer Bala Saraswathi’s 96^th birthday falls on May 13^th. She was called the ‘Queen of Abhinaya’. Bharathanatyam is so well known in the west now. This is mainly due to Bala. She is the only dance exponent until now who received the ‘Sangeetha Kalanidhi’ award from ‘Music Academy’, Chennai.