Arangetram Booklet

B r i ti sh
Arangetrams
Gayathrie Jayanthan
THE
Meaning
GREAT
BRITISH
and
ARANGETRAM
origin:
Arangetram is the debut on-stage performance of a Bharatanatyam student. It
is a Tamil word.Arangu meaning Stage and Etram meaning to enter or to ascend.
The Telegu language equivalent is Ranga Pravesham, where Ranga means
stage and Pravesham means to enter. This would happen on completion of
at least seven years of intensive training by the dedicated dance student.
Texts from the golden age of Tamil literature and poetry known during
the Sangam Age such as the Silappadikaram and Tolkappiyam give indication to a variety of dance customs in practice at the time. It is a quarry
of knowledge of ancient Tamil culture, society and its practices, in which
the arts of music and dance were extremely developed and played a key
role. The Silappadikaram is of particular importance, since one of its main
characters, the courtesan Madhavi, is a highly proficient dancer. The custom of Arangetram is mentioned in this, by Prince Ilango Adigal. In the
chapter Arangetrukaadai or the chapter of ascending the stage, the poet
describes the coming of age concert of the then twelve-year old dance
incumbent Madhavi. The following is an interpretation of that passage.
“After dedicating an age (seven years) to the dance, Madhavi, the young temple
dancer prepares for her premiere before the King. The proscenium stage is adorned
with heavily embroidered gauze curtains, pearls and other jewels. It is lit by a
solitary but large, brass oil lamp with five flickering flames, casting long, sinuous
and dancing shadows at the front. A bamboo rod is sanctified in holy water from a
brass pot and garlands of jasmines are coiled around it while a crimson umbrella
with embroidered green parrots protect it from the elements, with mirrors for eyes,
sparkling when it caught the light. A ceremonious procession brings it into the
theatre to take its commanding place on stage. The air is heavy with anticipation
and the scent of sandalwood incense while the temple quartet of cymbals, drums,
flute and Nadaswaram (Wooden Indian Bass Clarinet) begin the overture. The
curtains are pulled back slowly, almost teasing the audience, to the dying strains
of the orchestra to reveal the entrance of a tender, shy yet luminous girl resplendent in scarlet and gold, unaccompanied and unchaperoned but for the musicians
at the side of the proscenium. She lifts up her shy and heavily kohled eyes and fixes
the audience with one terrified stare and strikes a singular heel to the sound of the
drum and the clipped rhythmical utterances of her Guru. She then literally surrenders herself to her fate by bowing deeply and scattering rose petals at the feet
Shrimathi Susanna
of the auspicious elephant headed Ganesha and then to Nataraja the Lord of the
Dance and begins the task of inviting the King and the audience. As she rises from
the bow, a small but significant change has already taken place. She has offered
herself to the dance, formally, in public. This new but authentic zeal leaves her
calm and yet drives her through the Margam or pathway of dance upon demanding dance that highlights and challenges her focus, musicality, stamina and ability
to bring to the audience the everlasting Truths from the Vedas, Upanishads and
Puranas. By the time she takes her curtain call, it’s not a girl but a girl-woman
that does so. This rather public catharsis and transformation before the very eyes of
the audience so impresses the King, that he decorates her with a garland of leaves,
presents her with the auspicious number of 1008 gold coins and offers her the title
of talaikol or Étoile/principal dancer.”
This is an arangetram, a rite of passage, a sacred initiation. This is the ideal
of an arangetram.
Arangetrams in Britain:
This project charts the phenomenal journey of a little known and quaint Indian ritual from its ancient temple village customs and rituals to the modern day South Asian dance practice and at times the paradoxical concerns
it raises in the community centres and theatres of the UK, in Hounslow,
Wembley, Tooting, Croydon, Leicester, and in Scotland and Wales.
In an age of very public super sweet sixteen birthday parties televised on
channels such as Channel 4, Viva, E4 etc, even communions and weddings
being recorded for television programmes such as My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, the Great British Arangetram is a celebration. A bit like Quinceneras,
Sweet 16’s Birthdays, Bar Mitzvah's or being formally introduced as a debutante during ball season. In the UK there are several celebrations for teenagers, and the South Asian community has come to adopt the Arangetram
as their own celebration for their children.
The British Arangetram is not just about dance, and the dancer’s journey
and it’s momentous milestone. It is about acculturation.
A young girl’s efforts to be a dancer is publicly rewarded by her proud parents in a coming of age event that is in keeping with Indian tradition and
Indianness, motivated by 21st Century British customs and goals.
Vaishnavee Sreeharan
The pros and cons of the 21st Century British Arangetram:
Budget:
As with any event or practice there comes pros and cons, praise and criticism. The first concern naturally behind any production whatever its scale
is always, budget. This is a universal factor and the Arangetram is no different.
Depending on the budget of the parents a suitable Arangatram is arranged,
much like a wedding. It could be a very simple affair with a few elders at a
local temple or on grand stages replete with elaborate temple like murals,
large guest lists, guests of honour and entire orchestras flown in from the
sub continent, ending with four course buffet meals with gold engraved
invitation cards that say 'carriages promptly at 12pm.'
This has prompted concerned dance teachers to say that the true meaning
of the Arangetram tradition is being lost, much like the true meaning of
Christmas can be lost amongst all the extravagant presents, endless sherry
and mince pies!
The parents who are usually the proud sponsors of such an arangetram
may decide that this will be a luxurious event and that no expense will
be spared. In these modern and uncertain times when daughters choose
when and to whom to get married, that is if they do decide to get married
at all, it is the parent's way of expressing their love for her. It is a time for
one's family and friends to acknowledge the hard work and dedication
that has gone into learning the dance. And after all, she is learning about
Indian culture, getting fit and toned in the process, and learning an ancient and grand art form that is constantly being reinvented. She is not being spoilt with BMW's and Rolexes like the children on My Super Sixteen
Birthday on E4!
Also it is up to the parents how grand or simple the arangetrams can be,
just like a wedding. In these frugal times, there are many parents struggling to give their girl a grand arangetram while some parents are going
for the simpler model of a streamlined arangetram, one more reflective of
our time.
An arangetram held in the UK can cost anywhere between ten to fifteen
thousand British pounds or more, including the hire of the theatre plus
insurance fees, musician fees including their travel, food and accommodation expenses, private lessons for the dancer in preparation for
Hiten Mistry
the arangetram, fees for the dance teacher for organising and consultation,
wardrobe, invitation cards, catering and various other miscellaneous expenses. On some occasions, Arangetrams are outsourced by British South
Asians, actually being held in India, to get more value for money.
The ‘Package’ Issue:
The very fact that the above 'package deals' or models exist rather like a
holiday, cruise or a watch, and the fact that parents can chose which model
to go for can be rather trying to some practitioners of the dance form who
approach it from a more traditional and purist perspective. However the
flip side of the argument is that this much abhorred package deal does
bring in much needed employment to the arts, from the teachers to musicians and costume designers etc.
It also creates more audiences for an ancient art form. Relatives and family
members who have never been to a dance performance in their lives are
dragged to an arangetram. Sometimes it has an adverse effect, the worse
that may happen is the spectator will be bored and may not relate to the
dance theatre being depicted on stage, but if the dancer is able to produce
true Rasa or flavour she may be able to reach out to him beyond the barriers of time, geographical and cultural context and evoke true feeling in
him, feelings that are universal and for everyone and not just felt exclusively by an artist. A fan of the dance form has then been created for life,
who will in turn tell his friends and bring in more audiences for future
performances.
Is an arangetram a mere excuse to obtain a cultural identity?
Depending on the general outlook of the dance student, her teacher and
parents, the study of Bharatanatyam can be merely a way to retain and joyfully express their cultural identity. Depending on the student, the practice
could be a means to another end. That of receiving spiritual enlightenment
by its constant practice and performance.
How important is the understanding of Indian culture for an arangetram?
Sometimes the student is sent off to India for a month or more to absorb
themselves in intensive training, so they can get a real flavour of the sub
continent and its people so as to portray the dance pieces accurately. This
is generally done to avoid the harsh but often repeated criticism of 'You can
teach a girl Indian dance, but you cannot teach her Indianness.'
Mayuri Boonham
But having said that, some young students of Bharatanatyam with non
South Asian heritage, namely Polish, American or British, who have never
even been to the sub continent have given startlingly accurate portrayals
of mature Indian Nayikas (heroines) in their Arangetrams.
Also the very technique, be it Nritta (pure dance) or Natya (dance theatre)
has evolved out of temple dance practice. Some of the most basic positions
originate from the most everyday temple dance practice. For example how
the temple dancers held their necklaces in order to show which temple
or king they were assigned to, or what they wore in their hair. Although
along with the British arangetram even the dance technique itself is being
reinvented here in the UK. One hand is in modernity while keeping the
other firmly rooted in tradition, a testament to the underlying strength that
still exists in the classicism of this ancient dance form. This just proves that
although the form is ancient, it certainly does not have to be archaic.
A mere qualification or a time for spiritual introspection?
Just like an art degree does not an artist make, an arangetram does not immediately make a temple dancer, who is at once artist, athlete, priest, story
teller and entertainer. It’s very practice, however minimal it may be, never
fails to leave a mark on the dance student. Some teachers say that even if
one of their students has grasped the true meaning of at least one of the
nine dances that are in preparation of the arangetram, then all the effort
has been quite worth it. In these modern and competitive times, teachers
may feel the pressure to produce unique and outstanding students. Some
teachers in the UK like Ms Pushkala Gopal, featured in this dvd, offer their
students an experience of a facet of the traditional Guru Kula system of
staying at the home of the teacher, so as to be in a constant state of learning and dance, especially immediately before the Arangetram. Ms Gopal
goes on to mention that this is a time where the students may discover for
themselves that the demands and rigours placed on the body and mind
needs solitude, introspection and a return to a more Vedic way of life, a
diet of small vegetarian meals throughout the day, deep sleep and yogic
meditation.
The end of the learning process or just the beginning?
After going through such a process it is the choice of the dance student if
she wants this lifestyle, or if she chooses to walk away from it all after the
arangetram and never dances another step in her life.
Vibha Selvaratnam
Some teachers maintain that even if she does not, if she can always apply this sort of spiritual discipline in whatever she chooses to do, she will
always yield positive results in all her endeavours. If she does chose to
pursue a legitimate career in dance, and you will be pleased to find that a
sizeable percentage do, then this disciplined process is a perfect model to
be honed and mastered into a way of life. If we were to draw an academic
metaphor for the process of an arangetram, the time before the arangetram
is the research and preparation period and the arangetram itself is the dissertation. The older the dancer grows, the more experience she gathers in
her private and public or stage life, the more she learns to balance the two
and allows both streams to nurture and feed into each other. The dissertation will then turn into a thesis, the thesis into a paper and so on and so
forth.
How to preserve the essence of the arangetram while reinventing it for the
more globalised 21st century?
One of the most joyous attributes of British arangetrams is the fact that it
has inspired dancers to re-evaluate their cultural identity. They have managed to carve a niche as South Asian yet quintessentially British dancers.
There are dancers in Britain who are slowly realising that this wonderful
dance form is a tool to reveal the art through the artist.
Work is being slowly but surely created and presented that is South Asian
dance but with a British or European sensibility, thus keeping this ancient
dance tradition alive and thriving. In order to do this, dancers are realising
the importance of learning the history, evolution and reason behind every
move, step, practice of temple dance so they can then use it to create work
that speaks not only to India but to the rest of the world. This is making the
ancient art form relevant and exciting to British audiences and is slowly
being discovered by the mainstream media.
Above all some British dancers, on completion of their arangetrams are
being inspired to actively seek out teaching careers by teaching children,
teenagers, young and mature adults in schools, colleges, community centres and even in prisons. So everything that they have been taught before
the arangetram, the discipline, dance technique, cultural context and narrative, are becoming legitimate tools of their trade as they learn to give and
inspire the next generation of south Asian dancers.
When the dance legend and Guru, Pandit Ram Gopal ji presented his
dance performance to Mahatma Gandhi, the Mahatma asked him what
it all meant and then freely admitted that he did not quite get all the
Geetha Sridhar & Saisupriya Sreecumar
meaning and stories through the subtle nuances and innumerable, swiftly
changing gestures present in Indian classical dance. He then asked Pandit
Ram Gopal if he would kindly translate what the true meaning of the lyric
was.
From this simple request came the birth of the pioneering spirit of Pandit
Ram Gopal to make Indian dance, its culture, practice and rituals relevant
and exciting to audiences who did not know it. The Arangetram is one
such ritual. A ritual that presents not just an entire selection of dances, but
a possible prelude to a lifestyle. One that asks a dancer in accordance to
the sacred treatise of Indian dance, the Natya Veda, to bring the everlasting
truths to all mankind.
In conclusion:
Britain is a cultural melting pot. Not unlike the Indian sub continent in its
ability to adopt and give foreign rituals its own unique flavour.
In a programme on British Television from 1980, on Kalakshetra, the National Academy of Bharatanatyam in Chennai, its founder Smt. Rukmini
Devi Arundale who is considered to be one of the most important revivalist of Bharatnatyam is asked if she has any concerns regarding her successor and the future of Bharatanatyam and its rituals. Her reply is this:
“I’ve given them all the opportunities. Let’s hope they will take it. It does not mean
they will copy exactly what I do, because I did not copy anybody. So they need not
copy me either. As long as what is created is something true and beautiful, that’s
all that matters.”
The British Arangetram will be just that. British but with South Asian
roots. Whether it is packaged as a grandiose event or as a very simple
ceremony will not matter. As long as the dancer finds that fleeting moment
on stage like the young Madhavi in Silappadikaram, where her immediate
fear turns into artistic zeal as she surrenders herself to her forthcoming
artistic journey and formally gets to offer her dance to the audience. That
dance could be in little temple in south India or a grand theatre in central
London.
If that dance is truthful that’s all that really matters.
ASH MUKHERJEE
Arangetram programme cover
A TYPICAL ARANGETRAM PROGRAMME
Pushpanjali
Pushpanjali is the opening invocation meaning ‘an offering of flowers’ where the
dancer seeks the blessings of God and offers respects to the Supreme Being, gurus,
musicians and audience.
Alarippu
The Tamil word ‘alar’ means ‘to blossom’. Alarippu means ‘flowering’. It serves as
a prelude to the programme when the artistry of the dancer unfolds through nritta
(pure dance movements).
Jathiswaram
Swaras (sung musical syllables) are repeated and interlaced with different rhythmic patterns of tala (rhythm) and jatis (rhythmic dance patterns).
Shabdam
Shabdam is four lines or short stanzas of poetry and frequently the first expressional dance using abhinaya (mime and facial expression).
Varnam
The crowning piece in Bharatanatyam, varnam means colour and combines rhythm
with melody. It displays a wide range of emotions, combining nritta and abhinaya
in equal measure, blending bhava (feeling), raga (melody) and tala (rhythm).
Padam
In this fully expressional item, the vocalist repeats passages on which the dancer
elaborates subtleties of layered meanings.
Thillana
The lively climax of the arangetram, this exuberance of rhythm and pure dance
integrates sculptured poses.
Mangalam
The ending prayer when the dancer pays final respects to God, gurus, musicians
and audience.
Usha Raghavan
This DVD is an introduction to a collection of thirty-five interviews of nine gurus
and their students who have done arangetrams in the UK.
With thanks to the gurus and their students who kindly gave their time to make
this project possible.
ANUSHA SUBRAMANYAM
Catherine Flood, Vaishnavee Sreeharan
GEETHA SRIDHAR
Saisupriya Sreecumaar
GEETHA UPADHYAYA
Abi Deivanayagam, Aditi Sivaramakrishnan, Ashika Kutti Vijay,
Bavya Makani, Torral Mistry
KIRAN RATNA
Megan Lloyd, Seeta Patel, Soumya Pandalai, Vibha Selvaratnam
NINA RAJARANI
Bhakti Raval, Seema Sodha
PATHMINI GUNASEELAN
Rachel Saranka Gunaseelan, Shrimathi Susanna
PRAKASH YADAGUDDE
Mayuri Boonham
PUSHKALA GOPAL
Hiten Mistry, Kasthuri Sathiyavarathan, Lavina Suthenthiran,
Natalie George, Shreenidhi Subramaniam
USHA RAGHAVAN
Ahalya Pushpanjah, Gayathrie Jayanthan, Jayashree Sundaresan,
Meena & Ritu Raj
Thanks to all the volunteers and participants who took part in the project.
All these interviews are available in their entirety in www.fipa.org.uk,
www.pulseconnects.com and youtube channel FIPAarts.
Photos of Hiten Mistry, Seeta Patel and Usha Raghavan by Simon Richardson.
Produced by FIPA in partnership with Kadam, support from the Hat Factory and
funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
© FIPA MMXI