A Treatise on Bharatanatyam- A Guide to Natya (Book One)

Many of you may know Bharatanatyam as just one of the classical dance forms of India with great health benefits. The fact is that Bharatanatyam is the one of the oldest living performing art forms of the world. Over 2000 years old, this fine art started as a Temple dance by Devadasis appointed solely to serve God. Since then, it has faced several obstacles to survive as one of the greatest living and growing art of today.

Bharatanatyam traditionally called as "Sadhir" has struggled throughout its early centuries to evolve. It has been greatly impacted by middle eastern and British invasions of India which caused the degradation of the Indian dance and was subsequently officially banned. In the Early 1900s, a few artistic legends cognizant of the divinity and purity of this art, helped to revive and bring it back to life. The revival wasn't an easy as many official leaders of India were strongly against it. Thanks to prominent artists like E. Krishna lyer and Rukmini Arundale who took great efforts in the revival and also were instrumental in bringing this art form accessible to all classes of people and elevated this art to its current supreme level.

Bharatanatyam is primarily a structured active body exercise with deep roots in science. Some key faculties include understanding human psychology, awareness, responsibility, developing tolerance, commitment, love to nature, art and mankind. The history and theory behind the art connects us with ancient tradition and culture.

Bharatanatyam is a discipline for the mind, body and soul. This is the performing art with the maximum collection of well defined rules and laws governing every aspect from stage setup to artist preparation to every coordinated and controlled movement of the body and orchestrated controlled by mind. These rules and laws are written in Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni and often referred to as Natya Veda or the Fifth Veda. It is believed practicing this art brings prosperity, peace of mind and liberation of the soul. Bharatanatyam is considered as the best. classical dance form of India The outstanding contribution by the music composers, scholars and dance artists is innumerable over the years. Bharatanatyam is the only performing art form that has fought for freedom and survival and preservation this fine art is our responsibility and incorporating it in our life style will make it divine.

**Contents and Sample Pages**