On Monday 14 Jan 2008 5:32 pm, Charles Haynes wrote: > Do you know of any places in Bangalore where I could go see Bharata > Natyam that was not "heavily middle-class-brahmanized?" (and any > studying I could do before hand to better understand what I was > seeing?)
Considering that the much criticized Brahmins have played a pivotal role in keeping pockets of culture alive in India, including Bharatanatyam your question is a tough call. How do you ask an Australian to show you Aboriginal art that was not by Aborigines? You want a Bharatanatyam for dummies? Try reading Salman Rushdie's "Haroun and the sea of stories" in which he describes the dance sign language of "mudras". But recognizing and reading the sign language is not enough without knowing the stories that are being told by the dancer - which are typically from the Ramayana or Mahabharata or other Hindu stories. Best is to go with Deepa I guess. But even without all this Bharatanatyam, performed well, is a nice audiovisual spectacle merely for the grace, agility and stamina of the dancer just as ballet displays similar qualities. shiv
