Natyashastra & Classical Dances of India

Unlike other forms of dance from all over the world, what differntiates Indian classical dance is, the spiritual side of it. While some of them tells us the stories of 'Devis', 'Devas', some tells us how to please God. When most forms of dance from other parts of the world is merely for entertainment / leisure, Indian classical dances is all about Spiritual need of every human being.

Natyashastra is the most detail and elaborate of all treatises on dramatic criticism and acting ever written in any language and is regarded as the oldest surviving text on stagecraft in the world. Written by the great dramatist of ancient India, Bharata, Natyashastra is reckoned as the poetics of Indian drama.The background of Natyashastra is framed in a situation where a number of munis approach Bharata to know about the secrets of Natyaveda. The answer to this question comprises the rest of the book. It is also a text of drama. The whole text is in the form of dialogue and various forms of enactments, gestures, music etc. have been visually presented to its readers or more appropriately to its viewers.

Bharathanatyam is perphaps the oldest among the contemporary classical dance forms of India, which arouse somewhere around 500 BC. Bharatanatyam is thought to have created by Bharata Muni, who wrote the Natya Shastra. It is said to be originated in Thanjavoor of Tamil Nadu. This dance form cannot be adequately danced by anyone without reverence for technique and for spiritual life. It is an art that lifts one from temporal to eternal values. The intimate association of dance with religion and as a ritual, a form of worship in the temples is well established.

Sangeet Natak Academy confers classical status on eight Indian dance styles. They are :

Bharatanatyam - Tamil Classical Dance

Odissi - Orissa Classical Dance

Kuchipudi - Telugu Classical Dance

Manipuri - Manipur Classical Dance

Mohiniaattam - Kerala Classical Dance

Sattriya - Assamese Classical Dance

Kathakali - Kerala Classical Dance

Kathak - North Indian Classical Dance

 

Yet Another Set of Info

Science We Indians Knew thousands of years back !!!

Lecture by Dr. N. GopalaKrishnan,Scientist and Director,
Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage - Not Just Awesome ; but far beyond that ...

Our Glorious Past

A talk by Khurshed Batliwala, director of World Alliance for Youth Empowerment

Do You Know These Things ?

Facts About India

■India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.

■India is the world's Largest democracy.

■India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

■India invented the number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

■When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization)

■There are 300,000 active mosques in India , more than in any other country, including the Muslim world

■Sanskrit is the mother of all the European Languages . Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magzine July 1987.

■Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

■India has the second largest pool of Scientist and Engineers in the World.

■India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.

■India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indeigenously.

■India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world

■One of the largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways , employing over a million people

■India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

■The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982

■The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.

■Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

■Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.

■Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

INDIA - Words of Macaulay

"I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation."

Macaulay