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Margam

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MannargudiTemple Artist : Smruti
 Tons of discussions happen in relation to the margam. But to get involved in the discussions  one has to know the true meaning of Margam. Margam literally means " the path ".  To many it is merely a framework that has been laid down by the gurus. But carefully analysis of Margam will tell you that Margam is a well sort out plan that a dancer needs to adopt to master a particular style of dance. It has been carefully laid out after understanding the human's ability to master dance.
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The concept of Margam is very relative and extremely flexible to incorporate variety of Bharatnatyam dance compositions. But in order to churn the benefit of the path laid by the gurus, one has to understand in depth the principals of Margam. The dance numbers are so intelligently sequenced that it brings out the perfect Rasika or Rasa by end of the Margam. The concept of Margam is eternal as it allows flexibility. It depends of the Gurus and the performers to understand the concept of Margam and utilize it to the best of the dancer's abilities. The purpose of Margam is to take the audience closer to "devinity" by evoking a spiritual and emotional spot.
             Another important discussion happens on how to select the compositions (items) for a particular Programme. There are few guide lines that are universally followed when it comes to selecting the compositions. It is rarely seen that a particular Ragam is repeated during the evening. Though this is not an absolute no no. Heavy Ragam are kept for the most cherished items of the evening which is invariably the Varnam. Heavy ragam are Todi, Kalyani,Shankarabharam. Light Ragams like that of Shivaranjani, Khamas etc (normally these have lots of North Indian  influence) are kept for items like Tillana. These ragas have very little scope to experiment with the mood of the song.There is no fixed rule to select the dance compositions.


Pushpanjali : As the name suggests this means offering flower to the deity.

Kavutham :

Malhari :

Allaripu : Allaripu is the first item of any dance recietal. To know more about Allaripu Click Here.

Jatiswaram : Once the student perfects Allaripu, she moves on to Jatiswaram which is one of the most beautiful Nrittya piece. Click to know more about Jatiswaram.

Shabdam : Shabdam  means "words", " stories" " describing qualities of a particular being". It  is  a Abhinaya based composition. Click to know more about Shabdam.

 Varnam: Varnam literally means "Words" and is famous for its complex structure. It is the most difficult part of any dance recital and forms the center piece of the evening. This consists of  both Nritya and Abhinaya. Varnam consists of Jaatis, lyrics and swaras  (Pallavi, Anupallavi, Charanam, Chitta swara or Ettugedde Swaram and Chittaswaram or Muktaayi Swaram). The first half of Varnam is sung in slow rthythmn and then from Charanam onwards the speed is 1.5 times. There are different types of Varnam (Pada Varnama, Taana Varnam, Daru Varnam, Ragamallika Varnam etc)

Some of the famous Varnams are
1. "Swami Ninne"
2. "Chalamela "
3. "Sama Gana Priyaee"

Padam :

Javeli :

Kritanam :

Tillana :

Mangalam :


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