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Natyam | Nrittam | Nrityam

Traditional Bharatanatyam Margam &

Other Dance Items

Margam ( or ‘a path’) is a traditional order of dance items which are performed in an

Arangetram (dance performance) with or without breaks in between.

There can be a single theme based Margam or a collection of stories from scriptures as
the Margam’s purpose.

A traditional bharatanatyam Margam generally contains Alarippu, Jathiswaram, Shabdam,

Varnam, Padam, Thillana and Shloka in the same order as above, as the dance items. But,
in some institutions, Pushpanjali, Kouthuvam, Mallari, Keerthanam, Javali, etc., are also
added.

A full Margam is usually performed by students who are going to dance on stage for the
first time i.e., their Arangetram. However, thematic Margam choreographed by the dancer
or her guru are performed by famous dancers to show the creativity, or to raise a public
issue also.

Now, let us take a look at each performance pieces of a traditional Margam in detail:

Alarippu:
(meaning ‘blooming of flower buds’). It is the first item in the traditional Margam, which
is a pure Nritta piece. It is an offering to god, guru and the audience. It is a dance item,
which is based purely on rhythm (taalam), nattuvangam and sometimes a Raagam. The
Nattuvanar verbally gives instructions (with the help of rhythmic syllables like, Tam,
Dhit, Tai,etc.) to the dancer, according to which he/or she performs. The most basic yet
popular Alarippu is the Tishra Alarippu.

Jathiswaram:
As the name suggests, it contains Jathis and Swarams. Swaram is the Carnatic music
term which refers to the notations (Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa•) which are woven in
various patterns in a particular taalam, set to a particular Raagam, or a mixture of many
raagams (Ragamalika). The swaram is sung by a vocalist whicle the dancer performs
different Jathis (set of Adavus) in accordance with the Nattuvangam. This is also a pure
Nritta piece, devoid of any Abhinaya. The most popular is the Kalyani Raga Jathiswaram.

Shabdam:
This is the dance item where the Abhinaya is introduced for the first item in traditional
Margam. There is a small poetry separated into 4 or more stanzas, which is usually
based on a character or a storyline. In between each stanza, there is a simple Korvai
(nritta step). The song including the korvais are melodious and soothing to hear. The
most popular is the Krishna Shabdam (Ayar Sheriar).

Varnam:
The main piece in a Margam recital, which includes complex Jathis and Abhinaya. A
varnam consists of Jathis, Pallavi (main line of the composition which is repeated),
Anupallavi (second line sung only once), Muktayi Swaram (the swaram that comes after
the anupallavi), Charanam (the second stanza) and Chittaiswaram. The category of
varnam performed in dance is the Pada Varnam. This is the longest piece in a Margam,
that can last upto 40 minutes. Hence, a dancer requires patience, practice an deep
knowledge of the story to learn and perform a varnam. The most popular varnam is the
Dharu varnam (Maathey) and Ragamalika varnam (Valachi Vachi).

Padam:
This is the most beautiful, enchanting piece in a Margam. This is mostly based on bhakti
and love. It narrates the relationship of Naayaka (hero) and Naayika (heroine) as well as
the Tozhi (close friend). The words in the poem are the dialogues of these three
characters. It has one Pallavi, Anupallavi and atleast one Charanam. All padams are
rendered in a slow pace with elaborate Abhinaya. A dancer needs utmost patience to
learn a Padam and perform it perfectly. This is a pure natya piece. Most popular padams
are Enna nan Seithu Vitten, and Aduvum Solluval.

Thillana:
A thillana is a rhythmic Nritya piece which is mostly said to be similar to Hindustani
Tarana. It includes a Pallavi and Anupallavi with taalam syllables (sollukattu) and a
Charanam of lyrics (Saahityam). Most popular is the Revati Thillana and Brindavana
Thillana.

Shloka:
These are small verses sung in praise of gods or godesses at the end of a traditional
Margam. This is not popular nowadays. It is a musical verse based on a particular
Raagam and a taalam.

A few more dance items were included later into the Margam. This was in order to make
it more thematic and also to convey the message or the story more conveniently.

Let us learn more about these newly added dance items in detail:

Pushpanjali:
What is the meaning of pushpanjali
(meaning ‘offering of flowers’) nowadays in many margams, this is the first dance item.
In fact this is the first dance taught to the students. This is a pure nritta piece but can
be included in nritya also. It is the salutation to lord Nataraj, guru, muscicians and the
audience. The dancer holds flowers in her hands while entering the stage to offer as a
respect (anjali). Most popular Pushpanjali is in the Raagam Ghambeera Nattai.

Kouthuvam:
What is the meaning of kauthwam? Hymn or God or shloka or song
(meaning ‘hymn’) it is a popular invocatory item in modern margam. Sometimes, it
replaces the Shabdam in the traditional Margam. It is mostly in praise of Hindu deities.
Is a nritya piece. Most popular is the Natesha Kouthuvam in praise of nataraj.

Mallari:
It is a pure joyous nritta. It was first performed by temple dancers to welcome the god
or goddess into the temple. Mallari is a passage of rhythmic syllables set to a particular
Raagam and taalam and is performed in increasing speed variation. Most popular is the
Ghambeera Nattai Raagam Mallari.

Thodaya Mangalam:
Thodayam means what? Swaras or song or jathis?
It is another beautiful invocatory item. Mostly based on bhakti. Thdoayam means ‘song’
which was sung earlier during the beginning of a drama. It is a muscial composition to
invoke blessings from god. It is usually performed after Pushpanjali. Most popular is the
Jaya Janaki Ramana.

Keerthanam:
It is a musical devotional piece which is mostly in praise of a god or goddess or
sometimes it conveys a story from the Hindu scriptures. Another similar yet more natya
item is the Krithi. These are small compositions written in praise of deities or to
describe them.moat popular Keerthanams are the Natanam Aadinar and Amritavarishini.

Javali:
It is a light classical love song. Javali comes from the kannada word Jhavali which
means song or poetry. This contains elaborate expressions and is performed in a
medium-speed mostly. It is a natya piece.

Ashtapadi:
Literally means eighth step. Here it refers to Sanskrit hymns. These are s set of poems
which describes the beauty, love between Krishna and Gopis in vrindavan. The dancer
needs patience to learn Ashtapadi and perform it.

Thank you for reading this. I hope you learnt a lot about this wonderful artform!

Please comment, like, share and follow my blog.

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Tessy Margaret August 26, 2020 history and knowledge of bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam dance items, traditional Bharatanatyam Margam, traditional margam items

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2 thoughts on “Traditional Bharatanatyam

Margam & Other Dance Items”

Ismat Fatima August 27, 2020 at 12:10 pm

Woww dii superb

! Liked by 1 person

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Tessy Margaret August 27, 2020 at 12:11 pm

Thank you!!

! Liked by 1 person

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