Bharat Muni in his definitive text “Natyashastra”has clearly stated that there are four types of abhinayas one indulges in while playing out a character during dance or theatrical renditions. One of the most rudimentary of these classifications of abhinayas is the aharya abhinaya which means the outwardly ornamentations, including the costumes, make up, stage decorations, etc. The artiste brings them into being while evoking the rasas to take the rasikas on a transcendental journey with them.
It is sad when a dancer, who is bogged down with multi-tasking by being the music arranger, dancer, PR agent, financer, and most of the times being one’s own manager, forgets the core of the final presentation, which is the aharya. On one hand aharya aesthetics find themselves crushed down under the magnitude of other artistic processes, ironically when dancers try and evolve costumes and make up, they are seized under fire by the ‘purists’, ‘classicists’, and at times even their own gurus.
Exploring this dilemma, this year’s Yuva Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee for Kathak, Divya Goswami Dikshit gives a gist of the Kathak costume’s evolution, “In the 10th Century when Kathakkars performed for God, their costumes were akin to what Devadasis wore. Moving to the Mughal court, great transformations took place and glamour added to the costume.”
She recalls an incident, not so long back, when a renowned Kathak dancer had refused the SNA award for experimental dance instead of Kathak because the gurus thought that by abandoning the basic traditional attire of Kathak her work could not be categorised as classical! “Odhni has always been a sign of modesty and has been worn traditionally by all the gharanas. However, what is an odhni but a rectangular piece of cloth which can be used creatively as a jacket, a small sash hanging around the neck or simply be played with the textures of it by using nets, chiffons, cottons, organza, etc. There is no limit to use this.”
Divya questions, “We need to ask ourselves, the same question as we do while choosing new concepts and themes –– will deleting or adding the traditional odhni add to my creativity? If yes then I’ll go for it, if no then old is gold!” She lingers off by saying that the riding factor has to be, to maintain the dignity, the purity, and spiritual quality of dance.
One of the oldest costume designers in Delhi, Kanhaiyalal gives us an insight into the evolution of the costumes, “Decades back when I started making costumes for the dancers, the material used was mostly velvet, silk, and cotton. The dresses were traditional and conservative in their designs and we produced them the exact way. Kaccham style with pallu-tucked for Bharatanatyam, angarakha or long ghagras with zari for Kathak, and so on. During the 70s and 80s exponents of Kathak, Kuchipudi and Odissi would come to me for novel design ideas. They wanted to use sheer fabrics, Banarasi organza, chiffon, sheer silk and likewise.” He says the trend changed when dancers felt a need to develop their personal styles, which he feels is continuing even now.
He also remembers a time when there was no need of a designer for all the dancers, be it Odissi or Bharatanatyam, wore unstitched saris instead of the stitched ones. Kanahaiyalal reminiscences that the gurus themselves came up with designs to be stitched for their dancers, and he finishes off by saying that those designs were contemporary and revolutionary for those times but are now classic and traditional, so will be the fate of the contemporary trends “They too shall become traditional; it’s just a matter of time.”
Veteran Odissi danseuse Sharon Lowen states, “Costume is just like make-up and lighting. With time and each succeeding performance one’s understanding of aesthetics improves. So if one is able to note the lighting during a dance recital then it is not efficient lighting since it is taking away from the core recital. Same is with the costume; it should not take away but enhance and blend with what the dancer is already portraying.”
There was a time when Indrani Rahman stormed the Indian dance scene and had shed the odhni. Surprisingly, during the 50s the Indian audiences were much more contemporary in thought and it was taken as a welcome respite. In fact, another renowned Odissi danseuse Kumkum Lal has stated in one of her interviews, “Indrani was a dance and style icon for us. We were dying to bare our midriffs like she had because it looked so elegant. Young dancers irritated with the rather restrictive gear – but still anxious to not offend their gurus – would work around the whole modesty issue by using the flimsiest material to work as a dupatta – Banarasi tissue, chiffon, etc.”
Dr. Kamalini Dutt, ex-Director of National Doordarshan Archives, a veteran dance observer, who has archived works of maestros for decades, states, “Recently, I attended a dance festival where one of the popular Kuchipudi dancers was wearing a gorgeous costume which greatly hindered my attention towards her dance and finally I had to give up. The grandeur which comes with traditional attire was missing. Costumes should never distract a rasika from focusing on the art of the artiste, otherwise what’s the point?”
Traditionally, Bharatanatyam dancers wore costumes the kaccham style with pallu tucked on the side, and a pajama underneath. Rukmini Devi Arundale did away with all of that and developed the pajama-style stitched costume which ironically didn’t have the pallu.
To this another SNA’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee, Bharatanatyam dancer Praveen Kumar adds, “Aharya always plays most the important role in performing/visual arts. It has evolved as times have changed and it has always adapted to the current scene giving a new look to its aesthetics. For me, being a male dancer, it represents ‘one’s comfort’ while wearing the dress or ornaments.”
He adds, “Initially, when I started I was exposed to stitched costume with an angavastram on top to be worn. But now, I wear a veshti and dance bare chest. Personally I don’t see much difference in me by changing the style of costuming, because for me dance was always more important. And today dance vocabulary has more to do with body kinetics, so if one has a good physique and a well-toned body, dancing with costumes designed as per personal aesthetics is totally fine.”
The classical dances we witness today are, in reality, deeply neo-classical in nature and have been derived from the temple sculptures and the static karanas on the adorned temple walls found pan India. The paradox is such that not even one of the amorous sculptures has their diaphanous cloths wrapped above the navel. The tenderness and elegance with which clothes are draped over the slender bodies of nayaka and nayikas only enhances their refined beauty, it is almost a blatant celebration of the ethereal human form.
It can thus be safely concluded that how much, how less, what, and which type or design of costume a dancer adorns is and should be a dancer’s prerogative driven by personal aesthetics, and arts being a subjective field is always open for critics and rasikas to discern the aesthetics of the artistry an artist weaves for the world to watch.
