Performing Arts: Classical Dance, Music, Theatre and Puppetry

The roots in the Natyashastra

India's performing arts share a common root text: the Natyashastra, attributed to Bharata Muni (composed between about 200 BCE and 200 CE). It treats drama, dance and music as one art and explains the theory of rasa – the aesthetic emotion experienced by the audience. It lists eight rasas (shringara – love, hasya – laughter, karuna – compassion, raudra – anger, veera – heroism, bhayanaka – fear, bibhatsa – disgust, adbhuta – wonder); later thinkers such as Abhinavagupta added shanta (peace), making nine rasas (navarasa). The Natyashastra also defines bhava (emotional states) and the two aspects of dance: tandava (vigorous, associated with Shiva) and lasya (graceful, associated with Parvati). The Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikeshvara is another key text on gesture. UPSC asks about the features and states of classical dances, the two systems of classical music, folk forms and theatre traditions.

Elements of classical dance

• Nritta – pure, abstract dance movements without meaning.
• Nritya – expressive dance that conveys meaning through gestures and facial expression.
• Natya – the dramatic element, telling a story.
• Abhinaya – the art of expression, of four kinds: angika (body), vachika (speech and song), aharya (costume and make-up) and sattvika (inner feeling).
• Mudras (hand gestures) – asamyukta (single hand) and samyukta (both hands).

The eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi

The Ministry of Culture also lists Chhau (Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal – a martial, masked dance; UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage 2010) as classical in some contexts, so read questions carefully.

Classical music: two systems

Both systems are based on raga (melodic framework) and tala (rhythmic cycle), and both trace their roots to the Samaveda and texts such as the Brihaddeshi (Matanga) and Sangita Ratnakara (Sarangadeva, 13th century). They diverged from around the 13th–14th century.

Hindustani music (north). Influenced by Persian and Central Asian traditions at the Sultanate and Mughal courts.

• Forms: Dhrupad (oldest, austere; Dagar family), Khayal (more improvisational; credited to Amir Khusrau and developed by Sadarang), Thumri (light, romantic, Lucknow), Tappa (from Punjab camel drivers), Ghazal, Dadra.
• Gharanas – schools such as Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur–Atrauli, Kirana, Patiala.
• Instruments: sitar, sarod, tabla, shehnai, santoor, sarangi, bansuri.
• Tansen, one of the navaratnas of Akbar's court, is the legendary master; Amir Khusrau is credited with developing the sitar and tabla (debated).

Carnatic music (south). More devotional and composition-based.

• The Trinity of Carnatic music (18th–19th century): Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. Purandara Dasa (16th century) is the "father of Carnatic music", who systematised teaching.
• Forms: kriti, varnam, ragam–tanam–pallavi, tillana.
• Melakarta system of 72 parent ragas (Venkatamakhin).
• Instruments: veena, mridangam, ghatam, violin, nadaswaram, kanjira.

Folk and regional forms

• Dances: Bihu (Assam), Garba and Dandiya (Gujarat), Bhangra and Giddha (Punjab), Ghoomar (Rajasthan), Lavani (Maharashtra), Yakshagana (Karnataka, dance-drama), Theyyam (Kerala, ritual), Chhau (east), Cheraw (Mizoram, bamboo dance), Dollu Kunitha (Karnataka).
• Music: Baul (Bengal, wandering mystic singers), Sufi qawwali, Pandavani (Chhattisgarh, Teejan Bai), Lavani.

Theatre and puppetry

Classical Sanskrit drama – Bhasa, Kalidasa (*Abhijnanashakuntalam*, *Malavikagnimitram*, *Vikramorvashiyam*), Shudraka (*Mrichchhakatika*), Bhavabhuti and Harsha (*Ratnavali*, *Nagananda*). Sanskrit plays had happy endings and mixed Sanskrit with Prakrit for different characters.

Kutiyattam of Kerala, the only surviving form of ancient Sanskrit theatre, was among the first items proclaimed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage (2001).

Folk theatre: Jatra (Bengal), Nautanki (UP), Tamasha (Maharashtra), Bhavai (Gujarat), Yakshagana (Karnataka), Ramlila (UNESCO 2008), Swang (Haryana), Therukoothu (Tamil Nadu), Ankia Naat (Assam, Sankardev).

Puppetry:

• String puppets: Kathputli (Rajasthan), Kundhei (Odisha), Gombeyatta (Karnataka), Bommalattam (Tamil Nadu).
• Shadow puppets: Tholu Bommalata (Andhra Pradesh), Togalu Gombeyatta (Karnataka), Ravanachhaya (Odisha), Tholpavakoothu (Kerala).
• Rod puppets: Putul Nach (West Bengal), Yampuri (Bihar).
• Glove puppets: Pavakoothu (Kerala).

UNESCO intangible heritage from India (selected)

Kutiyattam, Vedic chanting, Ramlila, Ramman (Garhwal), Mudiyett (Kerala), Kalbelia (Rajasthan), Chhau, Buddhist chanting of Ladakh, Sankirtana of Manipur, Yoga (2016), Kumbh Mela (2017), Durga Puja in Kolkata (2021) and Garba of Gujarat (2023).

Decline, revival and the role of the state

Many classical forms went through a crisis in the colonial period. Temple dance by devadasis was attacked by reformers as linked with exploitation, and the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act, 1947 banned temple dedication. At the same time, nationalist artists and scholars worked to "rescue" the art from this stigma. E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale reshaped Sadir into Bharatanatyam for the public stage; Vallathol revived Kathakali; Uday Shankar created a modern Indian ballet that toured the world; and Tagore brought Manipuri to Santiniketan. This revival gave the arts new respect but also, critics say, took them away from the hereditary communities who had preserved them – a point worth adding in balanced answers.

After independence the state became a major patron. The Sangeet Natak Akademi (1953) recognises classical forms, awards fellowships and archives performances; the Lalit Kala Akademi (1954) and Sahitya Akademi (1954) do the same for visual arts and literature. Zonal Cultural Centres, the Guru-Shishya Parampara scheme and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (1987) support training and documentation. Doordarshan, All India Radio and now digital platforms have made classical music and dance available to new audiences, while festivals such as the Khajuraho Dance Festival and Konark Festival link heritage with tourism. The challenge today is to support living artists, especially folk and tribal performers, rather than treating culture only as a museum piece.

Quick recall tip

To remember the classical dances, link each to a text or saint: Odissi with Jayadeva's Gita Govinda, Sattriya with Sankardev, Manipuri with the Raas Leela of Krishna, Kuchipudi with Siddhendra Yogi, and Kathak with the storytellers of north Indian temples and later the Mughal and Awadh courts.

Mains practice question

"Indian classical dances are rooted in a shared aesthetic theory but express regional identities." Elaborate. (150 words)

Answer framework

• Shared roots: Natyashastra, rasa–bhava, nritta–nritya–natya, mudras.
• Regional identity: temple traditions (Bharatanatyam, Odissi), courtly (Kathak), monastic (Sattriya), Vaishnava (Manipuri), dance-drama (Kathakali, Kuchipudi).
• Revival in the 20th century tied to nationalism.
• Conclusion: unity in diversity.