AN INTERVIEW WITH PADMA BHUSHAN KALANIDHI NARAYANAN

I was forty-five years old and it was not possible to establish myself as a performing artiste. So I decided to concentrate on the 'abhinaya' aspect. Most teachers lay emphasis only on the 'nritta' (rhythm). So I thought let me do something different. I took help from various people such as researchers, and scholars in the field of dance

Translation of words into action is 'abhinaya'. A dancer should take the important aspects of the song and elaborate on it. There is no limit to the variety in 'abhinaya'. People commonly mistake facial expressions for 'abhinaya'.  It is not so. Good 'abhinaya' is where the whole body works and not just the face. Dance is a visual medium; the more you express the better.

It takes time to teach 'abhinaya'. It takes around ten days to teach a padam (an expressive item). Who has the time these days?

I don’t agree. If the 'abhinaya' is good, people do appreciate it. If you do correct 'abhinaya', then people can follow it better than a descriptive song.

Shringara is a 'rasa', which encompasses all other rasas. Shringara (love) is the basic element. There are so many emotions-valour, fear, humour, compasssion, wonder, anger etc, which can be used in Shringara. So Shringara has a wider canvas wherein one can express different emotions.

'Abhinaya', I feel should to be taught to a student only when he or she is over fifteen years of age. The feeling and involvement will come only after he or she crosses this age, as they will be able to understand the emotions.

They are good, but there is no scope for 'abhinaya' in the true sense. Emotions are not subtle. When we talk about Shringara, it has an element of shyness in it. But these days there is no shyness, everything is so blatant. When I talk about 'abhinaya', I mean the 'abhinaya', which is shown in the traditional items of a Bharatanatyam repertoire.

My students popularise my items and arrange lecture demonstrations and workshops in various places. It is only through word of mouth. All my students are doing extremely well.

To tell you honestly, I don’t know if I deserve this recognition. I was happy, but I also felt a sense of responsibility towards my profession. I owe my recognition to all those who have helped me, supported me and encouraged me.

Dance wholeheartedly. Don’t be performance oriented. While doing an 'abhinaya' item learn the song, understand it fully, assimilate the song, and then interpret it accordingly.

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