Himalayan School of Traditional Dance founded by Brahmarishi Mohanji brings to you the traditional dance forms in their pure form, available and accessible to one and all.
Navarasas or the nine emotions gives dance completeness.
Each Rasa is a reservoir of energy drawn from the eternal life source of Prana. By drawing this powerful energy and then soaking into it, we can become subtler and attain a higher level of frequency free from all binding emotions.
1. Sringara (Love)
This is the ultimate Rasa; the crown emotion that heals everything. Love is within each and every one of us and radiates throughout the cosmos
2. Hasya (Joy)
This Rasa connects us to our sense of humor through laughter, happiness and contentment.
3. Adhbhuta (Wonder)
The curiosity, mystery and awe which occur when we become fascinated with the very idea of life. It seems like magic!
4. Vira (Courage)
Bravery, confidence, determination, self-assurance and valour.
5. Karunya (Compassion)
When we can experience another’s sadness and reflect it back to the cosmos, we then experience compassion. Compassion is what connects us all.
6. Raudra (Anger)
When angry we go into the fire. One moment of anger can destroy a lifetime of good merit
7. Bhayanaka (Fear)
Doubt, worry, insecurity etc. When we live our lives in fear, we shut down completely.
8. Bhibhatsa (Disgust)
This Rasa characterises the judgmental mind; only by cultivating loving-kindness can we heal and appease Bhibhatsa
9. Shanta (Peace)
This Rasa is reflected in deep calmness and relaxation. When we become still, quiet and at peace, we are so full that we are empty of all else but peace. We can only find peace within.
Enjoy watching the clip of Navarasas in the below link:
Navarasa – HSTD
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Through dance we cerebrate the mind and body. Adavus form the foundation of Nritta in Bharatanatyam. Focus on rhythmic precision through Adavus gives us an ability to tune the mind and body towards alignment.
Adavus are a combination of postures of the legs (sthanakam and mandalam), walking movements (chari) and hand gestures (nritta hastas)
In this series of adavu, the arm, torso and the feet movements mainly define the varieties. This adavu focuses on synchronisation of hand, eye, head, neck and feet movements through various patterns and vigour.
Hastas: Pathakam, Alapadmam, Katakhamukham
Syllables:
Thahatha jum thari tha, Jum thari jaka thari thi Jana Jana kukundhari tha, Kukundhari thakundhari thi Thakundhari kitathom tha, Dhikundhari kita thom thi Tha kita thaka dhari kitathom tha, Dhi kita thaka dharikitathom thi
While doing the theermanam adavu, the different patterns attunes our mind to newer dimensions. This helps to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot, inculcating endurance in students right from the beginning
Enjoy watching the practice video clip!
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Through dance we cerebrate the mind and body. Adavus form the foundation of Nritta in Bharatanatyam. Focus on rhythmic precision through Adavus gives us an ability to tune the mind and body towards alignment.
Adavus are a combination of postures of the legs (sthanakam and mandalam), walking movements (chari) and hand gestures (nritta hastas)
Theermanam or the muktayi adavus are the concluding adavus in jathis or korve. In this series of adavu, the arm, torso and the feet movements mainly define the varieties. This adavu focuses on synchronisation of hand, eye, head, neck and feet movements through various patterns and vigour.
Postures/Mandalas: Aaayatham
Hastas: Tri Pathakam , Pathakam, Alapadmam
Syllables: Tha din gina thom, Kitathaka Dhari Kita Thom
While doing the theermanam adavu, the different patterns attunes our mind to newer dimensions. This helps to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot, inculcating endurance in students right from the beginning
Enjoy watching the practice video clip!
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Bhedas as described in the Natyashastra/Abhinaya Darpana offers in depth movement patterns for every part of the body. A dancer going deeper into the Bhedas will be able to control each part of the body with utmost clarity.
Eyebrow is one of the minor limbs or the upanga as per the Natyashastra/Abhinaya Darpana. The movements of the eyebrows is used in various Abhinaya to communicate the context of gestures.
Sahaja Patita Ukshipta Chathura Rechitha tatha Kunchithethi Shadevaatra Bhru-chathuryavathi kriyaha
Bhru Bheda Shloka
Head movement
How to do
Sahaja
Eyebrows straight (natural) without any movement
Patita
The brows being at rest, are brought closer downwards
Utkshipta
Either one or both of the eye brows are raised.
Chatura
Moving both the eyebrows up and down slightly
Rechitha
Raising one eyebrow
Kunchita
Bending one or both eyebrows
How to do Bhru Bheda – HSTD
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian
Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
According to Natyashastra, a dancer expresses through Angikam (body), Vachikam (words), Sattvikam(emotions) and Ahaaryam(costume). The most striking feature of Bharatanatyam is the use of hand gestures – Hasthas, (in the Angikabhinaya). It is of great importance both in the enactment of Abhinaya (Expressing emotions) and in Nritta(pure dance gestures)
Hastas used to depict the deities in Bharatanatyam are called Devatha Hastas.
Below are the Devatha Hastas:
Devatha Hasta
Meaning
Hasta
How to do
Bramha
Creator of the Universe
Left hand in Chatura, right hand in Hamsasya.
Shiva
Dissolution of the evil
Left hand in Mrigashirsa, right hand in Tripataka.
Vishnu
Protector of the Universe
Tripataka with both hands
Saraswathi
Goddess of knowledge
Right hand in Suchi, left hand in Kapittha
Parvathi
Consort of Lord Shiva
Right hand in Ardhachandra held vertical (abhaya hasta), left hand in Ardhachandra held facing down (varada hasta)
Lakshmi
Goddess of wealth
Kapittha hands near the shoulders held vertically
Ganesha
God of wisdom
Kapittha hands on the waist held horizontally
Karthikeya/Skanda
God of light
Kartikeya is depicted by holding left hand in Trishula hasta and right hand in Shikara hasta
Manmatha
Cupid
Left hand in Shikhara, and right hand in katakamukham, both held at the level of the chest
Indra
God of rain
Tripataka swastika held above the head or near the right shoulder.
Agni
God of fire
Right hand in Tripataka and left hand in Kangula
Yama
God of death
Left hand in Tamrachuda and right hand in suchi held horizontally
Niruthi
Guardian of the directions
Right hand in Shakatam and left hand in Khatva
Varuna
God of ocean
Right hand in Pataka and left hand in Shikhara
Vaayu
God of wind
Right hand in Arala and left hand in Ardha Pataka.
Kubera
God of wealth
Right hand in Mushti (gada or mace on shoulder) and left hand in Padmakosha (lotus)
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian
Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Through dance we cerebrate the mind and body. Adavus form the foundation of Nritta in Bharatanatyam. Focus on rhythmic precision through Adavus gives us an ability to tune the mind and body towards alignment.
Adavus are a combination of postures of the legs (sthanakam and mandalam), walking movements (chari) and hand gestures (nritta hastas)
Sutral literally means swirl. In sutral adavu we use such swirls as a part of the adavu. In this series of adavu, the arm, torso and the feet movements mainly define the varieties. This adavu focuses on synchronisation of hand, eye, head and feet movements through various patterns and vigour. Sutral adavu comprises of four variations done in 3 kalams/speeds.
Hastas: Pathakam, Tri Pathakam, Shikaram, Katakamukham, Alapadmam
Talam: Adi
Syllables: Tha thi tham, dhi thi tham
While doing the sutral adavu, the different patterns attunes our mind to newer dimensions. This helps to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot, inculcating endurance in students right from the beginning
Enjoy watching the practice video clip!
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Through dance we cerebrate the mind and body. Adavus form the foundation of Nritta in Bharatanatyam. Focus on rhythmic precision through Adavus gives us an ability to tune the mind and body towards alignment.
Adavus are a combination of postures of the legs (sthanakam and mandalam), walking movements (chari) and hand gestures (nritta hastas)
Kutthadavu derived from the word kuttanam which means jumping on the toes with the heals raised upright. In this series of adavu, the arm, torso and the feet movements mainly define the varieties. This adavu focuses on synchronisation of hand, eye, head and feet movements through various patterns and vigour. We do the Kuttanam in Araimandi or Ardha – mandala posture. Kutthadavu comprises of four variations done in 3 kalams/speeds.
Postures/Mandalas: Aaayatham
Hastas: Tri Pathakam
Talam: Adi
Syllables: Tha thi tha ha, dhi thi tha ha
Kutthadavu is done for developing a deep sense of rhythm, stamina and also the different patterns attunes our mind to newer dimensions. This helps to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot, inculcating endurance in students right from the beginning
Enjoy watching the practice video clip!
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Through dance we cerebrate the mind and body. Adavus form the foundation of Nritta in Bharatanatyam. Focus on rhythmic precision through Adavus gives us an ability to tune the mind and body towards alignment.
Adavus are a combination of postures of the legs (sthanakam and mandalam), walking movements (chari) and hand gestures (nritta hastas)
Kudittu literally means ‘to jump’ and Mettu means pressing the heel to the ground. In this series of adavu, the arm and torso movements mainly define the varieties. This adavu introduces the focus on synchronisation of hand, eye, head and feet movements through various patterns and vigour. We do the Kudittu mettu adavus in Araimandi or Ardha – mandala posture. Kudittu mettu adavu comprises of four variations done in 3 kalams/speeds.
Postures/Mandalas: Aaayatham
Hastas: Katakamukham, Alapadmam, Pathakam, Tri Pathakam
Talam: Adi
Syllables: Thi ha thi hi, Thi ha thi hi
Kuditta mettu adavu is done for developing a deep sense of rhythm, stamina and also the different patterns attunes our mind to newer dimensions. This helps to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot, inculcating endurance in students right from the beginning
Enjoy watching the practice video clip!
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Yada yada hi Dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata Abhyutthanam Adharmasya tadaatmanam srujamyaham
Paritranaya sadhunaam vinashaya cha dushkritam Dharma samsthaapanarthaya sambhavaami yuge yuge
Oh descendants of Bharata,Whenever Dharma decays and Adharma prevails, I manifest Myself. To establish the virtue, to destroy the evil, to protect the good I descend from time to time
Bhagavath geetha chapter 4
Lord Vishnu, the preserver or the sustainer of the universe, reincarnated in ten different forms in the Satiyuga, Tretha Yuga and Dwapara Yuga. Each of His Avatars serves a definite purpose to restore Dharma.
The ten Avatars of Lord Vishnu are Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Kalki/Bhuddha.
Matsya Avatar:
Matsya meaning Fish in Sanskrit is the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu. He took the form of a fish to save the four Vedas from the clutches of the demons. Interestingly, evolution began underwater, and fish is one of the first forms of life.
Matsya Avatar
How to do: Matsya Samyuta Hasata
Kurma Avatar:
Taking the form of Kurma or a giant tortoise, Lord Vishnu stabilises the Earth from a massive cosmic mishap. He bore the huge weight of the Mandara mountain when the Devasand the Asuraswere churning the Oceanfor Amrita (The divine nectar). Tortoise is an amphibian, that can survive both underwater and on the land and hence this shows the evolution aspect
Kurma Avatar
How to do: Kurma Samyuta Hasata
Varaha Avatar:
As Varaha or the wild boar, Lord Vishnu fought a fierce battle with Hiranyaksha who had stolen the Earth for his personal greed. Hiranyaksha had drowned the Earth and Lord Vishnu scooped Her from the ocean of negativity with His tusks. Boar stays on the Earth and it indicates the growth in the evolution.
Varaha Avatar
How to do: Varaha Samyuta Hasata
NarasimhaAvatar:
Lord Vishnu appeared as a half-man and a half-lion. Narasimha avatar is the iconic symbol of hope against odds, victory over persecution and annihilation of evil. It was the shortest avatars of Lord Vishnu in terms of time span. He came for a specific purpose to declare that, “God permeates every little atom”
Narasimha Avatar
How to do: Right – Tripataka, Left – Simhamukha
Vamana Avatar:
Sri Vamana Avatar is the first Avatar where Lord Vishnu took complete human form though dwarf at the beginning. In this Avatar He restores the Lokas – from the clutches of King Bali who was filled with Ego. In this Avatar the message is, only total surrender to God ultimately triumphs however mighty one may be
Vamana Avatar
How to do: Right – Mushti, Left – Mushti
Parasurama Avatar:
Sri Parasurama avatar is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. He was born to end the tyranny of the evil Kshatriyas, who misused their powers and made others’ lives miserable, and bring them to justice. Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Parashurama to explain the duties of a Brahmin and a Kshatriya.
Parasurama Avatar
How to do: Right – Ardhapathaka, Left – Placed on the hips
Rama Avatar:
Sri Rama is one of the most significant and powerful avatars of Sanatana dharma. Rama avatar emphasised on the duties of a person over the self and focus on righteousness in society. Sri Rama is the embodiment of truth and morality.
Rama Avatar
How to do: Right – Katakamukam(3), Left -Shikaram
Balarama Avatar:
Balarama, who is also regarded as an avatar of Shesha Naga, is the eighth incarnation of Sri Vishnu. As the name suggests, Bala denotes strength, and he is associated with a plough used by farmers. While most legends and texts consider Balarama as avatar of Shesha – the companion of Vishnu, Gita Govinda of Sri Jayadeva describes him as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, raising Krishna to the Brahman, or Ultimate Reality itself, and the fountainhead of all other avatars and creation
How to do: Right – Pataka, Left – Mushti
Krishna Avatar:
The avatar of Krishna is considered a “Poornavatar” — an avatar in which Godly qualities were found manifested in full. In His Vishwaroopam to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra and Geetopadesam, Krishna emphasised on the fundamental reality about this journey called life. His attraction to devotees is magnetic and Lord Krishna is perhaps the most widely loved, adored and worshiped Avatar.
How to do: Right – Mrigashirisha, Left – Mrigashirisha
Kalki Avatar:
The tenth and the last avatar of Lord Vishnu is yet to appear. He is expected to arrive at a time when the world witnesses the darkest side of humanity. Kalki will appear to uproot Adharma and sow the seeds of a new Yuga.
How to do: Right – Pathaka, Left – Tripathaka
From Innumerable incarnations of Vishnu, Rishis or the Sages selected ten Avatars as a representative of rest and thus each of His Avatars serves a definite purpose to restore Dharma.
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian
EditEdited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Art, by its very nature, transcends boundaries and allows the individual to expand gradually into cosmic consciousness. Himalayan School of Traditional Dance is the first of its kind in that its primary goal is to spread harmony, connect people to the spiritual essence of this art form and enable one to experience the joy of liberated existence.
It is said that Dance is the language of the Gods! The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva as Nataraja – the Ultimate Dancer, symbolizes the Divine play of the universe through five processes – creation, preservation, destruction, illusion and grace.
Just as Sanskrit is considered the mother of all languages, Bharatanatyam, in my opinion, can be considered the mother of all dance forms. Given to the world by Sage Bharatha, it is a complete artform with poetry,visuals, music and drama. It brings together and aligns the body, mind and spirit. Verses from Natyashastra describes how the awareness progresses into alignment and alignment dissolves the mind and evokes devotion and culminates in Rasa – The essence.
This sublime and beautiful artform blends the aspect of grace, vigor, movement (Nrita) and expressions (Abhinaya) to experience life in its totality. There are different stages that one goes through as one pursues the artform. At the beginners level one focuses on achieving stability and speed to execute the movements in total synchronization with the solfa syllables. With practice the art now takes us to the next level of increasing the physical stamina to present longer duration portrayals. Then different possibilities slowly open up for the artist to explore and manifest that inner creativity in myriad flavours unique to the artist. Thus dance becomes an extension of the dancer and it gracefully reflects in the very being of the dancer. At this stage the artist effortlessly transcends the challenges at the physical level to experience the joy of being one one with the character that one gets to play. It thus becomes a celebration of the “Inner self” to experience that very essence in the infinite variety.
Bharatanatyam, I would say is a journey as large as life itself. It is freedom beyond structure. Though it has a structure, the strength of the artist shines forth in exploring and unravelling the dimensions that the art form offers. It is like a flower blooming. An artist blossoms under the right guidance and inspiration.
The joy of learning dance is in itself. One experiences the sheer joy by learning it without any expectations. Discipline ,dedication and determination helps a lot in this journey. One then becomes so devoted to the art and it becomes so much a part of their life just like a child to one’s mother .
Dance is the nature of the universe, Dance is our breath, in and out, Dance is bliss, Dance is beauty, Dance is Shiva and Shakthi! May we become the dance!
By – Artistic Director Himalayan School of Traditional Dance – Radha Subramanian
Edited and Published by – Team HSTD (Copyright HSTD)
Through dance we cerebrate the mind and body. Adavus form the foundation of Nritta in Bharatanatyam. Focus on rhythmic precision through Adavus gives us an ability to tune the mind and body towards alignment.
Adavus are a combination of postures of the legs (sthanakam and mandalam), walking movements (chari) and hand gestures (nritta hastas)
Paraval literally means to spread. In Paraval adavu, the feet articulation mainly define the varieties. This adavu introduces the variety in patterns at the same time focusing on synchronisation of hand, eye, head and feet movements through various patterns of striking the floor with the feet. In paraval adavus we strike or slide the floor maintaining an Araimandi or Ardha – mandala posture. Paraval adavu comprises of four variations done in 3 kalams/speeds.
Hastas: Pathakam, Tri Pathakam, Katakamukham, Alapadmam, Dola
Talam: Adi
Syllables: Tha thi thi tha, Dhi thi thi tha
Paraval adavu is done for developing a sense of space and also the different patterns attunes our mind to newer dimensions. This helps to progressively build clarity in the articulation of the foot, inculcating endurance in students right from the beginning
Enjoy watching the practice video clip of Naat adavu by little children!
Himalayan School of Traditional Dance 