Nritya - A beautiful perspective

I’ve spent the past year (and will continue to do so for the next couple of months) working towards the completion of my thesis (wish me luck!) and through the process, I’ve found hundreds of different ideas that have delighted, challenged, or just stuck with me.

Here’s one such nugget, from the Rasa Kaumudi, which was written by Srikantha during the 16th century:

“The line, the steadiness, the swiftness, the pirouettes, the glances, the desirous [smile], the pleasing [appearance], the intellect, the speech and the song constitute the ten vital spirits of nrtya,” he wrote.

This sounds like Indian classical dance forms, in an essence. And I love how intellect and speech are shown with equal importance as smile and appearance. The contrast between lines and pirouettes, steadiness and swiftness are also captivating.

I’ve spent a lot of time watching and thinking about Kuchipudi over the years, and I’ve been struck always been struck by how it is a study of contrasts. This verse captures it so beautifully.