Journal: Do Writers need Arangetram ( formal launch)?
After a long stint away from being an audience for classical dance performances, I was the chauffeur turned audience of a Bharatnatyam dance performance in the famous Krishna Ganasabha. The audience turned in hordes, mostly fellow students and family members. The location was austere and serene, acoustically pristine, well-lit stage — all part of the ambiance of a costly launch.
There were no complaints about the performance; in fact, it was delectable. With my earphones on, I stole a few moments to watch my favorite Chinese periodic drama. The cool air conditioner knocked me down into a peaceful slumber for a few minutes, but since I have been the chauffeur and audience for my wife over the last two decades, she is now in hibernation mode, despite my prods and pokes.
During a break, my wife bid me to take on my chauffeur avatar, lest the long winding eulogies and the chief guest speeches would steal away her time. I obliged dutifully.
Should Art be Formal?
I got thinking about the difference between writing and dancing as art forms. Would writers not need a formal launch like classical dance? The simple question asked me to write on a working Monday, notwithstanding the work pressures I parried.
Just last week, I was invited as a judge in an elocution contest for 8–10-year-olds, and it was embarrassing yet unique to be recognized as the only informally educated judge. My fellow judge, Ms. Oviya is a Masters in English Literature and an Assistant Professor in Loyola College, Chennai. I just mustered my courage to tell her that I am a poet and an author. Her response was encouraging as she respectfully enquired about my books.
During the break, we talked about our favorite author (a surprise) Fyodor Dostoevsky. She also expressed her interest in Pablo Neruda's poetry. This is something I have got to catch up on.
Being the only informally educated judge, and amid the august gathering of formally trained and educated judges, I realized that writing is an easier art form, yet the knowledge of structured learning enables one to appreciate and critique art better.
I am in favor of formal education on the subject we love. Formal education trains the mind and helps in structured thinking. Learning as a hobby is a series of accidents caused by curiosity. Yet, I am to register for my Bachelor of Arts.
A B.A. degree is considered the last resort for many Indian parents, and by extension, their children. With STEM thrust upon by parents because of employment prospects, art takes a backseat — more so, literature. Literature or art does not earn well, folks.
I agree to an extent. But if society is not bent on quality art forms, and more so, education in arts, then it will become less human and more machine-like. No work of engineering is complete unless it in itself becomes an art. Even the engineer has to become and behave like an artist and create from the heart and the soul, than the mind.
Let me pause here. The dichotomy of science vs art has divided society for a long, but the question in front of us is should learning art be formal?
My short answer — mostly, yes. Most artists are not educated though. Painters don’t learn formal painting but exude imagination and talent on canvas. Singers should possess a suitable voice so that singing is tolerable. Writers need a basic command of language to write. To that extent, formal education helps. Shakespeare, Picasso, Bach, Beethoven, Michael Jackson…the long list of uneducated maestros of art goes on.
Bharatnatyam — the classical art needs formal training. The basic requirements of physical agility, postures, smiles, and eye-rolls are needed, of course. To perform at a professional level, one needs to be trained in capturing the nuances of beats(Thala), emotions(Bhava), and raga(music).
Untrained is unstructured. Training is about structure. The structure is fundamental to any art form.
Structure:
In Bharatnatyam, there is a structured approach to the basics. Steps bends, beats, and rhythms all come together as the basic learning of ‘units’ that combine to create complex renditions.
Dance is a performing art of expression, mainly through gestures and symbols. The idea of pre-established gestures, symbols ( mudras), and postures leads to an almost lingual form of expression resulting in interpretations of lyrics and words. There are multiple forms of expressive and narrative structures.
The complexity entails a multi-layered rendition — maintaining the basic structure of the art form in the form of expression, matching the footwork with the rhythms of beats (drums and vocal percussions), gesturing and gyrating in conjunction with the song and lyrics. Such a complex art form can be achieved only through structured learning and long-term training.
The student undergoes formal training for many years to obtain their Guru’s approval who then orchestrates the solo-debut public performance called Arangetram.
Read more here to understand Bharatanatyam.
Formal Training and Support:
Like sports, Bharatanatyam students undergo formal training as mentioned. They also participate in team performances with their guru or senior students and travel across the realm — which gives them the confidence and practice needed for the much-vaunted solo debut. Arangetram in Tamil means ‘ascending the stage’.
Each dancer has a troupe led by their Guru ( here dressed in green), who handles the vocal percussion ( Nattuvangam) and drums (the one on the left, called mridangam). The song is rendered by a singer trained in Carnatic music ( the pink color saree), a flutist, and a veena (a classical string instrument) player.
The basic structure of an arangetram follows a standard pattern. I have shared the basic tenets of each rendition for the reader.
Pushpanjali
The Arangetram performance typically begins with a dance called the Pushpanjali, which translates to “offering of flowers”. The beginning of the dance symbolizes supplication, from which the dancer then commences the rest of the performance.
Alarippu
The presentation can also begin with a rhythmic invocation (Vandana) called the Alarippu. It is a pure dance, which combines a thank you and benediction for blessings from the gods and goddesses, the guru, and the gathered performance team. It also serves as a preliminary warm-up dance, without melody, to enable the dancer to loosen their body, and journey away from distractions and towards single-minded focus.
Jatiswaram
The next stage of the performance adds melody to the movement of Alarippu, and this is called Jatiswaram. The dance remains a prelim technical performance (nritta), pure in form and without any expressed words. The drums set the beat, of any Carnatic music raga (melody). They perform a sequence (Korvai) to the rhythm of the beat, presenting to the audience the unity of music, rhythm, and movements.
Shabdam
The performance sequence then adds Shabdam (expressed words). This is the first item of Margam where expressions are introduced. The solo dancer, the vocalist(s), and the musical team, in this stage of the production, present short compositions, with words and meaning, in a spectrum of moods.[82] This performance praises God (such as Krishna, Shiva, Rama, and Murugan) and their qualities.
Varnam
The performance thereafter evolves into the Varnam stage. This marks the arrival into the sanctum sanctorum core of the performance. It is the longest section and the nritya. A traditional Varnam may be as long as 30–45 minutes or sometimes an hour. Varnam offers huge scope for improvisation and an experienced dancer can stretch the Varnam to a desirable length. The artist presents the play or the main composition, reveling in all their movements, silently communicating the text through codified gestures and footwork, harmoniously with the music, rhythmically punctuated. The dancer performs complicated moves, such as expressing a verse at two speeds. Their hands and bodies tell a story, whether of love and longing or a battle between the good and the evil, as the musicians envelop them with musical notes and tones that set the appropriate mood.
Padam
The Padam is next. This is the stage of reverence, of simplicity, of abhinaya (expression) of the solemn spiritual message or devotional religious prayer (bhakti). The music is lighter, the chant intimate, and the dance emotional. The choreography attempts to express rasa (emotional taste) and a mood, while the recital may include items such as a keertanam (expressing devotion), a javali (expressing divine love), or something else.
Tillana
The performance sequence ends with a Tillana, the climax. It closes out the nritya portion, and the movements exit the temple of expressive dance, returning to the nritta style, where a series of pure movements and music are rhythmically performed. Therewith the performance ends.
Shlokam or Mangalam
The seventh and final item in the sequence can be either a Shlokam or a Mangalam. The dancer calls for blessings on the people all around.
The overall sequence of Bharatanatyam, states Balasaraswati, thus moves from “mere meter; then melody and meter; continuing with music, meaning, and meter; its expansion in the centerpiece of the varnam; thereafter, music and meaning without meter; (…) a non-metrical song at the end. We see the most wonderful completeness and symmetry in this art”
If one can assess the structure in its simplest form, we know that each part is an evolution in structure and complexity involving the level of training and practice involved. The completeness of the performance makes the artist qualified to perform elsewhere, thereby gaining more exposure in their professional career.
Self Taught?
I cannot imagine that a Bharatanatyam dancer can perform Arangetram after learning the art form themselves. First, it involves a team and a coordinated effort involving pieces of training and rehearsals. However self-taught teams can coordinate and rehearse.
The formal training in classical dance ensures the subconscious adoption of complex songs and drama. We can conclude that performing arts cannot be self-taught, even for solo renditions.
Music, which is also a performing art has a lesser degree of formality. But if one has to adapt to the classical form which has structural aesthetics as its primary measure, then the self-taught approach won’t cut.
Writing is the basic and staple art form that feeds into the performing arts — music, dance, and drama. There is no live performance, and therefore no rehearsal is needed. But like any art, it can be improved.
One can learn the structural form through formal education, but the aesthetic form is always created. There are courses and coaches for different forms of writing. Only a few writers consider themselves as artists. Writers for hire — like content or business writers, journalists, and researchers use writing as a means; writing itself is not an outcome. We are looking at creative writing here.
Creative writing is art. It is the genesis of all art forms in a sense. Creative art is better self-taught than formally schooled.
The need for writing starts with one’s need to express. If that expression takes an art form that can make the reader visualize, experience, and resonate with it, then a writer is born. Like how performing arts needs an audience, a writer needs a reader. Yet, the performance does not happen in front of the reader, but it is exhibited to the reader. Hence, it is an exhibitive art form.
The best form of learning to write creatively is to read. Reading other works — poetry, prose, novels, short stories, and lyrics makes us appreciate the variety and the depth. This part can be structurally educated. But the aesthetical form, where the learning turns into creative inputs for one’s writing can never be taught.
So … Do Writers Need Arangetram?
Writers need a formal launch. Even though I have been writing since 2011, it was always sporadic and unstructured. But it all changed when I decided to self-publish my poetry collection in 2020.
The self-publication effort created the much-needed structure and formality in my writing process.
Team:
We work as a team — my creative advisor, editor, and publisher. An author, despite being the performer, is part of a team. The name on the cover of a printed book is just the face, like the performer in Bharatanatyam, but without the help and contribution of others, the book wouldn’t be considered a completed performance.
Structure:
From random and unstructured writing, my writing has either evolved into planned projects or collections that make sense. Poetry or Poetry Review compilations, story collections are often thematic. The randomness has disappeared. Writing is contiguous and has a designed outcome.
Milestones and Timelines:
With structures in place, I am part of teams that decide on milestones and timelines. Each project has a schedule — writing, editing, and publishing. The roles of contributors are designed to improve the first draft into a finished product. Each publishing project has stages and timebound milestones.
Investments:
Like performing arts, launching (publishing) a creative writing product/performance costs. Editing, publishing, marketing, and public relations are investments necessary for the success of a book launch.
Writing is a long-lasting art, paving the way for its creator and creation to immortality. Publishing is the formal launch of such immortality.
“A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book nothing can help him.”
― Edna St. Vincent Millay
~Ashok Subramanian © 2024
