Maarga

Naatya
The
Supreme
Way
How Kalamandalam Piyal Bhattacharya
accomplished the herculean task of
reconstructing Bharata Munis Natyashastra.
By Mandakini Trivedi

eclaiming
a
lost
performance tradition
is arduous in every
imaginable
way.
In the absence of
neither any direct lineage nor any
actual documentation, one has to take
the circuitous route through written
references historical and technical,
commentaries and subtexts as well as
evidences from allied art forms such as
sculpture, painting, music and their textual
sources. It is a journey into the unknown
that requires an innocent openness, free
of foregone conclusions.
Above all, for the reconstruction of an
ancient performance tradition, intuitive
imagination, gut feeling and a subtle
intelligence to read between the lines of
the original texts are required. Oftentimes,
a word here, a reference there, opens up
vistas of possibilities that require years
of research, study and practice. Yet the
unbiased nature of the work requires
rejection of ones pet theories and
conclusions. There are dark moments
of self-doubt when one wonders is it
all in ones imagination? Moments of
frustrating inadequacy when one feels
one knows nothing and that maybe it is
34 October 2016 NCPA

best to abandon the search.

The challenges multiply if one is
researching an inclusive, encyclopaedic
ancient tradition of total theatre
encased in Bharatas Natyashastra (dated
approximately around the 2nd century).

One of the greatest

strengths of Piyal
Bhattacharyas
research work is that
it is tempered and
tested by practice
A tradition that spans the entire gamut
of performing arts, including the art
of the director, the actor, the poet, the
musician and the dancer; the art of
stage craft and architecture, the art of
the couturier and even ritualistic liturgy
pertaining to the consecration of stage
space. Now, imagine the challenge when
all the information and insights into the
areas mentioned above come in a highly
coded language that is again coloured
by esoteric and philosophical concepts.

The reconstruction of the Natyashastra is

not just about recreating forms described
therein but owning the worldview that
gave rise to such a grand vision of art.

he travelled to Myanmar to learn the

saung gauk (the Burmese version of
traditional Indian harp or veena) under
U Win Maung. He learnt both the
traditional way of playing this harp and its
natural tuning process. Working tirelessly
with the local craftsmen there, he finally
returned to India with four reconstructed
veenas that match the descriptions of the
same in the Natyashastra.

A scene from
Maarga Naatya

A daunting task

The sheer breadth and depth of the work is

humongous. It is a daunting task requiring
deep involvement and practice of entire
disciplines of art. One would have to be
a zealous, patient and astute researcher;
an excellent performer; a multi-talented
artiste; a visionary, masterly at ideation
and execution; and above all slightly crazy
to gamble ones entire life, energy and
resources to such an endless labour of
love. Kalamandalam Piyal Bhattacharya
is all of the above and much more. In
a trend that pigeonholes engagement
with the classical arts either in the role
of a scholar or a performer, Bhattacharya
defies classification, engaging as intensely
with concepts, theories and philosophies
as with practice and performing.
Young Bhattacharyas tryst with the
Natyashastra began in his student days at
Kalamandalam when, stealing time from
his rigorous and strict Kathakali training
and performing schedules under the great
master Kalamandalam Balasubramaniam
Ashan, he would pore over the
Natyashastra curious to understand
what it was all about. Kalamandalam
was also instrumental in opening up the
magnificent array of theatre traditions in
Kerala.
A journey into the past remains mere
speculation and conjecture if it does not
interface with the present, the living
traditions. Moving back and forth in
time, the researcher has to forge a link
with present-day practices. Bhattacharya
has done exactly that by learning some
of the greatest living traditions from
contemporary masters. This also happens
to be one of the greatest strengths of his
research work in that it is tempered and
tested by actual practice and ceases to
be mere theory. The litany of his gurus in
the many disciplines that he trained in is
long and impressive and difficult to fully
accredit here, but below is a brief look at
some of the disciplines that he engaged
with.

The extensive legwork

As preparation for his extensive research

he studied under great authorities:
kootiyattam,
playing
the
mizhau
(percussion
used
in
kootiyattam),
Kathakali vocals and kalaripayattu. Again
he undertook a comparative study of

An authentic orchestra

kootiyattam and ankiya nat of Assam in

light of the Natyashastra practices under
a fellowship from the Ministry of Human
Resources. Sanskrit being the gateway to
the Natyashastra tradition, Bhattacharya
completed a study of scholar Paninis
work from Kolkata University and later
undertook advanced studies under
Manudev Bhattacharya in Varanasi.
Although trained in Kathakali, dance
was not his chief interest in studying the
Natyashastra. He wanted to understand
the Natyashastra in its fullness and not
merely as an appendage to ornament and
enhance his existing dance practice. In
fact, it is characteristic of Bhattacharyas
research that he probes deep into the
source, strives for authenticity and wishes
to grasp the subject in its entirety. Not
satisfied at having beautifully recreated
the charis (movements of the lower limbs)
and karanas (basic units of dance) of the
Natyashastra, his quest for completeness
urged him to reconstruct the music of
the Natyashastra through research and

practical training from authentic lineages.

Among the many disciplines that he
has learnt are rasa, bhava, chitrabhinaya,
samanayabhinaya of Natyashastra; and
musicology and the shruti system of the
Natyashastraic and post-Natyashastraic
musical system. He trained in pung
achoba, Bangla khol and pakhawaj.
Training extensively in dhrupad, both
vocal and instrumental under many gurus,
he also learnt the Vishnupad dhrupad of
haveli sangeet under Gokulotsav Maharaj.
He continues to practice the rudra veena
in the dhrupad style under Asit Banerjee,
a senior disciple of Zia MohiuddinDagar.
So relentless is Bhattacharyas search
for authenticity that having understood
that the Natyashastra tradition fans
across Dvipantara Bharat (Greater India
that includes Burma, Cambodia and
Thailand), he looked for living traditions
in those parts of the world. He found
that the vakraveenas of Bharatas period
travelled to Myanmar in Burma and has
survived in its traditional form. Thus,

Recipient of several fellowships and

grants from the Sangeet Natak Akademi
for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural
Heritage of India, he has reconstructed
the ancient musical instruments of
Bharatas period. This study culminated
in the creation of a complete musical
orchestra conceived as per Bharatas
music system. Incidentally, this has been
the most difficult aspect of his work to
train musicians in Bharatas bani or style
and to create an authentic orchestra of
nine members.
Bhattacharya has christened his creative
reconstruction of the Natyashastra as
Maarga Naatya the supreme theatre,
or the real way. Supreme as it involves
a purity of vision, values and forms; real
as it depicts truth or tattva. True to the
pure vision that all human effort has
to be farsighted enough to lead to the
evolution of many future generations
and in the spirit of the gurukul system;
Bhattacharya has been training a band of
dedicated students in his own thorough,
even merciless, way to attain perfection
for maarga means the perfect way; a way
that has to become a living, breathing
tradition with a sustainable training
system, guaranteeing its continuity and
ensuring that it does not remain a mere
museum piece.
His offering at the NCPA Nakshatra Dance
Festival 2016 consists of a unique repertoire
that present the chitra purvaranga or
preliminaries of the Natyashastra with all
its varied components and compositions.
The performance promises to be of
equal interest to dancers, musicians,
theatre persons and scholars, besides the
sensitive aesthete open to pure forms.
It is indeed remarkable that the NCPA,
under Programming Head for Dance,
Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, supports such
authentic research.
Maarga Naatya will be performed on 23rd
October at the Experimental Theatre.
Mandakini Trivedi will make a guest
appearance as the sutradhar.
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