Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2020 - 46

Rukmini Devi Arundale in Bharatanatyam performance costume. | Photo Courtesy of Kalakshetra Foundation
and Archives

jewelry, hairstyle, makeup, and other
accessories used in each dance tradition are an outcome of the history of
the dances and what best suits the rasa,
movement, and style of each. It is also a
consequence of which location the dance
emerged from and the influence of other
craft forms like jewelry-making, garlandmaking, textile industry, and material culture of the region-introduced by choice
or because of convenience and access.
It is complicated to discuss and compare costumes of one form with another,
since each form has its specialties. Yet,
many dancers train in a variety of forms,
and it is evident that their skills in one
area inform another form. Likewise, costumes that have similar silhouettes and
details render different stage pictures in

different dance forms. The use of gold
may have a meaning in Bharatanatyam
but can convey a different meaning in
Mohiniyattam, for example. By choosing
certain fabrics, accessories, and hairstyles, yet abiding by classical stipulations, dance scholars and performers
communicate an elegant and assorted
feel for their area of practice. Further,
after years of conducting this research
and study of costumes and performance,
it is clear how performers adopt the traditional costume vocabulary and make
small, aesthetic personalization to their
classical costumes. Thus, like how the
performance style is adapted for various
audiences and various locations, the costumes are also adapted and manipulated
to some degree, but remain tethered to

46 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | SUMMER 2020

the classical stipulations.
In the Natyashastra-based post-Colonial codification of costuming scholars
and practitioners, such as Rukmini Devi
Arundel and E. Krishna Iyer who helped
in this process for the Bharatanatyam
form, were keenly aware that by using
the rich materials existing around them
they were popularizing local crafts. By using intricately woven saris with gold accent yarns from Kanjeevaram, they could
bring the dances up to the taste of western-educated aristocratic Indian audiences as well as traditional Indian audiences.
These audiences were either already appreciative of Indian arts or needed to be
coached on the cultural heritage of India.
Many readers may know of India's antiColonial struggle and Gandhi's adoption
of hand-spun and hand-woven khadi textiles in opposition to the British-made textiles. British textiles had drained Indian
textile heritage and a thriving industry. Similarly, dance revivalists in India
wished to educate the commoners that
simplistic adoption of all-things-western
did not mean progress in India. Thus,
E. Krishna Iyer, Rukmini Devi Arundale,
Rabindranath Tagore, and others wanted Indians to learn to appreciate Indian
art. Uttara Asha Coorlawala posits that
the opposite was also equally influential. Thus, when Western dancers such
as Ruth St. Denis tried to whimsically
recreate Indian dance and its costumes
and toured India, they left an indelible
impression on Indian audiences, nudging
them to look at their own heritage.
The dance revivalists naturally selected the textile traditions of the dances'
heritage and easily incorporated them
into the costumes. When describing the
rich textile tradition of weaving in India,
Linda Lynton writes "even today, after
two centuries of disruptions caused by
Colonialism and industrialization, a multiplicity of traditional saris still exists,
created in a wide range of fabrics and
designs, reflecting the subcontinent's
great cultural diversity" (Lynton 2002,
7). Gandhi, particularly, is known for how
he embraced these traditions in India.
Susan S. Bean writes about his shift from
dressing like an Englishman as a student
in the United Kingdom to wearing the
clothing of a common man, the draped
dhoti and turban in India. He even influenced other western-minded Indians,
such as Jawaharlal Nehru. Bean writes

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