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Alaarippu is a preparation or preconditioning of the body for the dance performance. The dancer stands in balance in the beginning and would join his or her palms to pay obeisance to the audience. Or sometimes they stand with arms akimbo. From this posture the body slowly floats into movements. The neck moves side to side in the beginning and the eyes start rolling from side to side too. The paces (gathi) increase to the first, second and third levels. And then the hands follow the movements of the neck and eyes.
Then begins the footwork. It is followed by the ‘arai mandi’ and the ‘muzhu mandi’ - the half and full kneeling postures. (See:
Legs and their positions in Bharata
Natya). And the whole body is then set it motion. There are three paces -slow, medium and fast. There are different kinds of Alaarippu-s. Some of them vary on the basis of tala or the beat or rhythm.
Tala is known by the number of beats it comprises. Three beats is known as ‘thisram.’ Four as ‘chathusram.’ Five is known as ‘kandam.’ Seven is called ‘misram.’ Nine is named ‘sankeernam.’ Six, eight and ten beats are not known by separate names because two ‘thisram’ would make one six; two ‘chathusram’ would make one eight and two ‘kandam’ would make one ten. Almost all the Alaarippu-s are based on these five kinds of tala. A large number of Alaarippu-s are based on the ‘thisram’ or ‘chathusram.’
Alaarippu can be looked at from another angle. It is like the dancer dedicating his or her body as a whole, like a flower, to the Lord. The body gets into motion in stages - neck, eyes, hands and feet. It is like a flower blossoming petal by petal and the fully bloomed flower - or the body in motion in its entirety - is dedicated to the Lord.
It is somewhat sad that Alaarippu is not included as an item for performance on stage. Many dance schools are turning it into a mere physical exercise. The discerning know that it is a pleasure to see the Alaarippu performed on stage.
Krishangini - Neeraja Nagarajan
Postures by Neeraja Nagarajan
Translated by Hari Krishnan
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