Varnam is a song in the Carnatic music repertoire which is also part of the dance repertoire that is in the Margam of Bharatanatyam. A Varnam is a relatively long piece and can range from 30 minutes to up to nearly an hour or 40-50 min.
Varnam is the central and most elaborate number in a Bharatnatyam Margam. It is a demanding number testing not only the stamina of a dancer but the training, the skill, the imaginative faculty of a dancer to improvise and to successfully alternate between pure dance and abhinaya. If all these come together this engrossing number is a visual delight.
In the first half of the varnam, the dancer usually begins with a trikaala jati (a jati rendered in three speeds) followed by a line of sahityam (prose). The entire varnam is an intertwining of pure dance and abhinaya followed alternately. Each line of sahityam corresponds to one avartanam and is repeated four to six times. The sahityam is preceded by a jati. Varnam is a term borrowed from Carnatic music. In technical parlance, this dance composition commences with usually four and rarely six feet of sahitya, each corresponding to one avartan of the talam.
"Gopi manam kavarntha Gopalane Giridharane......"
(One who captures Gopika's mind and soul,
Oh cowherd boy,one who lifts govardhana...... )
Ragamalika. Set to Adi Talam.
Natya composition of Sruthy Jayan.
Performed by Sri Atanu Das.
