Literature review–Primary textual sources of study

Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata along with Abhinavabhārati, the commentary, is taken as the primary source of study, as this work deals with the aspects of gati in an elaborate and authentic manner, which will suit nāṭya and nṛtta, drama and dance respectively. The details of gati, as referred in other post -Bharata works, are noted down and the similarities and differences between them are explained.

Though there are many works on nāṭya, only few have dealt with the concept of gati. Most of them give importance to the aspects of āṅgika abhinaya, hand gestures, leg and body movements and those on drama have elaborated on bhāva, rasa and rūpaka aspects, which are very important dramatic elements.

Though Bharata is considered the earliest writer on dramaturgy, it is surprising to know that his successors have not followed him in describing the gati, though gati forms the base for dance and drama. This might be due to the evolution in the performance during centuries. Viṣṇudharmottara purāṇa follows Bharata and works such as Bharatārṇava, Saṅgītaratnākara, Saṅgītamuktāvali, Nṛttaratnāvali, Abhinayadarpaṇa, etc. provide different ideas and information on gati. However, the varieties of deśī cāris, bramarīs, utplutas, karaṇas and the like are useful in the performance of gati

In Tamil it is said, ‘naḍai uḍai bhāvanai’ decides the nature of a person and even here the physical appearance and stature comes first. Some texts on nāṭya have dealt in detail with the gati aspects and some others have just mentioned about gati.

Bharata in the Nāṭyaśāstra has allotted a whole chapter for gati pracāra. He deals with its varieties in an exhaustive manner. Abhinavagupta, the author of Abhinavabhāratī, a commentary on the Nāṭyaśāstra has explained it skillfully. Without this commentary, it would have been very difficult to understand the nuances of the Nāṭyaśāstra.

Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa provides a detailed description of gati and this is similar to that of Nāṭyaśāstra. Nandikeśvara in Bharatārṇava deals with the aspect of gati in a different manner, which seems to be more appropriate for dance. In the chapter called śuddha nāṭya, he describes the seven tāṇḍavas. Each tāṇḍava is interspersed with gati, karaṇa, tāla and sollukaṭṭu. Devanācārya, author of Saṅgītamuktāvali deals with gati based on rasa and gati based on nṛtta. So, according to him gati can be seen in nāṭya and nṛtta. Nṛttaratnāvali has mentioned varieties of gati based on tāla and kāla. The Abhinayadarpaṇa deals with seven varieties of gaits based on the movements of birds and animals. The concept of gati has been taking newer forms from around the 2C.E. to 18 C.E. Thus, the evolution of the gati can be noted.

In the Nāṭyaśāstra, Bharata enlists various gaits to be followed by different types of characters, in different situations, in portraying the nature, for enhancing sentiments and many such things. He deals with gati in a very elaborate way, but other scholars had a different approach regarding gati, though they follow him in many aspects of āṅgika abhinaya. It could be because gati was not considered important, as the performance of Sanskrit dramas had declined during their period.

Nāṭyaśāstra has influenced the dramatists like Bhāsa, Kālidāsa, Śriharṣa and others. The verses and dramatic terms in those dramas have been studied and referred to wherever necessary. Some dance forms prevalent after the decline of Sanskrit dramas have used deśi cāri varieties for depicting the gait. The cāris are the movements involving legs and they are found in some traditional forms of dance dramas. These can be used to depict the gait on stage. Bharata’s delineation of gati seems to be different but very useful for the theatre artists, the dancers and the actors.

Sources of study based on field-work

The study is based on the temples sculptures and the traditional practice of dance and drama. Scholars like C.Sivaramamurthi, V.Raghavan, T.N.Ramachandran, Kapila Vatsyayan, R.Nagaswamy, Padma Subrahmanyam and many others have done a detailed technical study of the sculptures of the temples mainly in and around India. The sculptures related to dance and dramas are analysed through which the practice of these arts can be ascertained. The sculptures are very much related to the text of the Nāṭyaśāstra and the interpretations of Abhinavagupta, Śārṅgadeva, Jāyana and others. The movements of the dancers are skillfully sculpted in three-dimensional techniques, though the sculptures are static in nature. Thus, the gait was visually captured in sculptures.