Musical perspective of Kauthuvam

Abstract

Kauthuvam or Kavithuvam or Kauttam is a prominent form in the present day Bharatanatya Margam. Earlier, this was a form that was a dedicated ritual composition performed by the traditional dancers in temples. For decades now, this form has evolved with inevitable modifications, alterations and innovations. This paper will focus on the musical aspects of this Bharatanatyam form and the historical perspective in the rendition through the years. Though there are many oral sources with regard to this subject, the study will deal with the few available textual sources in order to understand the historical development of the form. The structure of the Kauthuvam is generally a combination of solkattu syllables or the rhythmic syllables, that generally do not have any meaning and the meaningful sahitya part. The sahitya is generally in praise of a deities, King, patron and other specific themes. From the Bharatanatyam point of view, Kauthuvam is one of the invocatory compositions in present day margam. This form has a combination of both nrtta and abinaya components. The melodic structure, rhythmical components, distribution of the rhythmic syllables, text or the sahitya have scope for analytical study, so as to evaluate the significant changes that has been created in this dance form till date. The main objective of this paper shall be the musical components of the form Kauthuvam, based on the documentation available in various printed sources.