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.
