Karnataka classical dance heritage, in common parlance, called the Mysore School of Bharatanatyam is traced back to the 19th century, with the emergence of oral traditions under pioneer gurus in several places of Karnataka. “Modern Bharatanatyam derived its mode, material and inspiration under Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1799-1864), who shifted the capital from Srirangapatna to Mysore, and hence was appropriately called the Mysore school” (Satyanarayana 225:1969). Until 1973, the ‘unified state of Karnataka’ (unification:1956) was called ‘Mysore’, and the demise of the last Mysore Wodeyar Kings, H.H. Jaya Chamaraja Wodeyar XI, in the same year marked the end of an era of the great dynasty. Art history studies, thus in the post-independent India termed the prevalent classical dance tradition of Karnataka as the ‘Mysore School of Bharatanatyam’ to distinguish it from the Tamil Nadu traditions. The court tradition of Mysore is one amongst the four existing sampradayas along with Mugur, Nanjangud, and Kolar. As these four living traditions continue to carry on their respective legacies; it would be appropriate to bring them all under one umbrella ‘Karnataka Nritya Parampara’. All the four sampradayas are replete and complete with nritta, nritya and abhinaya compositions and not abhinaya-oriented per se, as it has been understood.

In the reign of Mummudi Krishna Raja Wodeyar III from 1799 to 1868, the glory of performing arts was restored and reached a greater level as the king himself was an artiste, writer, composer, visual artist, and a great patron of all fine arts. It was in his court that the great musician and nattuvanar Muguru Subbanna served for several years and penned prominent dance compositions. It was in this period, Chinnayya, one of the famous Tanjavur brothers (Tanjavur Quartet), who served in the court, brought in Tanjavur margam and composed varnams, javalis dedicated to the king. He also translated Tamil varnams to Telugu, and penned the lyrics in honour of his patron king. For example, the popular Manavi jai konu raa, Sankarabharanam padavarnam has the names of kings—Mummudi Krishna Raja Wodeyar III and Chamaraja Wodeyar IX— in the lyrics as his benefactors The next king, Chamaraja Wodeyar X, ruled for a period of three decades in the 19th century, wherein royal patronage was enjoyed by artists. Dancers were invited to perform for special celebratory occasions of the royal family.

Padmini Shreedhar