According to Hindu tradition, dancing is of divine origin. Brahma the creator reveals the knowledge of dramatic art to wise man Bharata whose name is a blend of the first syllable of the words Bhava, emotion, Raga, melody, and Tala, rhythm. It was the fifth Veda (Holy book at the root of Hindu religion) intended to humanity of the “Kali Yuga”, the dark age we live in, so we can reach the “mukti”, liberation, in a way that would not be too harsh nor too abstract, but equal to divine pleasure and attainable bye all men. In order to popularize them, Bharata codified the theories that the Gods Shiva, through his assistant Tandu, and Parvati had taught him and passed on to him in a tract: the Natyashastra written between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD.

The Bharata Natyam, classical dance from Tamil Nadu was first performed by devadasis, maid-servants of god appointed to a temple’s deity. The Pandanalur brothers musicians and dance masters of the Tanjore court have given its present form to the Bharata Natyam; their choreographies are among those most danced by today’s artists. The dynamic and rigorous style, with its dynamic precision, its expressive miming and symbolic gestures remains the truest to Wiseman Bharata’s rules.

There are 3 forms of Indian dances:
The Nritta form: pure and abstract dance without being descriptive. The emphasis is on the rhythm, the foot work and the movements of the limbs.
The Natya form is the expression of feelings and emotions. The singing expresses verbally what the dancing expresses with gesture.
The Nritya form combines pure dancing with expressing feelings.

The Abhinaya (which explains an idea), technique of expression, is among the most important ways to achieve that emotion.
There are 4 forms:
Angika: suggestion with body poses, limbs movements, hands gestures or mudra.
Vacika: expression with speech and music.
Aharya: expression through décor, costumes, jewellery and make-up.
Sattvika: description of a state of mind caused by an emotion.
This dance includes two aspects: Tandava, the masculine, manly aspect and Iasya, the feminine, tender and delicate aspect.

Dancing aims to pass on the universal emotion, the cosmic. By his spiritual concentration, his state of detachment, the dancer begins to identify himself with the divine to finally become only the supreme image and arise the essence of the esthetic sentiment, a state near beatitude, the bliss created by the knowledge of the supreme reality.
“Where goes the hand goes the eyes, where goes the eyes goes the spirit, with the spirit there is also the heart, and with the heart, the creative emotion.”

K. Murugan was born in Ariankupam, in the State of Pondicherry. Interested by theatre as a youngster, he was able to experience it through school and college. Later on he started singing lessons with a master, Mrs Darmampal from Kumbakonam. He then pursued his education at the Annamalai University in Chidambaram. He learned classical dancing (theory and practice) from the great masters Kittapapillai de Tanjore, Ramaya and Gopalakrishnapillai, which granted him many awards and titles, among which the one of Nadanamamani (highly skilled dancer).

Lambert Vadrot, from Karikal, in “South India, learned Bharata Natyam from these masters: Govindarajan (Nagapattinam, India), Amala Devi (Paris), K. Murugan (Pondicherry, India), Father Barbosa (Bombay, India) and P. Rajarajeswari. He had the privilege to learn Chitranatyam ( art of drawing while dancing), and had the occasion while with Father Barbosa to add Christian related choreographies to his repertoire. He was nicknamed “Pravarshan” by Mrs. Amala Devi.

" Pravarshan " means salutary and beneficial like rain in Sanskrit