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New Bharatanatyam costumes added to our product line !

This week we have added two different types of Bharatanatyam costumes to our product line at the online store of http://www.indiamartinusa.net/. One is made of Dharmavaaram type silk saree and the other one is made of art silk saree. Both will be stitched in India as per the measurements provided by the customer. The delivery time is around 4 – 6 weeks. Please check our readymade costume measurement chart, before ypu order custom made to see if some readymade size fits you. We already have dance practice costumes which can be used for Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi or Mohiniyattam dance practice lessons. The cost of our Bharatanatyam costumes are very reasonable. Please check out our website for more information. Apart from the Bharatanatyam dance costumes, we also have imitation temple jewellery and dance make-up accessories including false hair, Kunjalam, hair bun etc…

Types of Bharatanatyam jewelry

Most of the online stores selling Bharatanatyam jewelry has usually three different types of ornamants. The jewelry with red and white stones, imitation temple jewelry, and real temple jewelry. Out of all these, the cheapest is the first catagory. The base metal to make these and imitation temple jewelry are the same. Only the color and type of the stones are different. The real temple jewelry is made of silver and coated with gold. The stones used for this are the kemp stones imported from Srilanka.

New stock arrived !

Today we have updated our website with many fast moving items. Many of the "out-of-stock" items are now available. Have a look at the site. The temple jewelry set model IT TR75 is available now. We also have the 4 line long chain for Bharatanatyam as well as the fast moving Elakathaali.

Kerala Sarees and Set Mundu

Set mundu is the traditional dress of Kerala Women. Set mundu is also known as mundum neriyathum. It is the oldest raw form of the saree which covers only the lower part of the body. In the set mundu, the basic traditional piece is the mundu, the lower garment worn around the waist. The set or neriyathu forms the upper cloth. Looking back to the Kerala culture, it is very evident that the neriyathu is added very recently, may be after 1960s to the mundu. The set mundu, in recent years, is worn in the modern style with the neriyathu placed over the blouse. Typically it is worn diagonally from along the right hip to the left shoulder covering the blouse and upper part of the body. The remaining loose end of the set (neriyathu) hangs freely from the left shoulder like the pallu of any Indian dress. Because the material is pure cotton, the set mundu or mundum neriyathum is starched and thoroughly ironed before wearing.The set mundu is originally cream in color has a colored strip at the border known as kara. This is usually known as kasavu kara because this border is always in golden color made of kasavu material. The kasavu kara is usually artificial material which looks like gold strings. Mostly this is fine copper strings with gold plating or similar coating. The pure gold kasavu kara is used in expensive Kanchipuram silk sarees and even in expensive set mundu. Until recent years the mundum neriyathum was only woven by handloom. Now these are made in power looms in various parts of Kerala. Still handloom woven set mundu are in high demand and they cost slightly higher when compared to their power loom counterparts.At different parts of Kerala the set mundu is known in different names and the style varies slightly based on the local culture and life style. Though mundum neriyathum is the most common name, set saree, kasavu mundu, mundu saree, Kerala saree are few other names for set mundu. On festive occasions like Onam and Vishu, set mundu is the preferred costume of all Malayalee women irrespective of where they live. Thiruvathirakali and Kaikottikali are two traditional dances, Malayalee women perform in groups during Onam. The costumes for these dances are always set mundu or Kerala saree. Another big advantage of the set mundu or Kerala saree is that it can accommodate any color for the blouse. The plain golden jewelry always goes with these costumes. Mohiniyattam, the classical dance originated from Kerala also has costumes similar to set mundu with more fan and pallu.
As mentioned, the set mundu is the traditional and cultural costume of Malayalee women and often referred as Mundum Neriyathum. The beauty, elegance, grace and appeal of the kasavu kara contrasting with the otherwise plain white set mundu has become symbol of malayalee women.

Mohiniyattam Dance

Mohiniyattam is one of the classical dance forms of Kerala. It was mainly performed in the Temples of Kerala. It is also the heir to devadasi dance heritage like Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi. There is a story of Lord Vishnu taking on the guise of a mohini to enthrall people, both in connection with the churning of the milk ocean and with the episode of killing Bhasmasura
Mohiniyattam is based on the themes of love and devotion and more often the hero is Vishnu or Krishna. The audience can feel His invisible presence when the heroine or her maid details dreams and ambitions through the circular movements, delicate footsteps and subtle expressions. The movements are graceful like Odissi and the costumes sober and attractive.
The repertoire of Mohiniattam follows closely that of Bharatanatyam. Beginning with Chollukettu, the dancer performs Jathiswaram, Varnam, Padam and Thillana in a concert. Mohiniyattam like many other forms follows the Hasthalakshana Deepika as a text book of hand gestures. The style of vocal music for Mohiniattam is classical Karnatic.

MUSIC FOR MOHINIYATTAM

The vocal music of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu. The lyrics are in Manipravalam, a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. The Mohiniyattam dance is performed to this accompaniment by the subtle gestures and footwork of the danseuse. The performer uses the eyes in a very coy yet sensual manner, the purpose being to enchant the mind without enticing the senses.

THE MOHINIYATTAM JEWELRY AND COSTUME

The costume in Mohiniyattam dance comprises of a white ‘kasavu’ saree, a decorated blouse and a waist garment. The edges are embellished with golden fabric know as kasavu kara. The makeup is simple. The face is treated with yellow and pink colored paste. The eyes are given a lining of black color. The lips are reddened. The hair is tied up and adorned with jasmine flowers.
Mohiniyattam jewellery is marked by its use of gold or gold plated jewelry. Usually Mohiniyattam jewellery set consists of necklaces, ‘vanki’ (armband), ‘oddiyanam’ (waistband), nose stud (Nath Bullaku) and ‘jimikki’ (swinging ear ornaments). Necklaces are basically of two types: ‘maangamala’ and ‘Kaasumala’. The ‘mangamala’ is made by linking together gem studded mango shaped pieces. The ‘kasumala’ is made by attaching gold coins together.
The pendants for the necklaces are shaped like swans, peacocks and parrots. Similar to mangamala or kasumala, the elakkathali is another famous traditional ornament in the Mohiniyattam Jewellery set. The oddiyanam is also gold plated which may sometimes have the picture of Goddess Lakshmi engraved in it. This particular type of oddiyanam is known as Lakshmi Belt. This plain Lakshmi Belt is very popular and often Bharatanatyam dancers use it as part of Bharatanatyam jewellery.

Bharatanatyam Jewellery

Temple jewellery belongs to the tradition of India, especially southern part of India. Olden days, Temple jewellery was worn by only Devadasi girls who perform dance in temple and in Darbars. Now a days, it is not uncommon to see south Indian brides wearing Temple Jewellery for their weddings. So today, one can say the Temple jewellery is traditional South Indian jewellery. The origin of Temple Jewellery dates back to 12th century. This was the period of famous Dravidian Tamil Dynasty known as “Chozha kulam” who ruled southern part of India. All the chozha kings gave very importance to cultural development and most of the of the temple jewelry today are similar to the designs in the heavily ornamented pillars with accurate details and rich sculpted walls of many south Indian Temples, especially ones in Thanjavur.

Today temple jewelry is prepared in a variety of metals. Originally it was made of gold with ruby, emerald & pearls and was used by the devadasi girls who danced in Temple and Darbars. Today Temple jewellery is mostly associated with Bharatanatyam dance. There are different types of Temple Jewellery manufactured today. Three of them are widely sold all over the world. Real Temple Jewellery, Imitation temple Jewellery and Stone type Temple Jewellery. Most of the real temple is made in Nagercoil, a southern city in Tamilnadu. These designs are quite unique which makes them more popular and adorable. These are made with silver and have a heavy coating of 22Ct gold over it. These are expensive and so imitation of expensive jewellery is also available on the market.

The most common Imitation Temple Jewelry set has 11 different ornaments. These are Long chain, Short necklace, Sun/Moon, Nethichutti, Mattal, Jimikky, Belt, Vanki, Rakkodi, Nath/Bullakku and bangles. Dancers also wear chilangai/salangai in the ankles during dance performance.

New stock update

Today the online store was updated with many new products. The favorite necklace and the JADA were added to the stock. They were out of stock for a while.

Also working with domestic shipper to reduce the shipping cost. We have now added UPS also.

Fo some dance items which are not available in this store, you may check at http://www.ClassicalDanceCostumes.com too

Dance practice costumes introduced

We have added dance practice costumes to our product catalog. Presently, the delivery time is 4 weeks (for costumes only), but we are working on to reduce it to 4 days. Please visit our practice costume section for the price details.

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