What Chidambara Smaranakal Actually Is
It is a specific segment within the BharatanatyamMargam. The name refers to the invocation of Lord Nataraja at Chidambaram. Dancers learn it as a standalone item or as part of the ritual order before the main padam or swarajati. It is not a widely taught piece in every gharana. Some lineages include it, others drop it entirely. The sequence relies heavily on the karanas described in the Natya Shastra. You will see combinations of aramandi postures, jumps, and hand gestures that trace the story of Shiva as the cosmic dancer. The music is usually in a fast adi tala. Abhinaya is minimal here. The focus is on precision of footwork and clarity of the karana forms. If you try to over-interpret the meaning during the performance, the count gets messy. Keep the facial expression neutral. Let the body do the explaining. I remember rehearsing this for a solo concert about five years ago. The choreographer had adapted a version that included a rapid tala-sankirana midway through. The problem was that my guru's lineage never taught that variation. When I tried to follow the new count, I kept landing on the wrong samam in the third avartanam. What worked for me was tracing out the original tala divisions on paper first, then layering the modified count back in slowly. It took about two weeks of isolating just that section at half tempo before it felt natural at full speed. If you are dealing with an adapted version that deviates from the traditional count, don't rush into full speed. Break the tala cycle down bar by bar.
How to Learn It
Start by learning the basic karanas individually. Each karana has a specific name and foot placement. Muthuswami Dikshitar's Karana Kantaabharanam is the most useful reference text. Sing the verses slowly. Map each line to a physical combination. The text lists sixty-four karanas. The Chidambara Smaranakal draws from a subset of these. Once the individual combinations feel solid, put them together under the music. This is where most students struggle. The tempo is brisk. A common mistake is to play the recording too slowly during practice and then fail when the original speed returns. Keep the metronome at or near the performance tempo from day one. Your muscles need to adapt to the actual speed, not a comfortable training speed. The arangetram version and the concert version differ slightly. The arangetram version tends to be longer because examiners want to see more variety. A concert performance usually trims it down. If you are preparing for a specific venue or examination board, ask for their required duration and structure beforehand. Some boards expect the full traditional sequence. Others accept a shortened version.
Common Pitfalls
The most frequent issue I see is unclear aduttam. Jump landings that are soft or off-balance immediately throw the rest of the sequence. Check your core engagement before every jump. A weak landing echoes through the next three combinations. Another issue is hand placement during the karana transitions. Students often drop their hastas between movements because they are thinking about footwork. The hands should remain in position even during the brief pauses. This is non-negotiable in the traditional presentation. The music itself can be tricky. Some recordings have the mridangam drowning out the melodic instrument. If you cannot hear the sam clearly, use a drum-only track for practice and switch to the full version only when the sequence is solid. Relying on a muddied recording will make your timing inconsistent.
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When It Might Not Be the Right Fit
If your training background is in a style that does not emphasize karanas heavily, this sequence will feel disproportionately difficult compared to other items in the margam. It is not a beginner piece. You need a solid foundation in aramandi, basic adavu combinations, and tala awareness before tackling it. Attempting it too early usually results in sloppy form and missed counts. There is no single downloadable score that covers every version. The material exists in oral tradition and in various manuscript notes passed between students and gurus. Some online platforms host video tutorials, but these vary widely in accuracy. The best approach is to learn directly from a trained guru who can correct your karana placement in real time. A video can show you the general shape, but it cannot fix a subtle hip misalignment that throws off your balance mid-jump. If your goal is simply to understand the structure for academic purposes, reading the Natya Shastra passages on karanas alongside the Karana Kantaabharanam will give you a clearer picture than any performance video. The textual reference is more reliable than most online summaries, which often conflate different regional variants or invent choreographic details that do not exist in the traditional repertoire.
