Bharatanatyam Costume and Jewellery: A Complete Guide for Parents and Beginners

One of the first practical questions parents ask after enrolling a child is about the costume. It looks elaborate, it looks expensive, and it is genuinely hard to know where to begin. This guide explains exactly what a Bharatanatyam costume consists of, when you actually need one, and how to spend sensibly.

The short version, before anything else: you do not need a costume to start learning. Students train for months in simple practice clothes. The costume belongs to the stage, not the classroom.

What Students Wear for Regular Classes

For day-to-day training, comfort and visibility of the body line matter more than anything decorative. Most students wear either a salwar kameez with a dupatta tied firmly at the waist, or a practice sari — a shorter length of cotton wrapped over a churidar. The dupatta or sari tied at the waist is not just tradition; it lets the teacher see the hip line and confirm that the aramandi (the half-seated posture) is correct.

Bharatanatyam is danced barefoot. No shoes, no socks. The soles need direct contact with the floor for the rhythmic footwork to sound and feel right.

Beginners should also keep hair tied back tightly, nails trimmed short, and avoid loose bangles or dangling earrings during class — anything that swings distracts from the movement and can catch during turns.

The Full Performance Costume, Piece by Piece

When a student is ready for their first stage appearance, the complete costume comes into play. Here is what it involves.

The costume itself is stitched from a sari — traditionally Kanjivaram silk, though art silk and semi-silk are common and entirely respectable for students. Unlike an ordinary sari, it is cut and tailored into separate pieces so the dancer can move freely: a blouse, a waist piece, a fan-pleated section, and a shoulder drape (the *dhavani*). There are two broad styles. The pyjama costume has the fan pleats stitched between the legs, which frames the aramandi and makes footwork legible from the audience — it is the usual choice for solo and nritta-heavy items. The skirt costume uses a full circular pleat and is popular for young children and group items because it is simpler to wear.

Temple jewellery completes the look. A standard set includes a long necklace (*addigai* or *mangamalai*), a short choker, jhumka earrings, a head set comprising the centre piece (*nethi chutti*) worn along the parting with sun and moon ornaments (*surya* and *chandra*) on either side, a waist belt (*oddiyanam*), and bangles. For students, good-quality imitation or gold-plated sets are completely standard — nobody expects real gold, and the stage lights make little difference.

Salangai — the ankle bells — are the one item that is genuinely a milestone rather than a purchase. In many traditions, including ours, a student receives them formally in a small ceremony once the teacher judges their footwork ready. We have written about that separately in our guide to the salangai pooja ceremony.

Make-up and finishing touches include stage make-up with defined eyes (the eyes carry the *abhinaya*, so they are emphasised heavily), a bindi, *alta* or red dye on the palms, fingertips, and the soles and edges of the feet, and fresh flowers — usually jasmine — plaited into the hair.

What It Costs, Realistically

Costs vary enormously and change year to year, so treat any figure as a starting point and always get a quote from your tailor or shop.

Broadly, as of 2026: a stitched art silk costume is the affordable entry point and starts in the low thousands of rupees. A pure silk Kanjivaram costume, properly tailored, costs several times that. Imitation temple jewellery sets are inexpensive and widely available; stone-set or antique-finish sets cost more. Salangai are modestly priced and last for years.

Two things keep the total sensible. First, jewellery is a one-time purchase — necklaces, jhumkas, and head sets are adjustable and serve a student for many years, while only the costume needs replacing as a child grows. Second, most families begin with art silk and move to pure silk only when a major occasion such as an arangetram approaches. There is no advantage to starting expensive.

Where to Buy in Bangalore

Bharatanatyam costume tailoring is a specialist craft — an ordinary tailor will not cut the fan pleats correctly. Ask your teacher first. Most academies, including ours, can point families to tailors and jewellery shops they have used for years, which saves both money and disappointment. Chickpet and the areas around the temple-jewellery shops in the city are the traditional hunting ground, and several sellers now ship anywhere in India.

Allow four to six weeks before a performance for stitching and fittings. Costumes are always made to measure, and a rushed fitting shows on stage.

A Note on Priorities

It is easy for costume anxiety to overshadow the actual art. In our experience, the families whose children thrive are the ones who treat the costume as what it is — a beautiful accompaniment to years of patient training, not the point of it. A child in a modest art silk costume with clean adavus and expressive eyes will always be more compelling than an elaborately dressed one who has not put in the practice.

If you are just starting out and wondering what the road ahead looks like, our guide to how long it takes to learn Bharatanatyam sets out the full curriculum timeline, and our class programmes page explains the batches we run at our HSR Layout studio.

Have a question about costumes, jewellery, or anything else? Get in touch — we are always happy to advise families, whether or not they train with us.