Today, 'sculpturesque poses' are mostly a cliche in both dance and dance reviews but at one time, when Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai was popularising them through his pure dance numbers, they were the rage. I don't recall whether he was the first to do so; and he would call these still postures karana-s. Only later karana-s came to be known for their true import, thanks to the deep-sea diving of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam.

These 'still' poses were generally not of gods but of a flute-player, drummer, wielder of cymbals ; of a woman looking into a mirror and applying the vermillion spot to her forehead. Subsequently, their use became indiscriminate and profligate. Without justification, they are mere festoons. With it, they become an integral part of the architecture of dance.