---
title: "Tanjore Quartet: Bharatanatyam Margam | Model Diplomat"
description: "The Tanjore Quartet, four brothers from the 19th century, standardized the Bharatanatyam recital sequence, making it essential for art and culture studies."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/tanjore-quartet"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Tanjore Quartet were four brothers—Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam, and Vadivelu—who codified the modern Bharatanatyam recital sequence in the early nineteenth century.
- Who were the four members of the Tanjore Quartet?
- What is the margam and why is it attributed to the Quartet?
- How does the Tanjore Quartet differ from the Carnatic Trinity?
- Why does the Tanjore Quartet matter for UPSC art and culture preparation?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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When the Indian Council for Cultural Relations sponsored a 2023 Bharatanatyam tour abroad, every recital opened with an alarippu and built to a varnam—the margam sequence the Tanjore Quartet codified at Thanjavur around 1820.

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