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Home , Bharatanatyam, Bharati Shivaji, Dance in India, Indian classical dance, Kalamandalam Satyabhama, Kanak Rele

PAPER 6

DANCE IN TODAY, -, CREATIVITY WITHIN THE CLASSICAL FORMS, IN DIASPORA (USA, UK, , , ETC.)

MODULE 12 THE CREATORS IN

Mohiniyattam, the enchanting, -rich, lyrical and sensuous classical dance form of , is well-known in all corners of India and most of the world as its exponents and teachers are settled everywhere and many of them have been experimenting with tradition in major and innovative ways. Mohiniyattam has now identified and acknowledged four schools of the dance as it is practiced today – Kala Mandalam, Kalyani Kuttiamma, Dr. , and . All the schools have different approaches to the style of Mohiniyattan but they are unified in their approach to the base and structure of the dance. A lot of innovations were also done but within the parameters.

Over the period of its evolution of more than three centuries, Mohiniyattam has gone through a renaissance many times, punctuated by periods of decadence and non-activity. It had a renaissance under Swati Tirunal, then again at Kala Mandalam by its founder Vallathol Narayana Menon (who catapulted it centrestage during the 1930s). Now dynamic innovations are being brought in by its current practitioners. Kerala has many traditional and ritualistic art forms, when compared to other Indian states. and , being male-dominated, naturally enjoyed more popularity and for a long while, unfortunately, Mohiniyattam was sidelined.

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But thanks to the structure laid down by dancer-scholars such as Kalyani Kuttiamma, and the efforts of people like Bharati Shivaji and Kanak Rele, the face of Mohiniyattam has changed. For a number of years Mohiniyattam was only performed as part of other larger choreographies but now this lovely dance has the strength to stand on its own for a full performance, both nationally and abroad. Though Vallathol, almost single- handedly, brought back the various classical dance forms of Kerala, and tried to document, conserve and popularize them at the Kerala Kala Mandalam, the repertoire of Mohiniyattam remained limited and was largely derivative of .

Kerala Kala Mandalam

Vallathol was a reformer who found traces of Mohiniyattam long before the appearance of Silappadikaram due to the mention of Chakyaras of Kerala (a royal dynasty) while such explorers as Pisharoti stated that the dance had 600 years of history. Kanak Rele insists that the aspects of female dance discussed in Balaramabharatam must be referred to Mohiniyattam because the hastas described therein differ from the descriptions of Hastalakshanadipika, another important treatise related to the Kathakali tradition. Maharaja Swati Tirunal influenced by Dasiattam ordered his courtier Karutedatta Chomatiri to popularize this style under the name Mohiniyattam. After Tirunal’s death the British authorities sent everything that was left from the tradition of solo female dance art to central Kerala. That’s why when Vallathol and Mukunda began to reconstruct the Kerala dance, the solo female dance did not correspond to their high cultural standards. The British Col. Monroe imposed an official ban on Mohiniyattam in and Cochin states.

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Kavalam Narayana Panikar and other authors worked hard on creating modern for Mohiniyattam with the purpose of giving it a completely local sound. Neither excessive slow theater music of Kathakali, nor stylized ritual music of traditions like Mudiyettu that appealed to the awe-inspiring aspect of goddess , did not correspond to the music of Mohiniyattam, the dance of seduction. The geometry of motions and the basic technique of Mohiniyattam reflect the unforgettable images of Kerala nature: coco palm leaves waving in the wind, boats rocking on water and creating patterns from radiating circles. This is the endless source of energy unrolling spirally like gradually awoken Kundalini (sleeping energy) crawling up the spinal column.

Guru Madhaviamma and Panikkar are considered the acknowledged professionals that taught in in 1930s. Kalyanikutti Amma too joined Kala Mandalam in the 1930s. When Vallathol persuaded her to dance the Mohiniyattam, there were several social prejudices working against this dance form. She even abstained from her sister’s wedding so that the bridegroom’s relatives did not have a wrong impression of the bride’s family. In 1940 after a humble wedding ceremony with a Kathakali maestro Krishnan Vair, Kalyanikutti Amma settled in Tripunitura where in 1958 she founded her own school with her husband. With her reserved andolika and original expression Kalyanikutti Amma perhaps unconsciously gave Mohiniyattam the accuracy of Bharatnatyam. Kalyanikutti Amma was one of the earliest Kala Mandalam teachers (about 1933-34) and choreographed a number similar to Tarana and called it Hindustani. Kalyanikutti amma, upon ’s request, even went to Santiniketan to teach this style where she stayed till the end of her life. There were other female dancers as well. Kalpuratte Kunjukuttyamma trained under a team of teachers – Gopal Pannikar, Kunjan Panikkar, Krishna Menon

3 and Puliyankotte Aschyutan . She performed a -dance as a prelude to the . Dancers like Tottacheri Chinnammu Amma, Thankamani (who later became Guru Mohiniattam Gopinath’s wife) were extremely elegant performers.

However, Kerala Kala Mandalam stayed in strict isolation from other schools and recognized no other style besides its own. It even rejected Kalyanikutti Amma’s approach. Perhaps that’s why students of Kerala Kala Mandalam such as Kshemavati, Sugandi, Himavati, Sarasvati and K. Satyabhama are known only in Kerala.

The first dancer to do historical research on Mohiniyattam based on the material available was Betty True Jones from the United States who came to Kerala Kala Mandalam in 1959 along with her husband, Dr. Clifford R. Jones. A few decades later, Brigitte Chataignier from France became enchanted by the lyrical grace and poetic movements of Mohiniyattam. She reached Kalamandalam in 1987 and was under the tutelage of Kalamandalam Leelamma for three years with a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Her training in Mohiniyattam continued under Kalamandalam Kshemavathy. Wanting to explore the stylistic differences congenital to this dance tradition, Brigitte became the disciple of Rajappan, Nirmala Panickar, Bharati Sivaji and the like. In 1995, she, with her Kathakali-trained husband, Michel, founded the Pran Company in France to promote Indian and contemporary forms. Brigitte has successfully facilitated several cultural exchange programmes between France and Kerala and has also made a documentary film on Mohiniyattam, which was directed by . The film primarily aims at experiencing the ‘dance’ rather than dissecting it intellectually. It

4 juxtaposes the life of women on- and off-stage. The film is on Mohiniyattam and not on the individual styles of performance.

Tara Rajkumar, a Kathakali and Mohiniyattam dancer who studied at such as Krishnam Nair and Kalyanikutti Amma has been successfully running an enterprise Natya Sudha in Melbourne where Indians and Australians study both styles together.

Dr. Kanak Rele

Kanak Rele, a performer from , is the head of the Nalanda Centre, which she founded in1966, and Nalanda Kala Mahavidyalay which she established in 1972, and both are striking examples of her flair for pioneering work. According to her, she gave aesthetic completeness to Mohiniyattam due to her work with such dancers as Kujukuttiyamma and Chinnamuamma whom she met when their flourishing years had been over. A Mohiniyattam performance by Rele bears the trace of Kathakali for she has come through the severe training of Guru "Panchali" Karunakara Panicker. Panchali Panikar became famous for his soft femininity in Kathakali performance, and his dance in no way contradicted the attractive elegance of Mohiniyattam. Rele’s tryst with Mohiniyattam began when the dance was plagued by all sorts of dirty insinuations. The dancer received a grant from the that enabled her to ferret out what was left of its roots. Later using a grant from the Ford Foundation, she filmed all the surviving exponents including Kunjukutty Amma, Chinnammu Amma and Kalyanikutti Amma, in 1970-71. Dr. Rele claims this documentation is the most authentic as except for Kalyanikutty Amma, the two others were octogenarians and had given up dancing, living in the interior villages of Kerala, so their styles were unaffected by the winds of change and modernisation.

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By analyzing in detail the audio and film documentation against the backdrop of Natyasastra, Hastalakshanadeepika and Balaramabharatam, she formulated an esoteric style known as the "Kanak Rele School". This school was built on her version of a strong theoretical foundation of `Kine-aesthetics', based on body kinetics and formed after working with experts from various disciplines including medical science. She believed that aesthetics of a dance form sprang from the land of its origin, and therefore used for her . The themes of choreographed by her are always from mythology though she has an uncanny ability to contemporize them.

The Ministry of External Affairs has acquired "Nritya Bharati", a documentary of the seven Indian classical dances produced by Nalanda, as the official capsule for all Indian missions abroad. Dr. Rele described the Indian concept of abhinaya as "the most beautiful and complete language of movements through which the Indian dancer provides the concrete manifestation of the inner state and vision of his/her existence, of the truth of all experiences, by art.”

Poet, lyricist and -director Kavalam Narayana Panicker has been pivotal in the efforts of dancers such as Kanak Rele to revisit the repertoire of Mohiniyattam by anchoring on Sopana Sangeetam, the temple music tradition of Kerala. The Sopana style of Mohiniyattam, performed by a group of young dancers under the laudable guidance of Kalamandalam Sugandhi at Changampuzha Park in Edapally, as part of celebrations, underpinned the changing attitude of dancers to the bold and innovative ideas of Kavalam. “Unless this eye-catching dance form is liberated from the clutches of Carnatic classical music, its identity is at stake,” he said. Kavalam noted with a sense of pride that his musical interpretations were finding favour with senior dancers like Sugandhi.

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Bharati Shivaji and Vijayalakshmi

Bharati Shivaji undertook research in Mohiniattam at the persuasion the late Kamaladevi Chattopadhayay under a Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship scheme and now she has become synonymous with the dance. She is the founder of Centre for Mohiniyattam, . Bharati Shivaji, famous for her elegant presentations, had danced Bharatanatyam for many years before devoting herself to Mohiniyattam. With the support from Guru Kavalam Narayana Panikar she significantly widened the range of expressive means of the style by borrowing motions from such traditions as Tullal, Kaykottikali, Tayambakam and Krishnattam.

Bharati’s daughter, Vijayalakshmi is acknowledged as one of the most eminent exponents of this dance form today. A unique combination of a researcher and a performer, Vijayalakshmi has endeavored to take Mohiniyattam to higher levels by constantly exploring uncharted territories and expanding traditional boundaries through innovative choreography inspired from a pan-Indian and global perspective. As a result, Vijayalakshmi has carved a distinct niche for herself and has played a significant role in the rejuvenation of Mohiniyattam. Her productions include Unniarcha, inspired from , the ancient martial art form, Swan Lake, inspired from the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky’s music, and Paryapti, which draws upon the rich cultural ethos and music of Bengal. The alluring beauty of Mohiniyattam, combines naturally with the lyrical and dramatic music of Swan Lake. It marks the coming together of two great classical traditions in a seamless flow, appealing to a global audience.

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Recognized as a landmark in the realm of dance, Swan lake in Mohiniyattam explores the idiom of Mohiniyattam, via the completely different genre of Western Classical music and high- lights the natural affinity that Western and Mohiniyattam share, in terms of content, technique, and spirit. The haunting music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which Vijayalakshmi chanced upon during a performance-tour of the former USSR, made an indelible impression that eventually culminated into one of her most challenging and fulfilling choreographies to date. In 2005 she prepared a mega Mohiniyattam presentation based entirely on Tchaikovsky’s music. A large scale production like this, involving thirty dancers, had never been attempted in the realm of Indian classical dances. It has been presented at the Bolshoi Theatre as well.

With an aim of taking Mohiniyattam to global audiences, Vijayalakshmi agreed to become a part of the eight-minute 3D film Carmen, which fused the Indian classical dance form with western music. The film features Vijayalakshmi in her traditional costume, with jasmine flowers in her hair, performing the classical dance to the Habanera from French composer Georges Bizet's popular , Carmen. Directed by Sara and Urs Baur, the film is about a woman who arrives late for an audition. There's a man accompanying her, who handles all her work, and is also her lover. Under pressure to perform well, the woman looks at herself in the mirror and says, "I am responsible for what I am." On what inspired her to take up the project, Vijayalakshmi says, "Mohiniyattam has rarely been shown in 3D. Also, the story of Carmen suited the performance since it was about an attractive gypsy woman and the word '' in Mohiniyattam also refers to a woman who enchants onlookers." Interestingly, the film was shot in a day's time at Los Angeles' Metabolic Studios.

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Russian danseuse Olga Stolyarova (an ICCR schoralarship student) and Manjula Murthy represent Bharati's school. The annual dance festival, The Mohiniyattam Collective, held in New Delhi, featured Russian dancers Alexandra Vodopyonova and Olga Stolyarova. While it was Alexandra’s first performance in India, Olga has been performing in the country for a decade. This festival was conceived and presented by the Centre for Mohiniyattam (CFM) to highlight the global outreach of the dance form. Alexandra has been training under the tutelage of Vijayalakshmi since three years. While in Moscow she trains with Angelina Haque, an avid Russian Mohiniyattam exponent. Alexandra also teaches at the Cultural Centre in Moscow. “It is an exotic dance form for us. It is characterised by fluid body movements. The languorous rise and fall of body, with an emphasis on torso, demands a lot of flexibility and rigorous practice,” she explains the essence of the dance form. It’s this very feminine and graceful essence of this classical dance from Kerala that Alexendra and Olga portray, dressed in pristine white sari with golden brocade border, adorning traditional jewellery and fresh jasmine flowers arranged around a hair bun on the left side of the head. They have truly surpassed cultural and geographical boundaries to embrace the enchanting dance form of Mohiniyattam. Apart from solo performances, Alexendra loves doing group choreographies because it allows her to work with space and time – how to utilise space and make patterns with time. So far she has done four. The first was ‘Ritu Ranga' (2000), with which she integrated culture with Bengali culture. So shechose Rabindra Sangeeth and Sopanam music of Kerala as the music for Kalidasa's ‘Ritusamhar' and compositions of Tagore. She presented it all over India and abroad to much appreciation. ‘Salabhanjika,' the second one, is a to the Ahalyamoksham legend of the and based on a short story by C.P. Unnikrishnan. Then she did a group choreography on Kalidasa's ‘Vikramorvashiam.' Her latest

9 is ‘Panchabhootas' – on the five ethereal elements. It is based on the ‘Soundaryalahari' of Sankaracharya and the , which explains the union of matter with energy as is manifested in the five elements.

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