Mohiniyattam - Bharati Shivaji & students -SRUTI, PA, May 3,

[Ramaprasad]

Mohiniyattam

by Padmashri Bharati Shivaji
and her students - Vijayalakshimi, Manjula Murthy, Mom Ganguly and Vinaya Manoj from The Centre for Mohiniyattam

Arranged by Sruti of PA. May 3, 2009. Venue: Plymouth Whitemarsh high School Auditorium, Plymouth Meeting, PA

It is not often that one gets an opportunity to see a performance of authentic Mohaniyattam in the US. Sruti is to be congratulated for making this possible on May 3, 2009. Though it was a rainy spring afternoon, more suitable for staying home with a hot cup of something, it was gladdening to see a good audience at this fine auditorium.

The enjoyment of the program was enhanced by the lucid explanation that Guru Bharati Shivaji prefaced each of the pieces in the program with. Mohiniyattam is a dance form that, with Swathi Thirunal’s patronage, took its present form under the direction of Vadivelu of the Thanjavur Quartet. It is to be noted that this particular art form from Kerala, relies not so much on footwork as the movement of the body and the abhinayas. Dressed in authentic white saris embroidered with bright golden brocade or kasavu, the dancers transported us, for a couple of hours, to the region that also has given us Kathakali. The swaying of the body, characteristically found in Mohiniyattam, is to be reminded of the gentle movements of the flora and the waters of Kerala, an aesthetic feast for the eye.

The program consisted of the following dance pieces:
After paying homage to Ganapathy (Ganapathy Sthuthi) in Arabhi, the next item, called Mukhachalam, used a song in two different ragas - Suruti followed by Samantha Malahari, a raga indigenous to Kerala, - as the musical canvas for depicting the pure movements of Mohiniyattam.

Next was the well known Swathi Thirunal Padam, Kanakamayamayidum, in Huseni. The story of two girls discussing who the handsome man was that they had seen, with surmises regarding his identity, that he could be Shiva, or Kubera etc. was abhinaya at its pinnacle. The end of the piece when the five girls on stage realize that it was none other than Neerajanabha, reclining on Adisesha, was a scene that was dance, painting and melody, all in one.

Ashtapadi in two ragas, Panthuvarali followed by Mohanam, was a rich and imaginative interpretation of a stanza from Jayadeva’s magnum opus. The turmoil suffered by Radha as she witnesses Krishna playing with the gopis was danced with a grace befitting the work of the great poet, and with a graceful abandon that conveyed the suggestive sensuality of Gita Govinda. A great performance, and this writer’s favorite piece of the evening.

The final offering was Pandattam, based on a poem by the Kerala poet Mahakavi Vallathol Narayana Menon, who played a key role in infusing new life to Kathakali and Mohiniyattam at the beginning of the last century through establishing the Kerala Kalamandalam. The raga chosen was Kambodhi. It revolved around the poet’s comparing life’s high and low points to a ball that bumps up and down during play. The magic of the dancers made the scene more realistic than if a ball were to be really there.

Bharati Shivaji and her students gave an extraordinary performance on stage. Their movements, so fluid, elegant and graceful, and their team work so cohesive that they merged in and out of each other with a magic that kept the story line smoothly flowing, even as the abhinayas detailed the words, this was our heritage at its best. It was difficult to pick out the guru apart from the disciples, such was the disciplined show. And, even though they were only five on stage, with their changing expressions as the story proceeded and swaying bodies as the dance progressed, there could have been fifty on stage. They filled the frame called the stage with their dance. As the name Mohiniyattam implies, the dancers enchanted us. Our collective kudos to the dancers.

Ramaprasad

[rshankar]

A lyrical review - as undulant and enchanting as the dance of the enchantress itself...

[Ramaprasad]

Rshankar.

Thank you. By the way, were you also there at the performance?

Ramaprasad

[rshankar]

Unfortunately, no! I have had the opportunity of having watched her performances in Chandigarh many years ago, when she was just establishing herself as an enchantress par excellence! She was spellbindingly amazing - made one almost believe the myth of mOhini!

[bilahari]

Wow, lovely reveiw, Ramaprasad. Thank you!

[Ramaprasad]

Dear Moderator,
Will you please correct the spelling in the heading for this thread from "Mohaniyattam" to "Mohiniyattam"?

Thanks

[arasi]

Ramaprasad,
Your rasana swayed with the moves of the dancers and captured for us the grace and expressions of the dancers, a mere fivesome filling the stage with their artistry. Thanks.

[Ramaprasad]

Thanks, Bilahari and Arasi. I was so moved after watching the performance I felt I had to share my joy with all the rasikas who could not be there.

Ramaprasad

[vasanthakokilam]

Ramaprasad: Thanks very much for the review. I especially liked your "..with a graceful abandon that conveyed the suggestive sensuality of Gita Govinda..". Nice.. I did not know the Vadivelu connection to Mohiniyattam and it makes sense now.