• A symposium on Mohiniyattam @ DD Thrissur

  By Supriya Devi in Lasyatarangini (Mohiniyattam) (Files) · Edit Doc · Delete

  Mohiniyattam Symposium at DD Kendra, Thrissur- A report.

  It was very fortunate that DD Thrissur organised a symposium on ‘Mohiniyattam Then and Today’ just when I decided to be in Kerala. After a good two and half hrs journey by bus and autorickshaw I reached DD Kendra Thrissur and without my saying anything i was led to the recording studio where the symposium was happening. The programme had already started, Dr Thomas, Director of the DD Thrissur was making his speech. Eagerly i looked at the faces on the dias, those of the stalwarts of Mohiniyattam; Kalamandalam Satyabhama, Kalamandalam Kshemavathy, Kalamandalam Leelamma, Kalamandalam Hymavathy, Kalamandlam Saraswathi, Kalamandlam Suganthy, Sridevi Rajan, Kala Vijayan, Nirmala Panikker, and scholars; Kanjoor Krishnanan Namboodiripad, GS Paul, Dr Thomas, and Ravunni Master.

  
  

  Dr Thomas who looked every bit pleased and exuberant about the event humbly invited Kanjoor Krishnanan Namboodiripad to speak. Now an octogenarian who has almost lost his eyesight was associated with Kalamandalam during the 1950's when Mohiniyattam was reintroduced into the curriculum after a break of ten years. A musician and scholar, Sri Krishnan Namboodiripad defied his age in spirit and vehemently put forth the need for a structural and aesthetic change in Mohiniyattam and urged the gurus, dancers as well as students to come together in order to find a favourable solution and action to improve the status of Mohiniyattam.

  
  

  He began his talk by referring to an incident that happened during a conference in Kalamandalam few years back wherein Kalamandalam Leelamma expressed that when her students graduate and go out of Kalamandalam they tend to practice something other than what is taught in Kalamandalam. She wanted to know what the reason was behind it and reasoned out herself later that it was the responsibility of the institution to look for the answer.

  
  

  He tried to give us a picture of how Kalamandalam system functions citing the statement of a student who had been learning in Kalamadnalam from eighth standard till Post Graduation, with Mohiniyattam as elective. To Sri Krishnanan Namboodiripad's query on what she had learnt in all these years she said that "in eighth standard they were taught sets of adavus which they practiced and tried to perfect. In ninth standard, a new teacher came and introduced new style of adavus completely abandoning the adavus they had already learnt. It was all about undoing what they had already learnt rather than learning something new. In tenth standard a new teacher came and changed the previous two style of adavus they learnt and introduced new set of adavus".

  
  

  That was a pointer to tell us the importance of having a structure for learning, from basic exercises, adavus, repertoire et al. There should be a strong foundation and a widely accepted format, he said. There are innumerable styles in Mohiniyattam as there are gurus. This trend isn’t good for the survival of the dance form, he pointed out. That’s why a uniform code and guideline for instruction and an accepted format is necessary for Mohiniyattam.

  
  

  Mohiniyattam is more like a mix of Bharatanatyam and Kathakali. What Chinnammu Amma contributed as part of Mohiniyattam is 1 teaspoon of ghee, each one (first generation of mohiniyattam dancers) took a drop each and put it in different oils and called it pure Mohiniyattam. That’s why there is a lack of uniformity and innumerable styles; he said.

  
  

  It is interesting to note here a dialogue between him and Smt Nirmala Panikker. For the question of different styles, Nirmala ji said that when different singers sing a particular raga, each one will sing in his/her own style, and so she said she felt it is alright to have different styles; to which Krishnan Namboodiripad said that though they sing in their own styles, the raga remains the same.

  
  

  He next brought our attention to the present costume of Mohiniyattam. He was of the opinion that since the dance form itself is a Lasya style, the costume need to have an element of Tandava in order to have a balance. This he exemplified with the costume of Kathakali where he said that Kathakali in spite of being a Tandava dominated style, the costume of the main characters are curved giving it a Lasya element.

  
  

  Too much of Lasya in Mohiniyattam weakens the dance form, he opined. the costume, which is now being beautified more and more shouldn’t distract the dancer's face (the focal point) from the audience the costume shouldn’t overtake or rather take away the focus from the dancer and create division of interest.  

  Add some salt and spice to Mohhiniyattam, bring in an element of Tandava, have a strong foundation by accepting a fixed format; this is what he had to say, in a nutshell.

  
  

  Sri Ravunni, Secretary of Kerala Sangeeth Natak Academy spoke next. Humble as he could be he had only a few but very valid points to make. "All art forms are searching for completeness", he said. There is not just one truth in art. "It is a transition from one right to another", he added.

  
  

  Prof GS Paul (he is a scholar and has been writing many articles and reviews on dance) voiced his views next. He reminded us that we are celebrating 60 yrs of classical dance of India after independence and 60 yrs of Renaissance of Mohiniyattam.

  
  

  He considered Mohiniyattam as one of the ever evolving dance forms whose basic structure which according to him needs to be worked upon. As traditional dance form, it should meet the demands of presentation, innovation and dissemination. That’s what tradition stands for, he reiterated.

  
  

  Dance is for creation of beauty through movements and generates pleasantness. If it fails to do so, then we must understand that there is something wrong with the dance form or the way it is presented, he said. A dancer should be able to attract audience with her dance.

  
  

  He shared the same opinion as Sri Kanjoor Krishnan Namboodiripad in the aspect of overdoing of the costume which spoils the intention of the dance. He also pointed out that study of aesthetics is very important for artistes.

  
  

  Dr  Thomas who is also a research scholar in performing arts apart from being the Regional Director of DD Thrissur said in his concluding talk of the morning session that Keralites are capable of handling myriad Bhavas. He pointed to an interesting fact that Kerala has the highest density of traditional artforms.

  
  

  He feels that there is lot to study about traditional art forms that we have. As an example he talked about the similarity of Kathakali Stana to Buddhist Gompa and the similarity between Meibi dance of Manipur and Mohiniyattam. Devadasi tradition and Bhakti movement also calls for interesting study, he added.

  
  

  An interesting and enlightening session, the Symposium had more scope for addressing many aspects and issues of Mohiniyattam but couldn’t do so for want of time. Coming together of all the senior artistes was a rare phenomenon and the talks by veteran scholar Kanjoor Krishnan Nambooodiripad and scholars GS paul and Dr Thomas threw a lot of light on the practice and promotion of the dance form. It has paved way for greater possibilities in the coming together of artistes practicing and propagating the dance form. Since there is an urgent need to fix certain loose ends in the dance form, hope this will lead to another more conclusive meeting of the scholars, gurus performers and students.
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Dr Sunil Kohari: His Memories and Thoughts on Mohiniyattam

Thanks to Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) and its very helpful Director, Mr Rajesh Kapoor; we got a chance to meet Padma Shri Dr Sunil Kothari in KL, Malaysia. It was indeed a dream come true moment to meet one of the most revered personalities of Indian dance and we were impatient as we waited for him to finish with his final arrangements for his talk on Sattriya dance which he had come to present at ICC. It was taking more time than we expected and he probably had only time for a tea before he started his talk. Not wanting to let go of the opportunity we wished and he too agreed to have his tea chatting with us on Mohiniyattam.

Here is a humble effort to transcribe his words.

Your earliest memories of Mohiniyattam

I had gone very long ago, in 1966 to Kerala Kalamandalam. At that time, Chinuammuamma, the old grand lady and Krishna Panicker (who had lost one eye), were the teachers. Thankamani, Gopinath’s wife was his earlier student. Chinuammuamma had also learnt Mohiniyattam from Krishna Panicker. Kalyanikuttyamma, wife of Krishnan Nair was his other student. These were the people I knew about who were following Mohiniyattam in Kalamandalam at that time. Then I met poet Vallathol and his son. His son took me to see the class of Mohiniyattam. I think there were Satyabhama or Leela(mma), I don’t remember well, they were all so young. Class was taken by a young girl but I do remember Chinuammuamma was there. They were doing Cholkettu and other items which were done earlier at Kalamandalam. That was the first time I was seeing a Mohiniyattam class there. It was separate from the Kathakali class for boys. The boys never went to the Mohiniyattam class nor did the girls go to the Kathakali class. 

In April 1958 at the All India Dance Seminar held at Delhi, Kerala Kalamandalam had presented Mohiniyattam and Prof Mohan Kokkar had taken photographs which were published in the Illustrated Weekly of India, that year. Then till 1966 I was not able to actively follow the dance scene. So it was in 1966 when I went to Kalamandalam that I was able to collect these information. I was told that Indrani Rehman, Tara Chaudhary (partner of Ram Gopal), Mrinalini Sarabhai, Roshan Vajifdar (Sis in Law of Dr Mulkraj Anand) and Santha Rao too had studied Mohiniyattam at Kalamndalam. Santha Rao had studied from Chinnamuamma also. Later on Rita Devi also learnt there. I do have memory of Indrani Rehman as she had performed in Delhi. She had presented one or two pieces.  In Mumbai ofcourse, Kanak Rele got initiated into Mohiniyattam. Shecame to Kalamandalam and met Vallathol’s son and with the support of Ford Foundation had recorded the three main dancers of that time,  Kalpurathey Kunjukuttyamma, Totasseri Chinuammuamma and Kalyanikuttyamma. She had shown me all these documentaries.  When Kanak Rele started performing, she also introduced a few items. She did Bhavayami Rraghuramam of Swati Tirunal too. There was a desire in her to do a lot of research in Mohiniyattam, so, we worked on the form, the basic stances, etc .

Meanwhile when I was in Kolkatta, Kalyanikuttyamma came to New Delhi for a lecture demonstration. I told Bharati Sivaji let us go ask her to show all the Pada Bhedas. So, Barathi Shivaji brought Kalyanikuttyamma and she gave us some background of Mohiniyattam and showed the basic movements. We had photographed them and some of them are used in Bharati Shivajis book on Mohiniyattam.

Mohiniyattam became popular in due course, Kanak Rele brought it to the University level, starting courses in Mohiniyattam. Meanwhile in Delhi, Bharati Sivaji got a fellowship from Sangeet Natak Academy, from Kamaladevi Chatopadhyay. She went to Kerala and met Kavalam Narayana Panicker who was working on the various aspects of Talas and introduced number of Talas to Mohiniyattam and most importantly brought Sopanam music to Mohiniyattam. Formerly the Sloka; Tunga Jadaadhara Ganga used at the end of the Cholkettu sounded more like Bharatanatyam music. It was not exactly like what we see now with Sopanam music. When Sopanam music is used in Mohiniyattam it brings out a flavor of Kerala.

During Swati Tirunals time, we all know that Chinnayya, one of the four brothers of the Tanjore quartet had gone to the court and made a format for Mohiniyattam inspired from Bharatanatyam / Sadir. So in the beginning, with Carnatic music and the images, Mohiniyatam would sum up like Bharatanatyam, even while using typical Mohiniyattam movements. Later on, I must confess that I began to feel that when you set to Sopanam music, Mohiniyattam gets an identity of its own, of Kerala. Though, there is nothing wrong in using Carnatic Music as it was quite popular in Swati’s court too.

Now, a lot of things have happened in Mohiniyattam. Neena Prasad who has done her PhD and studied Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi also, has a very good understanding of style and body movements while keeping the different styles separate.

Earlier my criticism about Kanak Rele was about her dramatic expressions in Mohiniyattam ingrained in her due to her training in Kathakali.  In my reviews, often I used to mention that she will have to tone down her abhinaya making it less of Kathakali. Mohiniyattam shouldn’t be overpowered by Kathakali which uses exaggerated abhinaya, instead adopt suggestive abhinaya. Slowly she began to soften her expressions. Among her students, Mandakini Trivedi is a very good Mohiniyattam dancer. 

Bharati Sivaji also did a lot of research work and brought out a book too. She has learnt from Kalyanikutyamma. When Protima Bedi started Nrityagram near Bangalore, she often went there to teach Mohiniyattam. So, for some time, a number of girls were learning Mohiniyattam in Nrityagram.  Then when she started her own institution in Delhi, more pupils came to her there.

Thus four distinct schools came to our notice; Kalyanikuttyamma’s style, Bharati Sivaji’s style, Kalamandalam style and Kanak Rele’s style. However, today we see more generosity; people are not parochial and don’t say that this is only the correct way or method. Artistes like Nirmala Panikker are very open to different styles.

But what at one period Santha Rao was doing, was distinctively different. Her style of Mohiniyattam is no more now. It is gone. Her style was a reflection of her personality too. She was a very strong woman and together with her training in Kathakali, her movements were very strong, even her Alarippu. We used to say it was a Mushti yudham! 

The present day Mohiniyattam to that you saw in the 60s

Now it is very different. It is more lyrical and very graceful too and has become very widespread. It has acquired a very distinct form which is different from Bharatanatyam. Formerly people used to mistake it for Bharatanatyam. It isn’t so anymore. With the introduction of new themes, new lyrics, and more emotions, it has become more interesting. Though not much experiments has been done, more bhavas are being introduced. I believe, one of Mandakini’s students, Miti Desai had presented a beautiful Padam which was very different from the regular ones. She had used lot of humour and had a different take on the Nayika’s state of mind. Even Mandakini had done one Padam which had Nayika playing the important role in the line of women’s empowerment. Another dancer to reckon is Deepthi Bhalla who has worked on traditional Kerala Talas.

These show the variety and possibilities of Mohiniyattam, like how Bharatanatyam has different Bhanis. It also depends on individual artiste’s own temperament, her own personality and own understanding. Say for example,  Kanak Rele had learnt a lot about body kinetics and dealt with nutrition too. She believes in scientific methods.

As we understand, Mohiniyattam should be very lyrical but shouldn’t be over lyrical too. There should be a restrain.

Other artistes who have impressed you

When I get an opportunity, I see Gopika Varma. She did one very good work called Bhama Garva Bhangam. I had told her to call it Tulabharam. She had done it very beautifully and I liked that production. She got the lyrics written in Malayalam and got music composed. It wasn’t about Satyabhama and Rukmini fighting but was differently done.

Another work that caught my attention was Jayaprabha Menon’s where she showed flowing of river using Sitar music. Pallavi Krishnan has done some good production of Tagore, Gopis and Sculpture.

Beyond this I haven’t seen much. Often I watch if any artistes come to Delhi. I have seen Satyabhama, Kshemavathy and Leelamma, earlier. Kshemavathy  I had seen many years ago when she came to Delhi.

Mohiniyattam amidst other classical dance forms of India

Now it has been accepted that there are eight classical dance forms in India. It has remained as an important dance form and people considered it on par with Bharatanatyam and other classical dance forms. Mohiniyattam is considered as a typical cultural heritage of Kerala.

You cant introduce many elements into Mohiniyattam. For instance, Bharati Sivaji did Swan Lake with Tchaikovsky’s music where she used Mohiniyattam and Mayur Bhanj Chau dancer Santosh Nair. It looked very nice and the extension has come. But I am happy with and like the traditional repertoire of Mohiniyattam of Ganapathy, Jeeva etc  which Kavalam Narayana Panicker is using for one and what Deepthi Bhalla wants to do; it will hold.

Ofcourse, Bharatnatyam is the predominant dance form in India and undoubtedly no other style can match it as its form itself is so beautiful. So you can’t compare Mohiniyattam with Bharatanatyam and bring it to that level. It is difficult, for any dance form. Bharatanatyam has been accepted globally.

Lasya traditions of India

Lasya is a quality of movement which is found in Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Odissi and Sattriya too. Tandava and Lasya are two definite divisions and so Lasya as an element can be seen in all these dance forms. We scholars consider Lasya as a part of the dance tradition and it is a predominant part of Mohiniyattam. The dance form is more lasya dominated than any other dance forms of India; a contrast to Kathakali which is very virile.

Articles on Mohiniyattam

I wrote an article on Mohiniyattam in Illustrated weekly (with Vyjayanthimala on the cover), in 1967. Recently I discovered it when I went through my old dance collection. Also I have controversies with Kanak Rele which were published.

With Priya Krishnadas, in KL