Pallavikrishnan - The Exponent of Mohiniyattam
Pallavikrishnan - The Exponent of Mohiniyattam
http://www.pallavikrishnan.com
Pallavi Krishnan - Leading exponent of Mohiniyattam, is one of the most sought after Mohiniyattam performers and a trendsetter for many young dancers the world over, motivating them to take up this art form seriouslyMohiniyattam is one of the most lyrical classical dance traditions, originating from Kerala, the land of palm trees, backwaters, caparisoned elephants, Kathakali and Koodiyattam, and innumerable folk arts and festivals; that is God's own land. Its movements are soft and graceful (lasya oriented) and soaked in feminine grace. They have been likened to the sway of palm leaves in the gentle breeze. Mohini means enchantress and attam means dance; Mohiniattam is the dance of the enchantress traditionally performed by women.The tradition of Mohiniyattam can be traced back to the 16th-17th century, a period generally considered as the golden era of arts and literature in the history of Kerala. A few scholars consider Balaramabharatam authored by Karthika Thirunal Balarama Varma of the Swathithirunal family, which in fact is an elaboration of the 6th to 10th chapters of the Natyashastra, as an authentic treatise on Mohiniyattam. The murals and sculptures of the 18th century in some temples and palaces too depict the concept of Mohini.The earliest known textual reference to Mohiniyattam is found in the commentary on the Vyavaharamala, a Sanskrit text written by Mazhamangalam Namboodiri during the 16th century. In the commentary believed said to be authored by a Brahmin scholar who migrated to Kerala, the word for "dancers" was translated as "Mohiniyattam artist etc". Another reference on Mohiniyattam can be found in the Ottanthullal (a semi-classical and semi-folk dramatic art form of Kerala) script Ghoshayatra, authored by Kunchan Nambiar during the second half of the 18th century.Betty True Jones, lecturer in Indian classical dance at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the South Asia Student Performing Group, did the first in-depth research work on Mohiniyattam in 1959-60. Her paper was published in 1973 by the Committee on Research in Dance of the New York University. However, it did not earn the attention that it deserved from Indian dance scholars.Perhaps Mohiniyattam is the only art form of India that was subject to several revivals and renaissance. The efforts of Maharaja Swathitirunal (1813-1846) and the attempts of Kerala poet laureate Vallathol Narayana Menon, in 1932,1937 and in 1950, are important endeavours in the history of this art. The late Thankamani was the first student of Mohiniyattam at the Kerala Kalamandalam (1932). She left the institution within a couple of years on her marriage to the late Guru Gopinath. Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma and Kalamandalam Sathyabhama are respectively the proteges of the later efforts of Vallathol, during 1937 and 1950 respectively, through this institution.The tradition of this dance form sustained through the contributions of these two veterans; while Guru Kalyanikutty Amma's was an effort at her individual level, Guru Sathyabhama got the platform of the Kerala Kalamandalam, where since 1957, until her retirement as its Principal in 1993, she was faculty. Through the Kalamandalam Sathyabhama reformed the art more aesthetically by giving an indigenous touch to the hairstyle, adapting more adavus and mudras.
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Culture Jan 8, 2007
Personals
Culture Jan 8, 2007
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Bharat Bhavan is a concept to give expression to the harmony of diversity, that is India. It is necessary to foster cultural communication among them in the best interests of the nation. Ever since its founding, Bharat Bhavan, has endeavored to promote national integration through cultural interaction. The interaction resulting from this togetherness has always made these groups realize the common cultural mainstream of our country.The ultimate goal of Bharat Bhavan is to create cultural synthesis among various peoples of the country in spite of the diversities and distractions of modern living. Bharat Bhavan shall strive to be a center of excellence in art and culture.Bharat Bhavan KeralaThe various linguistic groups within Kerala have looked for a forum for long to present their activities. And the result is Kerala Chapter of Bharat Bhavan.Bharat Bhavan gets you to know one another. It introduces you to the art forms and music of different states. It organizes interface with writers, poets and intellectuals as well as artistes from different linguistic groups. And, of course, in their midst Kerala's art forms and literature too!
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Bhasabharathi inherits the legacy of the continued and colourful work of the SOPANAM INSTITUTE OF PERFORMING ARTS AND RESEARCH, which has a standing of more than 40 years in the field of theatre and performing arts of Kerala. The founder director of Sopanam Shri. Kavalam Narayana Panikkar in collaboration with other active members like Dr. K. Ayyappa Panikker, famous poet, late Shri. G. Aravindan, eminent film maker, Shri. Bharath Gopi, Shri. Nedumudi Venu and many other enthusiasts in the field of culture has been able to organize a series of Cultural events in Kerala during the past, including four major international Bhasa festivals, play productions in both Malayalam and Sanskrit, many workshops on theatre, music and dance etc.SOPANAM has been able to make elaborate documentation of many folk, tribal and classical art forms which were facing extinction. This constitutes good material for in-depth study on the traditional culture of Kerala. In fact the theatre productions of Sanskrit plays of Mahakavi Bhasa and Kalidasa and other Malayalam plays have been made possible only with the help of the documentation of these traditional materials and the research on the same. The contribution of Sopanam to the art of Mohiniattam and indigenous music also is of significance. It may be noted that the achievements of two dancers of eminence in Mohiniattam Dr. Kanak Rele, Nalanda Dance Research centre, Bombay and Smt.Bharathi Sivaji, Kala Ambalam, New Delhi have been made possible due to their collaboration with sopanam.Bhasabharathi is formed with a view to further the achievements of Sopanam on an international level. It is proposed to organize outreach activities by conducting international theatre workshops to teach the theories of Indian aesthetics through practice for which further efforts in the documentation of artistic materials and the dissemination of the same are of primary importance.
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Indian non-profit non govermental organization (NGO) for the promotion of art, photography, heritage and nature. With rapid urbanization, a cultural shift towards the material world with rejection of and disregard for the spiritual and emotional facets of life has slowly invaded the average person causing disinterest and neglect of the traditional and contemporary arts, which, during the period of spiritual intimacy and personal attachments, have been major exhibits of human imagination and spiritual expression. Though this generalization is not universally applicable, the situation is not much different in most of the societies around the globe. The arts have come to be a vanity ornament of the affluent alone. There is a palpable gap between the arts and the community as a whole, especially in the days of increasing consumerism, with the community psyche increasingly inclining towards the lines of pure materialism. As social beings we have always felt the need for revival of community interest in the arts and cultural practices, and thus in humanities, so that a certain degree of enjoyment and spiritual fulfillment is derived from such emotional and intellectual experiences rather than from pure material and transient pleasures alone.An art form preserved expresses its thanks by enriching our generations. We hope to synthesize a deep community awareness in the preservation of folk and classical traditions of visual arts. The survival of craftsmen, artisans and artists is an expected by-product of this awareness. The insight of the traditions, when aptly assimilated, feeds the birds of contemporaneity.
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