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dance form of Kerala of the
Shilppadikaram
era and developed
into the present style between the
14th and 17th century A.D.
Mohiniattam having been in-
fluenced by Bharatanatyam em-
ploys the
hastas
that are listed in
Abhinaya Darpana
which are fol-
lowed very largely in Bhara-
tanatyam. They are also listed in
the
Hastalakshana Deepiaka,
fol-
lowed in Kathakali and other Ker-
ala dances.
The repertoire of Mohiniat-
tam resembles that of Bhara-
tanatyam. The items are
Cholkettu, Swarajti, Padam, Javali, Tillana.
Thus with the advent of
the brothers from the famous Tanjore quartet, Chinniah, Ponniah,
Vadivelu and Shivanandam, in the court of Maharaja Swati Tirunal,
this dance form was further popularised.
The three surviving dancers of this dance form are Kalputatte
— Kunjukuttiamma; Tottacheri Chinnamumamma and Kalyani-
kuttiamma Krishnan Nair.
Kunjukuttiamma is the oldest living exponent of traditional
Mohiniattam. Chinnamumamma became popular after her associa-
tion with the Kerala Kalamandalam whereas Kalyanikuttiamma
enjoys the rare distinction of being the only active performer of
Mohiniattam from the traditional group.
Shanta Rao, Satyabhama, Padmanabhan, Kanak Rele and
Bharati Shivaji are some of the contemporary exponents.
OTHER FORMS
Traditional theatre (Yakshagana)
A type of dance drama which was formerly in vogue in
Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Now it is found only in South
Kanara districts of Karnataka and some parts of Mysore. As it is
performed in the open air, this art form is often referred to as
Bay-
alata.
The term Yakshagana is derived from the style of music in
which the themes are usually taken from the Kannada rendering of
the epics and puranas. Some well-known exponents are Kere-
mane Shivaram Hegde, Veeerabhadra Naik, Rama Ganiga, Ma-
habal Hegde, Shambhu Hegde
etc. of the Badaga Tittu, Kut-
tiappu, Malinga of the Tenka
Tittu. Dr. Shivaram Karanth
has contributed considerably to
the propagation of the art.
There are two distinct styles of
Yakshagana,
Tenkatittu
and
Badagatittu
meaning the north
and south styles respectively.
The compositions of Dev-
idasa of Udupi, Nagappaya of
Dwajapur and Subba of Ajapur
belonging to the 17th century,
and of Rama of Karur, Rama
D AN C E
Eternal India
encyclopedia
Panigrahi (L), Deba Prasad Das, Sonal Mansingh.
Abhinaya Chandrika
written in -the 17th C provides in general
a base for dance techniques and terminology of Odissi dance. As
mentioned before the
Natya Sastra
and
Abhinaya Darpana
have
also been sources of references to the Odissi gurus in constructing
the repertoire. They have also been inspired by the dance sculpture
of the various temples in the region in reconstructing some of the
postures, stances etc. The Konark temple has been a source of
visual stimulation for the exponents. It is the most lyrical style of
dance in India.
The Odissi technique is based on chowka which is considered
as a symbolic representation of the idol of Lord Jagannath. Some of
the other postures used in this style are Abhanga, Tribhanga etc.
The
padabhedas
or positions of the feet are interesting like
Sama, Kumbha, Dhanu, Maha, Eka, Lolita, Nupura, Suchi, Ashrita,
Trasya and Rekha.
The Odissi dancer decorates her technique with
bells
— units
of movement of varying kinds. The chalis or gaits are manners of
walking on the stage. Bhumis are patterns of movement on the
stage. The
brahmaris
are turns or circular movements around a
central axis.
Nritya or interpretative dance makes use of hastas both to in-
terpret the songs and in the decoration of pure dance sequences. As
each style of dance follows its own vernacular text, the Odissi
dancer follows Abhinaya Chandrika of Maheswar Mohapatra.
Abhinaya in Odissi is evocative and classical in its stylisation.
It is constantly supported by postures and movements. The reper-
toire of Odissi dance begins with the
mangalachran
item as an of-
fering made at the start of the programme followed by
Rangamanch
pravesh
(entry on to the stage),
Rangabhumipranam
(salutation to
the stage) and
trikhandi pranam
(salutations to the god, guru and
audience) and the next sequences are
Batu
and
Pallavi.
The batu is
an item of pure dance that is derived from the influence of the
Tantric worship of Batukeshwar Bhairav, an aspect of Lord Shiva.
The Pallavi is an elaboration of both dance and music. Kshtapa-
dis or verses from Gita Govinda are interpreted after this. Moksha
is the concluding item in the programme. The vocal support is
provided by a singer accompanying the Odissi dancer. He is sup-
ported by musicians.
MOHINIATTAM
: Mohiniattam, "the dance of the enchant-
ress”, has gained the status of a classical dance in recent years.
Until then it was considered as an art form born out of the
wedlock of Bharatanatyam and Kathakali along with elements of
secular folk dances of the womenfolk of Kerala incorporated in it.
Mohiniattam is deemed to have achieved its present classical
form and repertoire during the reign of Maharaja Swati Tirunal, the
famous ruler of Kerala. During his reign, the advent of Vadivelu,
one of the Tanjore quartet, the architect responsible for the present
day Bharatanatyam repertoire, seems to have influenced Swati
Tirunal who wanted a female counterpart of Kathakali.
Mohiniattam is not an entirely new art. It was in vogue in the
beginning of the’ 17th century. It is between 300 to 600 years old.
‘All the dance forms of India are the end products of a long series of
a process of improvement, change and evolution in keeping with the
changing social structure.’ Thus Mohiniattam had its roots in the