Mohiniyattam
Mohiniyattam is another popular dance form in Kerala in South India. Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur quartets who is a great Tamil dance master made this dance come into the spotlight. One among the eight Indian classical dance forms, Mohinyattam is a refined dance to watch and it is a solo recital by women. Mohiniyattam is derived from two words where Mohini means
A woman who captivates spectators Latham means elegant and sensuous body movements. Thus, the term Mohiniyattam means the dance of the enchantress.
According to Hindu mythology, it says that after the ocean of milk is churned jointly by the Gods and the demons to extract the elixir Of life, the demons took the divine brew by force. After the incident, Lord Vishnu came to the rescue of the gods. He allured the demons by taking the form of a woman with exceptional beauty called Mohini and stole the elixir of life from them and handed it to the gods. The enticing acts of Mohini are reflected in the form of Mohiniyattam.
This dance form had seen many ups and downs, which finally got stabilized during the reign of King Swati Thirunal of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdoms. Mohiniyattam has love and devotion to God as its major themes, with usually Lord Vishnu or incarnation Lord Krishna as the lead character. It has got 40 different basic movements called adavukal and performance style I marked by the swaying of hips and gentle movements with straight body posture from the side to side.
Mudras are described in the ancient treatise on Hasta Lakshanadeepika to convey the story. They are expressed through the fingers and palms of the hands. The Musical Supplement of Mohiniyattam dance involves what is known as chollu. The lyrics are a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. The music style is Carnatic. The elegant costume is one of the facets that give this dance form a unique identity among classical dance forms of India. The attire consists of a white sari, bordered with broad golden brocade or zari.
Mohiniyattam tradition has produced generations of expert Mohiniyattam dancers and choreographers. Below is a list of just a few of the most talented Mohiniyattam dancers performing today.
- Dr. Rekha Raju
- Gopika Varma
- KM Abu
- Kalamandalam Hymavathy
- Kalamandalam Radhika
- Momm Chatterjee
- Neena Prasad
- Pallavi Krishnan
- Radha Dutta
- Radha Marar
- Rema Shrikant
- Sindhu Kiran
- Sunanda Nair
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