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Posted On : 4/9/2008 4:06:22 AM
Maniam PS [Guru] Reward Points : 139200 Member Since : Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mohiniyattam is a traditional South Indian dance form Kerala, India. It is a very graceful dance meant to be performed as a solo recital by women. The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words Mohini meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and aattam meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word Mohiniyattam literally means dance of the enchantress . There are two stories of the Lord Vishnu disguised as a Mohini. In one, he appears as Mohini to lure the asuras demons away from the amrita nectar of immortality obtained during the churning of the palazhi or Ocean of Milk. In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon Bhasmasura. The name Mohiniyattam may have been coined after Lord Vishnu, and the main theme of the dance is love and devotion to God, with usually Vishnu or Krishna being the hero. Devadasis used to perform this in temples. But it also has elements of Koothu and Kottiyattom in it. it is a drama in dance and verse. The dance which has influences and elements from two South Indian dance forms, the Bharatanatyam and Kathakali, was formulated in the court of king Swati Tirunal by Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur Quartet. The dance involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle movements of erect posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palm leaves and the gently flowing rivers which abound Kerala, the land of Mohiniyattam. There are approximately 40 different basic movements, known as atavukal , in Mohiniyattam. The costume includes white sari embroidered with bright golden brocade known as kasavu at the edges. The dance follows the classical text of Hastha Lakshanadeepika, which has elaborate description of Mudras gestural expressions by the hand palm and fingers . The vocal music of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu. The lyrics are in Manipravalam, a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. The Mohiniyattam dance is performed to this accompaniment by the subtle gestures and footwork of the danseuse. The performer uses the eyes in a very coy yet sensual manner, the purpose being to enchant the mind without enticing the senses.
Posted On : 4/8/2009 10:59:13 PM
Indu Tripathi Reward Points : 22900 Member Since : Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Mohiniattam is one of the major classical dance styles of India. The dance form of Mohiniattam was nurtured in the region of Kerala in southwestern India. It has only been in recent decades that Mohini Attam has risen in popularity and acceptability. Mohiniattam though born out of the fusion of Kathakali and Bharatnatyam, has developed its own identity. In the word Mohiniattam, Mohini means a maiden who charms the onlooker and attam means dance. Mohiniattam is also known as the Dance of the Celestial Female magicians, since it has an extremely slow seductive quality. It is essentially a solo dance, performed by women and it is now also performed by groups of female dancers. However, the basis of this dance is not seduction alone, it also signifies the transformation of Lord Vishnu into a female form and also the concept of Ardhnareeshwara i.e. male and female as one. Like many other dance forms, this was also restricted to the Devadasis. The theme of Mohiniattam is romantic love and devotion to god. Delicate themes of love are performed with suggestive abhinaya, subtle gestures, rhythmic footwork and lilting music. Mohiniattam signifies the dance of enchanters that causes destruction of the wicked and brings delight and pleasure to the good. Unlike other classical dance forms, Mohiniattam draws upon secular and social themes rather than religious mythology, the age-old stirring tales from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. The themes of most of the South Indian dances are more or less the some. However, most of the themes of Mohiniattam are dealt with love, union and failure of men and women. he distinctive style of Mohiniattam is the complete absence of heavy stamping and rhythmical tension, where the footwork is gentle, soft and sliding. The movements are never abrupt, they are dignified, easy and natural, but the vertical line of the body is never broken. Hence, among the styles detailed by Bharata Muni in the ancient Indian treatise on dance, the Natya Sastra, Mohiniattam resembles the Kaisiki type meaning graceful. The main musical instrument used in Mohiniatttam is Eddaka. Even the instruments such as the violin, veena and mridangam provide musical accompaniment to the Mohiniattam dancer, who describes episodes from the epics and legends through graceful steps, rhythmic movements of her arms and trained facial expressions. Till recently, Thoppi Maddalam and Veena provided the background music of Mohiniattam. The Mridangam and Violin have replaced these in recent years.
Posted On : 4/8/2009 11:20:02 PM
Siddharth Ray Reward Points : 61200 Member Since : Tuesday, April 07, 2009
A style exclusively performed by women, comes from the state of Kerala in southern India. The name comes from the myths which say that Vishnu assumed the form of a beautiful enchantress time and again in order to protect Truth. There are many stories, the most popular one being the myth of the churning of the ocean. Once upon a time the gods and the demons churned the milky ocean to get the nectar of immortality. When the deity holding the jar of nectar appeared the demons managed to snatch it first which created a panic among the gods. Vishnu appeared in the form of a beautiful enchantress and extracted a promise from the demons that she would distribute the nectar equally between the gods and the demons. Dancing her way among the gods and the demons she cleverly gives the nectar of immortality only to the gods and thus preserves the world order. Thus the dance of Mohini attam is meant to symbolize this dance of protection and enchantment. As early as the 18th century there are references to this style. The great poet scholar king Swati Tirunal belong to the 19th century encouraged musicians who composed songs for this style. After him the style was largely ignored till the advent of Kerala Kalamandalam by the great poet Vallathol. Mohini attam was then taught in the environs of Kalamandalam and today has its place among the other classical styles of India. The most well known performers are Dr. Guru Smt Kanak Rele and Guru Bharati Shivaji. All the photos used on this site are credited to Dr. Smt. Kanak Rele.
Posted On : 4/9/2009 12:34:46 AM
Vikas Chaturvedi Reward Points : 14100 Member Since : Thursday, December 20, 2007
One of the distinctive features of the Mohiniattam is the simplicity of the costumes. There is a typical costume for Mohiniattam, which is a mixture of white and gold. They usually consist of a choli and a white, cream or off-white colored sari with a gold or red-bordered Kasavu saree of Kerala worn in such a manner that a pleated fan is formed like an apron in front of the waist. White is a favourite colour of the people basically because of the hot and humid climate. Mohiniattam maintains realistic make-up and simple dressing which is very much a characteristic of women from Kerala. The beauty of Indian classical dance is also its appropriate and relevant costume and jewelry. The dancers hair is gathered in a bun that is worn at the side of the head and decorated with jasmine flowers and with a simple ornament tied on the bun. The dancer usually wears gold ornaments, which symbolizes purity, truth and immortality - all these are attributed to the dance of the celestial maidens. Gold jewellery including necklaces, bangles, waistbands and anklets adorn the body of the dancer and their tinkling makes music as she dances. The dancer also wears a pair of large round ear studs known as Toda, which is circular like a coin and has dangling earrings with it known as jhumka . The necklace choker is the traditional Nagapadam in the shape of a snakes hood, and the powanmala - a chain made of gold coins kasimala. The forehead is covered with an ornament called the Nethichutti and the nose is adorned by Mukkuthi or nose ring. The bangles are known as Kappu. The face is done up with an exaggerated eye make up to help her express her emotions. The eyes reflect immediately the mental state of the situation or character the dancer is representing and a description of Mohiniattam cannot be complete without the mention of the nayanabhinaya or the use of the eyes, eyebrows and eyelids. The tilaka or the red mark on the forehead represents matrimony faithfulness of the Hindu women.
Posted On : 4/9/2009 1:34:55 AM
Manpreet Bharara Reward Points : 30900 Member Since : Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Mohiniattam dance is a very expressive form of dance of Kerala. It is made of two words, mohini and attam . Mohini refers to a beautiful lady and attam means dance. So this traditional Mohiniattam dance form basically means the dance of an enchantress. In Kerala, classical mohiniatam dance form evolved centuries back under the influence of the great king of Travancore, Swati Tirunal. This king was a great patronage of fine arts and encouraged artists from all over India to perform in his court. The make up and costume of a dancer is very simple yet beautiful. Emphasis is laid on eye make up since most expressions involve emoting through eyes. The color of the costume is usually white or off-white with a golden or a red border. The hair is done up in a bun on the side just above the ear and is decorated with flowers. The jewellery is usually an elaborate pair of earrings and a choker for neck, teamed with a long necklace of coins. Legend has it that Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a gorgeous heavenly enchantress called Mohini to derive the Pot of Amrit potion for immortality , which was in possession of the Demons. He seduced the demons in the form of the divine seductress and somehow managed to get hold of the pot. The dance that was performed to mesmerize the demons is now called Mohiniattam . The music is usually classical carnatic, typical of south Indian variations and style of music. It is sung by trained singers or the teacher who teaches the performers to dance. This beautiful style of dance involves the use of eye movements that are sensual yet does not provoke the viewer but enchants in such a way that it is not overt. The idea is to charm without being offensive. The fluttering eye lashes, the curved eye brows and the captivating eyes all enchant the viewers and take them to a virtual paradise
Posted On : 4/9/2009 2:38:07 AM
Rufi malik Reward Points : 14700 Member Since : Tuesday, March 03, 2009
There a book written by Bharathi Shivaji on mohiniyattam,titled The Art Of Mohiniyattam published by Lancer International,New Delhi in 1986.It will help you know more about Mohiniyattam and also help you to learn this dance form
Mohiniyattam is a traditional South Indian dance from Kerala, one of the eight Indian classical dance forms. It is a very graceful dance meant to be performed as a solo recital by women. The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words Mohini meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and aattam meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word Mohiniyattam literally means dance of the enchantress . There are two stories of the Lord Vishnu disguised as a Mohini. In one, he appears as Mohini to lure the asuras demons away from the amrita nectar of immortality obtained during the churning of the palazhi or Ocean of Milk.In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon Bhasmasura. The name Mohiniyattam may have been coined after Lord Vishnu, and the main theme of the dance is love and devotion to God, with usually Vishnu or Krishna being the hero. Devadasis used to perform this in temples. But it also has elements of Koothu and Kottiyattom in it. Mohiniyattam is a drama in dance and verse. This dance which has influences and elements from two South Indian dance forms, the Bharatanatyam and Kathakali, was formulated in the court of king Swati Tirunal by Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur Quartet. The dance involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle movements of erect posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palm leaves and the gently flowing rivers which abound Kerala, the land of Mohiniyattam. There are approximately 40 different basic movements, known as atavukal , in Mohiniyattam.The costume includes white sari embroidered with bright golden brocade known as kasavu at the edges. The dance follows the classical text of Hastha Lakshanadeepika, which has elaborate description of Mudras gestural expressions by the hand palm and fingers .The vocal music of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu. The lyrics are in Manipravalam, a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. The Mohiniyattam dance is performed to this accompaniment by the subtle gestures and footwork of the danseuse. The performer uses the eyes in a very coy yet sensual manner, the purpose being to enchant the mind without enticing the senses.
Mohiniyattam
