`Yen for traditional numbers in Mohiniyattom'
PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA
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Chithra Sukumaran will be awarded the National Balraj Sahani award in Shimla on June 25.
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Research is on in text, music and theatrics.<232> Chithra Sukumaran
DEDICATED TO MOHINIYATTOM: Chithra Sukumaran.
As she prepares to receive the National Balraj Sahani award in Shimla, for contribution to `peace through arts,' at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Dance and Drama and Song Festival, later this month, Mohiniyattom dancer, Chithra Sukumaran is full of plans. "I think I will present the technical side of Mohiniyattom for the audience to comprehend the slow, graceful movements of the dance. The mukhchalam explaining the movements of the body and face will help them understand the dance better. I will also perform ashtarasiyanika shloka from `Soundarya Lahiri' written by Adi Sankracharya," says Chithra who has travelled extensively across India and abroad.
Shift to Mohiniyattom
"When I found that artistes from Chennai and Karnataka were preferred to artistes from Kerala for Bharatanatyam recitals, I thought it would be wiser to pursue Mohiniyattom. Though I had learnt Bharatanatyam, Mohinyattom and Kuchipudi, I was concentrating on Bharatanatyam. But in 2000, I took a decision to focus on Mohiniyattom. I trained under Nirmala Paniker. I performed for Doordarshan and from then on it has been Mohiniyattom all the way," says Chithra who improved her skills by enrolling in an international acting lab at Natankairali, Irinjalakuda.
"I got the opportunity to learn the subtle nuances of facial expressions from the renowned guru Ammanur Madhava Chakyar. I attended lectures by him and by G. Venu. After I met Kavalam Narayana Panniker, I underwent training in the Sopanam style at his Sopanam Theatre in Thiruvananthpuram.
Now, I am doing his compositions," says Chithra who feels that Sopanasangeetam is the most appropriate music for Mohiniyattom.
"A lot of work is being done in Mohiniyattom by scholars like Kavalam who are adapting the music and rhythm of Kerala to Mohiniyattom. Research is on in text, music and theatrics. Many artistes are into experimentation and contemporary themes but I want to stick to traditional pieces because that has got a message. Like an item on Gandhari is relevant even today," explains Chithra.
Cultural exchange
Recalling an incident on a cultural exchange tour to Pakistan, she says, "After I performed `Bhavayami Raghuramam' in Lahore, an academician, Hayat Ahmed Ali Khan, said that Sita came to live on the banks of River Risvi, the river that flows through Lahore and that her two sons Luv and Kush were born there. The two towns of Lahore and Kusur are named after them."
Chithra adds that she is looking forward to the award function in Shimla on June 25 and a dance presentation at Stein auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on June 21.
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