Defining the mudras
AMBILI RAMNATH
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Nirmala Paniker explained the importance of Netrabhinaya and Hasthabhinaya.
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Photo: S. Mahinsha
EYE-OPENER: A lecture-demonstration by Nirmala Paniker dwelt on the techniques of Mohiniyattom.
Yatho hastha tatho drishti
Yatho drishti tatho manah
Yatho mana tatho bhavah
(Where the hand goes the eyes follow
Where the eyes go, the mind follows
Where the mind goes, emotion follows)
This is a sloka that every dancer is familiar with. Yet, delving into its implications is what lit the spark of inspiration in Nirmala Paniker who took up research into the mudras and other aspects of Mohiniyattom. She outlined this inspiring journey of hers in a lecture-demonstration titled `Mudraparichayam' held at Vylopilli Samskriti Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.
Nirmala started her training in Mohiniyattom in the mid-sixties under guru Kalyani Kutty Amma and later under Kalamandalam Sathyabhama. At that time there were many grey areas concerning Mohiniyattom. Conjectures regarding its origins were aplenty and the repertoire was sparse.
Learning various art forms
Familiar with the rich heritage of Kerala's art forms at a young age, Nirmala began to look for a connection between Mohiniyattom, Nangiar Koothu and Thiruvathirakali - all indigenous forms featuring female artistes. This venture led her to great gurus like Bhanu Asan of Thiruvuvananthapuram from whom she learned Thiruvathirakali and allied forms and to the illustrious Ammanur Madhava Chakyar who enlightened her on the various aspects of abhinaya in Koodiyattom and Nangiar Koothu. The ensuing research led her to fill in many gaps in the Mohiniyattom repertoire and to "rewrite the forgotten chapters of technique."
One could say that her most important contribution lies in revitalising the desi or regional aspect of the technique and reviving the Netrabhinaya (expression of the eyes) and Hasthabhinaya (expression by hands or mudras) traditions of Kerala, which, at one time, had been all but lost.
Nirmala mentions coming across a reference in Sangam literature that says that a dancer, while performing, should convert the whole body into eyes. Such is the importance of netrabhinaya, which is in fact the life-giving aspect in a dance performance. Mudras are only symbolic gestures of the hands, which take on full meaning only when complemented with adequate emotions communicated by the eyes.
For instance the mudra called pathaka could represent the rising sun; but the whole impact of the sequence could be brought out only with the support of netrabhinaya that conveys the glow and dazzle of the sunlight.
All these aspects were interestingly presented at the lec-dem, featuring Gopika and Sneha Sreekumar, two promising students of Nirmala Paniker. Grace and fluidity in body movements and liveliness of the eyes proved that a lot of hard work had gone into such a satisfying outcome from these young girls. They ably demonstrated the various viniyogas of the pathaka, mudrakyam and katakam mudras based on Hasthalakshana deepika.
What followed was a selection in Saptam (used for narration) from Kalidasa's `Kumarasambhavam' depicting the sequences of Sati dahanam and Bala kreeda of the young Parvathy.
The supportive pakkamelam blended well with the dance and contributed in evoking the right mood. Vocal was by Kalamandalam Jayaprakash, maddalam by Kalanilayam Prakash, edakka by Kalanilayam Unni and Chalakudy Reghunath played the flute. At the end of this beautiful piece of choreography by Nirmala Paniker, one felt optimistic about the future of Mohiniyattom.
Nirmala has been researching the `Chilapatikaram,' the Tamil epic and eliciting information from it that links various dance practices of ancient India.
Nirmala is the winner of several awards, including the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademy award, Senior Fellowship of the Government of India's Department of Culture and so on. Natanakaisiki, founded by her is a research centre for dance and theatre traditions of the women of Kerala.
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