Of temple tales
N. KALYANI
|
Deepti Omchery Bhalla's book "Vanishing Temple Arts" that deals with Mohiniyattom and the music of Kerala has just hit the stands.
|
ACCOMPLISHED: Deepti Omchery Bhalla
As a Carnatic music vocalist, she is simply mellifluous. She is also a Mohiniyattom dancer extraordinaire.
Trained in Kathakali, Kerala's sangeetam is the subject of her continuous research. Meet Deepti Omchery Bhalla, recipient of this year's Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. But Deepti's latest achievement is her book, "Vanishing Temple Arts" (comprising temples of Kerala as well as Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district) brought out by Shubhi Publications. A gifted singer, Deepti has trained in Carnatic music with Pallavi Vidwan T. S Raghavan, besides her mother Leela Omchery and other luminaries. She is currently a professor of Carnatic classical music at Delhi University's Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, from where she did her doctorate too.
Extensive research
"Vanishing Temple Arts" is based on Deepti's extensive research in the areas of Mohiniyattom and the music of Kerala. "In Kerala, sangeetam still encompasses the triune of geetam (vocal), vadyam (instrumental) and nrityam (dance)," explains Deepti, whose Mohiniyattom recitals and Carnatic music concerts, both in India and abroad, have always left the audiences in raptures.
"The kovil (temple) sampradaya possesses talas belonging to the ancient marga talas which are not a part of Carnatic music," reveals Deepti. The dancer, who is proud to have trained with the legendary Mohiniyattom dancer Kalamandalam Kalyani Kuttiamma, elucidates how she has used these talas.
"I have incorporated these talas - Randaam, Raja Vidyadhara, Muddakku and Triteeya, etc., innovatively, without distorting them structurally into Mohiniyattom's classical mould," she says. And this has enhanced the Mohiniyattom repertoire to include such novel choreographic works as Dundubhi Natyam, Nritya Prabandham and Malayala Javali, besides many others, she adds.
The history of Mohiniyattom, right from its birth in the court of Maharaja Swati Tirunal (1813-1847) of Travancore to contemporary times, has also been dealt with extensively in the book.
Deepti points out, "Although Mohiniyattom is construed as the sensual dance of the enchantress, in reality, it is a dance characterised by a subtle portrayal of emotions, with the dancer interacting, as it were, with Lord Padmanabha."
Evolution of Mohinyattom
She adds, "But the post-Swati Thirunal period witnessed a degradation of the dance form. The coming up of erotic variants such as Kalavakoothu, Mookuthi etc., was in complete reversal to the trend in the times prior to the birth of Mohiniyattom, when female temple dancers, the Talinankas, were actually treated at par with the temple goddesses."
However, with the formation of the Kerala Kalamandalam by poet Vallathol in 1930, Mohiniyattom started regaining its original status and acquiring popularity as a classical dance form.
Deepti also trains young learners in both Carnatic music and Mohiniyattom at the Trikalaa Gurukulam, a school run by her mother.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
