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Queen of abhinaya
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Most dancers choose not to present abhinaya, for if not performed well, it can bore the audience. But Methil Devika’s Mohiniattam banked completely on her strength of abhinaya
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Photo: Murali Kumar K.
Casting a spell Methil Devika enchanted the audience with her arresting stage presence
It was a Mohinattam recital by Methil Devika as part of ICCR’s Every Friday Evening Cultural Programme at Yavanika. A Mohiniattam recital being rare in a city brimming with contemporary and Bharatanatya dancers, one thought the auditorium would
be packed to the brim. But, surprisingly there were barely 15 or 20 people.
Devika did not let that deter her performance. Instead she presented her dance with the utmost sincerity and devotion, which was very touching. From the moment she got on stage to the time she made her exit, there was not a minute when you get bored.
Devika enchanted the audience with her choice of compositions and with her arresting stage presence, brilliant abhinaya, perfect postures, agility and grace.
She started her recital with “Tuliya Unarthu”, a dance dedicated to Lord Ganesha, a folk tale about how Ganesha is bribed by Shiva and kept busy with the sweets while Shiva sneaks in an opportunity to romance with Gange.
The dance leaned more towards abhinaya, but did not get monotonous, for the choreography was crisp and short.
Also, understanding the language of movement itself was not very difficult as Devika made it a point to give the synopsis of the choreography and the compositions before she presented them, which did help immensely. The second composition was inspired by a song from a Thyani (it is a song sung in the temples of Kerala).
The dancer on the way to the temple sees an image of Goddess Kali drawn on the street. The dancer is so smitten by the image and its beauty that she starts dancing right there describing the beauty of the goddess through her dance.
Set to Kaarika taalam and in Sindhu Bhairavi raga, it was choreographed by Devika herself. Here, we got to see a bit of nritta or the pure dance, blended in with abhinaya. Devika’s face muscles and eyes moved in perfection with the rhythm.
The third one was a Swathi Thirunal composition. It was a bhakti piece depicting the love of Krishna and Sudhama, where Sudhama takes a small packet of pounded rice for Krishna and hesitates to give it to him, but Krishna is so touched by the man’s love that he treats him with all the love and showers him with his blessings. Devika’s abhinaya here literally moves you to tears.
Most dancers choose not to present abhinaya, for if it is not well done, it may bore the audience to death. But with Devika, it was a different story. Her strength lies in her abhinaya. She is one of the few dancers who can hold an audience in complete rapture with just that. The concluding piece was a pallavi titled “Kirataarjuneyan”.
In Mohinattam the nritta is not presented separately as in Odissi or Kathak but is blended into the abhinaya composition itself. So, here you saw a perfect blend of the nritta and abhinaya. The dancer performed to recorded music, which was impeccable too.
The music had the melodious voice of Tridev Varrier on vocals, her guru Girija Chandra on chengala, Gyaneshwaran on maddalam/mridanga and Srikumar on the violin.
SHILPA SEBASTIAN R.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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