Kalamandalam opens doors for boys to learn Mohiniyattam 

Kalamandalam opens doors for boys to learn Mohiniyattam 

Subject: History

Section: Art and culture

• In a historic move, the Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed university for arts and culture, has lifted gender restrictions to learn Mohiniyattam.

More on news:

• The admission for the Mohiniyattam course will be open from the next academic year onwards.
• The decision came in the wake of a controversy in which dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama made derogatory racial/casteist remarks against dancer R.L.V. Ramakrishnan.
• Kalamandalam provides an opportunity for learning Mohiniyattam up to the PG level.

About Mohiniyattam:

• Mohiniyattam is a classical dance style from Kerala state and one of the eight principal Indian classical dances.
• The Mohiniyattam is a popular dance form with a drama in dance, performed with subtle gestures and footwork.

Salient Features of the dance:

• Mohiniyattam is characterized by graceful, swaying body movements with no abrupt jerks or sudden leaps.
• It belongs to the Lasya style which is feminine, tender and graceful.
• The most characteristic element of the “form” component of Mohiniattam is the circular or spiral movement of all the limbs of the body.
• This gives it a swaying effect which resembles the movement of a pendulum and thus it is called aandolika.
• The movements are emphasized by the glides and the up and down movement on toes, like the waves of the sea and the swaying of the coconut, palm trees and the paddy fields.
• Movements have been borrowed from Nangiar Koothu and female folk dances Kaikottikali and the Tiruvatirakali.
• The footwork is not terse and is rendered softly.
• Importance is given to the hand gestures and Mukhabhinaya with subtle facial expressions.
• Mohiniyattam lays emphasis on acting. The dancer identifies herself with the character and sentiments existing in the compositions like the Padams and Pada Varnams which give ample opportunity for facial expressions.
• The hand gestures, 24 in number, are mainly adopted from Hastalakshana Deepika, a text followed by Kathakali. 
• Few are also borrowed from Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and Balarambharatam.
• The gestures and facial expressions are closer to the natural(gramya) and the realistic (lokadharmi) than to the dramatic or rigidly conventional (natyadharmi).
• Vocal music of this performance incorporates different rhythms and lyrics of many of the compositions performed in this dance form are in Manipravalam that is a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam language while the music style is Carnatic.
• Instruments played during a Mohiniyattam performance usually comprises Kuzhitalam or cymbals; Veena; Idakka, an hourglass-shaped drum; Mridangam, a barrel-shaped drum with two heads.