Mythili Anoop recently depicted the beauty of mohiniyattam as part of the Every Friday Cultural Evening Programme held at the Yavanika Hall.
She was accompanied by Nagaraj on mridangam, Vivek Krishna on flute, Prasana Kumar on nattuvangam, Achuthanandan on edakka and the vocalist Shankar.
All in all, the performance was a pleasant evening to remember. Starting the evening with maha ganapathi, the accompanists prepared the stage for the performer to step in. And the pieces that Mythili performed amazed and left a lasting impression on each one of the audience members.
These included cholkettu, by M S Sukhi; varnam, a long piece by Swathi Thirunal and keerthana, for lord Shiva. The cholkettu was a composition with arbitrary words brought together, while the longer piece — varnam — was a story about the nayika in virahabhavam. It described the state of the nayika who is separated from her lord Padmanabhan, as she talks to her sakhi about her pain.
She explains how everything around her makes her sad, even the birds chirping and the humming of the bees. Mythili's facial expressions and body movements all added to the impact of the pieces on the audience.
The last composition — the keerthana to lord Shiva — included three stories. The first was of a young Brahmin boy who was saved by Shiva when Yamaraja wanted to take him away. The next was the story of how Ravana upset Shiva and Parvathi by playing with the mountain Kailasha, as though it were a ball, and how he finally calms and pleases Shiva by singing. The final story was about Ganga and how her pride is settled by Shiva.
"I've always got more response for the 'varnam' that I perform — but here, the audience was very appreciative of the keerthana to Shiva," says the dancer.
"Her style and devotion to each piece can be seen in the way she performs. This dance form — being more about expressions than movements — is very challenging and Mythili has done a graceful job," says M Murugan, a retired teacher.
Pushpa R V comments about the performance, "Mohiniyattam, being the 'dance of the temptress', is focussed on the moods and emotions of a woman — and Mythili had done a justifiable job."
DHNS
She was accompanied by Nagaraj on mridangam, Vivek Krishna on flute, Prasana Kumar on nattuvangam, Achuthanandan on edakka and the vocalist Shankar.
All in all, the performance was a pleasant evening to remember. Starting the evening with maha ganapathi, the accompanists prepared the stage for the performer to step in. And the pieces that Mythili performed amazed and left a lasting impression on each one of the audience members.
These included cholkettu, by M S Sukhi; varnam, a long piece by Swathi Thirunal and keerthana, for lord Shiva. The cholkettu was a composition with arbitrary words brought together, while the longer piece — varnam — was a story about the nayika in virahabhavam. It described the state of the nayika who is separated from her lord Padmanabhan, as she talks to her sakhi about her pain.
She explains how everything around her makes her sad, even the birds chirping and the humming of the bees. Mythili's facial expressions and body movements all added to the impact of the pieces on the audience.
The last composition — the keerthana to lord Shiva — included three stories. The first was of a young Brahmin boy who was saved by Shiva when Yamaraja wanted to take him away. The next was the story of how Ravana upset Shiva and Parvathi by playing with the mountain Kailasha, as though it were a ball, and how he finally calms and pleases Shiva by singing. The final story was about Ganga and how her pride is settled by Shiva.
"I've always got more response for the 'varnam' that I perform — but here, the audience was very appreciative of the keerthana to Shiva," says the dancer.
"Her style and devotion to each piece can be seen in the way she performs. This dance form — being more about expressions than movements — is very challenging and Mythili has done a graceful job," says M Murugan, a retired teacher.
Pushpa R V comments about the performance, "Mohiniyattam, being the 'dance of the temptress', is focussed on the moods and emotions of a woman — and Mythili had done a justifiable job."
DHNS