January 18, 2001

Press Release

Keli Mohiniyattam Festival, featuring some of the leading performers and teachers of this ancient Kerala dance tradition, will be held in Mumbai from 26th to 29th January 2001. The festival is being organised by Keli and Prithvi Festival in association with Orange.

The festival is exclusively devoted to this traditional dance form of Kerala and is a part of the Orange Cultural Heritage Series. Besides performances, the four-day festival will also feature seminars on Mohiniyattam where scholars and leading exponents will discuss many aspects of its tradition.

Mohiniyattam is one of the most lyrical of Indian dance traditions. A solo dance from Kerala performed by women, Mohiniyattam perfectly blends the sensuous with the sublime and appeals directly to ones heart. Mohiniyattam has certain unique characteristics particularly in relation to body movements and is different from other dance styles.

The Keli Mohiniyattam Festival is dedicated to the memory of Late Guru Nattuvan Korattikkara Appuredath Krishna Panicker and his disciples Late Chinnammu Amma and Kalyanikutty Amma, who were solely responsible for standardising and codifying the structural pattern of performing Mohiniyattam in its authentic and unadulterated form.

Keli and Prithivi Theatre will felicitate two very senior artistes Kalamandalam Sathyabhama and Dr (Mrs) Kanak Rele, who have made invaluable contributions to the growth, preservation development and propagation of Mohiniyattam over the past decades.

Says Mr. Sandip Das, Chief Executive Officer, Hutchison Max Telecom Ltd, "Kerala's cultural heritage represented through this ancient dance tradition of Mohiniyattam has been brought to Mumbaikars at the Keli Festival. Kerala has a great tradition in dance and music and Orange is delighted to present this particular Keli Festival for the citizens of Mumbai. "

Hutchison Max Telecom Limited, with its premium brand Orange, is the leading cellular service provider in Mumbai. Orange promises to offer customers a cellular service that is simple, affordable and accessible.

Established in 1978, Prithvi Theatre is the dream project of Jennifer and Shashi Kapoor and is at the forefront of theatrical activity in the country. It is today a rendezvous of budding as well as professional dramatists and is also a proud presenter of annual festivals, the recent ones being ' Theatre of India' in 1997, 'Theatre of Europe' in 1998, ' Theatre of Mumbai' in 1999 and 'Setting the Stage' in 2000.

Keli is a Mumbai-based organisation dedicated to lovers of traditional and classical art forms. In the past, it has handled exclusive projects such as Kathakali Festival in 1997, Classical Women's Theatre Festival in 1998, Swati Thirunal Music Festival in 1999 and the Classical Rhythm Festival in 1999.

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Mohiniyattam is one of the most lyrical of Indian dance traditions. It is a solo dance form of Kerala exclusively performed by women with a predominant emphasis on lasya elements of dance. At its best, Mohiniyattam, perfectly blends the sensuous with the sublime and therefore appeals directly to ones heart. It has certain unique characteristics particularly in relation to body movements, which are entirely different from other dance styles. The Sopana style of singing gives much colour and vitality to Mohiniyattam.

Mohiniyattam tradition has a long history. Literary works of Sixteenth century have references to this dance form. It was during the reign of Karthika Thirunal Balaramavarma of Travancore (author of the great treatise on dramaturgy Balaramabharatham) and his successor and nephew Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, the term Mohiniyattam came to this exquisite ancient dance form. They made substantial contributions towards encouraging and stabilising this art form. By the beginning of the 20th Century it suffered a tremendous setback. In 1930 Mahakavi Vallathole and Mukunda Raja instituted Kerala Kalamandalam and included Mohiniyattam as a faculty in this institution. The role of Guru Nattuvan Korattikkara Appuredath Krishna Panicker and his disciple Chinnammu Amma and Kalyanikutty Amma in reviving Mohiniyattam and presenting it to our generation in the present form has always to be mentioned with utmost reverence.

Later there have been serious efforts by dancers and scholars to delve deeply into the roots of this tradition in order to enrich its scope and sweetness. New experiments at choreographing well-known poetic works in different languages in the Mohiniyattam style have also been undertaken by well-known exponents. It continues to shine as an epitome of extreme grace, good taste, dignity and above all high cultural values.

It is the natural beauty of the Kerala landscape that provides inspiration for its lyrical and lilting movements. Its rounded body movements the distinctive heave of the toes, and the soft walk create the sensations of the verdant paddy fields, the undulating palm fronds and the rippling backwaters of Kerala.