Mohiniyattam underwent radical transformations in the early 1980s, which were spearheaded by two dancers, Kanak Rele and Bharati Shivaji. Although many young dancers in those days were carried away by the strikingly different styles of their presentation, only a few among them had the guts to imbibe the new idiom, thereby illuminating their identity on and off stage. Jayaprabha Menon is undoubtedly one of them. She faithfully follows the stylistic richness of Bharati Shivaji, yet lends a distinctive flavour to her repertoire.
Recently she enchanted an audience at T.D.M. Hall, Ernakulam, with a compact performance of Mohiniyattam, beginning with a prayer to Lord Ganesha. ‘Unniganapathi thamburane! Njanithaninpadam Kaithozhunnen’ is one of the best known compositions on the elephaht-headed God. She succeeded in conveying a devotee’s unalloyed devotion to Vighneswara through her movements and expressions. The sloka, ‘Gajaananam bhootaganaadi sevitham’ , and the alluring chollu added to the overall mood of the piece.
Mukhachalam, which followed, was again a pure-dance piece that Jayaprabha executed in consonance with a chain of chollu . The chollu, ethnic in nature, gelled well with the beats on the maddalam. Charmingly rendered in raga Surutti, she performed it to three talas – Adi, Mishram and Jhampa – revealing the dancer’s fluency in movement dynamics.
‘Nagatatwam’, inspired by Sreenarayana Guru’s ‘Kundalinipattu’, came next in raga Punnagavarali. Since the raga composed by Kavalam Narayana Panicker captured the essence and mood of the piece, Jayaprabha could easily mime the movements and expressions of the dancing Naga and its inextricable link with the cosmic dancer, Lord Siva. Awakening the Kundalini in one’s body is the underlying message of the item, Jayaprabha remarked before moving on to this item. The succeeding piece penned by Kavalam Narayana Panickar was ‘Yashodhara’ in raga, Mukhari, set to tala Ayyadi (five beats and a beat in silence).
Jayaprabha touchingly portrayed the trials and tribulations of Yashodhara following her husband Sidharatha’s departure and the ensuing phase that makes her realise his attainment of enlightenment and the very fact that she herself had become enlightened.
The visual interpretation of the Ashtapadi ‘Rathisukhasaare’ in raga, Kedaragaulam was the most remarkable of all the items Jayaprabha presented that evening. She, by weaving enticing images and metaphors, made the audience feel the presence of Lord Krishna deeply longing to be with Radha. ‘Varshagamanam’ from Kalidasa’s ‘Rithusamhara’ was a rare treat to the rasikas. Jayaprabha’s presentation of the usual images of the dark clouds and the peacock dance culminating in gushing rain drops was an unusual experience. Mishram, Khandam and Chaturasra – the tala bhedas embraced the bounty of nature. Raga, Amritavarshini contributed to the context the dancer was revelling in. The concluding item ‘Jeeva’ in raga Bekada was set to Marma tala (14 beats). Jayaprabha’s choreographic touches in each piece was evidence of her zest for the language of Mohiniyattam rooted in the deshi (indigenous) tradition. The recital was organised under the auspices of BEAME, Ernakulam.
