It is a dancer’s way of saying ‘thank you.’ For the past eight years Suchitra Visweswaran, the noted, city-based Mohiniyattam dancer has been presenting different chapters of Narayaneeyam , the classical Sanskrit text at Guruvayur.
Every year on September 20 she performs at the Melpathur Auditorium, Guruvayur, as an ‘offering to the Almighty’. The ‘offering’ is her expression of gratitude for her miraculous comeback to the stage after suffering a crippling disease, after miserable days of not being able to dance.
“In 2005 I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis. I was advised not to dance. This was terrible. That was when I chanced to read about Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, of how he composed the Narayaneeyam and was cured of paralysis. I don’t know why I decided to read this work but I did. And, it must have been a coincidence; I began to get better and was soon cured.
“So, I decided to present Narayaneeyam , starting from the Kesadipadavarnanam , chapter 100. This has been going on since then every September.”
Ironically, this was also the rebirth of a dancer. Suchitra took to dancing professionally. Apart from the traditional Mohinayattam recitals, Suchitra has composed and performed a number of pieces that have stood out for their innovative creativity.
Among them are the various chapters from Narayaneeyam , Poonthanam krithis , Adi Sankara’s Soundaraya Lahari , a number of own compositions, and even some based on Kathakali padams .
“There have been challenging occasions like performing traditional Mohiniyattam to the accompaniment of the thavil at Mayiladuthurai. Then, recently, at a consecration of a Sri Chakra temple at Kozhikode, I had to present an impromptu performance based on Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s Navavarna krithis sung by Thamarakkad Govindan Namboodiri.”
For this year’s Guruvayur performance Suchitra has chosen Aghaasura Moksham and Brahmadarpashamanam , chapters 51 and 52 of the Narayaneeyam .
“In order to add flesh I had to take details from the Bhagavatham. With the script ready I met noted Kathakali artiste FACT Padmanabhan and we formed the structure of the dance. We even had to create a few news mudras. This will be a 30-45 minute performance.
“This time I’ll also be joined by my students on stage. They will present a Bharatanatyam varnam that I have composed in Brindavana Saranga raga and a few other items,” informs Suchitra.
Manu Narayanan, Anu Visweswaran (vocals), Ayamanam Chandrakumar (nattuvangam), Shyam K. Menon (mridangam), Cherthala Samjith (violin), Ajith Kumar (flute) and Tripunithura Hair (edakka) will provide the backup.
