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Mohini personified
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Bharati Shivaji remains a colossus in the field of Mohinyattam
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Photo:Sandeep. Saxena
Say cheese Bharati Shivaji (second from left) with her family
Bharati Shivaji radiates
warmth as she greets
you and you feel a
sense of comfort in her
presence as if you weren't
really meeting her for the
first time. In the city for the
Sangeeth Natak Academy's
`Sankhya' (numerals) fest
where she just concluded
her Dasa Pusha and Dasavataram
in the `10' numeral,
Bharati is full of content
that naturally accompanies
a perfect presentation. "For
the Dasavataram, I took Jaideva's
`Asthapadi' on the ten
incarnations of the lord. The
Dasa Pushpa has been culled
from a custom down south
wherein married women
(sumangali) perform a ritualistic
puja to Lord Shiva on
`Thiruvadurai' day with ten
different flowers. The dance
is all about how the flowers
rejoice being offered to the
lord. It gives lot of scope in
an art form like Mohiniyattam
to showcase these nature
sensitiveness," she
says.
What more, Bharati found
the Hyderabad audience appreciative
of her efforts and
this makes her even more
happy.
Was she directly into Mohiniyattam
dance form from
day one of her dance career?
"Oh no! I opted to specialise
and remain in this field at
quite a late age. I was initiated
into Bharatanatyam by
my mother K. Shankari, who
is herself a remarkable Carnatic
musician in Chennai.
It was her dream to see me
as a classical dancer. I kept
to Bharatanatyam all
through and of course had a
tryst with Odissi which attracted
me to it because of
its grace."
Has she tried innovations
with Mohiniyattam like
contemporary subjects?
"Two years ago she choreographed
a piece for the Navy.
It was the first time a
dance was being done for
the Defence Services at Siri
Fort in Delhi. Elsewhere she
incorporated Kalaripaayattu.
But it was never a dilution
of Mohiniyattam. To
that extent Bharati is an
avowed classicist. Her
daughter Vijayalakshmi is a
worthy inheritor of her
mother's talent and grace.
Together the duo can set the
stage aglow.
RANEE KUMAR
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