She considers it a humble tribute to her mentor, the late Kavalam Narayana Panicker, who put Mohiniyattam on a global platform even while inculcating in it an essence unique to the soil and culture of Kerala.
Last week, the Palakkad-based Mohiniyattam artiste Divya Nedungadi got PhD from Viswa Bharathi University at Santhinikethan and that too on the contributions of Kavalam to the art form.
“Despite being one of the respected theatre personalities and poets in Malayalam, Kavalam contributed immensely to Mohiniyattam. He had written 120 kritis exclusively to provide background for the dance form. In the history of Mohiniyattam, he has a position equal to that of Swathi Tirunal and Vallathol Narayana Menon,” said Ms. Nedungadi to The Hindu .
A postgraduate in performing arts with National Eligibility Test (NET), Ms. Nedungadi got the doctorate at the age of 27.
“Kavalam wanted to attend the doctorate award function. But death came in between,” said Ms. Nedungady, an A grade artist with Doordarshan.
“It was my resolve to record contributions of Kavalam who gave Mohiniyattam an auditory identity by adapting Sopanasangeetham, vaaythari, and tala unique to the State into the format of the dance form. He infused the dance form with aesthetics that immediately struck a chord with audiences,” she said.
“Though he was not a dancer, his aesthetics were so sharp and refined that he could motivate a dancer to find new nuances and meaning in the lyrics,” she said.
