Dance of the Asuras

KOCHI: Races of isolated and marginalised communities, cheated by power. It was these muted scenes of life that intrigued young dancer Anjali Krishnadas. And she teamed up with her friends, kalarippayattu artist Divakaran Aravind and mohiniyattam dancer Ponnu Sanjeev to develop her recent dance production, Otta. Otta narrates the story of Hidumbi and her son Ghatotkaja and his father Bheema. A familiar story from Mahabharata. However, the young trio has explored the nuances and the imbalances in power through their production.

The joint initiative of the trio from Thudippu Dance Foundation in Kochi, in association with Kerala Arts and Crafts Village in Kovalam, had its debut performance at the capital city recently. The show is expected to find venues from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur in January next year with a few more improvisations, says the makers who love to address their production as ‘Natya Kalari’. The reason, the 25-minute-long dance ballet is an amalgamation of the subtle classical dance style mohiniyattam with the acrobatic martial art form, kalaripayattu.

Without breaking the conventional beauty of the two art forms, the artists have weaved an appealing dance piece. The thoughtful lyrics penned by Ganesh Malayath get a completion through Vishnu Sivashankar’s music.

Infusing Kalari with mohiniyattam is a rare experience, confesses Kozhikode native Anjali Krishnadas who gave life to Hidumbi on stage.“The biggest challenge was clubbing both the art forms. They follow different body language; one is elegant, soft and demure while the other is athletic and acrobatic,” she adds.

According to her, the idea of fusing kalari and mohiniyattam popped up during a brainstorming session. “Our foundation became full-fledged in April this year. Being artists we have a responsibility towards society. The struggles of the marginalised for their basic rights could not be ignored. And ‘Otta’ where the two forms seamlessly merge, narrates a tale of resilience,” says Anjali.

There was nothing that could be referred to but the team found the balance through body language and rhythmic moves. For Divakaran Aravind, 29, who acted as Ghatotkaja, acting through kalari was a new experience. “The birth and growth of Ghatotkacha are narrated using kalarippayattu with the harmony of mohiniyattam. Though both are poles apart, are the same in the aspects of rhythmic body movements. Being a Kalari artist, the emotional scenes with mother Hidumbi were challenging. But with body movements, I derived how artistically kalari can be explored. The ‘Otta’, a defensive and powerful weapon in Kalari, is also used as a metaphor for resilience and survival,” says Aravind.

 Kalari was the best way to represent the masculine portrayal on stage, says Ponnu Sanjeev who turned Bheema in Otta. “I have been a mohiniyattam dancer for nearly two decades. So portraying a male character such as Bheema was difficult. Everything from mannerisms to body language is different from the Lasya style. Performing kalari was difficult for the mohiniyattam dancer in me. As the martial art form has powerful and defensive moves, it is the perfect medium to be Bheema, who touches his son Ghatotkaja for the first time when he dies,” she adds.  

The invisible lives
Otta also narrates the plights of the suppressed, including women. “Kaadupole ayirikanam ninte manas (your mind should be like the forest)… says Hidumbi to Ghatotkaj. It means, like the forest you should be alert, wild as well as calm as per the situation. A Hidumbi is there in every woman who is independent like me. Even now we have to prove ourselves to society to receive our rights and respect,” says Anjali.

While artistically experimenting with kalari, Aravind dedicates his act to the hero of the Pulaya community, Thevar Vellan. “He was a warrior who was not scripted in our casteist history due to the influence of upper caste hegemony. Otta is also a tale of isolated heroes in the marginalised community,” concludes Aravind.

KOCHI: Races of isolated and marginalised communities, cheated by power. It was these muted scenes of life that intrigued young dancer Anjali Krishnadas. And she teamed up with her friends, kalarippayattu artist Divakaran Aravind and mohiniyattam dancer Ponnu Sanjeev to develop her recent dance production, Otta. Otta narrates the story of Hidumbi and her son Ghatotkaja and his father Bheema. A familiar story from Mahabharata. However, the young trio has explored the nuances and the imbalances in power through their production. The joint initiative of the trio from Thudippu Dance Foundation in Kochi, in association with Kerala Arts and Crafts Village in Kovalam, had its debut performance at the capital city recently. The show is expected to find venues from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur in January next year with a few more improvisations, says the makers who love to address their production as ‘Natya Kalari’. The reason, the 25-minute-long dance ballet is an amalgamation of the subtle classical dance style mohiniyattam with the acrobatic martial art form, kalaripayattu. Without breaking the conventional beauty of the two art forms, the artists have weaved an appealing dance piece. The thoughtful lyrics penned by Ganesh Malayath get a completion through Vishnu Sivashankar’s music. Infusing Kalari with mohiniyattam is a rare experience, confesses Kozhikode native Anjali Krishnadas who gave life to Hidumbi on stage.“The biggest challenge was clubbing both the art forms. They follow different body language; one is elegant, soft and demure while the other is athletic and acrobatic,” she adds. According to her, the idea of fusing kalari and mohiniyattam popped up during a brainstorming session. “Our foundation became full-fledged in April this year. Being artists we have a responsibility towards society. The struggles of the marginalised for their basic rights could not be ignored. And ‘Otta’ where the two forms seamlessly merge, narrates a tale of resilience,” says Anjali. There was nothing that could be referred to but the team found the balance through body language and rhythmic moves. For Divakaran Aravind, 29, who acted as Ghatotkaja, acting through kalari was a new experience. “The birth and growth of Ghatotkacha are narrated using kalarippayattu with the harmony of mohiniyattam. Though both are poles apart, are the same in the aspects of rhythmic body movements. Being a Kalari artist, the emotional scenes with mother Hidumbi were challenging. But with body movements, I derived how artistically kalari can be explored. The ‘Otta’, a defensive and powerful weapon in Kalari, is also used as a metaphor for resilience and survival,” says Aravind.  Kalari was the best way to represent the masculine portrayal on stage, says Ponnu Sanjeev who turned Bheema in Otta. “I have been a mohiniyattam dancer for nearly two decades. So portraying a male character such as Bheema was difficult. Everything from mannerisms to body language is different from the Lasya style. Performing kalari was difficult for the mohiniyattam dancer in me. As the martial art form has powerful and defensive moves, it is the perfect medium to be Bheema, who touches his son Ghatotkaja for the first time when he dies,” she adds.   The invisible lives Otta also narrates the plights of the suppressed, including women. “Kaadupole ayirikanam ninte manas (your mind should be like the forest)… says Hidumbi to Ghatotkaj. It means, like the forest you should be alert, wild as well as calm as per the situation. A Hidumbi is there in every woman who is independent like me. Even now we have to prove ourselves to society to receive our rights and respect,” says Anjali. While artistically experimenting with kalari, Aravind dedicates his act to the hero of the Pulaya community, Thevar Vellan. “He was a warrior who was not scripted in our casteist history due to the influence of upper caste hegemony. Otta is also a tale of isolated heroes in the marginalised community,” concludes Aravind.