An elegant dancer dressed in a gold bordered kasavu saree, her hair tied in a bun and decorated with white flowers, wearing gold jewellery, swaying gently in a dance characterised by suggestive hand movements (mudras), rhythmic footwork and lyrical music. These images can only bring to mind a graceful Mohiniyattam dancer bringing alive the theme of shringar or love. To all those who believe that classical dance forms are slowly seeing a decline, it is definitely not so, says Bengaluru-based classical dancer Dr Rekha Raju with roots in Palakkad.
Citing an example, she says, “I had a misconception that youngsters are far removed from classical dance forms, but when I performed a Mohiniyattam recital recently at a college in Bengaluru, there were 3,000 college students in attendance.” With satisfaction, she adds, “Though I was invited to perform for a particular department, I later came to know that students from other departments made a special request to watch the recital — the reason why the auditorium was packed.”
This was indeed a sweet surprise for Rekha who has been learning the intricacies of dance since the age of four. Proficient in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak to which she was introduced at an early age, Rekha found love in Mohiniyattam. She explains the reason, “Since I am from Palakkad, I find myself drawn towards Mohiniyattam. I also feel my body language and mannerisms are more suited for Mohiniyattam than other dance forms.”
Rekha teaches Bharatanatyam professionally and lets on that she has learnt the mridangam too, “I like to explore various art forms,” she mentions.
It has been a 30-year-long journey for Rekha, who has performed abroad too. She was recently in Sweden in connection with a recital. “There is always an audience for classical dance who, I feel, are very responsive and informed of the dance forms. Mohiniyattam is very graceful and I feel that the audience is able to grasp the mudras. Though some in Sweden were experiencing Mohiniyattam for the very first time, they could embrace the dance form in its entire entirety and thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Rekha will perform at the 7th Guru Smarananjali Nruthaarchana Festival at Changampuzha Park, Kochi, at 6 pm on Tuesday.
