Bharati Shivaji | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 |
| Occupation | Classical dancer |
| Known for | Mohiniyattom |
| Awards | Padma Shri Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Lasya Lakshmi Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman Nritya Choodamani |
Bharati Shivaji is an Indian classical dancer ofMohiniyattom,[1] choreographer and author, known for her contributions to the art form by way of performance, research and propagation.[2] She is the founder of Center for Mohiniyattam, a dance academy promotingMohiniyattom[3] and the co-author of two books,Art of Mohiniyattom[4] andMohiniyattom.[5] She is a recipient of theSangeet Natak Akademi Award[6] andSahitya Kala Parishad Samman.[7] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of thePadma Shri, in 2004, for her contributions to Indian classical dance.[8]
Mohiniyattam is one of the eight Indian classical dance forms recognized by theSangeet Natak Akademi. The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words "Mohini" (meaning a woman who enchants onlookers) and "attam" (meaning graceful and sensuous body movements). The word "Mohiniyattam" literally means "dance of the enchantress".[9]
Bharati Shivaji was born in 1948 in the temple town ofKumbakonam, inTanjavur district of the south Indian state ofTamil Nadu,[10] and had her early training inBharatnatyam under Lalita Shastri[11] andOdissi underKelucharan Mohapatra.[12] Later, on advice fromKamaladevi Chattopadhyay, renowned social reformer, she took up research onMohiniyattom, the traditional dance form ofKerala.[7] After obtaining a research fellowship fromSangeet Natak Akademi, she traveled to Kerala and pursued research underKavalam Narayana Panicker, a scholar of theTemple Arts of Kerala and former vice-chairman ofSangeet Natak Akademi.[13] Shifting her focus from Bharatnatyam and Odissi,[11] she started training Mohiniyattom under Radha Marar and, later, underKalamandalam Satyabhama, and also had a training stint underKalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma,[3] considered by many as theMother of Mohiniyattom.[14]
Moving to New Delhi, Shivaji founded the dance academy,Center for Mohiniyattom, a dedicated facility for promoting the dance form. She is known to have contributed to the evolution of the dance tradition,[7] by adding more languor to the already languorous discipline,[11] and by adapting it to other dance forms such as ballet; her Mohiniyattom adaptation of theSwan Lake ofTchaikovsky, choreographed along with her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, is one such effort.[15] Her productions include adaptations ofBhanusinger Padavali ofRabindranath Tagore,[16]Chandrotsavam of theManipravalam,Somastuthi from theRig Veda, and theDevagita, fromAshtapadi.[3] She is known to have incorporated postures, movements and music from other Traditional art forms of Kerala such asOttamthullal,Kaikottikali,Thayambaka andKrishnanattam into Mohiniyattom, a legacy from her tutelage underKavalam Narayana Panicker.[17]
In 1986, Shivaji published his first book, Art ofMohiniyattam, co-authored by Avinash Pasricha.[4] The book documents her researches under Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship and a subsequent senior fellowship from the Department of Culture under theMinistry of Human Resource Development and is a reference book on the subject.[7] She published another book,Mohiniyattam, co-written by her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, herself a noted Mohiniyattom performer, in 2003.[5] The book deals with the history and evolution of the art form and comments about the styles and techniques, repertoire, music, costumes and jewellery associated with it.[2] She has performed on several stages in India[18][19] and abroad[20] and has taught many Indian and foreign students.[21] She also continues her research by visiting temples and gives lecture-demonstrations on the dance form at conferences and seminars.[16]
Shivaji was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1999-2000.[6] Four years later, the Government of India included her in the 2004Republic Day Honours list for the fourth highest civilian award of thePadma Shri.[8] She is a recipient of theSahitya Kala Parishad Samman,Lasya Lakshmi title from Kunchan Nambiar Memorial Trust, Kerala andNritya Choodamani title from the Krishna Gana Sabha,Chennai.[22] She won theNishagandhi Puraskaram of theGovernment of Kerala in 2017.[23]
Sara and Urs Baur, two American filmmakers, have made a documentary,Beyond Grace, on Mohiniyattom and the art of Shivaji which features her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, too.[24] The 78-minute film, which details the work of the mother-daughter combination,[25] was premiered on 9 July 2011 at the Raleigh Theatre,Hollywood, Los Angeles.[24]
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