The South Indian restaurant in London which was one of my favourite haunts had sent me a pass to attend a dance from a state in India. I had not planned to go for the program but the picture of a beautiful dancer in a graceful pose dressed in a simple white flowing dress with a golden border enthralled me and I decided to go for the show with my Indian girlfriend. She said she knew the basics of the dance and would explain what the show was all about. We entered made our reservations and went an hour early. When we reached there the restaurant was already full. Obviously the dancers picture had intrigued people. The evening was a great success and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I love the vegetarian
Kerala Food served here and the music was also soft and smooth. A small introduction was given about the dance and this is what I learned
Mohiniyattam is a traditional dance form Kerala, the southern most state of India.. It is a very graceful dance meant to be performed as a solo recital by women. The term Mohiniattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and "aattam" meaning graceful and sensuous movements. The word "Mohiniyattam" literally means dance of the enchantress. There are two stories of Lord Vishnu disguised as a Mohini. In one, he appears as Mohini to lure the demons away from the nectar of immortality obtained during the churning of the Ocean of milk . In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon Bhasmasura. The name Mohiniaattam may have been coined after Lord Vishnu, and the main theme of the dance is love and devotion to God, with usually Vishnu or Krishna being the hero. The costume is a white sari with bright golden brocade (known as kasavu )at the edges The mohiniyattam dance is performed to this accompaniment by the subtle gestures and footwork of the danseuse. The performer uses the eyes in a very coy yet sensual manner, the purpose being to enchant the mind without enticing the senses. Only beautiful women should play mohini.The dance involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle movements of erect torso from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palm leaves and the gently flowing rivers which abound Kerala, the land of Mohiniyattam. The dancer maintains a realistic makeup and simple dressing. The dancer and the music remains with you in your mind long after the performance.So pleasing and graceful is the dance that you feel relaxed and is engrossed in the performance. It is easy to understand what the dance is all about because of the expressions on the dancers face.
Kerala Food compliments the dance and has the same effect on your sense.Quietly graceful and subtly exotic and spicy.