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Bharati Shivaji

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Bharati Shivaji
Born1948
Kumbakonam,Tanjavur district,Tamil Nadu,India
OccupationClassical dancer
Known forMohiniyattom
AwardsPadma Shri
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Lasya Lakshmi
Sahitya Kala ParishadSamman
Nritya Choodamani

Bharati Shivajiis 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 ofCenter 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 ParishadSamman.[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]

Biography

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Mohiniyattamis 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 districtof the south Indian state ofTamil Nadu,[10]and had her early training inBharatnatyamunder Lalita Shastri[11]andOdissiunderKelucharan 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 Keralaand 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]

Legacy

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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 LakeofTchaikovsky,choreographed along with her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, is one such effort.[15]Her productions include adaptations ofBhanusinger PadavaliofRabindranath Tagore,[16]Chandrotsavamof theManipravalam,Somastuthifrom 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,ThayambakaandKrishnanattaminto 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 Developmentand 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]

Awards and honours

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Shivaji was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Awardin 1999-2000.[6]Four years later, the Government of India included her in the 2004Republic Day Honourslist for the fourth highest civilian award of thePadma Shri.[8]She is a recipient of theSahitya Kala ParishadSamman,Lasya Lakshmititle from Kunchan Nambiar Memorial Trust, Kerala andNritya Choodamanititle from the Krishna Gana Sabha,Chennai.[22]She won theNishagandhi Puraskaramof theGovernment of Keralain 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]

Bibliography

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  • Bharati Shivaji, Avinash Pasricha (1986).Art of Mohiniyattam.Lancer, India. p. 107.ISBN978-8170620037.
  • Bharati Shivaji, Vijayalakshmi (2003).Mohiniyattam.Wisdom Tree.ISBN9788186685365.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Heritage Club IIT Roorkee".Heritage Club IIT Roorkee. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 26 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  2. ^ab"Mohiniyattam (Bharati Shivaji and Vijayalakshmi)".Exotic India Art. 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  3. ^abc"Classical Dancers of India".Classical dancers. 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  4. ^abBharati Shivaji, Avinash Pasricha (1986).Art of Mohiniyattam.Lancer, India. p. 107.ISBN978-8170620037.
  5. ^abBharati Shivaji, Vijayalakshmi (2003).Mohiniyattam.Wisdom Tree.ISBN9788186685365.
  6. ^ab"Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar".Sangeet Natak Akademi. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 31 March 2016.Retrieved25 November2015.
  7. ^abcd"Padmashri Bharati Shivaji".Thiraseela. 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  8. ^ab"Padma Awards"(PDF).Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 15 October 2015.Retrieved21 July2015.
  9. ^"Mohiniyattam".Mohiniyattam.de. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 13 April 2017.Retrieved26 November2015.
  10. ^"Performers of Indian dances and music".Indian Embassy, Russia. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  11. ^abc"Bound to Kerala by Mohiniyattam".The Hindu.17 May 2012.Retrieved26 November2015.
  12. ^"Time for Samvaad".The Hindu.16 November 2014.Retrieved26 November2015.
  13. ^"From law to theatre".The Hindu.31 October 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 26 February 2018.Retrieved26 November2015.
  14. ^"Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma".Smith Rajan. 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  15. ^"The power of grace".The Acorn. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  16. ^ab"A seeker's odyssey".The Hindu.16 April 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  17. ^"Mohiniattam Style".Kuchipudi. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  18. ^"BVB celebrates Munshi's birthday".Hindustan Times.7 May 2013.Retrieved26 November2015.
  19. ^"Bharati Shivaji to perform today".Tribune. 18 October 2002.Retrieved26 November2015.
  20. ^"Bollywood meets Holyrood".Guardian.22 August 2002.Retrieved26 November2015.
  21. ^"Russian belle dons role of Radha in Kerala's Mohiniattam".South Asia Mail. 30 April 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  22. ^"Profile of Padmashree Bharti Shiwaji".Spicmacay. 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  23. ^"Nishagandhi Award for Bharati Shivaji".The Times of India.20 January 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2018.Retrieved21 January2017.
  24. ^ab"Docu on Mohiniyattam exponents to be screened".Indian Express. 7 July 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  25. ^"Beyond Grace".Beyond Grace the Movie. 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.

Further reading

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