Poetic moves
NISHA M
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Neena Prasad and her students ably depicted the meaning of the verses of Changampuzha’s ‘Kaavyanarthaki.’
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FLOW OF THOUGHTS: Neena Prasad and troupe did justice to the lyrical beauty of Changampuzha's verses.
‘Kaavyanarthaki,’ a dance adaptation of legendary poet Changampuzha’s well-known poem, regaled the audience, as Neena Prasad and troupe gracefully portrayed the meaning of the words and lines through a Mohiniyattam rectial. The performance, staged at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, on the occasion of the 60th death anniversary of Changampuza Krishna Pillai, was a quick look at the poem that brought to fore the poet’s creativity. His lines were aesthetically visualised by the dancers as they described the poet’s flow of thoughts.
The poem narrates the beauty of Malayalam poetry, which is described by the poet as a beautiful woman wearing golden anklets.
Involved portrayals and synchronised movements by the dancers added charm and depth to the presentation. They handled the varied shades of the beauty as imagined by the poet with clarity. Neena Prasad’s fine sense of choreography did justice to the lines as she took care to retain the simplicity of the poem in her adaptation.
Doing justice to his lines
“Our attempt was to do justice to the lyrical beauty of the poem. We had to go beyond the verbal meaning of the lines to delve into the poem that describes the magnificence of Malayalam, Kerala and a dancer. Since, Mohiniyattam is a dance form of Kerala, it could soak up the multi-layered meaning of the verses of the poem and depict it in all its glory. One has to appreciate the poetry to do that,” says Neena.
She adds that though the piece was choreographed earlier for a programme for All India Radio, it had not been performed at many venues. Well-known musician Changanassery Madhavan Namboothiri scored the music for the production in ragamalika and talamalika.
Complimenting his efforts, Neena says: “His task was equally complex. He had to set the simple lines of the poem into the format of Carnatic ragas. The lines have been composed in ragas such as Mohanam, Kamboji, Anandabhairavi, Sriragam and so on.
Vidyamol T.P., Ritu Prakash, Aparna S. and Navami Sudarsha, members of Neena’s troupe, did a fine job too.
The event, organised by Kerala Sahitya Academy and Vyloppilly Sanskriti Bhavan, was a treat for lovers of dance and poetry despite the fact that recorded music was used during the recital.
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