Mohiniattam 6 - A Nritya Yoga Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon
Mohiniattam 6 - A Nritya Yoga
Mohiniattam -
The dance of the enchantress,
Thriving and exuding abundant grace,
The movements of ‘Lasya',
The charming flow of the body,
That weaves around this elegant style,
Tenderly embroidered in silken threads of ‘Mudras',
Magnificent sentiment of love and beauty.
Mohiniattam -
A soft, lyrical style instructs the dancers,
To dance with stylish gaits,
To bend the body into stunning postures,
To perform effortlessly with ease,
To overcome all the afflictions of the body,
To control the fluctuations of the mind,
To focus only on the dance as a prayer to the Almighty.
The slow, ethereal motion of the body
That seems easy, flowing, charming
Is but a misconceived notion!
The dance is all about restraint,
A concentrated effort to elevate the mind,
A meditative journey towards perfection!
A dance with Yogic discipline
A ‘Nritya Yoga'!
A soft, lyrical style instructs the dancers, To dance with stylish gaits, To bend the body into stunning postures, To perform effortlessly with ease, To overcome all the afflictions of the body, To control the fluctuations of the mind....I find the expression lively! Magnificently expressed, neatly articulated! This elegant piece of work is quite informative and useful....10
Thank you Dillip ji for your lively and joyful review of my dance poem.
It may not be wrong, in my opinion, to conclude that Mohiniattam, or for that matter in any type of classical dance, is a tender, sophisticated and refined form of Hatyoga. Both the schools of yoga are ladders for achieving concentration and focus on spiritual elevation of the practitioner with the ultimate aim of salvation.10++.
Mam you have described mohiniattam in these 6 poems so beautifully that whoever reads them will fall in love with this dance
Beautiful conclusion to an absolutely stunning anthology of Mohiniattam..
This is worth thinking about for a long time...dance as prayer and meditation. A prayer doesn't have to be in words.. It can be attunement or self-offering to the source of Creation. When restraint and free movement are balanced, the soul seems to be riding a wave-crest.
(cont.) To me, these lines are the most captivating of the first 5 Dance poems: “The slow, ethereal motion of the body That seems easy, flowing, charming Is but a misconceived notion! The dance is all about restraint, A concentrated effort to elevate the mind, A meditative journey towards perfection! A dance with Yogic discipline” Bri (:
“CHARMING FLOW OF THE BODY” AND “STUNNING POSTURES” could lure me to the subcontinent! ! ! ! to MyPoemList. (cont.)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/6/2023 10:11:53 PM # 1.0.0.1119
You have aptly equated Mohiniattam with Nritya Yoga through which the performer has to focus 'on the dance as a prayer to the Almighty'. The poem takes us a step closer to understanding the intricacies of this dance form. It reflects the ethos of ancient Indian arts and philosophy. Thank you, Geeta ji, for this profound work. To overcome all the afflictions of the body, To control the fluctuations of the mind,
Yes, Rajnish ji, i have equated Mohiniattam with Nritya Yoga. The reason being, Mohiniattam is a step higher than all dance forms because of its full body movements that requires great amount of effort discipline and concentration. The slow undulating movements makes it meditative, Thank you for your continuous and firm support to my art as well.