KOCHI: Being the first dancer to receive a PhD in the female-reined Mohiniyattom from Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University, K M Abu’s story answers several questions - not just of religion and gender but of society and art itself.
One question that Abu has frequently encountered through his studies in bharatnatyam and mohiniyattom is whether his friends and family were supportive when he, a Muslim, showed interest in exploring the classical dances. Abu answers it with ease, “Only now such kinds of problems surface. Back then, people, at least my family, did not give much importance to education. In fact, they did not even know what I was studying. I studied because I was interested in it. Nobody questioned it. Even when they came to know of it, they did not have any qualms”.
“I used to take classes and earn for myself. I paid my own fee. That is another reason why I was more free to choose what I liked,” he said.
Abu, who completed his MA in Bharatnatyam and Mohiniyattom from RLV College, Tripunithura, also questions the “women-only” tag of Mohiniyattom. “Only because of the name “Mohini”, the art form need not be restricted to women. The ‘lasya’, ‘shringaaram’ are something that can be attempted by men as well. Even though Devdasis used to perform bharatnatyam in the olden days, men also perform this dance form today. Then why is mohiniyattom not open to men,” he asks.
Abu points out that Kerala Kalam-andalam, unlike the RLV college, restricted admission to mohiniyattom courses only for girls when the first mohiniyattom teachers of the University were men. “Artists like Krishna Panicker and Madhavan master were mohiniyattom teachers at Kerala Kalamandalam”.
Abu received a PhD for his ‘Study of Body Representations in Mohiniyattom’ based on Kalamandalam Kalyani Kuttiyamma’s lessons. “She was more than just an artist. She was an actor and a poet too. Her contribution to the field is commendable but society has failed to give her the due recognition. My study focused on why she blend her own style into the existing form of mohiniyattom. She was the one who standardised the teaching-learning of the dance form,” he said.
He joined the Sanskrit University in 1997 as a junior lecturer and completed an MA in mohiniyattom with distinction in 2002 as well a masters in bharatnatyam in 2004. Now a senior lecturer in the dance department of Sanskrit University, Abu has all the support of his family.
I loved watching mohiniyattom. It has more scope for acting. The songs and costumes, everything about the dance form attracts me and now that I have a good job, people will not question me anymore,” he said.