Not many follow their passion and make it their profession. But this lady did the unthinkable by converting her passion into her profession. Thankamani Kutty, the renowned exponent and guru of Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam, has contributed much to the field of dance by bringing the two dance forms to the limelight.
Calling the stage her world, she has choreographed compositions by some of India’s most famous musicians, integrating many dance techniques. So what does dance mean to her? ‘Dance for me is nothing less than sadhna. It transports me to some other world — a world where I get connected at a celestial level and interact with every aspect of nature in its full form without any limitations,’ she said.
‘I left dancing at an early age as I felt it would get too selfish at one stage and got involved in choreographing. My main purpose was to spread my talent and skills to all the young and passionate alike. For 72 years now I enjoy and dedicate myself to it,’ she added. Along with her husband in 1968, she founded the institute Kalamandalam in Calcutta to teach.
‘The school has various facilities like audio-visual library, seminar hall, spacious classrooms, visiting teachers and students hostel, sound studio, auditorium and an art gallery. Learning dance is not only about physical attributes (mudras), rather it widens your thoughts. One starts to think beyond the horizon and it’s a great mental stress buster,’ she explained.
‘Dance for me is a continuous dynamic process. Most of my performances are dedicated to the Almighty. It’s a gesture of my reverance to him. I try to bring in new choreographies of varnams, padams, keerthanams and thillanas in different languages. My favourites include Dakhina Pabane (to which she performed in the Capital as part of ICCR’s Horizon Series last Friday), the dance drama by Rabindranath Tagore where I choreographed using forms of Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali,’ she said.
The dancer, who is a recepient of Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Mohiniattam in 2008, has not only made a mark in India but is a name across the world.
‘I started performing abroad from 1983 onwards. At a performance in London, the audience took immense interest and enjoyed my Bharatnatyam immensely. But now eventually, dance has lost its ground owing to multiple circumstances,’ she rues.
Calling the stage her world, she has choreographed compositions by some of India’s most famous musicians, integrating many dance techniques. So what does dance mean to her? ‘Dance for me is nothing less than sadhna. It transports me to some other world — a world where I get connected at a celestial level and interact with every aspect of nature in its full form without any limitations,’ she said.
‘I left dancing at an early age as I felt it would get too selfish at one stage and got involved in choreographing. My main purpose was to spread my talent and skills to all the young and passionate alike. For 72 years now I enjoy and dedicate myself to it,’ she added. Along with her husband in 1968, she founded the institute Kalamandalam in Calcutta to teach.
‘The school has various facilities like audio-visual library, seminar hall, spacious classrooms, visiting teachers and students hostel, sound studio, auditorium and an art gallery. Learning dance is not only about physical attributes (mudras), rather it widens your thoughts. One starts to think beyond the horizon and it’s a great mental stress buster,’ she explained.
‘Dance for me is a continuous dynamic process. Most of my performances are dedicated to the Almighty. It’s a gesture of my reverance to him. I try to bring in new choreographies of varnams, padams, keerthanams and thillanas in different languages. My favourites include Dakhina Pabane (to which she performed in the Capital as part of ICCR’s Horizon Series last Friday), the dance drama by Rabindranath Tagore where I choreographed using forms of Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali,’ she said.
The dancer, who is a recepient of Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Mohiniattam in 2008, has not only made a mark in India but is a name across the world.
‘I started performing abroad from 1983 onwards. At a performance in London, the audience took immense interest and enjoyed my Bharatnatyam immensely. But now eventually, dance has lost its ground owing to multiple circumstances,’ she rues.