Mohiniyattam Thillana (Basanth Bahar) | dance film | Memory of a Mana

Manas are traditional buildings of Kerala belonging to the Nambudhiris and built on a large piece of land according to certain rules and canons and combined elements of Dravidian culture. Tiled roofs and floors made of natural terracotta, long corridors and wooden shutters on the windows are just a few of the attributes of the buildings. Today Kerala architecture is undergoing changes due to modern ideas about design and comfort, while many Kerala people are desperate to preserve the ancient houses in which several generations of their ancestors lived. Nevertheless, even the most meticulous conservatives cannot stop the passage of time and plastic shades, modern chairs, and appliances appear in their homes. Like architecture, the Kerala dance Mohiniattam is a unique cultural heritage that has incorporated both classical (based on the ancient treatise of Natya Shastra) and tribal, folk elements. Like architecture, dance cannot resist its own rethinking due to postmodernism, urbanization, and global trends. In this video, I decided to draw a parallel between two phenomena - dance and architectural evolution, through the prism of the view of a foreign Dancer, who fell in love and devoted many years to studying this culture but nevertheless will forever remain a stranger, passing through the culture, like through the corridor of an old house.
"Memory of a Mana" is a dance video, a personal reflection on an evolution of a dancer through her dance and the evolution of cultural tradition in face of modernity. I got in touch with an Indian classical dance as an outsider coming into such a strong culture like India and having spent 8 years in this vibrant, sparkling, contradictory country. The transcultural experience was enhanced by the artform I dedicated myself to learning - Indian Classical Dance, Mohiniyattam, filled with symbolism and rites of Indian religion and tradition. I went through various stages - embraced the dance, questioned, re-evaluated it, submerged myself in it. It became a part of my body language, my personal narrative, and even identity. At the same time, I was able to observe how the dance has been changing and shifting, influenced by global trends, modernity, and Indians reflecting about themselves through the eyes of the outsiders. Like an old ancestral house, inevitably getting filled with TV sets, scooters, and modern furniture, the ancient traditions transform and get attributes and expressions from other lands and cultures.

camera - Ajay Melethil (IG ajay_melethil)
assistant and art director - Aashiq MA (IG aashiqma)
performance, direction, editing - Irena Mihalkovich (IG rain_eyed_dancer)

Choreography - Kalamandalam Leelamma
music - Kalamandalam orchestra
composition - Basan Bahar Thillana by Maharajapuram Santhanam

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Мохиниаттам, южно-индийский классический танец
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