Mohiniyattam, literally the dance of the enchantress will ring the curtain down today (Wednesday) on the Iskcon dance festival, Sri Krishna Shringar. This elegant and very "feminine" dance form from Kerala is the fitting finale to a week of devotional dances. Directed and choreographed by the celebrated Bharati Shivaji herself, a dance drama "Deva Gita"will be presented.
The highlight of this production will be the musical temple rituals of Kerala.
Based on the timeless 12 th century masterpiece of Bhaktha Jayadeva, "Gita Govindam," which is an integral part of temple traditions there, it is set against the backdrop of the Guruvayur temple where the kotti paadi seva is offered at the sanctum sanctorum to the beat of the edakka. According to dancer-choreographer, Bharat Shivaji, the ashtapadis of Sri Jayadeva were introduced in the temples of Kerala around the 14th and 15th centuries by their high priests, the namboodiris who had earlier integrated Sanskrit with Tamil to create a new language called Manipravalam. Now, they are recited as prayers  in a distinct regional style, sopana sangeetham or steps leading to the deity. "Deva Gita" tells us the all too familiar story of Radha and Krishna; their union, separation and reunion in the evocative style, which marks this school of dance.      
Bharati Shivaji is proud of her dance, proud of her language and proud of the temple traditions that inspire it. According to her, Mohini Attam which was known as Mohini Nadham, is an "incomparable" art form which lends itself to any lyrical theme or music.
She has choreographed ‘The Swan Lake’ in Mohini Attam and presented it in the Bolshoi Theatre to an enthralled audience.
In her estimation, the sheer elegance, poetry and lyricism of this art form cannot be paralleled.
As part of her research, she picked up the ashtapadis which, according to her, have inspired great poet composers like Kshetragna and Maharaja Swati Tirunal.
She is so fervent about this composition that she has carried it from Mathura to Guruvayur where she has offered it as a "seva" to the deity.
With a dancer who is so passionate about her dance; with a repertoire as lyrical as this one; and a music that is as divine as the Gita Govindam, any audience is bound to be transported to other worlds.

By Vatsala Vedantam