<p>Mohiniyattam exponent Kalamandalam Hemalatha is a bit of both and more. The 37-year-old mother of two has entered the Guinness Book of World Records with a marathon dance recital - she danced continuously for 123 hours and 15 minutes. <br /><br />“It’s indeed a great feeling to know that when the 2011 Guinness Book comes out, it will have my name as well as that of Mohinyattam, Kerala’s unique dance form, right there at the top,” Hemalatha told Deccan Herald from her home in Thrissur. Hemalatha began her performance at 11 pm on September 20 and ended the programme at 2.45 pm on September 26. She was given an interval of five minutes for every hour. “However, I could accumulate these minutes in the initial hours so as to utilise them to rest when I really needed to towards the end. For instance, I went on continuously for the first 10 hours and saved 50 minutes for the later stages,” she said. <br /><br />Hemalatha, who performed at the Sangeeta Nataka Academy in Thrissur, received the formal certification from the Guinness authorities only last week. It says “the longest dance marathon by an individual was 123 hours and 15 minutes and achieved by Kalamandalam Hemalatha.”<br /><br />Hemalatha’s performance was not only monitored by a chartered account and a time keeper, the entire proceedings were recorded and the DVD sent to the Guinness Book authorities. Hemalatha says that the timings of the intervals taken and resumption of dance in the DVD could be corroborated by the physically recorded details. It was after such rigorous examination that she was declared the world record holder.<br /><br />Hemalatha has in fact overtaken Vettikotta Yadagiri of Hyderabad who danced for 108 hours in 2008. Dancing for seven continuous days is no mean task. So, how did she do it. “It was the culmination of two years of rigorous practice. I used to wake up at 4.30 am and in half an hour I would start jogging at the nearby Thoppu stadium for several hours. This would be followed by yoga and dance,” she said, recalling her preparations. She rested for an hour in the afternoon and resumed her dance till 8 pm. “Listening to classical music was next and this would get my body and mind attuned to the dancing,” says she. She would catch some sleep from 2 am only to get up at 4.30 am and follow the same regimen.<br /><br />The tough regimen meant that she was mentally and physically equipped to take on the challenge this time after her first attempt in June failed. At that time, her blood sugar level and blood pressure had come down and she was advised by doctors to have mango juice, which proved counter-productive. She was down with diarrhoea and had to call it quits after dancing for 64 hours. <br /><br />Armed with the wisdom of that forgettable experience and with determination sky-high, she began the marathon Mohiniyattam performance confidently on September 20. Dry fruits and water laced with honey formed her chief diet. “Every one hour, I was given five minutes break as per the rules on condition that these did not exceed two hours in a 24-hour period. There were no hiccups this time and Hemalatha danced till she clocked 123 hours on September 26 afternoon by which time she was struck by fever and ospitalised . “I was normal after one single drip,” she said.<br /><br />A passion <br /><br />For Hemalatha, dance has been a passion since childhood. “I was sort of a pet in my household and was encouraged by everybody to dance. So, after finishing matriculation, I joined the Kerala Kalamandalam Centre for Performing Arts for a four-year diploma programme in dance,” she recalls. Later, she secured a postgraduation in Bharatanatyam from Indira Performing Art and Music University in Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh. Hemalatha says that her achievement is more a recognition for Kerala’s unique dance form of Mohiniyattam than for her. “There was indeed criticism when I announced the mission, but I take such criticism in my stride. Those who criticise had nothing to do with dance also,” she said. Emboldened by the success of the marathon dance recital, Hemalatha is now planning to embark on a month-long marathon run from Kasargod in the north of Kerala to the southern tip at Kaliakkavila. Her musician husband P B Jayan and two sons Swarup and Saurav continue to assist her in her determined pursuits.</p>
<p>Mohiniyattam exponent Kalamandalam Hemalatha is a bit of both and more. The 37-year-old mother of two has entered the Guinness Book of World Records with a marathon dance recital - she danced continuously for 123 hours and 15 minutes. <br /><br />“It’s indeed a great feeling to know that when the 2011 Guinness Book comes out, it will have my name as well as that of Mohinyattam, Kerala’s unique dance form, right there at the top,” Hemalatha told Deccan Herald from her home in Thrissur. Hemalatha began her performance at 11 pm on September 20 and ended the programme at 2.45 pm on September 26. She was given an interval of five minutes for every hour. “However, I could accumulate these minutes in the initial hours so as to utilise them to rest when I really needed to towards the end. For instance, I went on continuously for the first 10 hours and saved 50 minutes for the later stages,” she said. <br /><br />Hemalatha, who performed at the Sangeeta Nataka Academy in Thrissur, received the formal certification from the Guinness authorities only last week. It says “the longest dance marathon by an individual was 123 hours and 15 minutes and achieved by Kalamandalam Hemalatha.”<br /><br />Hemalatha’s performance was not only monitored by a chartered account and a time keeper, the entire proceedings were recorded and the DVD sent to the Guinness Book authorities. Hemalatha says that the timings of the intervals taken and resumption of dance in the DVD could be corroborated by the physically recorded details. It was after such rigorous examination that she was declared the world record holder.<br /><br />Hemalatha has in fact overtaken Vettikotta Yadagiri of Hyderabad who danced for 108 hours in 2008. Dancing for seven continuous days is no mean task. So, how did she do it. “It was the culmination of two years of rigorous practice. I used to wake up at 4.30 am and in half an hour I would start jogging at the nearby Thoppu stadium for several hours. This would be followed by yoga and dance,” she said, recalling her preparations. She rested for an hour in the afternoon and resumed her dance till 8 pm. “Listening to classical music was next and this would get my body and mind attuned to the dancing,” says she. She would catch some sleep from 2 am only to get up at 4.30 am and follow the same regimen.<br /><br />The tough regimen meant that she was mentally and physically equipped to take on the challenge this time after her first attempt in June failed. At that time, her blood sugar level and blood pressure had come down and she was advised by doctors to have mango juice, which proved counter-productive. She was down with diarrhoea and had to call it quits after dancing for 64 hours. <br /><br />Armed with the wisdom of that forgettable experience and with determination sky-high, she began the marathon Mohiniyattam performance confidently on September 20. Dry fruits and water laced with honey formed her chief diet. “Every one hour, I was given five minutes break as per the rules on condition that these did not exceed two hours in a 24-hour period. There were no hiccups this time and Hemalatha danced till she clocked 123 hours on September 26 afternoon by which time she was struck by fever and ospitalised . “I was normal after one single drip,” she said.<br /><br />A passion <br /><br />For Hemalatha, dance has been a passion since childhood. “I was sort of a pet in my household and was encouraged by everybody to dance. So, after finishing matriculation, I joined the Kerala Kalamandalam Centre for Performing Arts for a four-year diploma programme in dance,” she recalls. Later, she secured a postgraduation in Bharatanatyam from Indira Performing Art and Music University in Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh. Hemalatha says that her achievement is more a recognition for Kerala’s unique dance form of Mohiniyattam than for her. “There was indeed criticism when I announced the mission, but I take such criticism in my stride. Those who criticise had nothing to do with dance also,” she said. Emboldened by the success of the marathon dance recital, Hemalatha is now planning to embark on a month-long marathon run from Kasargod in the north of Kerala to the southern tip at Kaliakkavila. Her musician husband P B Jayan and two sons Swarup and Saurav continue to assist her in her determined pursuits.</p>
