Class And Caste Of Classical

Mohiniyattam dancer and researcher Amith K is on a quest to discover and learn about the women proponents of the art form, figures largely omitted from history

- Parvana K B

For decades, Mohiniyattam has been presented through a 'classical' lens – polished, codified, and Brahminised. And all the while, it has often obscured the realities of those who shaped its earlier iterations.

Mohiniyattam danseuse, choreographer and scholar Amith K always felt that gap, especially while looking back to trace the beginnings of this art form. A PhD graduate from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Amith has always been interested in exploring the nuanced intersections of caste, culture, gender, and history within Kerala's performing arts.

His latest project ventures deeper, into the forgotten lineage of women practitioners whose contributions have been sidelined or erased in dominant narratives.

"When I started focusing on the women practitioners in Kerala, I realised how many gaps exist in Mohiniyattam's recorded history," Amith explains. "Even at Kerala Kalamandalam, where the form was institutionalised, the stories we hear about early Mohiniyattam are vague at best. Nobody talks about who the women dancers really were or why their names disappeared."

It is this silence that pointed him towards Thottashery Chinnammu Amma. Though credited with reviving Mohiniyattam at Kalamandalam in the 1950s, her actual teaching legacy lacks documentation. It is said that she taught there for around 15 years.