The matriarch of classical dance (1937-2015)
One of the finest exponents of the dance form of Mohiniyattam, Kalamandalam Satyabhama who passed away recently, won renown more as a teacher and choreographer, after taking the momentous decision to step away from the limelight as a performer at a young age of 24, at a time when her dancing career was all set to go places. As a young girl she developed a fascination for dance and came under the tutelage of famous trainers like Kalamandalam Chinnammu Amma after enrolling herself as a student of the prestigious Kalamandalam founded by the famous poet Mahakavi Vallathol Narayana Menon, who conferred on her a scholarship to further her studies, as she hailed from a modest background.
The extensive coaching at the institution enabled her to master the various disciplines in dance including Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali, but it was Mohiniyattam, perhaps the only dance form performed exclusively by women, that attracted her the most and to the propagation of which she devoted her entire lifetime. It was from the famous dancer Thottassery Chinnammu Amma that she picked up the rudiments of the art including the adavus, cholkattu and jathis, and this initial training was to stand her in good stead in refining her own prowess in the art. Later, she gained more perfection in Mohiniyattam when another celebrated dance teacher Kalamandalam Kalyani Kutty Amma took her under her wing, and this enabled her to further hone her talents.
It was at Kalamandalam that Satyabhama met and married the Kathakali guru the late Padmanabhan Nair. Among her dance recitals, her performance at the Silver Jubilee function of the Kalamandalam in 1955 at the age of 18 was the one that won her the maximum laurels from connoisseurs of the art. Incidentally, the function was presided over by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who too had words of fulsome praise for the young artiste.
As a teacher, Satyabhama courted a bit of controversy when she set about refining the art form and this ruffled the feathers of those who favoured the status quo, but Satyabhama remained unfazed and went about purifying the dance form by weeding out the external influences and also revamping the curriculum. Her innovations in the art form later came to be perceived as the Kalamandalam style of Mohiniyattam and this nouveau style found many takers.
She also paid considerable attention to the costumes worn by the dancers and effected several alterations that revolved around the colour, pattern and accessories. The famous danseuse was one of the most respected teachers in Kalamandalam and in the several decades that she spent there, she rose to the eminent position of Principal of Kalamandalam and served the institution till 1992. Till the very end, she retained her passion for dance and trained hundreds of students many of whom later went on to carve their own niche. She encapsulated her vast knowledge in a book titled ‘History, Techniques and Performance’, and the highlight of the book included 35 Mohiniyattam compositions that covered almost the entire gamut of the discipline. The book which was critically acclaimed has been serving as a referral for all students.
Apart from the Padma Shri awarded by the central government last year, Satyabhama has been the recipient of several national and state honours, all extolling her contribution to Mohiniyattam. Significant among these were the Sangeet Nataka Academy Award, which was awarded to her both by the Centre and the State and the Nruthiya Natya Puraskaram conferred on her by the Government of Kerala and the Swati Thirunal Puraskaram. Hailed as the matriarch of classical dance, this unassuming and self-effacing artiste will remain an inspiration to all dancers not only those belonging to her own generation, but future generations as well. Two of her four daughters have taken after their mother and have become exponents of Mohiniyattam, thus carrying on the legacy of their illustrious parents both of whom were wedded to classical dance.