Students of Mohiniyattam guru Nirmala Paniker comes together to honor her remarkable six-decade teaching journey. Her contributions have shaped generations of dancers and enriched the traditional art form. Paniker, known for the revival of Desi items in Mohiniyattam, has an illustrious career that spans multiple dimensions of classical dance – as a consummate danseuse, innovative choreographer, and dedicated researcher.
To commemorate this milestone achievement, Paniker’s students and admirers are organising a special virtual celebration on May 25th at 11 AM via Zoom. The event will feature short presentations and sharing sessions, allowing participants to honor their beloved guru and reflect on her immense contributions to the art form. The celebration will be accessible via QR code for those wishing to join the event.
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It was a real honor to meet Guru Nirmala Paniker in Coventry in UK back in the 80’s. My teacher Unikrishnan from whom I leant Kathakali informed me teacher was doing a residence for a few weeks and I had a longing to reconnect with Mohiniyattam dance after my first teacher Tara Rajkumar left England and travelled to Australia.
So I was fortunate to receive dance lessons from Guru Nirmala for a few weeks and see some dance demonstration teacher did with her daughter Kapilakutti and appreciate their lovely dancing. During my last lesson with her she said “please come to Kerala”. Then I had to find the way of making that invitation real and by the end of 1989 I was able to travel to South India and stay with Guru and follow her to Lawrence school in Ooty and go deeper with my training for a few months.
Witnessing Guru creating a new Thillana composition for my Arangetram was an amazing experience of the aliveness, freshness and beauty of Mohiniyattam. I am ever so grateful for her loving guidance which planted deep seeds of connection with this graceful dance style, and gave me the direction to begin teaching in England and later in Mexico my country of origin.
Thank you dear Guru for touching so many hearts and transmitting your dance lineage to many students around the world, your research and published books are a very important contribution to the richness of the art form.
May you continue with good health and inspire many more students in the years to come! 🙏🏽🌷💕