Tweet

Sprightly, energetic, robust and on the move. Meet dance-scholar and Padmashree award winner Dr. Kanak Rele who, at 61, is still at her youthful and beautiful best. Known as a pioneer (ess) in the revival of Mohini Attam, the ancient dance style of Kerala, Dr. Rele continues to ceaselessly strive to rejuvenate Mohini Attam and introduce new and richer dimensions to the field of academics and research in classical dancing.

Her association with dance goes back to childhood when a desire to learn something other than Bharat Natyam brought her in touch with Mohini Attam. Enamoured by the lyrical grandeur of this dance form, Dr. Rele, with the strong moral support of her husband, travelled to Kerala to unearth the mystics of Mohini Attam. In Kerala, she was met with a fair amount of resistance - it was unthinkable back then for a North Indian to pursue a dance form that belonged to an insular state. "But once I get hold of something, I don`t let go", says Dr. Rele. It wasn`t difficult for the fiery dancer to make in-roads and win total acceptance.

Today, her name is synonymous with Mohini Attam. Although a qualified lawyer by profession with research in International Law from Manchester University, UK, Dr. Rele, also holds a Ph.D. in Mohini Attam from Mumbai University.

In a career spanning 30 years, Dr. Rele has created an authoritative repertoire on Mohini Attam, which involved an extensive tour of Kerala gathering material from scholars and connoisseurs; filming traditional dances of surviving exponents; analysing the recorded data in light of the `shastric` tenets and conducting research with noted scholar K.Narayana Panikkar.

In 1967, she founded the Nalanda Dance Research Centre, now recognised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and known as a premier institution for education and research in dance internationally. The Centre provides formal academic education and its different departments for post-doctoral and fundamental research.

Her Achievements:

Thanks to her efforts, in 1972, the University of Mumbai introduced the Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. degrees in Fine Arts (Dance). She is also the founder-principal of the renowned college of classical dance, Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya.

"I am very particular about a dance performance. I expect total dedication and am very thorough, from the beginning. My students have to be at their best, be it in attire or in movements. Even a hair out of place is not acceptable. Our dance performances are well appreciated. I then feel it has been worth the effort", says Dr. Rele.

How does she cope?

My stress factor too is minimal as I have a knack for dealing with all kinds of people", she adds serenely.