Visualising poetry

The beautiful poem Nilima by Madhavan Nair, popularly known as Mali, has some evocative lines and somewhere, someday having discovered the beautiful poem, the classical dancer in Ayswaria Nair was inspired.

The poet, Mali,  has in a few simple lines spoken of the blue hue which is omnipresent and how it is around us in different ways. Ayswaria carried the poem in her heart contemplating and meditating on it. She saw immense scope for its visualisation and thought of projecting it beyond a dancer's perspective. And thus the 22 minute 47 second film Nilima evolved as a beautiful blend of dance and storytelling using visually rich frames; it was directed and choreographed by Ayswaria.

She says, “I already had the visuals in my mind and I wanted to take this performance to the stage in a timeless, spaceless level. First I choreographed it for stage. When you choreograph a poem and if you are a dancer, then you utilise the spaces and create your own script to which you dance. The dancer dances her own story beyond the lines.”

So the two-minute poem was initially performed on stage. But then her mind was flooded with some rich visuals giving her the idea that it could be taken forward where the visual medium could combine with the dance medium for added impact.  

Instead of just documenting her dance performances, Ayswaria wanted to let the world know that the classical dance art forms of India are highly expressive at various levels and planes. She continues, “When you capture just dance on camera, there is a chance that it can become flat, but if done in a dance storytelling mode like Nilima, then there is a complete gel of dance and cinematography.”

The challenges of choreographing this poem into a dance film were immense as she explains, “Nilima is a concept and there is no story. But to bring it to a film format requires a storyline which is where the creativity of the artist comes. To bring that abstract concept in real time was a challenge.

The second challenge was that when Mohiniyattom is performed on stage we have the freedom of space but when you perform on a camera stage, one has to study that arena and be conscious of the camera angles.

The third challenge was also to be in the director's and artist's shoes simultaneously.”The visually rich cinematography by DOP Murali Krishna, who is also the co-director, has added to the beauty of the film to be screened at International film festivals.

Ayswaria's hometown is Calicut but she is based in Baroda for the past 15 years. She says, “Though Baroda is my karmabhoomi, Kerala is my janmabhoomi and my soul is here.

I keep coming back to Kerala for my performances, draw inspiration and energy from my motherland and then go back.”