Kerala Hindus of Arizona (KHA) organized a mega event of the dance form Thiruvathira during the Onam Celebration on September 03, 2016 at ASU Preparatory School Auditorium, Phoenix, Arizona. This is for the first time, the organizers making an attempt to bring together more than 50 women performers for the typical dance form “Thiruvathira’ of Kerala. The participants danced to the song known as Thiruvathirapattu and Kummi.
The dancers moved in a circular pattern with very attractive steps, accompanied by rhythmic clapping of the hands, to the tune of the Thiruvathirapattu (song). One of the performers sings the first line of the Thiruvathirapattu while the rest repeat it in chorus. The songs are often narrations from the folk stories.
ThiruvathiraKali is an important traditional dance of Kerala, which is usually performed in the popular festivals such as Onam and Vishu. Thiruvathirakali is a dance performed by women, in order to attain everlasting marital bliss, on the Thiruvathira day in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December- January). The dance is a celebration of marital fidelity and the female energy.
It is believed that for this is what brought Kamadeva (the god of love) back to life after he was reduced to ashes by the ire of the Lord Siva. The sinuous movements executed by the group of dancers around a nilavilakku (brass lamp), embody 'lasya' or the amorous charm and grace of the feminine.
In Kerala, the festival of Thiruvathira is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Shiva. Thiruvathira is the nakshatra or "star" of Lord Shiva as per the Malayalam calendar. It is believed that on this day, the Goddess Parvathi finally met Lord Shiva after her long penance and Lord Shiva took her as a saha-dharma chaarini (equal partner). Both Parvathi and Shiva present this ideal to devotees in the form of Ardha-Nareeshawara (half male, half female form).
After the mega Thiruvathira, Mahabali was received with full gaiety in the traditional way and a procession was held. After the procession a sumptuous lunch, ‘Ona Sadhya’ in the real traditional Kerala style was hosted. The cultural programs started at around 2 PM and lasted for 4 hrs in which around 100 performers entertained the audience. The visual feast was mesmerising with different traditional dance performances, Comedy skits, Kavadi, Mayilattom, etc.
The Indian diaspora came together in large numbers to make the occasion a huge success. The event has helped the Kerala community to interact each other and share their Onam memories back in Kerala. Other communities enjoyed the occasion and remembered the rich heritage, culture and tradition India has.
By Premji
