THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A documentary exploring the relation between water and woman was in her mind after her visits to the river Ganga and other holy rivers. Brigitte Chataigier, a French lady who had come to Kerala twenty five years back to learn the traditional dance form of Mohiniyattam had tales to tell. To express her ideas, she decided to make a documentary on the river Ganga. Blond hair smeared with oil, Brigitte Chataigier gracefully walks in wearing a Kerala saree, red bindi and traditional ornaments. Brigitte, a Professor in History of Theatre at University of Rennes in France, is also the Director of Performing Arts Department at the university. During her teens, even with the little knowledge she had about Mohiniyattam she realised that she was in love with the art. This influence brought her to Kerala along with her husband Michael Lestreha who was keen on learning Kathakali. Both of them joined Kalamandalam. “I learnt dance for seven years under the guidance of notable masters Kalamandalam Leelamma, Kalamandalam Kshemavathi and Sri Devi,” says Brigitte. During those years, she divided her time between India and France. Recollecting the years in Kerala in the late 80s, she says, “when we came to Kerala, tourism was just catching up. Most of these performances used to be held in temples for the devotees and art lovers. I used to perform in temples. Gradually I realised that I was developing an affinity towards Hinduism. I approached the Arya Samaj and got converted. Now I am ‘Savitri’,” she smiles. The family, along with their two children Shankar and Jaya, reside at Cheruthuruthy in Shornur. Savitri has performed at the Soorya Festival and also had the opportunity to be a significant part of the short film on Mohiniyattam ‘Dance of the Enchantress’ by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. She is in the process of compiling a book on Mohiniyattam, which will come out as a combined work of Savitri and her friend Brigitte Prost, who is also a Professor in History of Theatre at the university. A couple of days back, Prost had joined Savitri in the city for a talk on Mohiniyattam, how the art form has influenced the western theatre and their contemporary choreographies inspired by Mohiniyattam. Prost, who is engaged in research on the art form, found herself to be least inclined towards learning it for herself. On asking whether she could display some bhavas, her smiling face quickly turned cruel, her eye brows twitching in anger. Posing for a minute she says, “this is ‘roudhra’”. The influence of the dance form on her personality can easily be made out from her gestures during the casual chat. For Savitri, performing art is a living form. “I felt that by expressing my concepts in words I wouldn’t be doing justice to the art and culture I have espoused. So, I chose the medium of a documentary,” she says. She does a lot of travelling all around the world conducting workshops and performances. Visiting holy places in India is also a routine for her. Her wrist has a number of holy threads from temples at Varanasi and other holy places. She formed a cultural association in France in 1995, ‘Companie Prana’, through which she aims to combine traditional and modern art and to encourage students in conducting research on the conservation of cultural heritage while making new productions. Her next performance in India would be at ‘Bonjour India 2013’ a Festival of France in India which will be celebrated in six cities all over the country.
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