Dance by M.Mukundan
Translated by D.Krishna Ayyar and K.G. Ramakrishnan
“Dance with your body as a whole, not with your limbs alone.”
“Amidst a swirl of dancing bodies, my body stood out stark and clear. The darkness which no one wanted was now an asset. To appreciate black, I had to borrow the eyes of white men.”
This book flows along with your reading and mesmerizes the reader. Reading Dance is like watching a performance. Dance can be read at many layers- as a form of self-expression, reviving the dying art of ‘kalaripayattu’ or an attempt to fuse it with modern dance. The English translation of M Mukundan’s award-winning Malayalam novel Nruttam, it is a celebration of dance transcending continents and passion through cyberspace, one message is all it takes to put into action the narrative of Dance. This novella, originally written in Malayalam, has been translated into English by D.Krishna Ayyar and K.G. Ramakrishnan. The flawless fluidity of the narrative holds the reader from start. This is a treat for every person who enjoys a compelling narrative that touches your heart. It takes dance from a physical expression to a spiritual interaction forming a heart-warming bond between people who have never met. “I forgot my body. I forgot my mind… I wasn’t there. The dance alone was.”
Satchidanandan commented on the novel, as being a “transformation of the everyday.” He said, “For the first time in India, email has been used to develop a serial narrative through which the story unfolds. This is something unique and global.”
“Dance” is not merely about dance. “It is multi-layered. It is about the borderless world. It speaks about the colonisation of bodies. The changing face of art and its commercialisation also finds mention,” Mukundan unravels the novella.
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