The Sunday morning of November 22, 2009 was a rhythmic feast to the eyes at Sivagami Petachi Auditorium, Chennai. DEVANIYA was launched with “Pratham”, a dance recital by Jigyasa’s students. As described by Rupa Srikanth in THE HINDU, “Pratham was a colourful debut by the ensemble cast of 19 students. They presented a well-coordinated tableau of beautiful images and seamless transitions couched within the Kathak repertoire.
Here is a glimpse of the various dance items along with the video clippings. Enjoy…
1. VANDANA – the invocation
The programme began with “Gaiye Ganapati Gaja Vandan” in Raga Bhoop and Raga Kalyani. It was the revival of a bhajan rendered by Late Smt. Latha more than two decades ago. This was followed by a Pushpanjali in Raga Durga and Raga Bhoop ending with the shloka “Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu…”.
The dancers now came together to dance to todas which are rhythmic patterns woven with nuemonic syllables such as ‘ta’, ‘thei’, ‘tat’, each dancer like the petal of a lotus. Yet no lotus can be perfect unless each petal is beautiful and perfect within itself. Thus, they began their second item with the shloka “Purnam adah, Purnam idam” – all is perfect, all is infinite. The lotus formation in deep blue light cast a mystic illumination on the stage. The shloka rendered in divine music by Aurobindo Ashram’s “India and her future” added to the mesmerizing effect.
2. TAAL AUR LAYA KI UTHAAN
Aptly described as the evolving of rhythm, this piece was a melodious confluence of todas, tukadas, gats and tihais in Teen Taal. Beginning slowly in the vilambit laya, the dancers meandered through various patterns in Madhya laya, finally reaching tatkar in dhrut laya – the footwork of Kathak which is extremely intricate and dynamic.
Jigyasa dedicated the nritta piece “TAAL AUR LAYA KI UTHAAN” to Guru Dr Maya Rao, her revered and gracious teacher in Bangalore. Over the last couple of years, Jigyasa has often traveled to Bangalore to learn some aspects of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak. She has intervowen many of the nuances she learnt from Maya Didi in her choreography for Pratham.
3. THUMRI – longing for the beloved
The next piece was a Thumri in Raga Sohini in Teen Taal. A Thumri is primarliy based on emotive expression, or abhinaya. Jigyasa as the nayika, separated from her lover, is desolate since her days are filled with loss and memories. Every waking moment is but one of yearning. She finds some respite in her dreams when she relives the moments of togetherness and yearns to find them again.
The audience could see how the nayika’s facial expression, the bodily movement all tell a story, a katha – Katha kahe so kathak – One who tells a story is kathak. The choreography was quite dynamic with the yearning Nayika expressing the desolation of the present alternating with memories of romance enacted by dancers – Manisha and Swetha.
This thumri sung by Late Smt Latha was a much-loved one by Natyashri Guru late Shri Krishna Kumar Dhaarwar. He was Jigyasa’s first Kathak Guru. She had her formal tutelage in Banaras Gharana of Kathak from him. Therefore, she chose this thumri as a dedication to him.
4. HOLI – a celebration
Next was HOLI, the festival of colours, of abandon, of love and joy, rendered in the soul-stirring voices of Pandit Birju Maharaj & Shrimati Vani Jayaram. This was Raga Peelu in Kehrwah Taal. The colourful costumes and cheerful smiles of dancers brought alive the beauty of Shringar Rasa.
5. TARAANA – a rhythmic nritta
The morning ended with the TARAANA, a popular, energetic and graceful composition of pure NRITTA. The dancers – Aditi, Avani, Rhea and Sanah – exuded such grace and youthful energy that it made a perfect rhythmic ending in Raga Madhumati Sarang in Teen Taal. A very dynamic choreography was seen in the Finale which was connected to the last piece, the ‘Tarana’, where Jigyasa introduced each dancer one by one. The final Tatkaar after the introductions looked beautiful and well synchronized.
SPEAKERS at Pratham The morning was graced with the presence of dance critic and author Shri Ashish Khokar, son of pioneering art scholar and collector Late Prof. Mohan Khokar and senior Bharatanatyam Guru Smt. M.K. Saroja. The other esteemed guest of honour was the melodious singer Smt. Surekha Kothari. The welcome address in a light, friendly vein was by Mr V V Giri, Jigyasa’s husband. The compere Dr. Pratibha Jain, who is Jigyasa’s partner at Pritya, lead the viewers smoothly from one item to the next with her cheerful presentation.
MUSICIANS Most of the music and melody for PRATHAM was created by Shri Satyanarayana and Shri Shyamal Rao. Jigyasa has known them since the early days of her learning at the young age of sixteen and they continue to be a great source of encouragement and support. Shri Y. Satyanarayana has played his tabla for more than 2000 film songs with directors such as Ilayaraja and A.R.Rahman. The recording was done at Shanti Studio, Chennai.
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Magical light effects by Iswar Srikumar, stunning costumes by Sunanda Jain, elegant jewellery by Sadhana Chordia and neat make-up and hair-do by Renuka made it all in all, a visual treat. Perfect silence in the wings and backstage, a silent but full auditorium, and attention to detail right from the beautifully decorated Pushpanjali plates to the perfectly timed sequence of events made it a worthwhile way to spend the morning.
Click HERE if you want to view all the dance images together.
Photo courtesy: Srivatsa Shandilya
