On July 20, 2010, Jigyasa & her students performed at the landmark venue in Chennai – The Madras Club. The theme depicted the Hindu and the Moghul influence in Kathak; It was a performance interspersed with interesting information about the nuances of this graceful dance form from North India.
Traditionally, a classical kathak performance begins with an invocation to a particular God like Nataraj, Shiva, Ganesha, Saraswathi, Kali or Krishna. The show began with an invocation with Tiruwat, a rhythmic piece of classical kathak.
The great storytellers of ancient India brought to life, with dance, music and mime, the great scriptures and epics of ancient times, especially the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas of Sanskrit literature. From its early form as a devotional expression dedicated to the Hindu gods, Kathak gradually moved out of the temples and into the courts of the rulers: It was here that the Mughal leaders hired Kathakas to entertain them in their lavish courts. This Hindu and Muslim influence is seen till today. Ample proof of this is in the two different kinds of costumes itself. Our students, Aditi, Megha, Pooja & Manisha wore the traditional Indian or hindu costume known as the lehenga-choli and greeted the audience with a traditional Namaskar toda.
Avani, Swetha & Gayathri are in the angarika – here you can see the moghul influence. They performed the traditional salaam or Salaami toda.
The beautiful confluence or blend of two rich cultures in the Kathak dance form was celebrated with a round of chakkars. Tak dhoom kirtaka tak dhoom kirtaka, ghenta dhaa….twice followed by alternating chakkars. There were many different types of chakkars that were involved in this round right from a piroutte being completed in 8 steps to a piroutte being completed in one step.
The performance ended with the popular Mangalam from Pandit Ravishankar’s Chants of India wherein the dancers invoke peace & harmony among the 5 elements, the sky, the sun, the moon, in life itself, and for the body, mind and spirit. In today’s world, a chant for universal peace seems apt.
The show was brought to life by the students Aditi Jain, Avani Giri, Gayathri Shanker, Manisha Lohia, Megha Radhakrishnan, Pooja Sarathkumar & Swetha Sunderarajan. The comperes Jigyasa & Dr. Pratibha Jain, who is Jigyasa’s partner at Pritya, lead the viewers smoothly from one item to the next with their cheerful presentation. Renuka, our make-up artist also deserves a special mention for her perfect touch throughout.
Photo courtesy: Manasvi Chordia
