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 Himmat Shah (1933-2025) - Bharat Sharma e-mail: bhasha.dance@gmail.com March 5, 2025  Another passing... I am reminded of a half-hour dance solo I premiered in 1999, inspired by a sculpture by Himmat Shah of the hands at Shridharani Art Gallery in Mandi House in early 80s. The power of that image lingered in my impressionable mind for long. Around then, Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena, the reclusive and intense poet, used to corner me in Mandi House Circle, and prod me to chart out my own path. He would often say - It's time for you to step out of your father's shoes and explore contemporary Hindi poetry! In 1999, as I re-visited my journey as a dancer in Bangaluru, I was reminded of Sarveshwar ji's proddings. As I went through his volumes, I chanced upon his short poetry 'Yeh Haath' (These Hands). Coincidently he wrote 'Yeh Haath' after seeing the same power-packed sculpture of the hands of Himmat Shah which I had seen earlier. Many threads came together. A sculptor's image of the hands, a poet's words, a dancer's body, and a bit of choreographic imagination. And a reactive response to a much hyped adage of the times - cross-disciplinary approach in arts practice. So in my small apartment in Malleswaram in Bangaluru, I began improvising on the poetry, making sequences reflecting on turmoil of the times and my personal predilections. I bought a synthesizer and began hammering at the keys. Luckily, synthesizers had memory banks then, so I could retain some of my musical sketches, mostly on raga Malkauns. The narrative was weaved through my impressions - on politics, desecration of the value of human labour, if not the body, and its extension in performing arts. Hands, in all its myriad expressions, became the metaphor for sweat and labour in human landscape. The title became 'Teesra Paksh' - angst of balancing the extremes. This solo was presented between 1999-2002 in Bangaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. Surprisingly it got critical acclaim from seasoned critics, but was canned thereafter, for want of performance opportunities. My humble tribute to Himmat Shah...  Bharat Sharma's career in dance spanning over five decades is marked by diversity of experiences as performer, choreographer, teacher, writer, composer, film-maker and arts administrator. He currently leads Bhoomika, New Delhi. Post your comments Please provide your name and email id along with your comment. All appropriate comments posted with name and email id in the blog will also be featured in the site. |
