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 Tributes to gurus at Bhavanjali and Guru Abhivaadan Divas - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com Photos: Suresh Muraleedharan October 18, 2019 The yearlong celebrations of the 70th birth anniversary of the veteran Kathak exponent Pt Durgalal was observed with series of performances organized by Sam Ved Society of Performing Arts. The grand finale featured the veteran Mohiniattam dance exponent and dance educationist Dr. Kanak Rele in a spellbinding performance. Kathak exponent Uma Dogra, disciple of Pt Durgalal, and Odissi exponent Daksha Mashruwala also performed on the same evening at Nalanda's Kanak Sabha in Juhu, Mumbai, on 9th September. Pandit Durgalal was born on 9th Sept 1948 in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. A rare gem, especially of his time, he faced hardships of life with a vision that was well ahead of his times. Born into a family of artistes, Pandit Durgalal mastered the various nuances and intricacies of music including the three important aspects of gaayan, vaadan and nartan. As a performing artist, Durgalal's prowess in singing and playing the pakhawaj with impeccable precision are what he is remembered the most for. Trained in music by his father Pt Omkarlal, he mastered playing the tabla and pakhawaj under Pt Purushotam of Nathdwara. He learnt Kathak from his elder brother Pt Devilal right from his childhood. Devilal was a father figure as well as an inspiration for young Durgalal. Later they both secured scholarships to study Kathak at the Kathak Kendra in Delhi under the tutelage of Pt Sunder Prasad. Both the brothers would perform together during their formative years and bring the house down with their amazing performances. Durgalal's performance was a fine combination of power and aesthetics and he soon became a sought after dancer. He won several awards that included the Sangeet Natak Akademi award. The Basant Panchami of 1990 was the fateful day when Pt Durgalal succumbed to a massive cardiac arrest, at the age of 42, after his performance in Lucknow for the UP Sangeet Natak Akademi's Kathak Mahotsav. Uma Dogra is an ardent disciple of Pt Durgalal who sincerely organizes the Pt Durgalal Smriti Samaroh as a tribute to the torch bearer of the Jaipur Gharana, every year. Just before the performance, Dr. Kanak Rele said that in a dance festival in Russia where she shared the stage with him, she was quite impressed with his vitality as a performer.  Dr. Kanak Rele  Uma Dogra  Daksha Mashruwala To watch the veteran dancer Dr. Kanak Rele perform is sheer magic. Although she was seated while performing, she took you into a journey of character analysis while getting into the skin of the character of Kubja who is a slave to the wicked king Kansa, with intense mukhaja and netra abhinaya that gives you a spectacle of the intense emotion of suffering, pain, excitement and joy as well when she encounters and has a darshan of Lord Krishna who would redeem her of her sufferings as she applies 'ettiri kalabam' (little sandalwood paste) on his forehead. This choreography has a social significance too, as Kanak Rele points out that the hunch seen in Kubja is symbolic of the suffering of women in the contemporary society and the message is to free women from all types of mental or physical suffering. She received a standing ovation. Earlier Uma Dogra performed two abhinaya numbers, pertaining to two emotional aspects of women, firstly the astapadi "Sakhi he kesi Madana..." concerning the sringara of Radha and Krishna and the second one "Baso mere nainan mein Nandalala..." that portrays the vatsalya bhava and interrelationship between mother Yashoda and Krishna. Normally ashtapadis are not depicted in Kathak, hence this was a novel and interesting attempt. Odissi exponent Daksha Mashruwala who is also a fine choreographer and teacher, performed the ashtapadi "Kisalaya shayana" with evocative expressions pertaining to the emotional state of the heroine. On the whole it was an unusual program where excellence in expressions dominated. Kalasadan celebrates Guru Abhivaadan Divas Photos courtesy: Kalasadan Kalasadan Cultural Society, the premier cultural institution to commence Bharatanatyam classes in Mumbai way back in 1954, celebrated sixty-five years of its fruitful existence with a Bharatanatyam recital by the senior dancers of Kalasadan at Mysore Association auditorium, Mumbai, on 5th September. Kalasadan was founded by Guru Mani who has trained several dancers, many of who have become professionals too. It was the 14th Guru Abhivaadan Divas and 97th birth anniversary of Guru Mani. It was Guruji's dream to establish a Gurukul, complete residential academy of performing arts known as Chintamani Ashram of Fine Arts in Titvala (Maharashtra) for which work has already started and donations are welcome. This is an annual event that pays reverence to mentors in the field of literature, music and dance. Chief guest Kranti Shah of Yuvak Biradari, Natraj Gopal, director of Kalasadan and mentor Sharada Ganesan felicitated Sanskrit scholar Dr. Gautam Patel, Carnatic musician Saraswati Krishnamurthy and Kuchipudi exponent Kalakrishna for their invaluable contribution in their respective fields.   The Bharatanatyam by senior dancers of Kalasadan was based on the Shanmatha concept of Adi Shankaracharya featuring six gods, Shiva, Surya, Ganapati, Krishna, Kartikeya and Devi, hence the performance revolved around these pre-dominant deities, commencing with the salutations and invocations, in order to seek their blessings for the success of the recital with no hindrances whatsoever. The number 'Panchadasha' featured the goddess Pandya Kumari, the sister of Lord Vishnu, the one who was born from sacrificial fire. After this number pertaining to the benevolent and virile aspect of the goddess, was the 'piece-de-resistance' of the evening, the beautiful composition "Yen palli kondeer Ayya" that features the complete charitram of both Rama and Krishna. The first half featured the main episodes of Ramayana like Seeta Swayamvaram, the golden deer, Ravana's tussle with Rama and finally the scene of Rama Pattabhishekam; the second half featured the birth of Krishna, Poothana Vadham, scene of Govardhana and the Kaliya fight, finally the Vishwaroop scene of Lord Krishna where he urges Arjuna to fight against adharma. It was a wonderful display of dramatic quality, blending well with stylized and rhythmic movements. The performance concluded with the intricate Hindolam Thillana along with a shloka in praise of Lord Surya. The senior dancers who performed were Aishwarya Venkatesh, Anushka Anantapadmanabhan, Divya Thackar, Gauri Shankar, Greeva Shah, Harshita Polampalli, Nandini Ganesan, Prajakta Ganacharya, Saritha Bala, Swati Chandrasekhar, and Vrishti Salian. The fine team of musicians was led by Guru Sharada Ganesan on nattuvangam, Sheetal Subramaniam on vocal, N. Krishnan on mridangam, Satish Seshadri on violin, Ganesan on flute, and Narayanan on morsing. On the whole, it was a fine tribute to a great mentor. Vijay Shanker is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
