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 When young buds blossom - Madhur Gupta e-mail: madhurgupta04@gmail.com December 23, 2019 In the bone chilling winters of New Delhi, it is always heartwarming to see colleagues and friends of the dance world gear up for the season with full paraphernalia. The beginning already looks promising with Bharatanatyam and Kathak recitals topping the chart at different venues.  Tanya Saxena Bearing the cold, Tanya Saxena, an uprising star of Delhi dance scene, presented Lakshmi Vandana and fast paced Tillana at Sopan, Delhi Government's Young Dancers and Musicians Festival. Lakshmi venerated across Indian households as a symbol of prosperity, of luck and good fortune emerged from the churning of the primordial ocean - the goddess sitting on the lotus. In her four hands she holds the conch and the lotus, as well as ever flowing pot of gold. She bestows her disciples with protection and blessings always. She thus forms the image of the 'perfect' woman. Tanya's presentation didn't however restrict the mahatmaya of the goddess to these mundane levels. Her piece went on to describe how the word Lakshmi is derived from 'lakshya/lakshana' and it is thus that she signifies not just good fortune but the goals of life. She is the goal, and she is the path towards that goal. But to every end there are various means. The goddess only shows us our goal and the paths towards it. Do we then choose the path of love, or of hatred? That of compassion, or of greed? Of caring or of lust? The decision is ours. The verses for the piece were from the Padma Purana, rhythmic and music composition by Dr. S. Vasudevan and rhythmic inputs by Manohar Balatchandirane set to Ragamallika and rupaka talam. Tanya concluded her recital with a clean tillana set to ragam Varamu and talam adi. Music composition was by G.S. Rajan and choreography by Rama Vaidyanathan.  Diksha Tripathi Next stop was Drishtikon Dance Foundation, an Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company's in-house intimate Baithak. First was Kathak by Diksha Tripathi, a disciple of Dheerendra Tiwari and Pt. Rajendra Gangani. Having studied at National Institute of Kathak, her taiyyari was quite evident from the start with her swift pirouettes and long technical pieces. Diksha presented Chaturang, a genre that incorporated sahitya, sargam, tarana and syllables of pakhawaj. The unique aspect of this particular presentation was that the four components of Chaturangis explored before the actual elaboration of Chaturang, thereby creating a beautiful prelude to the musical piece. An amalgamation of both abhinaya and technical aspect of Kathak, this piece was choreographed by Pt. Rajendra Gangani in ragas Mishra Shahana and Bhimpalasi. Supporting the brilliant recital was Samiullah Khan on vocal and harmonium, on pakhawaj was Ashish Gangani, tabla was by Mohit Gangani and padhant by Anjana Singh. Highlight of the evening certainly was the seasoned Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar from Bangalore. Having practiced under gurus Padmini Rao, Sundari Santhanam and Guru Narmada, she is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory, which was quite evidently portrayed in the amalgamation of both traditional and contemporary in her technique and abhinaya. Rukmini chose to present Charukeshi Varnam which she interpreted from the perspective of a Gopika yearning for lord Krishna. The dancer explained, "There is a parallel between her physical separation and longing and her spiritual desire to 'know' him truly. She traces her life from her childhood, recounting the hours she spent with him: playing tricks on neighbors, running wildly through the village, causing havoc, playing in the rain. The rain clouds remind her of him, the dark blue clouds a reflection of his dark skin. She asks how he can pretend that he still doesn't know that she longs for him. She asks if he has thought of ways to ignore her and come to stand before her now, leaving her desolate. She then talks of how she searched for him the day he left Vrindavan, running madly to see him, only to find him gone to another world of kingly duties. The tune of his flute is intoxicating!"  Rukmini Vijayakumar With moving abhinaya and a sense of dense mastery over her art, Rukmini quite skillfully was able to play the role of the gopika who asks Krishna to come back to her; to remember all the times they shared; to be with her; to allow her to know him. Finally does Krishna come? With this varnam set to raga Charukeshi, a composition of Lalgudi Jayaraman in adi tala, curtains came down to the beginning of Delhi's dance season. Odissi dancer Madhur Gupta is a disciple of Guru Sharon Lowen. He contributes to national dailies like The Hindu, The Times of India, The Asian Age, The Indian Express covering at large the Indian classical dance and music scene of the subcontinent. |
