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 Girnar Festival of classical music and dance - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com January 16, 2022 The five day Girnar Festival of classical music and dance organized by Patel Cultural Foundation and Municipal Corporation of Junagadh and managed by Vivid Arts Entertainment, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, commenced on 5th January to 9th January 2022 at the Shamaldas Gandhi Town Hall in Junagadh, which is a two hour drive from Rajkot airport in Gujarat. Dancers from Maharashtra and Gujarat dominated the festival; however there were dancers hailing from other parts of the country as well. Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak dominated the festival performances.  Tridhara group The first day of the festival featured the Tridhara group of Odissi dancers, choreographed and directed by one of the leading mentors of Orissa, Guru Gajendra Panda from Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Tridhara presented three group presentations, namely Lakshmi Narasimha, Ram Bhajan and Gananayaka that depicted the fight between the young Ganesha with his father Lord Shiva. Ultimately Ganesha loses his head and is restored to life due to the ardent request of goddess Parvati. While the group was impressive for their dramatic portrayals, fine coordination and synchronization of movements, there could be more clarity and beauty of varied movements, which is the hallmark of the Odissi dance style. Bharatanatyam by dynamic dancer Nidhaga Karunad from Bangalore commenced with the powerful number on Lord Shiva "Ananda Natanam Prakasham" that incorporated the glory and the cosmic dance of the Lord. Nidhaga has a striking personality and was in a position to perform the tandava style with vitality with the inclusion of karanas and akash charis as well. In the Purandara Dasa composition Hanumanth Vedanam, the dancer depicted the ardent devotion of the monkey God Hanuman for Lord Rama with the dramatic exposition of the burning of Lanka and the ultimate victory of Rama. Nidhaga concluded with Thillana in raag Desh that included the Ardhanarishvara concept, hence exposed movements in both lasya and tandava styles of dancing. Nidhaga undoubtedly proved to be among the best dancers of the festival.  Nidhaga Karunad Kathak group performance led by Harsha Thakkar and her disciples from Rajkot, commenced with Ras Barse with the interpretation of two nayikas, Vasakasajja and Virahotkantita, caught in different moments of love, as one waits for the Lord and the other suffers from separation, with choreography by Ishira Parekh and Maulik Shah. The dancers also interpreted the Meera Bhajan "Mane Chakar Rakho ji" and concluded the performance with a Tarana in Purvi Dhanasri. Their performance was quite pleasing for their considerable command over both pure and expressional dancing. The second day of the festival commenced with Odissi duet by Dipika Priyadarshini and G Nageshwari (disciples of Guru Gajendra Panda, Bhubaneswar), "Ardhanarishwara" exposing the twin movements of both Prakriti (feminine) and Purusha (masculine). While the dancers were trying to do justice to the selected number, more involvement and exposition of such a complex number was needed. Mumbai's Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam exponent Subitha Murali, disciple of Dr. Rajyalakshmi Seth, performed Rama Pattabhishekam Sabdam that briefly exposes the story of Lord Rama from his birth to his coronation as the King of Ayodhya. Subitha also performed an extract from Narayana Teertha's Krishna Leela Tarangini, Bhama Kalapam, exposing the proud Satybhama in a dialogue with her sakhi Madhavi. Blessed with large expressive eyes, her netra abhinaya could be enhanced.  Aarya Nande with Nritya Shreedhara group Mumbai's Kathak exponent Chetan Sariya performed along with his disciples, Sugandhi and Neha. He made a fine start with Tulsidas's "Shri Ramachandra Kripalu" with vocal by Lata Mangeshkar, that briefly portrayed the varied episodes in the life of Lord Rama. Chetan also performed Krishna Vandana and concluded with Tatkaar with precision. Chetan is the disciple of late Guru Asha Joglekar and is also a mentor and one of the leading dancers of Mumbai. Odissi exponent Aarya Nande was one of the most vivacious dancers of the festival. Along with her Nritya Shreedhara group she performed Mangalacharan and the number on Durga was powerfully and dramatically presented. The only Mohiniattam dancer was Unnati Ajmera, a disciple of Dr. Kanak Rele of Nalanda Nrityakala Mahavidyalaya. She commenced with Ganapatiye, followed with Kubja and concluded with Jeeva. Unnati danced with complete involvement and elegance, winning applause from the audience. Kubja is the servant of the wicked king Kamsa but is a devotee of Lord Krishna. She is redeemed of all her sufferings after her encounter with Lord Krishna's darshan as she applies little kalabam (sandal wood paste) on his forehead. This number is one of the choreographies of Dr. Kanak Rele that projects women empowerment and the typical hunch on the back of Kubja is symbolic of the suffering of women for generations.  Unnati Ajmera After the brief but pleasing Pallavi in the Odissi style by Priyanka Pati and Hirana Trivedi from Ahmedabad, one the the leading Bharatanatyam mentors Purvi Sheth of Rajkot danced with lot of enthusiasm and sincerity with her talented team of dancers. After the Todaya mangalam, the piece-de-resistance of the performance was the display of the powerful number on Lord Shiva "Shankara shri giri naatha prabho" performed by seven dancers that included Purvi Sheth. After the Javali "Mathura nagarilo," the dancers concluded with the popular composition of Narsi Mehta "Vaishnava Janato." It was a pleasure to watch the dancers dancing in harmony and uniformity. Priyanaka Shinde and her disciple Nandini Sonawane rendered a brilliant Kathak recital. A disciple of Dr. Manjiri Deo and Pt Mukundraj Deo, Priyanka performed the invocatory Kanha Re and proved her expertise in the pure dance sequences and in the jugalbandi along with her disciple. Priyanka has an academy of dance in Thane.  Priyanka Shinde and Nandini Sonawane Varsha Abhichandani and her disciples from Sadhana Nrityalaya, Pune, performed Bharatanatyam that was particularly noteworthy for its dramatic quality and group presentation. After Swagatam Krishna, the dancers enacted the tussle between Krishna and the serpent Kalinga in Kalinga Nartanam, with powerful vocal rendering by Aruna Sayeeram. The dancers did complete justice to the dramatization of the performance. They concluded with Jai Jagdeeshwara pertaining to Lord Vishnu. Kathak dancer from New Delhi, Shreshtha Tripathi, disciple of Guru Rajendra Gangani, commenced with Pancham Savari and proceeded to an interpretative number portraying the arrival of Lord Rama in Ayodhya. Shreshtha is a fine dancer with clarity of movements, blending well with accuracy, but needs to work on her expressions.  Monojit Saha The best dancer of the festival was Monojit Saha from Kolkata, a disciple of eminent acharya Prof C.V. Chandrasekhar. After the invocatory Mallari, Monojit performed a beautiful Kauthuvam in praise of Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati and concluded with an ashtapadi. Monojit danced with complete involvement and sharp and distinct movements that created a lasting impression on the audience. He is one of the most polished dancers I have seen in recent times. MK Patel, the soul of this festival, says: "It is not easy to organize a festival of such a magnitude. I wish more people and personalities come forward and help us financially, which is the need of the hour. Many promise but let us down at the last minute. Hoping for the best with the grace of the Almighty." Anand Singh did a wonderful job as the compere for the entire festival. Dr. Devraj Chikhalia invited all the performers for a special dinner and promised to support the festival in the future.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
