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 Shabdh: An ode unto the word - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com Photos: Ashwin-Varnam Creations June 25, 2022 A very interesting festival celebrating Dance Day unfolded on May 1, 2022 at the Mysore Association auditorium, Mumbai. The festival was curated by Bharatanatyam exponent Lata Surendra and the unusual theme of the festival was SHABDH - An ode unto the Word. It was interesting to watch different dancers in varied styles trying to reach out to the supreme, through the 'shabdh' in their individualistic style.  Darshana Jhaveri 
Ileana Citaristi 
Mandakini Trivedi Darshana Jhaveri reached out with 'Madhava,' the one word and the one name that stirred Radha's heart but this time it was uttered in exasperation as a Khandita Nayika. In a very subdued and suggestive manner the legend explored Radha confronting a Krishna whose entire form mirrored his infidelity towards her. Ileana Citaristi highlighted the one name 'Jagannath' through the poem written during the time of Covid, with script by Arshiya Sethi. Her reaching out was impacting with its evocative refrain 'Jagannath speaks to me.' Mohiniattam exponent Mandakini Trivedi reached out with the one word that changed Kunti's life - the mantra invoking Surya, the Sun God. The gripping scene between Kunti and Karna was presented with calculated awareness and with the fluid ease coming with the mastery of the style. The scene and its aftermath left all with a feeling that at times a discreet silence was truly better than words! This was followed by a gripping interpretation by Shila Mehta of the 'Two Vows' - an episode from Ramcharitmanas by Saint Tulsidas. A powerful performance by the dynamic artiste arrested the audience with the tunneling emotions stirred by Kaikeyi's two vows. Three generations came together to define Shabdh as the Lord's name 'Hari' - Dr. Jayashree Rajagopalan, the mentor, researcher and prime disciple of Padma Subrahmanyam, with her talented daughter Aishwarya Venkatesh and grand-daughter Varshini. Arundhati Patwardhan, daughter and disciple of Guru Suchita Bhide Chapekar reached out with a dance theatre presentation depicting the mesmerizing journey of a devotee from self surrender to self realization, etching saint Tukaram's refrain of the one word 'Vithoba.' Curator Lata Surendra reached out with the one name that aligned all oddities through the interesting creation of Ganesha, the son who remained the weakness and strength of mother Parvati, whose love for him defined the merciful and the merciless, as she finds his head severed by Lord Shiva.  Jayashree Rajagopalan, Aishwarya & Varshini There were several scintillating performances by seasoned artistes and mentors. Kathak exponent, imaginative choreographer Manisha Jeet and disciples presented an interesting exploration of the potency of the word 'Graceful.' Odissi exponent Prachi Mehta defined mother through the characters of Devaki and Yashoda. Partners in life and on stage, Bharatanatyam teachers and exponents Anand and Jayalakshmi through the deliberate teasing of Krishna by Sathyabhama, highlighted the misleading potency of a word that could ever so easily be misinterpreted by its varying connotations. Dancers Amith Kumar, Tarini Tripathi reached out with 'Out of hand' that was choreographed and performed for the Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards 2022. It mirrored how in a democratic setup like our nation we are made to think what someone else makes us think! Imaginative Kathak exponent Dr. Sunil Sunkara and visual story teller Debabrata Pal through 'Panchtattva', highlighted the word with the synergy of dance and painting as to what name could be given unto the divine who is the cause of all causes and effect of all effects. The arts are not mutually exclusive of each other and they have to be assimilated as a synthesis of music, sculpture and literature. The city's renowned acharyas such as Chetan Saraya, Kalangan Moli Sidharth and group, Rashmi Mishra, Nisha Gilbert, disciples of Padmini Radhakrishnan, Kathak exponent and teacher Anu Harshal, Kuchipudi exponent Pooja Lakshmi, Kathak exponent Neha Bannerjee, Kuchipudi guru and exponent Kalamandalam Vijayashree Pillai, charismatic Kathak exponent Aditya Garud, Charushila Golam and Bharatanatyam exponent Ritu Maneck and her cherubic disciples, Bharatanatyam dancer Shamal Pawar and disciples all contributed to have Shabdh potently define the Dance Day through an ode that made of words a bridge and dance as the bridging metaphor linking worlds. The program commenced with the defining of 'Diksha' by three promising dancers Megha M Pillai (disciple of Dr. Lata Surendra), Dipali Tikam (disciple of Jhelum Paranjape) and Shalmali Zankar (disciple of Manisha Jeet).  Lata Surendra "Words are the most powerful thing in the universe... Words are containers. They contain faith, or fear. Life accords unto us diverse experiences but we have lost touch with the meanings accorded as we suffocate the present between the past and future. Summing it up in the words of Lord Byron, 'Words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think,'" says curator Lata Surendra. Shabdh was an incentive by Lata Surendra to promote solo performances in a scenario that highlighted group choreographies and downloaded audios.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
