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 Pratiroop - Cross mentorship program - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com October 16, 2022 While all the classical dance forms are based on the same sastram and portrays the philosophy of reaching out to the supreme, what differs in each style is the technical aspects of presentation. Swami Vivekananda had said, "All religions lead to the same goal"; similarly classical dances through the medium of the interpretation of stories of Hindu mythology, establishes the inter-relationship between the human and the divine soul. Through the cross mentorship program, five talented classical dancers in different styles presented some novel interpretations, while seeking the mentorship of established exponents. The program was titled Pratiroop and presented at the Experimental Theatre of National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, with the support of Warier Foundation on 27th August. The selected mentors were Sharmila Biswas for Divya Warier in the Mohiniattam style, Rama Vaidyanathan for Sangita Chatterjee in Kathak style, Dr. Neena Prasad for Pavitra Bhat in Bharatanatyam style, Vyjayanti Kashi for Namrata Mehta in Odissi style and Prerana Shrimali for Keerthana Ravi in Bharatanatyam. This mentorship is interesting and exciting; while the styles may be different, the essence and beauty of each style is maintained, while exploring new and intense themes.  Divya Warier The Pratiroop performances commenced with the Mohiniattam performance by Divya Warier. Divya is a fine exponent, seeking guidance from Dr Neena Prasad. Establishing the relationship between mother Yashoda and little Krishna she tries to make him sleep while narrating the stories of Ramayana. Here we see an enthusiastic mother, trying to put Krishna to sleep. To attract his attention, she exaggerates her storytelling ways by dramatising the characters with angika and mukhaja abhinaya. Slowly she realizes that her own son is none other Lord Vishnu himself, who was Lord Rama in the previous birth. She is restless and panicky and quickly checks if there is anything superhuman about him; he has the same 2 hands and legs and wonders as to whether she made a mistake by narrating this story. With powerful singing by Udupi Srinath, Divya succeeded in the interpretation of the dramatic episodes, while inducing the little Krishna to sleep. Originally this item was in the Odissi style, recreated to suit the Mohiniattam sensibility and sensitivity. This item commenced with the brief Cholkettu interwoven with intricate nritta patterns making a nice start for the festival, a fine exposition of both elegant movements and expressional delight.  Sangita Chatterjee The second dancer of the evening was the Kathak dancer Sangita Chatterjee from Kolkata. It was interesting to see how a Kathak dancer could reinterpret samudra manthan to a different level of expressional dancing with a contemporary perspective. Titled 'Manthani,' Sangita portrayed the tussle between the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) in the amruta manthan as they seek the amruta (nectar of immortality). Human mind is constantly battling its internal demons and the dilemma is frustrating - kaso kolahal (why the restlessness). The process of atma manthan (internal churning) reveals the inherent amrit we are all longing for but where does this process take place? Who is the vessel? Where is the Manthani? With mentorship by the brilliant exponent Rama Vaidyanathan, Sangita did justice to this number with complete involvement and dexterity.  Pavitra Bhat Pavitra Bhat's presentation 'Krishnartha' (Thou as a Human) was unusual and intense, exploring the aspects of love and devotion. He is bound to pure consciousness yet being devoid of all we think is good to bind him. Krishnartha is a fictitious story line that ventures into Krishna as a human being. In this imaginary presentation the duality of Krishna both as a human being and divine being is depicted pertaining to his intense relationship with Arjuna raising several questions of karma and dharma. It was interesting to watch how Pavitra could perceive and project diverse characters like Krishna and Arjuna with equal dexterity and involvement.  Namrata Mehta 'Krishnamayi,' the dialogue between Krishna and Radha when they meet in heaven is a choreographic imagination that interprets the conversation between Radha and Krishna, while establishing their relationship. Krishna is overwhelmed with various emotions as he witnessed the lotus face of Radha. "Oh Radhike, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you, not a day has gone by when I haven't remembered our joyful union and shed a tear, when I haven't looked forward to our eternal union. Did that happen to you, Radhe?" With mentorship insights from Vyjayanti Kashi and guidance from Daksha Mashruwala, Namrata Mehta was impressive with her subtle expressions of love, anxiety and pathos.  Keerthana Ravi Based on a poem by the saint poet Kabir, "Ud jayega hans akela" (the swan will fly alone), Keerthana Ravi's rendering of this poetic and intense philosophy, co-created under the mentorship of Kathak exponent Prerana Shrimali, was touching with life experiences through the medium of Bharatanatyam. "Ud jayega hans akela, jag darshan ka mela. Jaise paat girre taruvar pe, milna bahut duhela" (the swan will fly alone, when the leaf falls from the tree, it's hard for them to meet again.) What a carnival of life this is, when your time is up the order comes down from above, the ordeal of listening and following orders is done, death's mighty messengers arrive, you are caught in the web entangled in life and death. Beautiful and soul stirring expressions by the fine dancer made it a grand and elevating finale to the Pratiroop program.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
