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 An evening of euphoric barter - Dr. Uma Anantani e-mail: rasanant92@yahoo.com August 21, 2023 It was an evening of euphoric barter, exchange of energy between both the sides; the performing stage and a full packed auditorium of the JG College of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad, where Kadam Parikh performed his solo under the aegis of Rasika Sabha on August 11, 2023. Rasika Sabha is a long-standing desire of Kathak star dancers Ishira Parikh and Maulik Shah to provide a platform and an initiative to create an environment for dedicated young exponents of classical dance under the solo dance series 'Ekal- Kalaam'. It is organized in the memory of Ishira's grandfather, Rasiklal Parikh, a poet, playwright, distinguished scholar, an aesthete of the highest standard and an SNA fellow of the last century from Gujarat.  After an invocatory nritya kriti based on Ganesha, specially composed, recorded and sung by Prahar Vora and performed by five dancers of Anart School of Kathak dance, Ahmedabad, where Kadam belongs and teaches, he began his solo recital with a nritya kriti dedicated to Lord Krishna - 'pit vasandhaari' in combination of raags Charukeshi and Natbhairav narrating the Lord's roopa and guna in a charming manner. It was followed by a nritta rendition characteristic of Kathak repertoire, based on teen-taal, uthan, thaat, aamad, todas, tukadas, tihaais and exploring the variants of jaati combinations in three subsequent speeds. Live music by young musicians comprising of Sapan Anjaria's vibrant tabla rendition, melodious laykari by Hriday Desai on sarod, Jaymin Vaidya on harmonium and paran by Raina Parikh in complete sync accompanied Kadam's brilliant footwork. It is interesting to note here that along with intricate footwork, intrinsic of a traditional Kathak performance, Kadam denoted each nritta unit with story line appropriately with aesthetically composed taal/bol patterns portraying Anandmurti Shiva's damaroo, mriga gati, idea of war in battalions, shooting arrows by Arjun in three famous incidents of his life, jugalbandhi of odd-even numbers through Shiva -Parvati and chakras in different directions and layas venerating Dikpalas. Kadam concluded his recital with 'Virah kaal', a poem composed by Ishira Parikh with vocal support by Pandit Niraj Parikh, depicting vipralambha shringar of erotic Krishna. Pining in separation from Radha, Krishna finds solace nowhere. The narration accompanied by appropriate vyabhicharis would have elevated sattvikabhinaya.  Kadam's visible display of fine balance between releasing and sustaining energy in his nritta and nritya techniques respectively is a remarkable feature of his training, hard work and talent. Kathak nritya shailee takes references of its vocabulary nuances from Nandikeshwar's Abhinaya Darpana. Nevertheless, there surfaces a blurred line between natyadharmi and lokdharmi modes of presentation. When Kadam performed on the choreography of his illustrious guru-duo, Ishira and Maulik, the viniyogas of hasta mudras and pada bhedas including sthanas, mandalas, utplavanas and bhramari etc. highlighted distinct meanings to his movements. The performance of abhinaya padas drew attention to the hidden and subtle symbolism to poetic compositions. For his tall, handsome and vibrant frame, any stage space would fall short. A solo Indian classical dance and the house was packed up to more than three quarters with bubbling, energetic and aspirant youth! The future of appreciative audiences of classical dance appears bright and that of the dancers, brighter.  Dr. Uma Anantani is the director of Rasadhwani, Ahmedabad. |
