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 Brilliant dancers featured in Raindrops Festival - Vijay Shanker e-mail: Vijaydance@gmail.com September 4, 2024 Uma Dogra's Sam Ved Society for Performing Arts in association with Bhavans Cultural Centre, organised the 34th Raindrops Festival at the SPJIMR auditorium in Andheri, Mumbai on 26th and 27th July. This festival organised mainly to showcase young talent is planned during the monsoon period, hence known as the Raindrops Festival and is one of the most popular festivals eagerly awaited. Projecting different classical dance styles, it was amazing to witness some brilliant performers as they cast a lasting spell on the audience.  Karthika Madhavi The festival commenced with the sparkling Kuchipudi recital by Karthika Madhavi, disciple of Sreelakshmi Govardhanan. The performance was noteworthy for its technical quality, elegance, vibrancy and fine abhinaya as the dancer interpreted a number that portrayed the plight and suffering of Surpanaka, sister of Ravana, who is embarrassed when her nose is cut off. Karthika succeeded in portraying the characteristic features of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and the emotional intensity of Surpanaka when she questions in Telugu, using vachika abhinaya, "Nannu doshama yenni?" (What is my fault?). Karthika is a powerful dancer and made a fine start to the young dancers' festival.  Shreema Upadhyaya The next wonderful performer was Shreema Upadhyaya in the Bharatanatyam style. She is the disciple of Praveen Kumar from Bangalore. Shreema commenced her performance with a beautiful Muthuswamy Dikshitar kriti "Sreevaralakshmi Tubhyam" extolling the beauty, attributes and the benevolent aspects of the goddess. It was a pleasure to watch Shreema as she danced with clarity of movements, precision and the effortless quality, coupled with lucid expressions. Being a festival, it was important for the dancers to maintain the time limit, as otherwise you would cause discomfort to others, hence restricted time was allotted to all the dancers. What matters most is the quality of the performance and not the quantity.  Sushant Gaurav The last performer of the first day of the festival was the Kathak dancer from New Delhi, Sushant Gaurav. I had heard about Sushant, his unusual style of dancing, hence was looking forward to his performance, that created a lasting impression on the select audience. Sushant is the disciple of Ustad Fasih Ur Rehmaan of the Lahore Gharana and dances to the ativilambit laya with slow and flowing movements. His "salaami" in the beginning of the performance, pertaining to the "purana andaaz" with striking, undulating and stylized movements was testimony to his unique and individualistic style which is in complete contrast to the run of the mill kind. Sushant scored well in the intricate rhythmic footwork with fine tabla being played by Pandit Shiv Shankar, Atul on harmonium and Purohit on sarod. On the whole the performance was noteworthy for both structure and substance.  Ipshita Mishra The second and final day of the festival commenced with the striking Kathak recital by Ipshita Mishra, disciple of Guru Vaswati Mishra and Pt Kishan Mohan Mishra. Ipshita's performance revealed her technical command over the dance form and her expertise in rhythmic footwork. She executed the unusual Grihanayak taal of seven and half matras with precision. Ipshita concluded her performance with the Thumri "Kal kahan they" featuring Vasakasajja nayika and Khandita nayika as she waits endlessly for her Lord and is disgusted to see him arrive early morning with telltale marks on his body.  Washim Raja One of the best dancers of the festival was Washim Raja, disciple of Guru Vanashree Rao. His performance was noteworthy for its vivacious quality, vibrancy, rhythmic accuracy and dramatic ability. The Oothukaadu composition featured the tussle between Lord Krishna and serpent Kaliya. Washim was so involved in his performance, that he slipped and fell but rose within seconds to the delight of the audience, which also proves his commitment to the dance form. Washim also performed another Annamacharya Kriti "Deva Deva Bhaje" in praise of Lord Rama. Washim has a bright future as a fine classical dancer.  Avenav Mukherjee Another male dancer who created a fine impression with his sparkling performance was Avenav Mukherjee, disciple of Guru Gitanjali Lal. Avenav commenced with invocation to Lord Shiva in "Damaru har har baje". Besides the excellence in rhythmic footwork, Avenav interpreted another monsoon number with "Garaj garaj aaj megh" that symbolised the joyous dance of Radha and Krishna during the rainy season. Avenav received fine musical support from Rohit Deo on tabla, Yash Kulkarni on vocal, Zuber Shaikh on sitar and Anaya on padant.  Rudraprasad Swain and Ananya Parida The last and the only duo to perform Odissi was Rudraprasad Swain and Ananya Parida, disciple of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan and Guru Aruna Mohanty. It was a fine spectacle to watch the combination of Purusha and Prakriti, performance that projected both sensuousness and sensitivity as the duo complimented and supplemented each other with well synchronised and harmonious movements that created a spell on the audience. The first number was Namah Shivaya that portrayed the Ardhanarishwar concept and the combination of both masculine and feminine energy and vitality. They concluded their brief performance with the ashtapadi "Kshana madhura" depicting the love relationship between Radha and Krishna. On the whole it was a fine festival of wonderful performers.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
