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 Lalit Arpan Festival and Varsha - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com November 6, 2024 Asavari Centre for Kathak presented the 23rd edition of Lalit Arpan Festival on 14 and 15th October at Stein auditorium, India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The Lalit Arpan festival promotes young artistes and presents established performers too. Asavari was established by Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan with the spiritual guidance from her mother Lalita Narayan, veteran singer Naina Devi, percussion maestro Ustad Shafaat Ahmed Khan, singer and lawyer Ranjana Narayan and philosopher Dr Ramchandra Gandhi.  Shovana Narayan, Gopika Varma and Sharon Lowen The highlight of the festival was the thematic presentation "Stree Spandana" incorporating Kunti, Draupadi and Gandhari in three distinct styles, namely Kathak, Mohiniattam and Odissi and performed by Shovana Narayan, Gopika Varma and Sharon Lowen respectively. Kunti, the queen of Kuru is the wife of Pandu and the mother of Karna, Yudhishtra, Bhima and Arjuna. She is a mild mannered woman with high moral and social values. Known for her beauty, intelligence and shrewdness, Kunti is venerated as one the Pancha Kanyas (five maidens), embodying ideals of female chastity and dutiful womanhood. Kunti was adopted by her childless uncle Kuntibhoja, hence the name Kunti. Kunti was blessed by sage Durvasa with a divine mantra, hence she derived a child from Surya who was named Karna but had to relinquish him due to certain inevitable reasons. Shovana did complete justice to her performance with the emotional plight, distress and helplessness of the situation. In spite of having five husbands, its only her "Sakha" Krishna who could protect her chastity when Draupadi was disrobed. Draupadi had taken a vow that she would tie her hair, only after it was smeared with the blood of Dushasana. Gopika succeeded in revealing the emotional plight with her striking netra and angika abhinaya. Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara was married to the blind king Dhritharashtra, hence blindfolded herself, refusing to see anything which her husband could not see. Her restlessness and her devotion to her husband was well interpreted by the veteran Odissi dancer Sharon Lowen. On seeing the dead bodies of their beloved ones at the battlefield, each one justifies the actions to themselves. Would they have acted differently? Were they winners or losers? Ultimately "Stree Spandana" reflects on unchanging experiences and circumstances surrounding women through the ages and the emotions and emotional responses. It was amazing to see all the three accomplished dancers on the same platform with such emotional intensity.   The second day featured young Kathak dancers in the programme "Sapaad Pancha" featuring Pallavi Lohani, Komal Biswas, Suparna Singh, Mahia Satsagi, Anil Kumar, Asish Kathak, Vishal Chauhan and Mayank Gangani. The group presentation was noteworthy for its technical and rhythmical quality. Solo Kathak performance by Praveen Parihar was pleasing.  Praveen Parihar  Rama Vaidyanathan The grand finale performance in the Bharatanatyam style was rendered by dancer Rama Vaidyanathan. Rama presented two unusual, unique and thought provoking compositions, namely Ratna Garba pertaining to pregnant earth and Chandalika concerning the tantric goddess Chandalika. Ratna Garba is the forest plant who is the protagonist that produces the seed, hence it's a process of evolution, creation and conservation where the plant is an "aushadi" for the well-being of humanity. Pertaining to the Harappan civilization, this presentation with powerful vocal support by Sudha Raghuraman, blending well with striking and creative movements created an indelible impression on the audience. Goddess Chandalini was particularly noteworthy for her rustic quality who would love to consume leftovers of her devotees, hence was known as "Uchisthte Chandalini". Asavari Centre organizes the Lalit Arpan Festival, Vividh Mat Festival, Rhythm and Joy Festival in the month of May, and the Continuing Tradition Festival with the support and encouragement of several well-wishers of Asavari. Kudos to Shovana Narayana for organising a programme with such a magnitude of both structure and content. VARSHA - HARVEST OF LOST DREAMS On the occasion of the 75th birth anniversary of the legendary Pandit Durgalal of the Jaipur Gharana of Kathak dance, veteran Kathak dancer Uma Dogra's Sam Ved Society of Performing Arts presented Varsha - Harvest of Lost Dreams, a thematic presentation in the Bharatanatyam style by Vaibhav Arekar at Veer Savarkar auditorium, Mumbai, on 24th September. Varsha portrays the story of the farmer with the relation to rains as he is at the mercy of nature without which he cannot survive, nor can he conduct the harvest. The "ekaharya" presentation succeeded in presenting the stark truth of life and how the farmer is at the mercy of the rains.  Vaibhav Arekar The dancer made the "pravesham" with the typical movements of how the land is ploughed and the sowing of the seeds. After that the farmer eagerly waits for the seeds to emerge as plants and finally yield the results, which is possible only if there are sufficient rains at the right time. He waits endlessly but sometimes the rains do not come but what appears is the tears of the farmer. The performance was so touching that it created a lasting impression. We get food easily without realising the hardships the farmer has to go through to get a positive yield, which is a difficult task. Vaibhav used simple and striking movements and in order to show the plight and the emotional intensity of the farmer, he practically rolled on the stage, as the farmer is restless and anxiety troubles him. With amazing percussion inputs by Satish Krishnamurthy, Vaibhav moved according to the rhythm of music that was both catchy and vibrant too. Vaibhav was attired in ordinary dhoti with hardly any makeup or ornaments that suited the temperament and character of the ordinary man who is so vital for human sustenance and well-being. Script and music composition was by Karthik Hebbar, artistic direction and lights by Sushant Jadhav, percussion music design and composition by Satish Krishnamurthy, rhythmic inputs and jathis by Kalishwaran Pillai, lyrics of Meerabai, Sant Savta Mali, Perum Kausikanar, Kalidas, Subramania Bharati and Kartik Hebbar. Narration was by Niranjan Parandkar. Musical credits goes to - nattuvangam by Kalishwaran Pillai, vocal by Karthik Hebbar (commendable), mridangam, ghatam, ganjira and djembe by Satish Krishnamurthy, sitar by Eeshwar Rao, and violin by Manoj Arokia. Prior to the performance, veteran dancers and mentors discussed the significance of Guru-Sishya Parampara and the definition of the true guru and the present scenario of students.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
