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 Nakshatra Festival: A quest through two diverse dance forms - Dr. Lata Surendra e-mail: latasurendra@hotmail.com Photos: Narendra Dangiya November 25, 2024 The National Centre for Performing Arts celebrated the potency of two styles under the Nakshatra Festival - PRAVAHATI: The force forward - Bharatanatyam by Geeta Chandran and Natya Vriksha Dance Collective and ATAH KIM - Kathak by Kumudini Lakhia's Kadamb Centre for Dance. The outcome of the visual treat awaiting spectators with the names of two legendary Gurus associated with the NAKSHATRA FESTIVAL had all roads lead to the NCPA, Mumbai. One could sense the anticipation in the arty crowd at NCPA with Kathak and Bharatanatyam mentors and students galore from various institutions of the city. Bharatanatyam opened the evening with 'Pravahati-the force forward' by Geeta Chandran, an artiste with multiple definitions to her name. A highly accomplished dance guru, scholar, choreographer, media personality and Carnatic vocalist, she has been honoured with the Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Tagore National Fellowship and Nritya Choodamani by the Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. Pravahati was an interesting exploration of time and space and it visually etched the meanings sieved from a five decade quest for perfection by the eminent artiste.  Natya Vriksha ensemble Pravahati seemed to urge all to have the focus shifted from the outside to within, with an accent on all that resonated as the timeless within for the dancer on stage. The very first opening seemed to initiate viewers to a journey from the outside to within where meanings transformed as a visual prayer and the journey was all about moving forward with an accent within. The often performed Mallari by most Bharatanatyam exponents, culled from the rituals observed in South India, transformed from mere patterns of nrithya in thrikalam to meanings within the soul-scape of the dancer. Dedicated to the Lord of Chidambaram, it had us journey with the dancer into the landscapes that had stirred her through the years! The Mallari, a composition of Sembonaar Kovil S R D Vaidyanathan, with music assisted by Aruna Sairam, Karaikudi Sivakumar and Sudha Raghuraman, was a transformative experience indeed. It was as though the dancer was urging all rasikas to feel as she did, to see through her eyes, to feel with her heart, all that had inspired her, if only to experience her own blissfulness that she visually etched through her dance and choreography. It was as though she sought to highlight that to gather momentum for our exploring ahead, we need to arrive where we started and know the place always with the blissful experience we had gathered for the first time. There she was on stage, an enlightened spiritual guide leading through the symmetry of structured movements and showcasing the Chidambaram she passionately loved with temple spires, ritual chants consecrating the Lord and to have all hearts resonate with shivanubhuti and consecrate the Lord in the chidaakasam - 'the sky of consciousness' of their very heart. The lights by Sharad Kulshreshtha, costumes by Sandhya Raman induced a surrealistic impact. 'Varsha' the next piece had execution complimenting the imagination of the choreographer / dancer. Monsoon was celebrated with verses from Ritusamhara of Mahakavi Kalidasa. The fluid imagery of Kalidasa as we all know leaves nothing unsaid as his verses visually paint with words, a canvas of monsoon with dual shades of Nature interconnecting and affecting the human psyche. 'सशीरकाम्भोधरमत्तकुञ्जरस् तटित्पताकोऽशनिशब्दमर्दलः। With clouds moving like wild elephants, flashes of lightning as flags, thunder as drums - the groom Varsha arrives to woo the earth, a young bride shrouded in green. The choreography with peacocks dancing the dance of love was a visual delight with all senses engulfed in a splendorous celebration of the joyful downpour. The music composition by Dr Vasanti Krishna Rao, nattuvangam by Geeta Chandran, vocal once again by Sudha Raghuraman and the eloquent mridangam by R Sriganesh, the enticing flute by G Raghuraman complimented the pristine simplistic choreography with its intent to arouse with harmony, rather than any kind of distracting kinesthetic jugglery! It set the precedence for emphasizing the duality of Varsha with the floods and serpentine rivers threatening lives and not without its advantages as was interpreted in the ensuing canvas by the imaginative choreographer wherein the thunderous orchestration depicted a terrified beloved seeking once again the comforting orb of her beloved's arms, thus ending a lover's tiff!  Geeta Chandran The artiste came into her own - 'there and not there' shrouded in oneness in her very soulful interpretation of "Krishna Nee Begane Baaro" interpreted in three variations: first as Yashoda calling baby Krishna, then as a nayika in love with Krishna beckoning him, and finally as the bhakta beseeching Krishna to deliver him from the bhavasagara of life. The item was the piece de resistance that hauntingly lingered on, in spite of the visually impacting 'Omkara karini' with the duality of the Goddess imaginatively created and executed - a composition of M. Balamurali Krishna in the haunting raga melody of Lavangi. The concluding Tillana in Rageshwari set to adi talam, a composition of the renowned violin maestro Lalgudi G. Jayaraman had Pravahati set the force forward to the exploring that continued with energetic, talented disciples of the veteran Guru Kumudini Lakhia, the founder of Kadamb. Disciples of Geeta Chandran who performed were Divya Saluja, Anjana Seshadri, Gayatri Suresh, Amrithasruthi Radhakrishnan, Madhura Bhrushundi, Sowmya Narayanan, Anandita Narayanan, Yadavi Shakdher Menon and Devikaa Rajaraman. ATAH KIM by Kumudini Lakhia's Kadamb Centre for Dance Legendary veteran that she is, Kumudini Lakhia is known for her unparalleled technical expertise and innovative artistry. Having dedicated more than seven decades to her art - training, teaching and creating, Lakhia has been conferred the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, among others. Atah Kim sought to understand the flight into the future through the wisdom gathered from learned gurus from the past and to awaken to the strong foundation they had left behind.  Kadamb ensemble Tiguna Thirkita set to teentaal was impacting in its opening against a splendorous greyscape background with a triple bar in saffron endorsing a higher level metalogical notion of logical equivalence. The bols slowly unfolded to the impeccable footwork that resounded with clarity and the variations within the cycle flowed, balancing male and female energies in equivalence. The style that is at once traditional and futuristic impacted with its pounding dynamics. One knows Kumudini Lakhia as an Indian choreographer who has preserved Kathak technique, with its emphasis on vigorous rhythmic footwork, while using it in her own new ways to create a meaningful spectrum. In her own words, "Every day, the empty space confronts me, but instead of void, I see potential energy waiting to take shape - forms drawn from my life, patterns deeply connected to me. As bodies expand, space becomes flexible, creating a new dialogue between time and space." This ever-evolving search for dance within the body as an experimental process was visible in physical energies unfolding a visual poetry taking shape before us and it seemed natural to expect a progress with a question - what next? Samanvay in raga Mishr Khamaj that followed was a multiple body choreography wherein the dancers created abstract designs within the given technique complimenting each other's presence. One saw several patterns to the melodious music ultimately forming a straight line with footwork gathering momentum meriting that predictable applause from spectators. The padhant that followed with a wordless story in teental portrayed a mugdha nayika and her dilemma between choosing a suitable Nayaka. It left a little dilemma in the minds of onlookers too. Perhaps the silent eloquence of dance did not seep through at its start to impact with the purpose very clearly because again the attention was diverted to recitation of the percussion and 'Nritta Bols' intertwined with tabla and pakhawaj bols/syllables and the two male energies vying for the attention until a foursome resolved it all. Life ultimately resolves itself in equivalence.  Kadamb ensemble I marveled at the choreographic vision of one who set a trend for a futuristic choreography grounded in tradition that as the legend herself smilingly talks of as the 'Ahmedabad Bani'. All the dancers came into their element in the finale - a Tarana with a celebration of energies, wherein the dancers harmoniously weaved patterns in space coming together with a crescendo that celebrated the richness of dance based on raga Darbari, set to teentaal. Music credits go to Late Atul Desai, Madhup Mudgal and Mohit Gangani. The performers were Rupanshi Kashyap, Mitali Dhruva, Mukesh Gangani, Abhishek Khinchi, Vaishnavi Vakil, Parita Patel, Yagnaja Pandya, Natasha Parekh, Dhara Vanera, and Divija Parekh. The evening had all the stars converge gathered around the stars on stage and the little Nakshatras - the outreach students, starry eyed at the starry spectacle that seemed to have them see stars as they reached out in lines to the ordained destination. Once again, kudos to NCPA and Prog Head Dance, Dr Swapnokalpa Dasgupta. Festivals celebrate the art, the artiste and at the same time transforms the rasikas to a sahrdaya with a discerning eye and a sensitive heart for the art!  Dr. Lata Surendra is a performer, mentor, an imaginative choreographer, a sought after curator, a dance journalist, a committed independent researcher, a sensitive poet and in the field of dance for over six decades. |
