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 Making a mark - Ranee Kumar e-mail: Ranee@journalist.com Photos: Sanjit Debroy December 18, 2024 Up and coming dancers showcased their individual talent and group dynamics under the aegis of Manasija in a one-day fiesta, Samasrava 2024 that had all the trappings of an organised dance festival - professional compering by the inimitable Sadhana Srivastav, the Samasrava lifetime achievement awards to two veterans in dance teaching and dance photography, viz Kamalini Nagarajan Dutt and Avinash Pasricha. The who's who of Delhi's dancers were all there to bless and be felicitated by the younger lot.  The awardees Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak presented in solo and group by Arunima Ghosh and pupils, Arohi Munshi, Vinod Kevin Bachan and Diksha Rawat gave ample scope to a critic to analyse the present day trends in dance and the direction classical dances are taking. Arunima chose the regular repertoire of Odissi with her four pupils but she had something innovative to offer within this known template. The very first Jagannath salutation was proof of the pudding. Where most dancers portray and mime the lord of Puri, Arunima Ghosh took a step forward and depicted the three deities as manifest in the sanctum of the Jagannath temple, namely Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannath. She artistically incorporated certain rituals of the temple known only to natives and this made all the difference to an otherwise common 'vandana'. Her talented pupils - Arushi Batham, Naina Madan, Anusuya Nath and Srishti Debroy were near perfect, be it in footwork patterns, stances or abhinaya. The youngest of the lot, Srishti displayed potential to come up as a dancer with innate grace, a sine qua non of Odissi.  Arunima Ghosh The 17th ashtapadi, Yahi Madhava, Yahi Keshava..., a solo by Arunima was worked out with utmost sensitivity in detailing the diverse emotions of the disturbed nayika Radha dwelling on the mood unhurriedly so that the entire depth of the ashtapadi touches the audience. Arunima's virtuosity was commendable as she meandered through the song, at times miming to sheer music sans words, at times just facial expressions and at times through body kinetics. One little suggestion cannot be out of place at this juncture - the dancer should take greater care with her facial make-up which was rather simplistic. For the audience to catch the eye expression of the dancer, or any other facial moves, bold make-up is mandatory going by stage show and distance of the viewers. The final group dance was an energetic, crisp and well-patterned footwork to syllables one appropriately placed after a languorous ashtapadi.  Manasija group Vinod Kevin Bachan, by now popular pupil of Ranjana Gauhar, has established his unique style in Odissi. He took up his guru's choreography Bhumi Suta - the story of Sita that scales the entire Ramayana. Actually, Valmiki the great sage who penned this epic, named it aptly as Sita Charitam with sub-title of Paulastya Vada. To lilting music which was the highlight of this solo dance narrative (eka patra abhinaya), Kevin depicts Sita's process of growing up from a child to an adolescent and finally to a woman drawing a picturesque parallel with the blossoming of a flower since Sita was born out of earth. There was never a drab or dull moment - the dancer was able to carry us along the lengthy epic from start to finish single-handedly. The 21st century interpretation and characterisation of Sita through English voice-over did not strike a discordant note; rather it helped the present-day youngsters to appreciate the protagonist placed in Treta Yug with more empathy and understanding. To Kevin's credit it must be said that despite the female centric theme, he didn't allow effeminate body movements to dominate his dance; whatever femineity had to be shown was optimal and controlled.  Vinod Kevin Bachan  Arohi Munshi Bharatanatyam followed the opening Odissi and this was a solo performance by Arohi Munshi. She took up the melodic, flowing Neelambari to depict the goddess through Sringara Lahiri... The opening notes of the flute to this mesmerising raga evoked an expectancy in the audience that felt let down within 15 minutes of the dance per se. Despite her perfect nritya to taal and song, Arohi failed to evoke any emotive response either in herself or in her viewers. Grace and fluidity were wanting, and abhinaya to such a beautiful song was a bit plastered. Araimandi at all points went missing too. Abhinaya to the sangathis of the Pallavi lines was repetitive. Her Krishna nee begane baaro... salvaged this solo dance as Arohi was able to emote with more life the crawling, toddler child Krsna as well as the indulgent mother Yashoda.  Diksha Rawat Diksha Rawat could have been featured in the beginning going by her vibrant Kathak. She was a surprise package for those who had not seen her often. Her guru Uma Dogra's explicit style and perfection has influenced her in all aspects. From ahaarya to footwork to graceful movements and fetching abhinaya, she had it all. The double shade blue-violet costume with a dark violet dupatta set the stage for a captivating performance. Her gliding movements, chakkars and energetic footwork to Taal paksh were riveting. Though this was the last dance presentation of the evening, Diksha held her audience to their seats by sheer talent. The Thumri Dagar beech kaise chaloon... was explored to its artistic best depicting a coy Radha pleading with the mischievous Krsna who stalks her way. The emotions of love, hesitancy, bashfulness, mock anger, plea flowed vividly through the dancer as the song unfolded itself. By and large, kudos to these young artistes who are able to organise festivals, walking alongside their teachers with due respect to the gurus who stand one generation ahead of them.  Ranee Kumar is a journalist who brings in three decades of hard core journalistic experience with mainstream papers like the Indian Express and The Hindu to arts reporting. Her novel 'Song of Silence' and guest editing of attenDance widen her horizon. |
