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 Kalashram's 'Vasantotsav': A tribute to Pt. Birju Maharaj - Manjari Sinha e-mail: manjari@sinha.com Photos: Sangeeta Das Banerjee February 13, 2025 The Birth Anniversary of Late Pt. Birju Maharaj, the legendary icon of Kathak, coincides with Vasant Panchami and Saraswati Puja, the auspicious day when Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom, the deity of dance, music and learning is invoked. Kalashram, the art institution founded by Pt. Birju Maharaj celebrates it as 'Vasantotsav', the spring festival with colourful music and dance presentations as a tribute to the great Guru. This year 'Vasantotsav 2025' was celebrated on the 3rd and 4th of February with Kalashram's usual fanfare at the Kamani Auditorium, Delhi. The nostalgic voice of Maharaj singing Guru Vandana written and composed in raag Gorakh Kalyan by himself, got many eyes moist when it was played in the background of the 'Deep Prajjwalan', the lighting of the ceremonial lamp. Dignitaries including Pt. Sajan Mishra, Manjushri Chatterjee, the seniormost disciple of Pt. Shambhu Maharaj, and Yogendra Narayan, an old friend of Pt. Birju Maharaj and formal Secretary, Culture, UP Govt, who organised the financial support for this year's Vasantotsav as mentioned by Saswati Sen, director, Kalashram, in her welcome address, performed the lamp lighting ceremony. 'Pt. Birju Maharaj Award' instituted by Kalashram in memory of the maestro, was conferred this year upon Asha Bhonsle, after Ud. Zakir Hussain last year. The video clips of the Award function held in Mumbai were screened along with Asha Bhonsle's warm remembrance of Pt. Birju Maharaj.  Malini Awasthi The festival commenced with a vivacious vocal recital by Malini Awasthi, offering special gems of Thumri, Dadra, Hori et al as her 'Haziri' (tribute). Remembering Maharaj as a Guru and herself as an Eklavya, she opened her offering with a 'Bol Banaav' ki Thumri in Khamaj set to slow Deepchandi Theka, emoting the sahitya in umpteen ways. Mentioning the customary practice of Hori singing starting on Vasant Panchami, she presented a traditional Hori Thumri in raga Khambhavati, "Hori khelo mose Nandalala" as an auspicious 'Shagun'. A Dadra in raga Kaushik Dhwani, "Bahiyaan Chhodo na....", came next, before the Nirat Bhav ki Hori, "Kanhaiya ghar chalo guiyaan aaj khelen Hori". Accompanied by the sensitive Sangat by Pt. Dharmnath Mishra on harmonium, Kamal Ahmed on sarangi and Shubh Maharaj on tabla, she was in her elements while concluding with a bouquet of colourful compositions on the theme of Holi, the festival of colours, such as "Udat abir gulal lali chhai hai", "Aaj biraj mein Hori re rasiya" and the like.  Shovana Narayan Kathak solo by Shovana Narayan, the seniormost disciple of Maharaj, came next with his rare and exquisite compositions followed by an excerpt from her full-time ballet Yashodhara, written by Maithili Sharan Gupta where Siddharth after leaving in search of eternal truth comes back as a Bhikshuk (beggar) and his wife Yashodhara makes the greatest sacrifice by offering him their son Rahul in Bhiksha. The concept of her mother, the Late Lalita Narayan, was augmented with live music provided by Madho Prasad (son of the original composer Jwala Prasad) on vocals, Shakil Ahmed on table, padhant by Pallavi, and Azhar Shakil on violin.  Mayuri by Vaswati Mishra's group 'Mayuri,' a brilliant group dance production of Vaswati Mishra and her Dhwani ensemble, was an admirable presentation of the inaugural evening, where the poetry of Harivansh Rai Bachchan was imaginatively composed and sung by the late versatile vocalist Shanti Sharma in appropriate ragas/talas beautifully choreographed by Vaswati, and presented by her seasoned dancers draped in aesthetically appealing costumes.  Mamta Maharaj  Ipsita Mishra Solo by Mamta Maharaj reached the inaugural evening to its climax. Her 'Thaat' in Vilambit Teentaal with controlled body movements and the flick of the eyebrows to show the lightning 'Sam', set the pace of her artistry from the very beginning. Kathak solo by Ipsita Mishra before her was an assurance about the next generation of the Kalka Bindadin family legacy. The talented daughter of Vaswati and Pt. Krishna Mohan Mishra, Ipsita has got solid talim and has matched it with rigorous riyaaz was evident from her nritta, the technical aspect of Kathak, when she presented rare compositions in the challenging time cycle of seven and half matras. Her abhinaya was equally captivating portraying a Vasakasajja, Mugdha and Khandita Nayika in Thumri Kafi set to Addha Theka of Teentaal.  Maitreyi Pahadi's group  Malti Shyam's group Kabira, a group choreography presented by Maitreyi Pahadi using Chhau, Kathak and contemporary idioms provided a different savouring and flavour to the conventional menu. Traditional Kathak presentations continued with a brilliant solo by Malti Shyam depicting the Vasant Ritu in raga Vasant opening with a melodious aalap on sitar. This was followed by a Trivat in Bhupali along with her chiseled disciples. The Dhrupad 'Hari-Hara' on the contrasting theme of Vishnu and Shiva presented by the Rasika Performing Arts of Jayashree Acharya, was based on a composition of Baiju Bawra in raga Malkauns, "Vanshi Dhara / Trishul Dhara" set to Chautal of 12 beats time cycle. This was presented by Jayashree Acharya and Elisha invoking both deities by elaborating on their contrasting attributes.  Malti Shyam  Hari Hara Day two of the Vasantotsav had a special afternoon session dedicated to the Late Ustad Zakir Hussain with a Taal-Vadya Ensemble conducted by Ud. Akram Khan. It comprised Ud. Akram Khan on tabla, Ghazi Khan on khadtaal, Firoz Khan on dholak and Shashikant Pathak on pakhawaj. The evening session opened with a Hindustani vocal duet by Pt. Sajan Mishra and his gifted son and disciple Swaransh Mishra. Opening with the timely raga Madhuwanti, they presented a Bada Khayal, a Chhota and a Tarana in slow and medium tempos of Ektala and Teentala respectively. Tarana normally uses meaningless sounds/alphabets like Ta na de re na, Tanum Dredani etc but this Madhuvanti Tarana had a meaningful couplet too in the Antara, the second half of the Tarana composition. Their next presentation in raga Vasant was an appropriate contrast and the most apt selection for the Vasantotsav, the festival of spring. Here came a welcome surprise when Saswati Sen invited by Pt. Sajan Mishra joined them with an impromptu performance dancing to their composition of raga Vasant set to Drut Ektala. The duo concluded their performance with a Ghazal which was again a surprise! They were ably accompanied by Pt. Dharmnath Mishra on harmonium and Abhishek Mishra on tabla.  Saswati Sen performs to Pt. Sajan Mishra's music  Pt. Krishna Mohan Maharaj's group The dances this evening opened with 'Devi Aradhana', a group performance by Sujata Bannerjee from Kolkata. This invocation to Devi, the supreme cosmic energy, was based on Shankaracharya's Devi Stuti "Ayi Giri-Nandini..." with the musical score of Chandrachud Bhattacharya. Pt. Krishna Mohan Maharaj presented "Ithlati balkhati chamkat hain daminiyaan", a music composition of Pt. Birju Maharaj in raga Miyan Malhar set to Drut Ektaal, as a group choreography danced by his students. The use of chakkars (pirouettes) with the taans was remarkable in his choreography.  Jaikishan Maharaj's group 'Virasat' by students of Jaikishan Maharaj was a beautiful presentation. Opening with Omkar and Guru Vandana, this group presentation incorporated all the technical repertoire of nritta in Teentaal from Thaat, Amad, Tode Tukde, Paran to Gat Nikas and Tatkar most delicately and with aplomb. Ragini and Yashaswini danced as a duo and impressed the discerning audiences with their technical command. From the opening footwork Chalan to Tode Tukde, Paran-Amad, Pramelu to Chakkardar Tihais there was no end to their exquisite offerings reciprocating each other.  Ragini and Yashaswini After this traditional Kathak at its best, Shinjini Kulkarni offered a thematic presentation of philosophical ideas. Opening with an aalap in raga Kedar, Shinjini maneuvering in between a net suspended on the stage, emoted to the Doha "Kasturi kundal base/ Mrig dhundhe ban maanhi". Her leaping steps as a deer and Vachik Abhinaya attracted the audience for a while, but her presentation became too long hence repetitive. The edited version may appeal to the audience better.  Shinjini Kulkarni Solo Kathak by Deepak Maharaj, the youngest son of Pt. Birju Maharaj, was the concluding item of the two-day Vasantotsav. Opening with crisp footwork with a variety of Chalans, he established his credentials as a master of rhythm before he presented the choicest gems of his Guru and father Pt. Birju Maharaj. He also danced the 'Mayur Gat' on public demand and concluded with the 'Khade Pair Ka 'Na Dhin Dhin Na', Maharaj ji was known for. Deepak is also a good singer who often provided vocal support to his Late Guru. He should have sung and presented a Thumri for abhinaya towards the end. Saswati Sen deserves kudos for organising the Vasantotsav with such dedication and perseverance year after year against all odds.  Manjari Sinha is a musicologist and an acclaimed classical music and dance critic. She has an MA in Sanskrit from Allahabad University, MA in Music from Vikram University, Ujjain; Sangeet Prabhakar in Hindustani Vocal, Tabla, Sitar and Kathak dance from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad; and further training in Sitar under Guru Pt. Arvind Parikh in the lineage of Ustad Vilayat Khan. She has authored a book on Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, commissioned & published by Roli Books. She has contributed the chapter on Kathak for 'Indian Dance: the Ultimate Metaphor'. Her articles in English and Hindi on Music, Dance, Art & Culture are regularly showcased in a variety of leading journals and periodicals. |
