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 11th Girnar Festival of Music and Dance - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com February 16, 2025 Patel Cultural Foundation (Mumbai) with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, organised the 11th Girnar Festival of classical music and dance, for five days from 10th to 14th January 2025 at the Shree Bhutnath Temple Satsang Hall, near Bahuddin College in Junagadh (Gujarat). The festival witnessed the participation of several performers from various parts of the country. While most of the performances were really good, some were brilliant and the highlight presentations were the combination of different dance styles in the duo performances that aroused lot of interest and appeal amidst the audience. The festival commenced with the commendable Dhrupad vocal recital by Dhani Gundecha and the first dancer of the festival was Sanika Shinde, disciple of Dr Sandhya Purecha. Blessed with a striking stage presence, Sanika commenced her brief performance with Nataraja Kautuvam, followed with the vivid interpretation of Adi Shankaracharys's Panchaakshara Shlokam "Na Ma Shi Va Ya" portraying the varied facets and glory of Lord Maheswara. Sanika concluded with Vallabhacharya's Madurashtakam that describes the complete personality of Lord Krishna with an aesthetic perspective as the Lord suffused with sweetness. Sanika is a brilliant dancer with fine control over intricate movements and natural command over expressions. Elegantly attired Kathak dancer Ananya Govitrikar from Thane, danced with two disciples Priya Samarth and Vishakha Aswathi with professional ease and poise, revealing their command over layakari and teyyari. To perform Kathak with recorded music is not easy but it was sheer pleasure to watch the trio dancing, while executing Taal Rupak with rhythmic accuracy and proficiency. They concluded with the expressional number on Lord Krishna, his romance and love for Radha and the Gopis in the number "Mero man lage Krishna Gopal" sung and composed by Shreyas Govitrikar.  Rishikesh Pohankar & Pooja Hirwade The Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi duet by Pooja Hirwade and Rishikesh Pohankar from Nagpur, created a fine impression, as both of them performed well, blending well with supplementary and complimentary movements. Portraying Adi Shankaracharya's version of Ardhanarishwaram, they projected the masculine and feminine qualities of both Shiva and Shakti, thereby promoting concepts of gender equality and spiritual completeness. The second day of the festival commenced with the elegant Odissi recital by Pracheeti Dange from Pune, along with two of her disciples, interpreting the Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu with the demonstration of various avataras. While the dramatic aspect was pleasing, one could expect a better performance in terms of the execution of the stylized movements. The Bharatanatyam duet by Guru Santanu Chakraborty and his disciple Parineet Kaur from New Delhi was pleasing in certain aspects. They performed two numbers in praise of Lord Shiva, Bho Shambho and Adi Shankaracharya's Panchaakshara Shloka. The duo concluded with the Hindolam Thillana. Guru Jaimin Kanan and his disciples from Surat performed two Bharatanatyam numbers. The first was an interesting item in which the devotee narrates his interesting experience of witnessing the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, "Kanden naan Natarajanai". The vibrant movements and the excitement of the devotee was well portrayed. The second number was the display of the Dashavataram, which needed better synchronisation, hence did not create the proper impact. Sanchita Shenoy is a brilliant dancer and the disciple of the dynamic dancers from Bangalore, Nirupama and Rajendra. Sanchita was the only dancer to perform Bharata Nrityam. She commenced her performance with Ganesha Pancharata, followed by "Omkara pranava roopa" that highlights the significance of Omkara swaroopa. Sanchita dances with complete involvement, revealing her command over expressions and the varied "nritta karanas". The finale number was an interesting and unusual Vasant Thillana that associates the beauty of the flowers like Ashoka or Champa with the varied qualities of beautiful women. While the musical score was by Praveen D Rao, the choreography of this number was by Nirupama Rajendra.  Sanchita Shenoy  Chethana Acclaimed Kathak dancers from Bangalore, Hari and Chethana, were to perform together but Hari unfortunately could not make it. However, Chethana with her dynamic portrayal took the performance to the sublime level. Purvaranga, sacred ritual from the Natyasastra, symbolizes the cleansing of the stage. This ceremony invokes the Ashtadikpalas - Lord Indra, Agni, Yama, Nairuta, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera and Ishana - to eliminate obstacles and sanctify the performance stage, hence the dancer appeared on the stage with a pot of water, sprinkling droplets of water with mango leaves, followed with a rhythmic jugalbandi dialogue between the dancer and tabla maestro which was electrifying showcasing powerful command over rhythmic and intricate footwork. Lastly, Chethana concluded with Shivanjali, an ode to Lord Shiva, the cosmic dancer whose Tandava embodies creation, preservation and dissolution. His third eye represents the supreme perception, while his consort Parvati, balances his dynamic energy. Devotees seek Shiva's blessings for spiritual growth and liberation. Hence, witnessing her performance took the audience to a higher level of supreme consciousness, as the dancer interpreted a beautiful composition in praise of both Shiva and the power of the goddess, choreographed immaculately by Hari. The lone Mohiniattam performance was rendered by Kalamandalam Sreeja Krishnan from Chennai. Sreeja performed an extract from Narayana Bhattathripad's Narayaneeyam that portrayed varied facets in the life of Lord Krishna; instances like Gajendra Moksham when the Lord appears to save the elephant from the clutches of the crocodile and as Narasimha Avatara, when young Prahalada seeks for divine intervention, dramatised by powerful abhinaya. Sreeja is a fine Mohiniattam dancer with elegant movements. The last number of the evening by Sreeja was the popular lullaby "Omana thingal kidavo," a composition by Irayimman Thampi, sung well by her husband. Veteran Kathak dancer Sushmita Bannerjee from Kolkata performed a duet with her disciple Sangita Sarkar. The duo commenced the performance with the beautiful composition in praise of the Lord "Shankar ati prachand, Nachat damaru baje" (Powerful Lord Shiva dances with the pulsating damaru). Besides the intricate rhythmic patterns, the duo concluded their performance with the popular Bhajan by Pt Bhimsen Joshi, "Baje Muraliya" in praise of Lord Krishna, enhancing the spiritual fervour amidst the audience.  Avijit Kundu & Soumya Sharma Bharatanatyam duet by Avijit Kundu and Soumya Sharma from Bangalore, commenced with invocations to Lord Ganesha and followed with the dramatic presentation of 'Panchali Sapatham' that succeeded in depicting the plight and agony of Draupadi in a civilised manner. Instead of the normal disrobing act, drapes of cloth were removed in a different sphere to create the dramatic impact. Thereafter 'angavastram' is placed on Draupadi by Lord Krishna as he makes a sudden appearance. Both Avijit and Soumya proved a fine couple with clarity of movements and intense expressions. The second last day commenced with the graceful Odissi recital by Sarita Panda group. The solo recital of Durga Tandav by Sarita was powerful and impactful. Her expressive eyes brought Goddess Ambe mata to life, evoking awe and reverence. With a sudden shift to a bright smile and a seamless transition through anger and emotions, she concluded her energetic performance beautifully showcasing the choreography of Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda. Set to the majestic Patdeep raga and intricate triputa and eka tali talas, this composition was impressive. This was followed by Sattriya dance by Dilip Bhuyan group from Jorhat (Assam) that was quite pleasing.  Sarita Panda  Rekha Madkaikar Accomplished Kathak exponent and mentor from Goa, Rekha Madkaikar enthralled the audience with her immaculate performance. She commenced with an extract from Skanda Purana, Guru Geeta Vandana that captured the significance of Guru Vakyam, Dhyana Moolam and Mantra Moksham making a fine mystical start to her performance. Rekha concluded her performance with a fine display of 12 matras in Chautaal to pakhawaj and Dhrupad gayaki and the Gujarati composition Omkara by Rajendra Shah. Her complete control of technique and stylistic quality was the highlight of her performance.  Varun Sharma & Perini Brothers One of the highlight performances of the festival was the jugalbandi with Kuchipudi and Perini Natyam by Varun Sharma and Perini Brothers from Hyderabad. Perini Natyam is an ancient vibrant and fast rhythmic dance of Andhra Pradesh dedicated to Lord Shiva, pertaining to the Kakatiya dynasty of the sixteenth century, revived by the veteran mentor Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna. While Varun thrilled the audience with expressive eyes and rhythmic execution on the rim of the brass plate, Sai and Santhosh, popularly known as Perini brothers, thrilled the audience with their vibrant and vivacious performance.  Sujata Ramanathan & Pallavi Raisurana The grand finale day featured some dynamic performers like the duet by Sujata Ramanathan in Bharatanatyam and Kathak by Pallavi Raisurana. Both Bharatanatyam and Kathak are technically quite different. While the former is more known for its geometrical movements, the focus on the latter is on circular movements and intricate footwork. It was quite enjoyable to watch the duo portraying "Surya". The powerful rays of the sun and the light within each one of us was the thematic expression, blending well with powerful and striking movements, forming a fine synthesis of music, significance, harmony and synchronisation with two distinct classical dance styles. Powerful vocal rendering of the Sanskrit shlokas by Sudha Raghuraman describing Lord Surya and percussion magical rhythm by Satish Krishnamurthy, made the performance a fine combination of both substance and structure. Besides the pleasing Odissi by Kala Vikas Kendra from Cuttack, another Odissi duet was rendered by Apoorva and Garima, the disciples of Madhumita Raut, daughter and disciple of Guru Mayadhar Raut. The duo performed Dayanand Saraswati composition "Bho Shambho" and Pallavi in raag Bairav. More concern could be given towards the finer aspects of dancing. The last performance of the festival was the rhythmic Kathak by Guru Sunila Potdar and disciples from Dombivali. While the group revealed their fine team spirit, it was disappointing to see Sunila Potdar dancing without the ghungroos (dancing bells), hence the desired impact could not be created. While the soul of the festival is MK Patel, the core members of the organising committee are Kishorbhai Chavda, Shailesh Pandya, Rajay Thakar, Vinubhai Patel, and compere Rajesh Sonpal. On the whole, it is a fine festival mainly to encourage young talent.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
