Pune based Shubhatrayee Satwe performs in a Jammu School

December 26, 2025

For the last over three years, the residents in the northern outskirts of the city of Jammu have been relishing a regular dose of Indian classical music and dance, thanks to Sacred Heart Public School and its collaboration with Visakhapatnam-based Tarakeshwara Foundation. On 30th November, the School conducted its Annual Day function on its campus. It was a gala function, studded with dazzling performances by its students. The hallmark of the event was a scintillating Kathak dance by guest artiste, Shubhatrayee Satwe, from Pune.

Trained by her guru Rujuta Soman, Shubhatrayee is a Kathak Nritya Visharad from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Kathak from Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune. She has performed in numerous dance festivals and won several competitions organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Art of Living Foundation, Indian Railways and many other organizations. She has received the title of Nritya Pragya from The Art of Living International Centre, Bangalore.

Beginning her performance in an ethereal setting, Shubhatrayee presented an invocation to Lord Ganesha, praising his attributes. A naturally gifted artiste, with a tall and slender personality, she moved gracefully like a gazelle on the stage. Displaying the twin styles of the Lucknow gharana of Pt. Birju Maharaj and the Jaipur gharana of Bhanuji Maharaj and his descendants, she appeared to strike a perfect balance between the two relatively distinctive styles. The Lucknow gharana focuses on abhinaya (expressive storytelling) over nritta (pure dance), refined gestures and subtle footwork, while the Jaipur gharana emphasizes powerful, technical dance with intricate footwork (tatkaar), energetic spins (chakkars), and complex rhythmic patterns, focusing on nritta over abhinaya.

The mainstay of the recital was a four-and-a-half beat 'taal presentation.' Themed on monsoon drizzle, it involved uniquely challenging and intricate patterns of the two gharanas. It started with a Kavitta, announcing the arrival of early showers, with a signature tune composed by Kala Ramnath, running on flute in the background. Shubhatrayee introduced a novel idea to counter the shortcomings and challenges of the outdoor platforms. She had brought with her a custom-designed footboard for her onstage footwork. Made of wood, it proved its utility when every sound pattern emanating from her ghungroos came out perfectly clear. The taal presentation, conceptualized and choreographed by her guru, Rujuta Soman, had the rich embellishment of todes, parans and small tihais. It concluded with a complex but rhythmic tatkaar on a sankeerna jathi (a nine beat taal). The penultimate item was based on the story of Bhakta Prahalad and his father Hiranyakashypu and Lord Narasimha's extermination of the latter. The devotion of Bhakta Prahalad and the triumph of unshakable faith over ego was admirably enacted by the artiste through her remarkable abhinaya.

Finally, she presented a Khandachapu thillana, a unique confluence of Kathak and Carnatic music of the South. It interweaves pure elements of Kathak like parmelu (combination of Kathak bols and evocative sounds from ghungroos and/or nature), paran and kavitta (rhythmic poetry), creating a seamless dialogue between rhythm, melody, and movement. She ended her presentation amidst thunderous applause from a large audience. Jammu-based senior Kathak guru Parul Bhateja praised Shubhatrayee's performance, telling the audience that such a fine performance was undoubtedly the result of years of practice under the guidance of an accomplished guru. She felicitated the artiste with a shawl and a gift.

Hosted by Visakhapatnam-based Tarakeshwara Foundation in collaboration with Sacred Heart Public School and the inhouse Jammu Music Akademy, the programme was attended by the famous writer Raj Rishi Sharma and 96-year-old school teacher, Master Onkarnath, among many others. The entire spectacle was a grand affair that ended with a sumptuous community dinner prasadam.