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 Solo Bharatanatyam by Dipan Maitra- Tapati Chowdhuriee-mail: tapatichow@yahoo.co.in March 28, 2026 Saraswat Sanskriti Kendra and its Artistic Director, Bharatanatyam exponent Anita Mallick -trained by Kolkata based guru Kalamandalam Thankamani Kutty - presented her disciple Dipan Maitra's solo Bharatanatyam recital on the 13th of March at Gyan Manch in Kolkata. This reviewer has had a chance of seeing her perform "Nature's Daughter" - a theme, based on a secular topic - under the guidance of her mentor Anita Mallick. She proved herself once again and is an improved version of what she was a few years back. She has matured to be a picture of perfection. A promising performer and a committed dancer with a first class Masters in Bharatanatyam from Rabindra Bharati University and many an honour decorating her, she started her recital with an offering of flowers. The Pushpanjali in Ragamalika and adi talam was on a shloka composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar, the music of which, in this case, was by Shankar Narayanswamy. The dancer made an offering to Annapurna whose dwelling is on the banks of the Ganga, and one who is an embodiment of the Omkara. Goddess Annapurna is complete, says Dikshitar, and wears a serpent as an ornament. The dancer sought the blessings of the goddess, by spelling out her adoration in the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam with much clarity. The musical accompaniment of all the pieces was by Milan Adhikary, who did the nattuvangam, while Akash Mukherji made his mark as the vocalist with Anand R. Jayaram bringing forth melodious tunes on the violin and Rick Mukherji playing mellifluous music on his flute.  Dipan Maitra Very significantly, Dipan embarked upon her next piece, the Varnam, to prove her mettle as an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer. The Varnam was by Swati Tirunal, the Maharaja of Travancore who lived in the first half of the 19th century CE, a master musicologist. Ragam Kapi and talam chatusra rupak embellished the beauty of the 35-minute Varnam. The evergreen "Sumasayaka" was about the plea of the nayika to relieve her from the torments of Cupid's arrows. The rasa was bhakti sringar and the lover was Krishna. The dancer kept the audience enthralled expressing her love as well as performing rhythmic metrical units or patterns of adavaus. Keertana was a Tyagraja kriti in ragam Hindolam and adi talam of eight beats. Dipan was able to enact successfully the devotion felt by Tyagaraja for his 'ishta' devata (a divine god treated as a spiritual guide) Krishna. The saint poet's description of Lord Krishna's elephant like gait and its ensuing grace was remarkably depicted. To picturize in dance form the simile which compared Lord Krishna as the expounder of the nectar like music arising from Sama Veda, has much to say about Dipan's ability to mime. Metaphors comparing Krishna, the saint poet's description of the eternal blue god's magic flute, music which ever fascinated his gopis were translated effectively into dance. The grand finale was a vibrant Tillana in praise of Lord Murugan who is the beloved of Valli; the best of all gurus and whose divine form brings bliss to the sages, who worship him. It was in ragam Mohana Kalyani and talam adi, a composition of the legendary Lalgudi Jayaraman. The dancer's performance culminated in a final gesture of thanks to the divine, the guru, the musicians, and the audience for their blessings and presence throughout the evening.  Tapati Chowdhurie trained under Guru Gopinath in Madras and was briefly with International Centre for Kathakali in New Delhi. Presently, she is a freelance writer on the performing arts. She is the author of 'Guru Gopinath: The Making of a Legend.' |
