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REVIEW / REPORTPoetry of two, a rhapsody!- Kasturika Mishrae-mail: kasturika69@gmail.com Photos: One Frame Story August 13, 2026 Dancers in India seldom have the liberty to choose their stage and showcase their works for a rasika audience. Some of them have great connections and get the stage on a platter and some have climbed or piggybacked to reach a reasonable progress point in their precarious career. But the love for the dance form and the dedication of few purists, teachers, mentors too have made a huge difference to the careers of dancers. In the name of Guru Shishya Parampara, many have suffered exploitation and personal setbacks and many at the same time have reached heights of excellence. It is in this context the organization like Artist Association of India have brought in fresh air for many aspiring dancers in their annual editions.  Gaurav Bhatti & Aamrapali Bhandari The opening pair of the evening at Habitat Centre, Stein auditorium saw Aamrapali Bhandari and Gaurav Bhatti murmur into the dance floor with a circular serpent movement. Audience was hooked to the serpent couple checking out each other in an amorous interplay. The setting was opening the whorls of lotus, building the shiv lingam, creating the aura of co-existence of Shakti and Shiva, use of damru, the percussion associated with Shiva. High point to notice was Shiva enticing Parvati with his dancing skills, smearing of vibhuti (bhasma) on his body. The Shankar Sutra of Isha seems to have rubbed on the mood of compositions by Aamrapali and Gaurav but with a twist. The hymn Adideva Mahadev ends as rain droplets of spiritual forces calm down our spirits. Bindu comes full circle with a smile!  Sujata Gawade Sawant & Ashmita Aich In the second duet, Ashmita Aich and Sujata Gawade Sawant explored the combination of Swara and Nada expressing it in three segments. Vandana set to raag Puriyadhanasri by vocalist composer Samiullah Khan set the mood of invocation to Shiva - "Nada Brahma Vishwaroopa... Nadam Nadam Sarvam Nadam". The origin of all voices and sounds from Naad and the development of musical synergy with Kathak interludes in non-narrative pure dance followed with excellent padhant by Ravi Yadav. The lyrical base was composed in raag Shankara. The concluding sequence was Gaj padhant set to raag Malkauns wherein the dancers expressed abhinaya couplets with a story based on legends from Shaiva mythology. The duet was graceful and combined nimble footwork demonstrations by Ashmita and Sujata.  Anusua Majumdar & Shailja Nalwade The third duo of the extremely talented and seasoned dancers Anusua Majumdar and Shailja Nalwade from Jaipur and Lucknow gharana created a perfect foil to the samvaad, meaning dialogue between two shared yet distinct aesthetics of Kathak traditions. Both of them are entrenched by rigorous training under veteran gurus and Kathak Kendras and presented solo as well as jugalbandi footwork narratives. They also presented a glimpse of the Lucknow addakari. The musicians in this segment were looking a bit uncomfortable as they were alternating between both styles and their associative padhants. But overall, the senior dancers swept us away with their charming presence and maintained the gravity of the recital. I wish Arijeet Mukherjee would have not spent so much time in felicitation and started the program at six instead of seven pm. The audience can then stay for a longer time and are not forced to stay back late into the evening.  @Kasturika Mishra is a poet, writer, and dance critic. |
