REVIEW / REPORT

Mehfil by Anurekha Ghosh Dance Company

- Tapati Chowdhurie
e-mail: tapatichow@yahoo.co.in
Photo credit: Koushik Ghosh Chowdhury

October 21, 2026

G.D. Birla Sabhagar in Kolkata resonated with rhythm, poetry, mysticism and emotion on 12 September 2026, as Anurekha Ghosh Dance Company presented Mehfil which brought together three artistic expressions: Taalash, Roohani Rung and an intimate Ghazal presentation by Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta. Conceptualised, directed and led by Anurekha Ghosh, the evening unfolded as a continuous artistic journey, from the search for the origins of rhythm, through the abstract and spiritual world of Sufism, and finally into the intimate emotional world of Ghazal.

Anurekha Ghosh Dance Company

The evening commenced with Taalash, an ensemble Kathak production conceived, choreographed and performed by Anurekha Ghosh. Featuring Devleena Lahiri, Ankita Das, Rishita Moitra, Purba Biswas and Aditri Mallick, the production explored the progression from Naad to Laya, Laya to Taal and Taal to Nritya, examining rhythm not merely as a musical structure, but as an intrinsic force within movement and life.

Through intricate footwork, rhythmic patterns, spins, bol-parhant and carefully constructed group compositions, Taalash explored the symmetry, tension and release inherent in different rhythmic cycles. The production featured rhythm compositions by Anurekha Ghosh, Sunando Mukherjee, Pratik Mukherjee and Subir Thakur, with music composed by Sunando Mukherjee and bol-parhant by Arunima Sengupta and Anurekha Ghosh.

Anurekha Ghosh

The evening then transitioned into Roohani Rung, an inter-disciplinary production integrating film and live Kathak dance, exploring the abstractness of Sufism through movement, imagery, poetry and music. Drawing deeply from the profound and contemplative poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, the production explored the intangible dimensions of spiritual longing, love, surrender and the soul's search for the Divine.

The film and live dance reciprocated and enriched one another, creating an immersive visual and emotional landscape where cinema, dance and poetry entered into a continuous dialogue. The film was created by Lubdak Chatterjee, whose visual interpretation became an integral component of the production's artistic vocabulary.

Conceived, choreographed and performed by Anurekha Ghosh, Roohani Rung incorporated choreographic inputs from Guru Durga Arya and Kathak compositions from Pt. Divyang Vakil. The production was first premiered at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, and its Kolkata presentation marked an important new chapter in its artistic journey.

At its heart, Roohani Rung reflected the distinctive style and sensibility that Anurekha Ghosh imbibed through her taalim under the renowned Kathak exponent and Guru Nahid Siddiqui in the United Kingdom. Through intricate footwork, rhythmic improvisations, pirouettes, expressive abhinaya and moments of profound stillness, interwoven with evocative film imagery and Rumi's poetry, the production became a journey from the visible to the invisible, from movement to stillness and ultimately from the physical to the spiritual.

Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta

The final segment transformed the auditorium into an intimate musical Mehfil with a special Ghazal presentation by Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta. After an interval of 37 years, Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta returned to the Ghazal stage at the request of Anurekha Ghosh, making the presentation particularly significant and deeply personal. The performance paid tribute to the timeless tradition of Ghazal and its immortal masters, bringing together poetry, melody, memory and emotion. She was accompanied by the maestro Ustad Roshan Ali on sarangi and Prabir Chatterjee on tabla.

The repertoire included evocative renditions such as 'Dil walo kya dekh rahe ho', 'Roya karenge aap bhi', 'Dil mein ek lehar', 'Pyar bhare', 'Chupke chupke' and 'Ranjish hi sahi'. Each composition revealed a different shade of love, longing, separation and remembrance, creating an intimate musical experience that resonated deeply with the audience and brought Mehfil to an emotionally charged finale.

Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta was felicitated by Anurekha Ghosh Dance Company, recognising her distinguished artistic contribution and her special presence at Mehfil. The honour carried particular significance following her recent conferment with an Honorary D.Litt. by Diamond Harbour Women's University, recognising her contribution to music and research.

The seamless presentation of Mehfil was made possible through the collective efforts of a committed artistic, technical and production team. The event was conceptualised, directed and led by Anurekha Ghosh, with Lubdak Chatterjee and his team, Vichitrashala, which played a significant role in the production and execution of the event.

Dinesh Poddar led the lighting, while Gouri Garmo handled the sound. Their contribution, together with the efforts of the performers, musicians, production personnel and backstage team, ensured seamless transitions between the evening's three contrasting yet interconnected artistic worlds.

One evening, three artistic expressions - Mehfil ultimately became more than a performance. It became a meeting point of rhythm, movement, film, mysticism, poetry, music and memory. From Taalash, which questioned the very origins of rhythm, to Roohani Rung, which entered the abstract world of Sufism through the convergence of live dance, film and Rumi's poetry, and finally to the deeply intimate world of Ghazal, the evening was artistic and connected tradition, contemporary expression and human emotion.

The sustained response from the audience reflected the emotional resonance of the evening and reaffirmed the ability of the performing arts to transcend boundaries, connect generations and create shared moments of beauty.

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.' Tapati received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2024 for Art Critique in Performing Arts.