The ambience was electrifying at the Veer Savarkar Auditorium, Prabhadevi, with Kathak exponent Sandeep Mahavir enhancing it with his energy and intermittent annotations. As a tribute to Guru Madhurita Sarang, the 12th annual festival hosted by AMS Dance Company featured established dancers.
Sanjeet Gangani, son of Pt. Rajendra Gangani, opened the evening with Shivstuti invoking ‘Mahesham Suresham.’
Set in Jhap taal (10 beats), the piece was invigorating and set the tone for things to follow. He continued with traditional bandishes in Chautaal, displaying his skills.
The second performer was Vishal Krishna, who began with Krishnashtakam followed by a pure Kathak nritya based on Teen taal, (16 beats). He performed toda, tukda, paran and gat nikaas in this taal.
The next was an abhinaya piece, based on Radha and Krishna. Then came an interesting jugalbandi between Vivek Mishra on the tabla and Vishal’s ghungroo. The supporting musicians were Somnath Mishra (vocals) and Alka Gujar (sitar).
Effective portrayals
Mugdha Mane, senior disciple of Sandeep Mahavir, set the stage on fire with her aamad and 116 chakkars and intricate, powerful compositions of the Jaipur gharana.
Draupadi Vastraharan, a common piece in Bharatanatyam, was portrayed well in gat bhav, with fast moving sequences from dice game to resolving Draupadi’s plight. With a lithe figure and an expressive face, she proved her mettle as a mature artiste.
Piyush Chauhan and Preethi Chauhan started with Ganesha Vandana and continued with the paaramparik chalan of Kathak, thaat, uthaan, parans followed by Piyush’s solo performance of lesser-known bandishes of Jaipur gharana. This was followed by Preeti’s thumri on a Swadeena patika nayika.
Their shimmering white costumes, floating movements, fast chakkars, seamlessly moving in and out, the paltas were all graceful and confident.
Amidst the fast and fiery Kathak segments, Rekha Raju came in with a mellow Mohiniyattom. “Dance is an integral part of my life,” said Rekha, who also has a background in Bharatanatyam. According to Rekha, Mohiniyattom with its characteristic movements and innate grace is the best way to communicate.
Rekha chose Gajavadana as an invocation, which brought out her ability to pose as the elephant god. ‘Mahadeva Shiva Shambo’ kriti on Siva in Revathi, incorporated ably choreographed sancharis about the constitution of ‘rudra veena’ from the sinews of Ravana. Her tanam in the segment of Ravana lifting Kailash, was effective. The concluding piece ‘Oru neram engilum,’ in Dwijavanti, on Guruvayurappan, composed by Chowaloor Krishnan gave ample scope to the dancer to present an endearing Krishna.
Vocal by Shivaprasad, mridangam by Narayan Krishnan and violin by Satish Seshadri enhanced the effect as did the detailed compering by Rekha.
Abhimanyu Lal and Vidha Lal started with an invocatory benediction in Raag Bairagi, nine beats, in praise of Lord Siva and Vishnu (Harihara). The juxtaposition of the two deities: Siva-Nandi, Vishnu-Garuda, Jatadhara, Mukutadhara, Trishul, Chakra, and the metaphors went on and on.
A solo performance ‘Mor Pakha,’ a padam by Raskhan, brought out Vidha’s emotive excellence. It was all about Radha’s jealousy towards the flute, which was portrayed with sensitivity.
The duo concluded the recital with pure Kathak nritya in the time cycle of 16 beats showcasing the fine techniques of Jaipur gharana, and making it engaging by involving the audience who kept the beats by clapping.
The presentation was composed and choreographed by Guru Geetanjali Lal.
Sandeep Mahavir’s dance was the crowning performance. Beginning with ‘Bhaje Jugal Charan,’ a bhajan that spoke of the oneness of the two incarnations of Hari as Rama and Krishna, he went on to present Teen taal (16 beats). He was backed by Dinesh Mahavir (vocals) along with Malhar Mahavir and Mugdha Mane (padhant).
The finale, with three maestros Pt. Kumar Bose on the tabla, Ustad Toufiq Qureshi on the Djembe and Sandip Mahavir (dance) was scintillating. This flowed into a sawaal-jawaab pattern, which was quite an experience.
Sandeep’s two daughters, Vaishnavi and Janvi, joined in paying tribute to Guru Madhurita, who was venerated like a mother by the Mahavir family.
The end piece of a Kathak thihai was performed by all the artistes, amid cheer and applause from the audience.