The performances included kathak as the main medium of interpreting idioms.By Taraana Madhok
When Kathak dancer Ameera Patankar took the stage on August 30, it was to explore a French proverb, “The cloak does not make the monk”, through movement. The layers in the African proverb, “Until the lions learn to write, every story will glorify the hunter”, came alive in a piece by Nikhil Parmar and Meghana Rao that used Kathak and contemporary dance forms in their act.
Proverbs were the theme of a concert held as part of the 32nd anniversary celebration of Nadroop, a Pune-based dance company. “A proverb is a concept that can be interpreted in various ways. Proverbs are universal and can cross the barriers of language, region and time,” says Shama tai Bhate, director of Nadroop.
Presented at Annabhau Sathe Auditorium, Bibvewadi, the event also paid tribute to Leila Sokhey, better known as Madame Menaka, a famous dancer of the 1930s. Menaka was a pioneer in the field of dance and choreography in India. She was a contemporary of Uday Shankar and is credited for introducing Kathak in Western formats of choreography even before India gained independence. Through her company, Menaka Indian Ballet, she produced a number of critically acclaimed dance performances and also taught at her school in Khandala.
Three out of the four acts were choreographed by Bhate’s students while the final one was directed by and featured the guru herself. “They chose proverbs, researched on them and interpreted them in a manner that can have an impact on the audience. Proverbs provide scope for multiple interpretations,” says Bhate.
One piece, by Avni Gadre, analysed the English proverb “The more you see, the less you know for sure”, using shadow play. “As children, we think we know everything. Then, as we mature, we realise that we possess only a fraction of the knowledge that exists in the universe. However, as adults, the more knowledge we acquire, the more ignorant we feel,” says Bhate.
“Ekta mein bal” or “Unity is Strength” was the proverb Bhate explored through Kathak. “We have all heard the story of the hunter capturing the birds in his net and the birds working together to cut the net to escape,” she says. She once worked with a group of dancers trained in Chhau. “I aimed to recreate the dance form using Kathak with younger children in my act,” she says.
Bhate, 69, has been dancing all her life. “I initially got into dance because my parents wanted their daughter to learn an art form,” she says. She has interpreted SH Raza’s paintings and analysed Kasturba Gandhi and French documentaries through dance. “It is my guru, Rohini ji (Bhate), who has inspired me to continue dancing. She is inspiration personified,” says dancer.
