Inside, outside
WINSOME THREESOME Jyotsna Banerjee
The Pratibha Utsav organised by the North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad, gave the young artistes a chance to exhibit their talents in a field that often suffers from over crowding. Presenting Bharatanatyam and Kathak dancers as also young practitioners of Carnatic and Hindustani music. Incidentally, the three dancers one got to see at the festival were all based in Delhi, currently under the tutelage of various gurus here.
The dance representation opened with Swapna Seshadri, a disciple of Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan, who gave a fine account of her training in Bharatanatyam. Beginning with a brisk pushpanjali in the raga Ritigowla, she followed it up with a verse in praise of the guru, who has been given an even higher place in Hindu thought than the Gods. In the nritta segment she also presented the popular tillana of Swati Tirunal, "Geeta dhwani" in the raga Dhanashri. While Swapna's movements are agile and neat, she has yet to develop the abhinaya aspect, for which she had chosen the Meera bhajan "Paga ghunguroo" immortalised by the great M.S. Subulakshmi. Vocals were by Swapna's mother Lakshmi Seshadri, whose mellifluous voice is an asset. It is not easy to attempt the bhajans MS made famous, since they are engraved in the memory of music loving audiences, but the vocalist deserves credit for her smooth rendering. Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan on the nattuvangam, Bejjanki Krishna on the mridangam and VSK Chakrapani on the violin made up the rest to the supportive team.
Swapna Seshadri
Jyoti Manral, a disciple of veteran Kathak exponent Guru Gitanjali Lal, came across with vivacity, spontaneity and plenty of zest. Her footwork was powerful as she followed up her invocatory Krishna stuti with footwork in Teen tala. Looking at Jyoti, one felt that now that she has come to grips with the basics of rhythm and form, she should work on herself for strength. Not all the usual movements found in Kathak dance are useful for building strength in the body. However, if these are done separately, they help the other delicate movements to acquire further delicacy and control.
Jyoti was accompanied by her guru who provided padhant, Yogesh Gangani on the tabla, Ramesh Parihar on vocals, Mohammad Nasir Khan on the sarangi and Rakesh Prasanna on the flute and sarod. Together the orchestra created an inspiring musical backdrop for the dancer.
Jyoti Manral
Jyotsna Banerjee, who danced on the last day, is a disciple of Guru Munna Lal Shukla. Polished in her performance, she presented an invocatory shloka to Saraswati and followed it up with impressive footwork in the 14-beat Dhamar tala. Jyotsna deserves a special mention for establishing her nritta without a foot mike. Without the aid of artificial amplification the sound of her feet was clearly heard. This is generally expected of dancers, but it is not always the case, and Kathak has come to be associated with the standing mike and the floor mike to such an extent that it seems to be part of the aharya abhinaya as recommended by the shastras.
What one felt in Jyotsna's recital was that she needs to develop her dance from within. When the dance is an outward form, it looks pretty for a time and then wears off. When it is sourced within, it grows ever fresh and inspired, and these are not words to be kept in mothballs till the dancer reaches a ripe old age. It would seem in this age of superficiality and the power of visual impressions, it is all the more important for classical artistes to remember that Chidambaram, the Great Hall in which Lord Nataraja dances, is the chamber within the heart - chit.
ANJANA RAJAN
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