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Music Season
KARTIK FINE ARTS
Breathtaking but lacking in depth
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Manjari Chaturvedi must concentrate more on the deep study of dance than special effects.
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Photo: K.V.Srinivasan
Manjari Chaturvedi
The setting was picture perfect. As the full-throated alaap in raag Bhupali filled the darkened stage, rays of light beamed from the rafters above piercing the darkness. A smoke machine from below spewed forth creating a haze. From this haze a graceful figure, draped in voluminous folds of white, glided onto the stage. As she came to the front, soft blue lights came on to illumine her beautiful face. Was this a dream? It was undoubtedly unreal...
When Amir Khusro’s composition, ‘Mun Kun Tho Moula’ with the repetition of the name of the Sufi god ‘Ali Moula’ took wings, the dancer Manjari Chaturvedi, evoked a sense of mysticism, swirling in the tradition of the Whirling Dervishes of the Mevlevi Order of Turkey. It was a beautiful start with a magical setting. As the dancer introduced the concept of ‘Sufi Kathak,’ a variation of kathak based on Sufi poetry and ideas, one began to look for deeper meaning in the dance and in the dancer. It was then that one drew a blank. The meditative spirit and the idea of the ‘formless’ being conveyed was only through external aspects, through music, poetry, even dress; but where was the depth in the dance? Apparently there is also no space for nritta in ‘Sufi Kathak’- the dancer’s version of upaj is the spontaneity that is involved when the pieces are not rehearsed with the musicians beforehand. It goes without saying that there was no play of taal or laay or footwork.
Manjari is essentially a graceful and expressive dancer, and has trained under Arjun Mishra of the Lucknow Gharana. She has also learnt abhinaya from Guru Kalanidhi Narayan and Priyadarsini Govind. With this background, it is a pity then that she concentrates on the special effects rather than making a deeper study of the dance.
The dancer ought to be commended though for bringing out such wondrous music, being the first to dance to Sufi Qawwalis. The music was truly divine, full-throated and honest. The uniformed (black and white) musicians lead by Nurul Hasan were from the ‘Majugvaan Sherif Dargah’ in Awadh.
Lighting expert Murugan did a wonderful job as well. The dancer offered some beautiful compositions that evening. Only the treatment was superficial.
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