The famed Kathak Mahotsav that featured eminent artistes is back
The Hindu
Kathak Kendra’s annual dance festival back after a decade
Kathak Kendra holds a significant position in the world of dance. This Delhi-based national academy of Kathak, a constituent unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, has been imparting training in Kathak and promoting the dance form.
Its annual Kathak Mahotsav, once a sought-after event that featured eminent artistes and informative seminars, was revived this year after a decade.
The 36th edition was held under the guidance of veteran Uma Dogra, chairperson of the advisory committee, and Pranaami Bhagawati, director, Kathak Kendra, with the patronage of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The well-conceived festival was dedicated to the famed gurus such as Pt. Birju Maharaj, Munna Shukla, Kundan Lal Gangani, Pt. Durga Lal, Tirath Ram Azad and Jitendra Maharaj of Lucknow, Jaipur, and Banaras gharanas. Through talks, exhibitions and solo and group choreographies, the festival also focused on how the dance form has evolved over the years.
Costumes, ghungroos and instruments of legendary performers were on display at Vivekananda Sabhagar (Kathak Kendra) and the Kamani Auditorium.
Well-known performers such as Kumkum Dhar, Prerana Shrimali, Urmila Nagar, Geetanjali Lal, Madhu Natraj, Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh highlighted the importance of ‘anga-saundarya’ (the beauty of movements), reviving old compositions and coming up with new poetries and the need for ‘navanikaran’ (innovation).
While mornings were reserved for thought-provoking discussion, evenings were meant for performances. Sangeets “Vighna-harana Gaja-Vandana Vinayak, Sangeeta Chatterjee, who opened her recital with an ode to Ganesha, felt it was a great opportunity to be part of a festival with a hoary past and to share the stage with established dancers. Sangeeta presented the challenging ‘Pancham Sawari’ taal of 15 beats time cycle with amazing dexterity. She chose the famous Bhairavi thumri by Wajid Ali Shah, ‘Babul mora naihar chhuto ri jaye’, which he composed while leaving Lucknow, for her abhinaya segment, and treated it in two contrasting imageries of the worldly and the spiritual.