The fresh fragrance of petrichor can infuse vitality in the most morbid soul. Rains spell romance, freshness and always manage to lift up sullen spirits. Television actor and kathak dancer Prachee Shah Paandya pays an ode to the monsoon with her latest performance Rhythmic Rain .
Paandya kick-starts the performance with Ganesh Vandana, following it up with a thumri describing the emotions of a young girl, who gets excited after listening to the pitter-patter of rain drops. The dancer uses Kathak to portray her character’s myriad emotions. “As monsoon represents romance, the girl seeks to go and meet her sakha (beloved) while dancing to the tunes of ‘ Umand kar, ghumand, aayi dekho kaali badariya ',” she says.
The whole performance is a mixture of footwork with teen taal and taal rupak . “It incorporates the complete tap and half tap of the heel and comprises different variations of sound created by the feet,” says the dancer. “My ghoongroos are made up of 300 [bells] and weigh almost 3.5 kgs. So, when I tap just my right heel, it exhibits a softer sound as compared to when I tap my whole foot. The footwork connects to the different sounds and rhythms of rain ranging from drizzle to heavy rains and thundering.”
Paandya, who holds the Guinness World Record holder for 93 kathak spins in one minute, is excited as this is the first time she is celebrating the spirit of the rains through her recital. The dancer will compere the performance and even recite the bols in order to imbibe the true meaning of her dance to the audience, especially those who are not too familiar with Kathak, “Only the string instruments playing the lehraa (the music background that connects one beat to the other and accompanies the tabla and pakhwaj solo) will complement my footwork.”
With a sportsman father, Paandya has always led a disciplined life. So when she began her journey with dance at three-and-a-half years old, her rigour ensured that she never missed a single class. Her first stage performance at the age of five was followed by formal training in the sitar. Armed with a master's degree in Kathak, the dancer has performed in over 250 shows in India, USA, UK and South Africa including at the Ajanta-Ellora Festival, Sangeet Natak Akademy, Taj Mahotsav,Agra, and Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Today, the mother of a nine-year-old, Paandya wears many hats with aplomb right from being an architect to a trained Kathak dancer and an actor. “I never received formal training in acting,” she says. “In fact, dance helped me hone my acting skills. After all, while interpreting any thumri in Kathak, you are doing abhinaya . Reciting the bols also helped me strengthen my hold over Hindi and clear my diction.”
Rhythmic Rain will be performed on August 19 at 7 p.m. at the Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
