Disciples of veteran Kathak dancer Rani Karnaa presented a stimulating performance the other day at Kamani. The occasion was the celebration of their guru's 70th birthday. Though present, the Kolkata-based guru was somewhat incapacitated by an arm injury and did not dance. However, the programme was intelligently conceived, combining live performances by the disciples with DVD projection of archival footage of Rani Karnaa dancing as well as being interviewed. Her comments on the motivation behind various choreographic pieces and the inputs she received from her gurus and scholarly associates were followed in each case by live performance of the piece in question.
The programme, “Piroye Moti”, was thus able to convey in a holistic way, the significant contribution of this eminent dancer not only to the Kathak repertoire, but also to its thought process and presentation.
The programme began with chatushpadi, a set of four couplets featuring Krishna first in his aspect of carefree charmer of damsels in Vrindavan ( Krishna Saundarya Varnan ) and then as the omniscient wielder of the discus — KrishnaChakradharan . Danced by her senior disciples Sohini Debnath, Debashri Bhattacharya and Vikram Iyengar, the first portion was marked by subtlety while the second was a virtuoso display by Vikram. The music composition was credited to Pandit Narayan Prasad (Raniji's guru), Ustad Rahimuddin Dagar and musicologist S.K. Saxena, with whom the veteran has had a long association.
Perhaps most pleasing of all in the entire programme was the lack of brashness in the dancers — no doubt imbibed from their gracious guru. Mainstream Kathak has acquired an increasingly exhibitionist character — performances constantly punctuated by bursts of applause to greet every sam — so that its end seems to be technical virtuosity alone.
But is not the aim of the artiste supposed to be to evoke rasa-anand — the bliss that results from savouring the art as a blend of excellent technique, fine thought and aesthetics? Granted, freezing on the sam is an important part of Kathak, but the concept of rhythmic designs being brought to a close by all instruments and dancers reaching the sam of the tala (first beat of the time cycle) in unison is common to other arts as well.
In most of the compositions presented, the complicated footwork and the freezes were knitted into the whole. In nritya compositions (those which contain both ornamental dance and abhinaya), they served to enhance the bhava. In the pure nritta pieces, the dancers were absorbed in their work and did not seem to solicit the applause that did spontaneously greet their sams, which were frequently impressive and athletic.
Hori presentation
Another interesting presentation was Hori which depicted the two aspects of shringar: viyog and sambhog , the condition of lovers in separation and their bliss in being united. Holi, a festival of fun and teasing, loses all attraction for the gopi when Krishna is not there — literally, the colours fade — but when he arrives the mood is doubly joyful. This was presented by Sohini and Debashree.
The three senior disciples combined for Trivat, a Teen tala composition based on syllables of the pakhawaj and the tabla, set to raga Mishra Adana. Composed by Pandit Shiv Prasad, it was described by Guru Rani as being “like a patakha …not to depict but to dazzle”.
The second part of the programme featured more modern choreographic compositions. These were extracts from the work “Satrang”, aptly described as “exploring and rediscovering seven traditional aspects of Kathak”. First was “Shumar”, which means ‘play of numbers'. This exploited the characteristic way in which Kathak uses numbers: counting the numbers in Hindi, but by stressing a different number name each time, changing the total number of beats in the line. What made this piece stand out was the refrain of Om, reminiscent of the concept that in the end all subsumes in Omkar. In “Labhaik”, Vikram danced the five-and-a-half-beat cycle solo. It was a beautiful celebration of rhythm and also had spiritual resonances, the hands often looking like a devotee dancing with kartal, and the final posture reminiscent of a yogic consecration of form into formlessness.
Younger dancers also performed. It was a fine evening that would have been quite perfect if technical hitches had not caused intermittent delays, and if a larger audience had come to see these Kolkata-based dancers. While all the performers displayed impressive technique, they would benefit from better fitness, some by losing weight, others by gaining muscle.
