It is always a matter of great pride whenever an Indian artiste goes abroad to represent our nation in the purest and most condensed form. Gauri Diwakar, a Sangeet Natak Akademi and Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee, disciple of Aditi Mangaldas and Pandit Birju Maharaj to name a few, is all set to bring out the vibrancies of Kathak at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival happening in the United Kingdom from August 25 to 28. Asked how this tour came into being, Gauri Diwakar said, “Morag Dayes, Artistic Director of Dance Base, has been observing me for over a decade. Previously, I’ve performed for her festivals in my Guru Aditi Mangaldas’ company. This summer when Morag saw the rehearsals of ‘Hari Ho Gati Meri..’, she was enthralled by the authenticity of this solo production of mine and so I was invited to present it in the United Kingdom to which I’m eagerly looking forward.”
Gauri Diwakar’s production “Hari Ho ...Gati Meri” is an intriguing concept in itself as all the texts of poetry used in the creation are that of poet Sayyad Mubarak Ali Bilgrami, who throughout his literary works had invoked and praised Lord Krishna in his entirety. The dancer says this was a search for truth and beauty and was a supreme salvation in itself.
Choreographer Aditi Mangaldas, however, holds a different view. According to her, the greatness of this creation does not lie in the fact that a Muslim had written this piece of work to gain acceptance by the Hindu majority, but the fact that the persona of Krishna is such that it breaks through every barrier of it being a woman, man, Hindu, Muslim and beyond. And this is how the treatment of this production has been done, in authentic yet symbolic and impressionistic ways.
When Morag Dayes, the person behind this international imminent performance, is asked as to what makes her believe that this production will make a good connection with international audience, she states, “An important connection is the idea of openness and acceptance of all faiths, and the charismatic dancer Gauri Diwakar will be very exciting for the international audiences. We rarely see authentic Kathak in Europe and this dancer is in my view, is one of the best in India. We are really very blessed to see her in live performance.”
When an Indian performing artiste tours abroad it is an extremely heavy responsibility on his or her shoulders to represent our nation in the truest and purest form. Supporting this thought, Morag says, “Gauri is carrying the beautiful style of Guru Birju Maharaj with additional training from her own amazing guru Aditi Mangaldas. The style is lyrical but also very powerful, strong, exciting and authentic.”
