Giving to joy others
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Archana Joglekar's recital in Chicago on the courtesan's life.
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Was it some kind of ‘Orientalism of the West' I wondered, watching the large banner paying tribute to the ‘courtesan' for her great contribution to art and Kathak in particular? The evening of Kathak by Archana Joglekar at the Meadows Club, Rolling Meadows, near Chicago, a wonderful space designed and built by an Indian couple, was for raising money for Apna Ghar, a project to save battered Asian women started by some enterprising individuals. Little did one realise that this dream child of Prem Sharma, Kanta Kripal and three other Asian women, with the seed grant provided by Kelly White and the Chicago Foundation for Women, was an umbrella organisation providing succour to bruised women brutally violated physically, mentally and psychologically.
Today apart from counseling and providing legal aid, the art therapy help provided by Apna Ghar has helped heal the wounds of innumerable women giving them fresh hope for a new start in life. What was surprising was to see a dinner and Kathak, attended by the who's who among the Indian diaspora, raise a hundred thousand dollars within the space of an hour for Apna Ghar!
Tawaif as battered woman
The dancer's story was built round the ‘tawaif' as the battered woman of the past who gave so much unto art, but who after being used by society for its entertainment was discarded uncared for. And what better medium than the art of Kathak to relive the story of the reviled courtesan!
A celebrated Kathak dancer blending proficiency of the Jaipur and Lucknow gharanas, Archana, trained under her mother Asha Joglekar, a disciple of the late Rohini Bhate, reflects much of the Bhate style in her dance. Being a well known film actress in Hindi and other regional language films, it was perhaps not surprising that she should have woven her recital round the story and songs of the famous film “Umrao Jan”. Preceded by an invocatory archana symbolising the temple version of Kathak, her story of the courtesan began with the sophisticated interpretation of the thumri of Bindadin Maharaj, “Chodo Chodo Bihari Nari Dekhe Sajani”. The suite of film songs with poetry sung through the golden voices of the likes of Lata Mangeshkar in the film was ready material and Archana used this with sensitivity.
“Thade Rahiyo” (which in the film version too had the best Kathak gurus for choreography) was followed by songs showing the promising young tawaif become the favourite of the nawab, till his visits suddenly get less and ultimately stop. The final sting was her being asked to perform for the marriage of the young nawab. The courtesan who has a child through the nawab goes through life unable to fight against its irony, sad herself but performing to give joy to others. As she asked the question “Yeh kya jagah hai dosto”, the story of the used and forgotten tawaif got communicated in undeniable terms.
The platforms for discussing Kathak may air views about the need to make the dance more contemporary. But the higher the pitch asking for change, the stronger seem the vibes from the eventful past!
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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