Quick steps

Students of Nritya Kunj Hyderabad presented an evening of Kathak dance at their annual festival Parampara.

In rhythm.

The Telugu University auditorium was buzzing with activity as little girls dressed in colourful Kathak attire and tinkling anklets kept scurrying between the green room and the auditorium before the commencement of Nritya Kunj’s annual programme ‘Parampara’ on Friday last. Over 32 students drawn from the Ameerpet and Gachibowli centres of Nritya Kunj performed that day.

Renowned dancers Mangala Bhatt (Kathak) and Vasundhara (Kuchipudi) lit the lamp along with Nritya Kunj director Aarti Shankar. Son after, anchor Swati Kulkarni elaborated: “ Katha kahe so Kathak is a classical dance form that is rooted in the tradition of storytelling and traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers.”

The performance began with

Mangalam Ganapathi and was followed by the debut performance of five girls titled

Prathama . Then

Arpan , the chanting of

mantras from the Holy Scriptures, was followed by

Nritya Utsaah , which is a blend of devotion and dance. A group of eight dancers from the Gachibowli centre breathed life into this performance.

In the composition

Shravan Shyam , the three dancers brought out the magic of Lord Krishna’s flute and how the Universe is immersed in its Maaya. Eight dancers beautifully portrayed the Abhinaya and Nritya in Abhyankar , which is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is a symbol of Tandava Nritya, while Goddess Parvati complements it with her subtle elegance and grace. Tanmay, Niti and Chinmay showed the splendour of Kathak in Tarrannum , while Apurva, Akshita, Manishi excelled in ‘ Thaat tukre paran kavitt composed in Teen taal. It is well-known fact that the gaits, spins, movements and nuances in Nrityankan define a Kathak performance. Each student was given a chance to perform twice on stage and the students ended their show with Ninaad . The students’ dance was choreographed by their Guru Aarti Shankar.

The highlight of the evening was a performance by Delhi-based Kathak artist Monisha Nayak who began her performance with Manglacharan , in praise of Lord Vishnu.

This was followed by

Tarana , highlighting the music and rhythm. Next was

Thumri and Pandit Narayan Prasadji’s composition “

Ek samay ghar se …” The icing on the cake was a

jugalbandi by Manisha and Aarti Shankar thus reliving their association forged 16 years ago.

Addressing the gathering Mangala Bhatt paid compliments to the parents who were keen on passing Indian traditions to their children.

She also asked them to encourage their children in practicing the art form at home.