Had it not been for Kathakali, Kalyani Phagre and Vaidehi Phagre wouldn’t have travelled all the way from Bhopal to the capital city. However, never did they even dream that they would get a chance to be part of a Kathakali performance. When Metroplus caught up with the two sisters at Margi Natyagriham, Fort, on Friday (June 26) ahead of their performance on the same day, they appeared to be in a state of disbelief. They were acting as sakhis of Damayanthi in ‘Nalacharitham’ Day I (Part 3).
Kalyani, 22, and Vaidehi, 17, both Odissi dancers, had come down to learn about abhinaya aspects in Kathakali at Margi. The reason being their guru, Bindu Juneja, who is also their aunt. “She was inspired to learn about abhinaya in Kathakali after watching Margi Vijayakumar sir essay the role of Poothana in Poothanamoksham . She was so impressed with the mudras, gestures and techniques that she came down to Margi to learn the act. And when she introduced us to that we were amazed by the art form. While Odissi doesn’t have an elaborate abhinaya pattern, it is on a totally different and detailed scale in Kathakali. She also incorporated Kathakali gestures and mudras in her production Ramapremam ashatakam,” says Kalyani.
While Kalyani has been learning Odissi for the last 16 years, Vaidehi took to the dance form eight years ago. It was after attending a workshop on Kathakali led by Margi Vijayakumar in Mumbai that they decided to come down to Kerala. “When you perform Odissi, you are on stage for some 10 to 15 minutes and all the movements are fixed. But in Kathakali, you are on the stage for a longer duration and as the singer improvises on the padams, the artiste keeps improvising on the mudras and expressions that are so subtle yet strong. In fact, it is for the first time that we will be on stage for such a long period,” says Vaidehi with a laugh.
It wasn’t an easy affair though with the Malayalam padams posing a number of difficulties. However, they took pains to write down the padams with their meanings and corresponding gestures, all under the supervision and guidance of Vijayakumar. “Since they are trained classical dancers, they have the basic rhythm. They have been quick learners and have actually exceeded our expectations in the 15 days or so they have been with us,” says Vijayakumar, who played the role of Damayanthi.
Kalyani, who does Sanskrit plays, will enrol for a post graduation course in Sanskrit and Vaidehi will start her undergraduate course in music when they go back. However, now that they are acquainted with the rich repertoire of Kathakali and that they have got accustomed to Malayali culture and cuisine, they plan to come back. “The teachers and officials at Margi have been very supportive and we look forward to learning more from here. We feel that every dancer should have at least a basic knowledge of Kathakali. It has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for us,” they sign off.
