Traditional dance and song delight audience

Antarang 2014, the annual celebration of Aakruti Kathak Kendra, was a two day music and dance festival dedicated to guru Pandit Durga Lal held at Saptaparni and Ravindra Bharati last weekend.

Aakruti Kathak Kendra was established by the dancing duo Mangala and Raghav Raj Bhatt in 1992 to nurture young talent and spread the art of kathak.

The programme was conceptualised both as a platform for showcasing the skills of the students varied range as well as a means by which popular awareness of the art of kathak and its supporting arts - Hindustani classical music and percussion can be increased enhancing the audiences understanding and appreciation of the elegance, subtlety and grace of kathak.

The opening day at Saptaparni saw a Hindustani vocal concert by Prachala Amonkar from Goa, a well known classical vocalist of the Agra Gharana. Her gurus are Babanrao Haladankar, Kamalakar Naik and Alka Deo Marulkar. She was supported by Kalyan Deshpande on the tabla and Surendra Bharathi on the harmonium. “Kaise Samjhaun Sakhi Re" in raag bihag containing vilambit, khyal, drut and bandish was the start of a splendid performance, which left the audience wanting more.

The tone of the evening was set by "Mhare Ghar Aao", a Meera bhajan, and "Rang Dale Gaye More Sawariya". These were sung gracefully with a full bodied voice, that amply demonstrated the command of the artiste over her chosen field.

Parvati Dutta from Aurangabad, who is both a kathak and odissi dancer, whose gurus are Pandit Birju Maharaj and Madhavi Mudgal, was the second of the guest artistes. Her orchestra comprised Jagadish Vyawhare on table, Vinay Shankpal on pakhawaj, Mayur Mahajan’s vocals and Irfan on sitar.

A glorious dhrupad on the sun god started with a sloka describing the sun god's chariot drawn by seven horses and his descent from kasyapa. The white lotus in his hand could be almost glimpsed; so meticulous was Parvati's angika abhinaya. Various thaats, a laadi, teen taal, gaat, Krishna shringar and phul all held the audience spellbound.

At Ravindra Bharati, the second day of the festival was a feast for the eyes, mind and heart, as more than sixty students aged 4 to 35 old presented a rich variety of items. The first was "Pratham Sumir", invoking Lord Ganesha by the youngest students. Jhaptaal followed by aadi, an unusual combination of slokas on Ganesha interspersed with thai, tukdas and chalan demonstrated their versatility.

"Vrindavan ", a lilting melody by Swami Brahmananda on Krishna’s rasa with gopis, tarana in raga bhairavi, was a recorded piece composed and sung by Pandit Birju Maharaj with Vani Jayaram, delighted the audience. "Hari Bolo", dedicated to guru Durga Lal, concluded the presentation.