Senior Kathak guru and performer Pt. Arjun Mishra passed away on October
22, 2015 on the auspicious Dussera day in a nursing home in Lucknow. He
has been seriously ill with bone cancer and related issues.
Pt. Arjun Mishra was an ace disciple of Kathak samrat Birju Maharaj
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Gayatri
Sriram, artistic director of Sruti Laya, recently celebrated Samarpana -
The Asian Festival of Classical Dance in Singapore at the prestigious
Esplanade Theatre. Samarpana has taken long strides in a very short
time. In the very fourth year of its existence, Samarpana has been
helped by Jyoti Ramesh of Jade Group International, Singapore and
supported by National Arts Council Singapore.
Though she hails from a family of bankers, “My father's side was
artistically inclined. My paternal grandfather, though a lawyer
was a wonderful mridangist. I was introduced to Bharatanatyam at the age
of five and Hindustani classical music as well. I think in a certain
way my mother wanted to dance through me. I think it is her vision of me
as a Bharatanatyam dancer that set the stage in some way. I also learnt
the veena for several years. My interest in dance for the first few
years were mostly driven by my mother’s push," she said exuberantly, in
an informal get-together.
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Kathak dancer Sudarshan Dheer hailed from Punjab and settled in Mumbai
and later in the UK, teaching in far off places like London, Slough and
Glasgow. He took lessons in Kathak from Ashiq Hussain in Benaras Gharana
and also from Hazarilal, husband of Sunayana Hazarilal, who taught
Kathak at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mumbai. He also worked with Gopi
Krishna for a while in Mumbai.
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The content in arts pertains to the aspects of life. They are portrayed
in artistic work through the medium of the expression of thoughts and
feelings of the spirit of man. A work of art expresses the feeling
and thought of a single moment, by which, the viewer is made deeply
aware of the intense emotions of that moment. Development of the idea
for expressing the moment is based on the empirical experiences of human
beings.
The content in varnam:
Similarly, in the varnam, one aspect of life is showcased. Varnam is the
main item of a traditional Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is about the
relationship between man and woman. The content highlights a romantic
moment. It showcases the state of being, at the moment, when feelings of
yearning for union with the beloved take over the mind of man.
The story line:
Naturally, the dancer portrays a lovelorn heroine (nayika), pining for
union with the hero (nayaka). With fervor, she conveys her love and
devotion to him by speaking about his goodness and greatness that
attracts her to him. Visibly, she considers him as the epitome of
perfection. Furthermore, she pleads with her friend (sakhi) to help her.
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His name was familiar to me even in my childhood. Years before I was
born, he had established links with my parents and uncle Director K.
Subrahmanyam who cast him in the role of Shambu Sastri, Baby Saroja's
grandfather in the iconic film Tyaga Bhoomi based on a story
written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. In fact, he was kind of re-christened at
that time, with the prefix PAPANASAM, the place where my father and
uncle grew up as children of a famous advocate - C.S. Krishnaswamy Iyer
of Kumbakonam. Sivan lived there for a while, conducted Margazhi month
bhajans, and became a friend of the family. Almost all the pioneering
directors of cinema needed composers of music, and Sivan was in great
demand. His compositions for cinema are remembered to this day.
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A breathless month, filled with so many viewings of dance and theatre.
Thirty days of almost nonstop watching and also performing, teaching and
listening. So far, this has been my stellar 4 weeks of the year - as a
rasika, an artiste and a dance explorer.
So here goes...
September
began with a moving and sentimental tribute to the Sanskritist and
scholar sans pareil, S. Sarada of Kalakshetra. It was a beautiful and
heartfelt evening of dance, speeches and gently nudged memories through
scenes from iconic Kalakshetra productions. When the four stalwarts, VP
Dhananjayan, CV Chandrasekhar, Balagopal and Janardhanan entered the
stage to share the collective responsibility for the varnam ROOPAMU
JOOCHI, the audience burst into a spontaneous applause. When VPD and
wife Shanta posed as Rama and Sita for the final Tillana/Daru scene, it
made many senior alumni wipe their eyes in nostalgia. The packed Rukmini
Arangam was heartfelt in its standing ovation to the confluence of
experience and art. I did, surprisingly, fall in love with the elegant
and intelligent framing of the ‘teernamans’ and ‘sancharis’ of ROOPAMU
JOOCHI, forgetting how this one ‘varnam’ almost damaged my knees and
lower back with Sarada Hoffman's insistence on deep, deeper, deepest
‘araimandi’ and strong footwork. Today, this varnam represents the
essence of Rukmini Devi's vision of modern Bharatanatyam as well as the
gender neutral choreography that has become the global signifier of
"clean technique." A memorable evening.
I missed the memorial to
guru Narasimhachari a few days later which was also very well attended.
The passing of another creative spirit, along with a host of invaluable
seniors over the past 9 months has surely diminished the creative
landscape of dance and music. Perhaps it is now time to do a special
issue marking the contributions of these creative dance and music
makers. A volume of 100 names who have revolutionized the tapestry of
modern Indian dance in the 20th century. I use the word ‘modern’
consciously. We tend to forget that classical dance, as we know it
today, is really a modern form - reconstituted for the urban elite post
India’s independence and made attractive for larger consumption. It is a
far cry from the art of the "sadir" and the artistes that made dance
and music their entire life!.
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