Mystery and magic

NEW DELHI:, AUGUST 08, 2013
FRIDAY REVIEW | THE HINDU

Leela Venkataraman

If Parwati Dutta explored the concept of tala, Sangita Sharma ventured into mysticism with her take on “Nagamandala”, while Aranyani stayed right on the conventional Bharatanatyam margam

In the present climate when dance progression has taken on a vertical growth, forsaking depth for deemed originality and newness, a dancer like Parwati Dutta, reaffirming the cyclical evolution envisaged in our dance forms, with her deep research into the mysteries of tala and traditional vocabulary of mnemonics in Odissi and Kathak, comes as a ray of sunshine. Working quietly away from the gaze of publicity as Director, Mahagami Gurukul in Aurangabad, since 1999, engrossed in dissemination of our dances, Parwati has built up a rare institution teaching Kathak and Odissi. To say that her presentation at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi, rounding off an extremely well received three-day workshop on tala, dazzled the gathering of students and professionals in the performing arts field, would not be an exaggeration.

Right from the Shivashtakam start with the ‘Dha Dha Dhin Ta’ mnemonics bringing out the heavy tones suiting the grandeur of Shiva, set to the time cycle of five-and-a-half matras, which suited the verses in the original Vasant Tilaka metre, to the edited version of the Vadya Pallavi (references in Geeta Prakash and Abhinaya Chandrika), conceived in Jati tala of 14 matras with varying gatis woven into it, were all gems resulting from the dancer’s own research with consultation under mardal experts like Banmali Maharana. The delightful aesthetics of the assertive khanda combination also lay in leaving the first syllable silent.

And what Parwati had created was working with different banis for the ukkutas, from the strong Ghantamardala to the softer Thinita bani used in percussions like the khol. Her demonstration with lucid explanations underlined how mnemonics were far from “nonsense syllables” as they have been called, for the bol by its very sound and tone conveys the type of movement — robust, gentle or even a jump or leap or pirouette. Each sequence in a gati had units of movement carried to a finish.

With Yogesh Dahale on the mardal and Manoj Desai’s vocal support, the Odissi part was enlightening. But more was to come with the Kathak sequences where Parwati’s work with known pakhawaj experts like Nanapanseji and Vasant Rao Gopatji and others has yielded rich insight into the secret world of mnemonics. After a brief Chautal upaj, the nine-and-a-half matra with brilliant upaj, tihais, paran and even parmelu was an eye-opener for many.

Quoting Birju Maharaj, her guru who had explained the bol ‘Dhaan’ as resonance of ‘Dhyaan’, Parwati showed how the formless becomes a form of meditation. Gamely journeying without any government support, one can only hope that such exceptional efforts get the requisite recognition and encouragement from art sponsoring authorities.