 |
Thursday,
27 November 2003
HT
City Correspondent
A
Quest For Kabir Rooted In Chicago
THE
QUEST for root can take several expressions for Indians living
abroad. For Indian girls and women living in Chicago and its
outskirts, learning Indian classical dances - Kathak in particular
- is one such.
Ambika,
Shivani and Neha – to name only a few – are training
in Kathak under noted artiste Sandhya Desai at the Anila Sinha
Cultural Foundation in Chicago. More importantly neither Desai
nor Dr. B K Sinha, who has set up the cultural institution,
are content with mere praise. They approached the prestigious
Prayag Sangit Samity of Allahabad to examine their students,
a rigorous task now being executed by Sangeet Pravin Surangama
Dasgupta. |
| Dasgupta,
who is also head of the dance section at Bengal Music College,
has just returned from Chicago after examining 45 students.
“The Desication that I witnessed, both on the part of
the teacher as well as the students, is remarkable. Kathak is
a difficult dance form but the pupils (age between 10 and 30)
can present torah, tudka, paran, tarana and tatkar with equal
ease.”
A
60 year old Indian lady doctor was among those who took the
examination last month. This meticulous training and practice,
however, needs to be strengthened by a command over the theory
of Indian Classical Dance.
Prayag
Sangit Samity, in fact, has granteed affiliation to several
Indian dance centers in England, Russia, Canada and Singapore.
Every year, examiners, who are also reputed dancers and teachers
are sent to these countries by the Samity to conduct examinations.
These
visits are also utilized to hold workshops and performances
from which the students can learn more. Describing the workshops,
Dasgupta says, “Here I try to blend theory with practical
because only if you have a thorough grasp over theory –
which gurus like Nrityabaridhi Bela Arnab did – can
you understand the different nuances of nritta, nritya and
abhinaya.”
As
they perform, examiners show how the technique and artistry
of Kathak can be used to choreograph entirely new creations.
Dasgupta herself danced to the dohas of Kabir – her
own choreography – at the Nehru Centre in London, Manitoba
University in Canada and the International House at Chicago
University.
Everywhere,
audiences watched spellbound as she enacted Kabir’s
word, “where do you search? I am neither in the temple
nor in the mosque, I am with you in every human breath.”
Next year, Natalia, Bansi and Ami in Chicago will also dance
to the songs of Meera, Lalan and Kabir. This quest for roots
is both creative and sacred. |
