Dance and music unfolded in many forms at Parampara, the Indian classical art festival, that concluded recently. Young artists stole the show at the 20 th edition of it. Saritha Saraswathy Balan reports
Raja Reddy, the legendary Kuchipudi dancer, views it as a mélange of rhythms. Through Parampara, the annual festival of music and dance, he creates the rhythm that strikes a chord with the viewers.
The national festival, this year, began with the performance by the dancing duo- Raja Radha Reddy on Parakaya Pravesha (power of entering into body of another person through yoga). Reddy explains the story in a rhythmic up- and- down movement, “When Vasanthasena, a courtesan, died of snake bite Santhiliya, a Budhist monk pleads to Paribrjaka, his guru to give her life back. Paribrajaka attempts to console his disciple, but in vain. He then through Parakaya Pravesha, gives life to Vasanthasena. The courtesan comes back to life chanting Budham saranam gacchami. Then yamadharma, the lord of Death, comes and asks Paribrajaka to come out of the body.”
The Kuchipudi performance of Parakaya Pravesha, choreographed by the duo, wanted to present the greatness of Indian tradition. “No other country can claim to have knowledge on things like this,” he smiles. “My disciples from Natya Tarangini apart from our daughters, Yamini and Bhavana performed with us. Parampara is known for recitals by established artists. But this year I wanted to highlight the talent of youth and they stole the show. We should bring the youth forward, then only the new generation will listen and learn about traditional art forms. Art should become contemporary,” he says.
Reddy, however, doesn't want the base to shift to Western dance. “Even in contemporary the base should be Indian classical dance forms .There should be a rhythm of natya, laya andvibhati, an amalgamation of six Indian classical dance styles. That is what ‘Samudra’, a dance group from Kerala, presented and it was wonderful. They took elements from the classical dance forms and made it contemporary,” he elaborates. So can we call it fusionIJ “Yes we can. I did the same some 10-15 years back, choreographed a performance combining elements of six dance forms. But at that time the word fusion was not popular”, he recollects.
More than 50 artists from different parts of the country, especially from South and Northeast India, performed at the 20 th edition of Parampara. From the family of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Reddy invited Kaushuki, daughter of the Hindustani local vocalist, to make sure the participation of the youth. The veteran is happy that his attempt is well received among the viewers. “A lot of people lauded us,” says the Padma Sri and Padma Bhushan award winner.
So what is his plan for the next year, again youthIJ “No. My dream is that all legendary dancers come and perform together atParampara. Many of my contemporaries expressed their desire to perform together. I know it is not easy to realise the dream. But I will work for it, I need to,” he says.th