With sparkling eyes, elegant facial expressions and electrifying dance sequences, kathak exponent Rani Khanam bedazzled the audience at the Old Fort Dance Festival. By S.S. Balan
The stage, with the Old Fort in the background, stood like a dance durbar and the danseuses, in gorgeous costumes, had a palatial touch. And it took Rani Khanam and her disciples to set the tenor of the evening with easy moves and their delicate abhinaya.
The performance began with Yamuna Namah, based on Yamunastakam written by Mahaprabhuji. The concept veers around the Yamuna river as a giver, who blesses her devotees with eight-fold powers and fulfilling all their desires. The choreography was born out of the belief that the great river Yamuna originates from Yamunotri in the Himalayas and flows thousands of kilometres to finally merge at Triveni sangam. In this long journey, the flow of the river keeps changing. At times, the flow is very fast, and at times it is very slow. So were the movements of the dancers.
A stylised dance, Andaz-e-Raqs, that visualised sound, followed Yamuna Namah. With the performance, that had aural dimensions extending into physical space, the dancers portrayed the contribution of Persian culture to kathak. The costumes, inspired by Persian miniature paintings and literature, added to the graceful movements. The third performance was Ashtapadi, focussing on the lucknow style. In gatnikas of Ashtapadi, the movements had subtle details with a Persian elegance in the kathak technique that was brought in by focussing on finer aesthetics such as the beauty and style of gait.
In Sargam, which is an important part of the dance repertoire, the dancers brought out the essence of the melody and rhythm through complex footwork, intricate geometric shapes and rapid turns. Basant Hori, a composition of Hazrat Amir Khusrau, the revered Sufi mystic, was based on raga Basant Bahar and composed in teentaal. It captured the essence of Sufi philosophy where the naayika (heroine) is a bhakta (devotee). The dancers incorporated the essence of the melody and rhythm of nritta (pure dance) and nritya (expression) in it.The rasa or emotion charged the atmosphere.
Nritya Gati, the final performance, combined dance with action while interpreting the story, and the performers demonstrated the pure joy of movement and rhythm. The choreography is influenced by the Awadh royalty.
Khanam, one of the most sensitive and astute interpreters of kathak, was accompanied by her disciples of Aamad Kathak Dance Centre for the Old Fort Dance Festival, a festival of choreographies.