The Bhopalites were overwhelmed to witness the beauty and charm of one of the famous royal court dancers of India, ‘Amrapali,’ in a dance drama presented here on Sunday at Antarang Hall, Bharat Bhavan.
The dance drama on Amrapali marked the fourth day of Bihar Mahotsav being organised at Bharat Bhavan.Known to have an extraordinary charm and grace, Amrapali was a famous dancer of ancient India who lived in 500 BC and followed lord Buddha’s teachings. Fantastically choreographed by a Kathak maestro Neelam Choudhary from Patna, the dance drama was wondrously performed by Neelam Chaudhary along with her troupe.
Divided into five scenes, the dance ballet’s first scene depicted the hunt for ‘nagarvadhu’, the title given to the most beautiful woman in Vaishali. In the second scene, Amrapali was shown getting ‘taleem’ (training) of dance to turn into a perfect dancer. This scene was followed by another scene in which she was shown dancing gracefully in king’s court.
later, through beautiful moves of Kathak Amrapali and King Ajatshatru’s love was depicted. While going for hunting Amrapali met King Ajatshatru of Magadh. After a meeting both fell in love with each other.Ajatshatru wants to marry Amrapali. He attacked Vaishali to conquer Amrapali, but though he was victorious, she refused to go with him to Magadh. She was in a state of shock as she saw her own people dying in the war. She explained her motherland was greater than any other love and at the end the audience saw Amrapali turning into a saint.
Neelam evolved a refined, sophisticated style in pure classical form, based on fast speeds, swift turns, mind thrilling footwork, delicacy of movements and impressive expressions while she was narrating the story. With enchanting stage presence she has earned acclamation for intense and sensitive dance presentations. Rhythmic understanding, ability to extemporize with speedy rhythms and preserving pure Kathak classical style made her act even more enjoyable.Moreover, the Bihar Mahotsav was also adorned with the tunes of tabla played by Sudhir Pandey leaving the audience mesmerised.