Padmashri Shovana Narayan shares how this year’s lalit Arpan Festival is inspired by the Upanishad verse ekam sat viprah bahuda vadanti. By Angela Paljor
Danseuse Shobhana Narayan is taking her confluence of pluralities further by christening this year’s lalit Arpan Festival as an Ode to Bahuda. “The term Bahuda, taken from the Vedic verse‘ekam sat viprah bahuda vadanti,’ exemplifies the spirit of Indian philosophy. This is visibly practised in Indian art forms. Since we were introducing the theatrical element for the first time with the classical genre of Dastangoi and a musical play, in addition to classical dance and music, the term seemed appropriate.”
lalit Arpan Festival started 16 years ago when the late Ustad Shafat Ahmed Khan and Padmashri Shovana Narayan were reminiscing their early days. “We were supported as very young artistes. We were projected along with established artistes. So we wanted to do our bit in encouraging fresh talent and interpretations. In this endeavour, hotelier Jyotsna Suri and her late husband lent their full-hearted support. Thus the festival has showcased and continues to showcase artistes of all genres of classical performing arts from across the globe,” shares Narayan, India’s most celebrated and outstanding Kathak maestro.
Talking about the combination between the national and international artists on a single platform, Narayan feels that music and dance form a language that defies borders. “Therefore, there is no difference between artistes, whether living in India or abroad. Serving the cause of classical music and dance, we all speak with our hearts. Each one reflects and communicates their individual sensibilities,” she says.
Narayan feels that this year’s festival reflects the spirit of assimilation and of the Ganga-Jamuni culture as performances range from Krishna and Mahabharata to the contribution of Zafar as a poet.
Talking about the segregation between art and culture, she shares, “For me the two go in hand. Works of art reflect the spirit and ethos of the culture of the society in which the individual lives or empathises with. It is wonderful to see how an artiste from Austria, born and living in a cultural milieu very different from ours, is yet so Indian in spirit and thought. While essaying the spirit of Indianness through traditional Bharatanatyam, she also reflects the fresh approach in treatment of the theme from her native cultural milieu that enriches a presentation manifold. This is also the case with the Kathak artiste who brings in fresh thinking perspectives in treatment of a subject presented in traditional classical dance form from Australia.”
Narayan has been pioneering thinking concepts in the performing arts for long. Given her innate philosophical streak, she was the first to collaborate with the famous philosopher Dr Ramchandra Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) and enact the lives of sages on stage. Such dance enactments became a trend-setter. “I was also perhaps the first to open the door to dance soliloquy, to the first ever triad of kathak, Western classical ballet and flamenco, the first duet between kathak and Western classical Ballet and Kathak with Spanish flamenco, to the first ever collaborative work with Buddhist monks, including the Grammy Award-winning monks of the Sherabling Monastery.”
She has written 14 books on dance and is currently engaged in the monumental task of mapping kathak villages.