MP NEWS: The skill of the true guardians of the heritage of ancestors shines in the coolness of cultural concerns.

A confluence of diverse arts was witnessed on the sixth day of the 50th Khajuraho Mahakumbh, a gathering of gurus, trainers, dancers, art connoisseurs and art lovers of Indian classical dance styles. While the morning started with learning about the interrelationships of the arts, the fifth day ended with the presentation of Kathak dance in the evening. This sequence of dance has almost reached its final stage. Under the cool shadow of cultural concerns, the true guardians of the heritage of their ancestors have made the golden year of the celebrations meaningful with their efforts. The sharing of traditions and experiments has further enhanced the shine of Indian culture on the stage of Khajuraho dance festival.

This international event is being organized in UNESCO World Heritage Site Khajuraho with the joint efforts of Madhya Pradesh Government, Culture Department and Ustad Alauddin Khan Academy of Music and Arts and with the cooperation of Archaeological Survey of India, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department and District Administration – Chhatarpur. On the sixth day, Director Ustad Alauddin Khan Academy of Music and Arts, Jayant Bhise welcomed the invited artists by presenting them a bouquet.

The beautiful evening started with the Kathak dance by Pune’s Prerna Deshpande. He started the dance by worshiping Shiva. After that a pure dance presentation was given in Teentaal. In this he offered some talents, pieces, paran etc. He concluded the dance with Ram Bhajan. He was accompanied by Supreet Deshpande on tabla, Anirudh Joshi on sitar, Hrishikesh Badve on singing, Yash Khadke on harmonium and Ishwari Deshpande on padhant.

Pandit Rajendra Gangani, a well-known Kathak guru of the country and under whose direction a world record was recently made in Kathak Kumbh, also added to the charm by giving a dance performance at the ceremony on the sixth day. He started the dance by praising Shiva. He tried to personify Lord Shiva through dance expressions. After this, while presenting a pure dance in three rhythms, he showed the work of ‘Tode’, ‘Tukde’, ‘Paran’, ‘Upaj’ and also showed the work of some ‘Gata’. He concluded the dance by presenting a soulful dance on Ram Stuti – “Shri Ramchandra Kripalu Bhajaman”. He was accompanied by Fateh Singh Gangani on tabla, Madhav Prasad in singing, Ashish Gangani on Pakhawaj and Amir Khan on Sarangi.

In the third presentation, Bharatanatyam dance was performed by Ms. Navya Natarajan who came from Bangalore. He presented Varnam. Varnam is a special thing in Bharatanatyam. In this presentation, Navya presented all the forms of Lord Shiva in dance expressions. He demonstrated the harmony of rhythm and body balance with the dance expressions very well. Navya demonstrated both the preparation and agility of Bharatnatyam to the tunes of Raga Nat Kurinji and the composition in Adital – “Papna Sama Shivam” – to the verses of Shivatandava composed by Ravana. He was accompanied by Raghuram R in singing, DV Prasanna Kumar on Natavangam, P Janardhana Rao on Mridangam and Raghunandan Ramakrishna on flute.

This beautiful sequence of dance ended with the Kathak dance of Dr. Vidhi Nagar and her colleagues who had come from Banaras. Vidhi Nagar gave a very vigorous dance performance on Dhrupad’s Bandish “Damru Har Kar Baje” in Raga Gunakali composed in Aatpita Taal. In this presentation he presented the beauty of Lord Vishwanath in dance expressions. The next presentation was of problem solving. In this he showed the integration of literature and dance. He expressed his feelings through Raga Shivranjani’s composition “Kehi Karan Sundari Haath Jaryo”. Then in the court he showed the technical side of Kathak through pure dance. She also performed a solo dance performance on Kafi’s Thumri – Kaha Karoon Dekho Gaadi Date Kanhai. She concluded the dance with Sanlayanam. She was accompanied by Shikha Ramesh, Aditi Thapliyal, Amrit Mishra, Ragini Kalyan and Chitranshi Panikar in these performances. While Vishal Mishra supported on singing and harmonium, Anand Mishra on tabla, Aditya Deep on pakhawaj, Sudhir Kumar on flute, Umesh Mishra on sarang and Ranit Chatterjee on sitar.

“Kalavarta”

The fifth day of the “50th Khajuraho Dance Festival” started on Sunday with Kalavarta like every day. On this occasion, well-known art critic of Jaipur, Dr. was present to interact with the new generation. Rajesh Vyas, who spoke on the topic ‘Insight of Art’. In the beginning he said that to know the arts, one has to go deep inside and not just on its surface. Brahmri means encounter with the soul and all Indian artists are Brahmri. If arts cannot search for the soul then they cannot become timeless. Art is the exploration of the soul. Addressing the new generation of artists, he said that if you think that we have got everything, then your artistic development is not possible, rather all the possibilities are hidden in “nothing”. When you immerse yourself in your art, you will start being appreciated. He said that when an artist is presenting his art on stage, he is no longer himself, but gets absorbed in what he is presenting. Because self-immersion is necessary for the surgeon. Talking on myth, he said that whatever is wonderful and supernatural is myth, our Indian arts are also wonderful and supernatural. It is not necessary to be only an artist, but if we have insight into the arts, then we will be supernatural.