The Kathakar shines!

The Department of Kannada and Culture, Bangalore, organizes Yuva Sourabha, an every Wednesday program, lending a platform for artistes in music and dance alike. This Wednesday, saw the recital of Keerthi Kumar, a Kathak dancer, training under the illustrious Kathak exponent, Dr Maya Rao.

The recital began with Phalanetra, a prayer to Lord Shiva set to Ek Taal in Rag Malkauns. The dancer began with utmost confidence and eased into graceful movements there on.

Just as the ‘Varna’ shows the excellence and technical proficiency in Bharathanatyam, ‘Nrittha’ does the same in Kathak. It comprises the Thaat or the Sringar, Aamad which means start or beginning in Persian and Tukdas, ie, rhythmic fragments. Set to Tri taal (16 beats), the Nrittha contained both Lucknow and Jaipur Gharana in its choreography, directed radiantly by Dr Maya Rao herself.

In this piece, a dancer recites various bols (or beats) and reciprocates the same by dancing to it. Keerthi chose to recite Parans, Chakradhar, a small piece on Holi and a Tabla Bol which he executed admirably which was evident from the crowd/connoisseurs’ claps and words of encouragement. A technical piece in nature, the Kathakar must be able to come to ‘Sam’ or right on the beat and he didn’t miss it once! Minor flaws in terms of rigidity in his upper body were almost nullified with a self-assured air around him and subtlety in his movements. Keerthi executed the technical piece with much flamboyance.

The highlight of the entire evening was the next item, Saint Tulsidas’ Shri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhajumana set to Rupak Taal in Rag Yaman. The composition by Anil Biswas in itself is a masterpiece and a very popular one. The choreography, again by Guru Maya Rao spoke volumes! Lord Rama’s curls tied high up and in the same way the quiver holding his arrows were wonderfully portrayed by the dancer. Lot of hard work was apparent in the way the dancer had built his physique and the attention to the costumes worn.

The musicians who skilfully accompanied Keerthi were as follows:
• Vocals: Sri Shankar Shanbouge
• Padanth: Smt Ramya Anoop
• Sitar: Smt Shruthi Kamath
• Tabla: Sri Ajay Kumar Singh
• Flute: Sri Prakash Hedge

Shankar Shanbouge, always known for his classy voice, didn’t fail the dancer here either. With much dexterity, he complemented the dancer throughout. Among the instrumentalists, Smt Shruthi Kamath was a sure stand out.

What the viewers perceived to be a stop gap, was in fact a kind of a prequel to Keerthi’s next piece. The vocalist sang a Kannada Devarnama, ‘Ishtu Dhina E Vaikunta’. The piece which followed, ‘Oh Ena Baarade?’, was a Vittala Dasa devarnama, set to Tri Taal in Rag Attana, where the devotee questions the Almighty as to why he doesn’t answer any of the former’s call for attention. The devotee quotes instances of the elephant being rescued from the deadly jaws of the crocodile and also depicts all the ten avatars. The portrayal was good, which could have been better though.

Finally, came the Tarana, poet Amir Khusru’s innovation which are sung in Hindustani musical concerts and performed by dancers who hail from many North Indian styles, Keerthi chose to perform one set to Rag Desh. However, the singer, Shankar stole the dancer’s strength on stage and sang to perfection.

Nevertheless, a highly professionally trained Keerthi Kumar showed his proficiency not only in the technical piece but also in the form of emotions throughout. Never once did the feeling of he overdoing them came to be witnessed. Crisp body movements and a sense of confidence prevailed throughout making him a dancer to watch out for. Kathak is seeing many duos entertaining connoisseurs, but solo male Kathakars are few in number.

On the whole, the show was very immaculate in terms of music, comperes, apt lighting by Janardhan and the dancer himself. Coming from a renowned school of dance, Keerthi has made use of it well, in terms of his learning and efficient execution on stage. He has it all in him to become a renowned male Kathak artiste.