Lyrical Homage on Guru Purnima

A sacred tradition in Hindu culture dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers, who are evolved and enlightened humans, ready to share their wisdom, with very little or no monetary expectation, based on Karma Yoga; Guru Purnima is an occasion where the students renew the strong parental bond of commitment towards excellence in arts to their Gurus. Amidst the recent Guru Purnima messages and photos flooding the arena of social media, one felt much lost in the din and glitter of what otherwise is a very personal and private occasion.

Abhyas- an association of arts and culture provided rasikas with the much-needed respite by organizing the 6^th Natnaagar Festival in remembrance of their Guru, the grand man of Kathak late Pt. Shambhu Maharaj. With the chief guests including Padma Vibhushan awardee Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan and ace critic Sunil Kothari remembering with much fondness their Gurus and lives as disciples, the festival featured Odissi by Guru Madhavi Mudgal, Kathak by Daniel Freddy and Rahul Pawar (students of Guru Vaswati Sen), and Bharatanatyam by Vidushi Rama Vaidyanathan.

This rasika was able to witness the Odissi recital in its full glory before having to leave to meet his own Guru for the Purnima Utsav. Madhavi Mudgal began her recital with a mangalacharan dedicated to Lord Shiva. Sambhav Lalat… extracted from the 13th-century text Sangeet Ratnakar, delved into the duality- non-duality concept of Shiva and Shakti. One had heard this composition in shuddh Hindustani style by the renowned vocalist Jitendra Abhisheki which the dancer had modulated in her personal lyrical manner.

Next in line was Jhinjhoti Pallavi, a composition by Pt. Madhup Mudgal who is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee for this year. Intertwined with sculptures freezes of the alasya kanyas, Madhavi Mudgal proved her mettle as a seasoned dancer and Guru by beautifully executing the entire pallavi in an age when most of her contemporaries have comfortably settled into forgoing the pure dance aspect in their repertories. The pallavi itself quite complex musically had various jati patterns interwoven with the Jhinjhoti raga executed by the orchestra with much finesse.

Recalling how Shabmbhu Maharaj had seen Mudgal dance as a kid, promising to give her a ‘gold medal’; the dancer chose to render a Dadra by Begum Akhtar as a tribute to both the legends who were doyens of the Lucknawi style of performing arts. Treading the much-charted waters of the nayika requesting the koyaliya to go to her lord with her message and bring him soon, the Odissi stalwart found herself at ease executing the kahayal piece in Odissi style, owing to her years of training and performance career as a Kathak artiste. The danseuse aptly chose to draw curtains on her poetically executed evening on Guru Purnima by rendering the much-loved ashtapadi of her Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra in raga Bhairavai: Yahi Madhava Yahi Keshava echoing through the hall, leaving the rasikas unquenched in their thirst for more….