Mesmerizing ‘Kathak Rang’ concert by ‘Ninad’ troupe!

In a busy, running city like Mumbai, people rarely get the time and chance to sit by the sea-side and watch the beautiful, traditional Indian classical dance concerts! But this has been made possible with the initiative of Mr. Harsh Mariwala, Chairman-Marico Ltd., called ‘Marico Evenings’ which is organised by the Bandra West Residents Association (BWRA) and takes place in the beautiful venue of an amphitheatre by the seashore on Carter Road in Bandra… and when this serene ambience is coupled with the live concert by the renowned and talented Kathak exponent Dr. Tina Tambe with her group of ‘Ninad Centre for Performing Arts’; it becomes a visual treat for the spectators!!

On the 20th May 2018, Dr. Tina Tambe with her young, vibrant students presented a full-length Kathak Concert- ‘Kathak Rang’ at the Marico Evenings which showcased different aspects of Kathak Dance repertoire- pure technical Kathak movements, Abhinaya segments and thematic presentation on the life of Lord Krishna.

The sun was setting down on the horizon, like drowning in the endless sea while spreading the reflection of magical and vibrant colours of red and orange to make the performance ambience even more scenic! The red colour also depicts the strength and the power which is a symbol of Goddess- Durga…

The performance started with the powerful Devi Stuti which portrayed different qualities and forms of ‘Shakti’ (Power) and ‘Bhakti’ (devotion) as they are seen in Durga/Devi. This composition set the mood for an entire evening of many more vibrant and colourful performances to come! Devi Stuti was an ode to the innate strength, kindness, love and compassion of every woman which connects women, to the ultimate truth, divine power of Goddess Durga!

This was followed by the traditional pure Kathak ‘Nritta’ Taal Paksha (technical dance portion) in Taal Teentaal (16 beats). Beginning with Uthan, Thaat, Amad, and Laykari in Vilambit Laya (slow speed), it progressed to different Kavitta, Parans, Toda-tukdas and Tihais in Madhya Laya (middle speed) and ended with Gatnikas, fast-paced todas with Kathak spins and tatkar in Drut Laya (fast speed). Nritta segment showcased nuances and intricacies of Kathak nritta, vigour in footwork and captivating Kathak pirouettes! Taal segment was also a proof of the fines, Riyaz (practice and hard-work), perfect synchronisation and the beauty of intricate body movements of Dr. Tina Tambe and her students… This segment ended with a fast-paced Tarana which stole the hearts of everyone present!

The second half of the show was a thematic presentation on the life of Lord Krishna. Different, main incidents of Krishna’s life like Makhan-Chori, Rasleela with gopikas, Kaliya mardan, saving Draupadi from Draupadi vastraharan, rescuing Kubja from her hunchback in Mathura and his iconic role in Mahabharata were woven together in the composition of ‘Madhurashtakam’ sung by legendary singer Pt. Jasraj.

This was followed by a piece on Krishna’s childhood story where he insisted his mother, Yashoda to bring the moon to play like a ball- ‘Maiyya mohe, chand khilona lai lo’. Yashoda tried her best to play some tricks to deceive Krishna, but all the tricks eventually failed for the smart and stubborn Krishna.. This very adorable composition touched the hearts of the audience. Krishna is famous for his playful behaviour and Rasleelas with Gopikas! This was shown aptly in the Thumri- ‘sab ban than ayi shyam pyari re’. Thumri is considered as a very important aspect of Kathak dance which includes nazakat, thehrav and expressions. This beautiful, melodious composition of Thumri also impressed everyone, taking the story of Krishna’s life forward!

When we think about Krishna, Gopikas and Mathura; we surely can’t forget to think about the colourful, joyful and playful festival of ‘Holi’. Making colours, spotting Gopikas going to the river, chasing them and playing colours with them- all of this was nicely portrayed in the Holi- ‘Rang daro na mope Nandlal’. Holi with Krishna in Mathura is a symbol of love and affection and all the Gopikas were soaked in the universal color of Love! Saint Meera Bai is considered to be an example of utmost devotion, selflessness, Prem bhakti and poetess, when we talk about Lord Krishna. Her devotion had no bounds; it was her timeless and limitless affection towards Krishna which made her ‘one with the God’.. This oneness with the divine, almighty Lord Krishna was depicted in Meera Bhajan- ‘Hari bin kaun gati meri’ where Dr. Tina was dressed up as Meera Bai and the audience became one with the dance piece. Dr. Tina seemed like being one with the devotion of Meera through her dance, attire and beautiful expressions (Abhinaya).

After this emotional, touching performance; all dancers came together and summed up the evening with high-speed Tatkar (footwork) followed by Dashavataras (10 Avataras/forms) of Lord Vishnu accompanied by a Shloka!

‘Kathak Rang’ was made special with the live accompaniment by the talented Satyaprakash Mishra who created magic with his fingers on Tabla. Talented singer Vaibhav Mankad left the audience mesmerized with his soulful renditions and accompanied the performance with Lehra on Harmonium and senior Sitas artist Smt. Aprna Deodhar added the beauty and a unique touch to all the compositions of the show!

Disciples of Dr. Tina Tambe; Tejali Kunte accompanied for ‘Padhant’ (recitation of Dance bolas) and Simantini Budukh hosted this wonderful evening of ‘Kathak Rang’.

Dr. Tina Tambe was accompanied by her young, talented team of disciples- Ashwini Kusurkar, Nikita Patwardhan, Saloni Lanjekar, Nisha Nair, Aparna Verma, Priyanshi Gandhi, Ananya Koppikar Moorthy, Radhika Rane, Reena Gandhi, Shaivangi Chitalia, Mitali Kharsikar, Aastha Oza and Dhruva Parmar who made the evening even more wonderful and memorable! Hundreds of people stopped by to witness the magic of Kathak Dance by the ‘Ninad Group and left spellbound after the magical, enthralling and captivating ‘Kathak Rang’ concert!

Dr. Tina appreciated the efforts of Ms. Nazneen and organising team to make Marico Evening a most awaited event in the vicinity and thanked Mrs. Archana Mariwala for her presence throughout the performance.