By Manjula Negi - The Times of India
Monday, February 27, 2006
When the acclaimed Kathak danseuse Manjari Chaturvedi takes the stage at the Khajuraho Dance Festival (2 - 5 March) for the first time this year, she will not just be performing Sufi Kathak.
It will be an affirmation and recognition towards what Manjari has managed to achieve for the unique art form that she has developed and honed over the last decade and a half. She had been training in the classical dance form of Kathak for 11 years before that.
"In an effort to rediscover Kathak from its classical form, I have introduced the mystique of Sufism." Her meditative moving form on stage is akin to the whirling dervishes in the Sufi tradition and merely attempts to give expression to the 'formlessness' of the Almighty.
"In Kathak stories are recited about Radha-Krishna while in the Sufi traditions – the lyrics render the love for the Almighty. My base remains Kathak for there is always a story-telling aspect in my dance. The concept of nirvana in Hindu philosophy and fanaah in Islamic philosophy is the same.
Since it is easier to relate to a form, I have developed new movements, which will convey that sense of ecstasy that the Sufiana kalam expresses through music.
Trained in the pure classical traditions of Kathak under Pandit Arjun Mishra, of the Lucknow gharana, Manjari chose to blend her love for the qawaali with Kathak way back in 1995-96 when she was given a chance to perform at Neemrana.
She launched it formally in Delhi in the year 2000. "I perform ghazals, holi and tarana in Sufi Kathak which were also originally a part of Kathak. Both are in praise of the Almighty, thus both are closely interwoven. "In a classical dance performance the spotlight remains on the dancer. But in my case, I often have to tell the light man to concentrate on creating an atmosphere on stage, that it's alright if my face is not seen for five minutes in a performance lasting an hour."
Manjari prefers the chauda pyjamas and flowing kurtas compared to the tight-fitting churidaar and angkharkha, which highlight the form of a dancer.
"My concept is clear. I don't dance to entertain. I dance in praise of the Almighty so the attention has to be taken away from me." She always has two sets of musicians (folk and classical) on stage "who enable me to find that perfect sync."
The young dancer has always shied away from teaching Sufi Kathak until now. "I can only teach the form that I learnt, which is Kathak. The love for the Almighty has to come from within. It's only now, after all these years that there is a defined structure in place and I can initiate others into it, just as I was initiated.
He made it happen for me, He influenced me. I can't just do Tere ishq mein (the music video by Vishal Bhardwaj set to lyrics of Gulzar) and renditions of Baba Bulle Shah without doing justice to the thought they put into the love for Him. That has to come through in my performances or I shouldn't be doing it all."
Manjari has performed with Abida Parveen, the Sabri brothers, the Manginniaars of Rajasthan and with musicians from Iran and Turkmenistan apart from performing worldwide including Zurich, Tashkent, Kualalumpur, Kuwait, Portugal, Sydney and Colombo to name some.
Now, it is only befitting that she lay bare her devotion in the untarnished precincts of the temples of Khajuraho.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Dance of Ecstasy
By Manjula Negi - The Times of India
Monday, February 27, 2006
When the acclaimed Kathak danseuse Manjari Chaturvedi takes the stage at the Khajuraho Dance Festival (2 - 5 March) for the first time this year, she will not just be performing Sufi Kathak.
It will be an affirmation and recognition towards what Manjari has managed to achieve for the unique art form that she has developed and honed over the last decade and a half. She had been training in the classical dance form of Kathak for 11 years before that.
"In an effort to rediscover Kathak from its classical form, I have introduced the mystique of Sufism." Her meditative moving form on stage is akin to the whirling dervishes in the Sufi tradition and merely attempts to give expression to the 'formlessness' of the Almighty.
"In Kathak stories are recited about Radha-Krishna while in the Sufi traditions – the lyrics render the love for the Almighty. My base remains Kathak for there is always a story-telling aspect in my dance. The concept of nirvana in Hindu philosophy and fanaah in Islamic philosophy is the same.
Since it is easier to relate to a form, I have developed new movements, which will convey that sense of ecstasy that the Sufiana kalam expresses through music.
Trained in the pure classical traditions of Kathak under Pandit Arjun Mishra, of the Lucknow gharana, Manjari chose to blend her love for the qawaali with Kathak way back in 1995-96 when she was given a chance to perform at Neemrana.
She launched it formally in Delhi in the year 2000. "I perform ghazals, holi and tarana in Sufi Kathak which were also originally a part of Kathak. Both are in praise of the Almighty, thus both are closely interwoven. "In a classical dance performance the spotlight remains on the dancer. But in my case, I often have to tell the light man to concentrate on creating an atmosphere on stage, that it's alright if my face is not seen for five minutes in a performance lasting an hour."
Manjari prefers the chauda pyjamas and flowing kurtas compared to the tight-fitting churidaar and angkharkha, which highlight the form of a dancer.
"My concept is clear. I don't dance to entertain. I dance in praise of the Almighty so the attention has to be taken away from me." She always has two sets of musicians (folk and classical) on stage "who enable me to find that perfect sync."
The young dancer has always shied away from teaching Sufi Kathak until now. "I can only teach the form that I learnt, which is Kathak. The love for the Almighty has to come from within. It's only now, after all these years that there is a defined structure in place and I can initiate others into it, just as I was initiated.
He made it happen for me, He influenced me. I can't just do Tere ishq mein (the music video by Vishal Bhardwaj set to lyrics of Gulzar) and renditions of Baba Bulle Shah without doing justice to the thought they put into the love for Him. That has to come through in my performances or I shouldn't be doing it all."
Manjari has performed with Abida Parveen, the Sabri brothers, the Manginniaars of Rajasthan and with musicians from Iran and Turkmenistan apart from performing worldwide including Zurich, Tashkent, Kualalumpur, Kuwait, Portugal, Sydney and Colombo to name some.
Now, it is only befitting that she lay bare her devotion in the untarnished precincts of the temples of Khajuraho.
Monday, February 27, 2006
When the acclaimed Kathak danseuse Manjari Chaturvedi takes the stage at the Khajuraho Dance Festival (2 - 5 March) for the first time this year, she will not just be performing Sufi Kathak.
It will be an affirmation and recognition towards what Manjari has managed to achieve for the unique art form that she has developed and honed over the last decade and a half. She had been training in the classical dance form of Kathak for 11 years before that.
"In an effort to rediscover Kathak from its classical form, I have introduced the mystique of Sufism." Her meditative moving form on stage is akin to the whirling dervishes in the Sufi tradition and merely attempts to give expression to the 'formlessness' of the Almighty.
"In Kathak stories are recited about Radha-Krishna while in the Sufi traditions – the lyrics render the love for the Almighty. My base remains Kathak for there is always a story-telling aspect in my dance. The concept of nirvana in Hindu philosophy and fanaah in Islamic philosophy is the same.
Since it is easier to relate to a form, I have developed new movements, which will convey that sense of ecstasy that the Sufiana kalam expresses through music.
Trained in the pure classical traditions of Kathak under Pandit Arjun Mishra, of the Lucknow gharana, Manjari chose to blend her love for the qawaali with Kathak way back in 1995-96 when she was given a chance to perform at Neemrana.
She launched it formally in Delhi in the year 2000. "I perform ghazals, holi and tarana in Sufi Kathak which were also originally a part of Kathak. Both are in praise of the Almighty, thus both are closely interwoven. "In a classical dance performance the spotlight remains on the dancer. But in my case, I often have to tell the light man to concentrate on creating an atmosphere on stage, that it's alright if my face is not seen for five minutes in a performance lasting an hour."
Manjari prefers the chauda pyjamas and flowing kurtas compared to the tight-fitting churidaar and angkharkha, which highlight the form of a dancer.
"My concept is clear. I don't dance to entertain. I dance in praise of the Almighty so the attention has to be taken away from me." She always has two sets of musicians (folk and classical) on stage "who enable me to find that perfect sync."
The young dancer has always shied away from teaching Sufi Kathak until now. "I can only teach the form that I learnt, which is Kathak. The love for the Almighty has to come from within. It's only now, after all these years that there is a defined structure in place and I can initiate others into it, just as I was initiated.
He made it happen for me, He influenced me. I can't just do Tere ishq mein (the music video by Vishal Bhardwaj set to lyrics of Gulzar) and renditions of Baba Bulle Shah without doing justice to the thought they put into the love for Him. That has to come through in my performances or I shouldn't be doing it all."
Manjari has performed with Abida Parveen, the Sabri brothers, the Manginniaars of Rajasthan and with musicians from Iran and Turkmenistan apart from performing worldwide including Zurich, Tashkent, Kualalumpur, Kuwait, Portugal, Sydney and Colombo to name some.
Now, it is only befitting that she lay bare her devotion in the untarnished precincts of the temples of Khajuraho.
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