Every year, Aakruti Kathak Kendra hosts the Antarang Festival in Hyderabad to showcase artistes ranging from internationally renowned ones to budding talent. This year, the AKK hosted Kathak doyen Pt Birju Maharaj.
As the year also marks the 80th birthday of the great maestro, his disciples Raghav Raj Bhatt and Mangala Bhatt felicitated and honoured him for his illustrious work, dedication, and contribution to the classical dance form.
Tabla performance by Madhav Raj Bhatt
The evening began with a solo tabla performance by Madhav Raj Bhatt followed by a Kathak duet by Mangala and Raghav Raj Bhatt to the song Varanat Hari Shyam Sundar, composed and written by Birju Maharaj. This composition described Krishna and his divinity. The performance ended with a fantastic jugalbandi which met with resounding applause.
Saswati Sen performing samarpan
Saswati Sen performed samarpan of pure dance that focused on the distinct aspects of Kathak like footwork, chakkar and bhajan and depicting episodes of Prahlad- Hiranya Kashyap and Draupadi’s cheer haran. After this Maharaj performed bhaav-abhinaya in a baithaki, a traditional way of Kathak presentation.
Mangala and Raghav Raj Bhatt performing Kathak duet
He sang and performed on compositions by Maharaj Bindadin such as Jaane de Maika and Dhaaye Gayo Shyam.
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He also spoke about everyday aspects that could be related with, and shared how rhythm is everywhere. He sprang into tihais with his energetic movement after engaging the audience.
Calling Kathak a pure form of dance that made a person active and focused, Birju Maharaj said that being focused in life should be the main motto.
Referring to today’s music, he said, “Aaj kal ke kya gaane hote hai, na kapda rehta hai na kuch (Music of today’s generation makes no sense, neither are they harmonious nor are they visually aesthetic),” he said, advocating that the youth should bring classical dance and music into their lives.
The auditorium was jam-packed, and saw the audience cut across all age-groups.
