Chand ki gat

On the 29^th of December, Naad Nartan, an evening of classical dance and music, was organized at the Purva Sanskritik Kendra to pay homage to Pandit Tirath Ram Sharma ‘Azad’ on his death anniversary. He was born in 1935 and participated in the freedom struggle. He was trained under Pt. Giriraj Maharaj, Pt. Narayan Prasad of Jaipur and Pt. Krishna Kumar of the Banaras gharana. In 2006, he got the Sangeet Natak Academy Award. He made an immense contribution to dance and music. He was remembered by his family and co-artists.

The event began with a kathak recital by three young disciples of Guru Kamini Gattu, who is the daughter and disciple of Pt. Azad. The young girls showed off their newly learnt talent.

Next, it was Tansen Shrivastav on the tabla with his four disciples. The performance was called ‘Tabla Samwad’. They played in unison creating amazing rhythm and sound. The ‘kaidas’ were recited and played together or in reverse order as in a conversation, where questions and answers are put forth. The entire energy of the pieces in teen taal was enthralling and the beats of the tablas were executed with great precision and timing. Ghanshyam Sisodia on sarangi provided the perfect accompaniment.

Following that was a performance by Gauri Diwakar. Kathak is a form of dance that has its origins in ras leela and Lord Krishna is known as Natwar. Gauri Diwakar is the disciple of Pt. Jaikishan Maharaj and has also been trained by Pt. Birju Maharaj. She has received training from Aditi Mangaldas and is associated with the Drishtikon Dance Foundation. She has been awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the year 2008. She has performed at several national and international dance festivals. She is an A grade artist of Doordarshan.

She began her recital with a composition in dhrupad – ‘Poojan chali Mahadev’. The composition was about the nayika decking up herself for Shiv Puja. She wears her ornaments – ‘tika, bindi, haar, kundal, kangan, kardhani, shvet pushp’ and then proceeds for the puja. The poet calls her ‘chandravadani’, ‘mrignayani’, and ‘hansgamani’ – appreciating her beauty. Gauri executed the piece with a lot of grace and poise. Next, she did a technical piece in teen taal. She did a few uthan with pathant. Then she did a few gat – slow gat, bindiya ki gat, chand ki gat and rukhsar ki gat. In the chand ki gat, she portrayed the moon being used as different ornaments, like for the ears and the neck. Following this she did a piece in drut laya with chakkar.

Gauri’s technique – footwork, hands, expressions - all had a lot of grace to them. Her body language exudes a lot of perfection and confidence. Finally, she danced to a Bhajan by Surdas, “Sunder vadan sukh sadan shyam ho.” Again, it was aesthetically done, with some beautiful expressions and actions. Her accompanists were Ambika Prasad Mishra on tabla, Brajesh Mishra on vocals,  Shashikant Pathak on pakhavaj and Ghulam Waris on sarangi.