Another kind of sangam

Once upon a time there was a great and glorious kingdom in South India ruled by the Nayaks. In 1675, the Bijapur army routed Vijayaraghava Nayak and placed Maratha strongman Ekoji on the throne of Thanjavur. His sons Shahji, Serfoji and Thukkoji (Thulaja I) later took over the kingdom, making it a centre of culture and learning. Serfoji II (1798-1832) was a patron of the arts and literature, and he and Shahji were also poets who wrote evocatively in ‘Thanjavur Marathi.’

Their lyrics are popular today in the works of dancer-choreographer Sucheta (Bhide) Chapekar, who has described them as “novel and imaginative.” Serfoji was the  pioneer in  exploring a single idea through many compositions.

Chapekar’s dancer-daughter Arundhati Patwardhan  and senior student Juee Deogaokar have choreographed a performance drawing on Shahji’s poetry, called Saguna-Nirguna (cancelled at the NCPA earlier this week, watch out for a rescheduling).

As Deogaokar explains, “These rulers were in Thanjavur for almost 150 years, and wrote Marathi compositions in the Tamil script. This presentation celebrates 35 years of Suchetatai’s research on them. Some dances such as Tandava lasya and Devi ashtarupini were choreographed by  Arundhathi and myself, based on Suchetatai’s style. We explore the saguna-nirguna theme—dance as a play of the absolute (tangible) and abstract. The medium of dance is saguna, absolute, or visual. Music is nirguna, or abstract. Saguna is expressed though padams (which portray emotions) and words, while nritta (pure dance) is nirguna, with no specific meaning. We portray the bhava of a particular deity through words and explore the character through movement.”

Patwardhan, who learnt Bharat Natyam at Kalavardhini, her mother’s school, performs both with her mother and as a soloist, and also teaches and choreographs dance. Chapekar’s unique style is well known and widely appreciated.

But Patwardhan says, “The best thing I have got from my mother is dance itself, but she always encourages you to analyse. So what you think and do reflects your own personality, even though the style and choreography are hers.”
According to Patwardhan, “Earlier, audiences were more open. Today, there are so many people setting high standards in dance, I need to work harder to find a niche.”

Patwardhan and a colleague choreographed Urja that combined the energies of Kathak and Bharat Natyam. “On a morning walk, we came up with Urja, or energy transformed into movement. We used traditional body language in a contemporary way. Classical dance today should be different from contemporary dance. One must retain the suggestivity, sensitivity and restraint of our classical dance forms. Dance is a reflection of what you do today. Only the language changes.”dnasalon@gmail.com