Ghungroo Dance Academy and Centre for Dance concluded its festival to celebrate Nritya Sangam Festival 2024 a few days ago, with the active collaboration of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, at Gyan Manch, Kolkata. Artistic director Vidushi Madhumita Roy Misra and her institution, Ghungroo, celebrated the ancient Indian tradition of Guru-Shishya-Parampara. The culture of the country believes in handing down knowledge of the arts from one generation to the next. Guru-Shishya-Parampara is more important in the present times, when many aspirants depend on YouTube gurus and land up acquiring half-baked knowledge in their subject. There is no substitute for a guru in flesh and blood standing before you and imparting training.

The principal objective of Madhumita Roy Misra, a renowned Lucknow Gharana Kathaka, in holding this festival was to uphold the talents of veterans alongside those of newcomers and encourage young artists towards a more disciplined and artistic venture in their chosen field of the performing arts.

The students of Ghungroo Dance Academy presented three brilliant choreographies based on Chartaal ki Sawari of 11 beats, Ek boond Barish ki (the monsoon), and Tarana. All three were choreographed by Madhumita Roy Misra. Each performance portrayed Kathak’s unique style and storytelling, encompassing classical compositions and innovative choreography. It was a moment of joy when rasikas and performers jointly felt aesthetic bliss while it was being performed.

The duet presentation by Arindam Dalui and Sourav Pal captivated the audience with their brilliant performance of 16-beat Teental. Rhythm is there in the universe to be felt and enjoyed, and there it was calming our senses to dwell in its beauty.

Kathak dancer Souvik Chakraborty, with his intense love for the Kathak idiom and the art of story-telling, performed Surya stuti based on Teentaal. The concept was that the Guru is like the Sun, who enlightens us and shows us the path of knowledge. With years of practice, Souvik is today one of the most sought-after artists, both at home in India and abroad. With the right perspective, he is forging ahead on ever-new grounds.

The duet dance presentation of Sriyanka Mali and Prasenjit Majumdar with their Guru, Madhumita Roy Misra, in Bol Padhant exhibited the beauty of the rhythm created by ten and a half matras. It was absolutely enthralling. Brisk pirouettes were eye-catching.

Nilopa Maitra and Nitisha Banerjee’s Kathak duet, based on the Ghazal “Fasle aise bhi honge,” was a piece of poetry. One could veritably see a scene of great beauty with dancers gliding along with their perfect movements, dancing to the demands of the taala and laya. Kathaka Paramita Maitra’s choreography was impeccable. The costume’s colour and design gave one a glimpse of the importance of colour to be chosen for a particular time, space, and occasion.

Trina Roy, a product of the Jailal genre of Kathak, seems to be aware of her duties as the carrier of a great legacy. A serious Kathaka, she has been honing her skills in the all-round aspect of Kathak to carry on taking the right steps to keep it alive and not allowing the style to fade away into oblivion. She has excellent command over Laya and Taalim. She regaled the audience by performing Tandav Ang and, with a dhrupad-style Shiv Tandava, with an enviable command. She displayed a considerable amount of perfection over technique.

Dancers Paulami Basu, Indira Tripathi, and Paramita Bhattacharya had a beautiful grip over the nine matra taals with which they started and ended with a teen taal. Their strong movements and well-synchronised footwork made an effective and unmatchable statement. Their choreography depended on the Dhrupdangi tarana of 9 beats. They were marvellous.

Nandini Chakraborty and Debasmita Mukherjee danced eight and a half beat taal dexterously before taking up a ghazal to show their emotive qualities.

While the whole evening was devoted to Kathak, Madhumita Roy Misra also included a group Kuchipudi dance to add flavour to the evening. The pranks played by Krishna on Mother Yasoda in this style were welcomed by the audience. Krishna’s activities never fail to rouse the flavour of Balyaras, be it any dance form. Madhuri Majumdar, a direct disciple of Kuchipudi exponent Vempati Chinna Satyam, choreographed the beautiful presentation.

The writer is a senior dance critic