On the 120th birth anniversary of his Guru Rukmini Devi Arundale, Guru Khagendranath Barman, an alumnus of Kalakshetra, released his book “Dasiattam Banam Bharatanatyam” (Dasi Attam Versus Bharatanatyam), written in Bengali and published by Boi Terminus. In his book, he has traced at length the trials and tribulations gone through by Rukmini Nilakanta Sashtri in her mission to resurrect Sadir Attam, which was nearing extinction on account of the ban imposed on the Devadasi system by the colonial rulers. Rukmini Devi was the main architect of the transition from present-day Bharatanatyam to Dasiattam.

Author Khagendranath Barman, an Assamese by birth, served Rabindra Bharati University from 1983 to 2017 as a professor of Bharatnatyam. His passion for Bharatanatyam made him go all the way from Assam to Madras, now renamed Chennai, to be tutored by Rukmini Devi in the Pandanallur style of dance. A pass-out from Kalakshetra, he made the then-Calcutta his home and served RBU as a professor for 35 years.

He is the founder and director of Natanam Kalakshetram, where he trains aspirants in the Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam, which is now known as the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam.

“Mahaganapati,” the first number performed by the students of Natanam Kalakshetra, told, in the language of dance, the various attributes of Lord Ganesha by Proloy, Suvankar, Joyeeta, Mousumi, Debasree, and Susmita. Rukmini Devi Vandana, by students of Shri Ramkrishna Chattopadhyay, was in the same style as Shiv Stuti by Yagnasi Sasmal. The dancers made their guru proud. It is amazing indeed to note that Rukmini Devi’s special day was observed in Kolkata. It says much about the beauty of art, which never remains confined to a place. Guru Khagendranath Barman himself excelled in the abhinaya piece “Priye Charusile,” an astapadi from Jayadeva’s Geet Govinda. A seasoned artist, he ably pleaded with his estranged lover, Radha, in myriad ways to forgive him. It was the concluding piece of the evening.

On his revered guru’s 120th birth anniversary this leap year, Khagendranath Barman shared his celebration of the event with dancers of other classical genres, besides his very own Kalakshetra style of Bharatnatyam.

Mohana Iyer, a disciple of Kalamandalam Thankamani Kutty, performed ‘Ganapathy’, worshipping the golden-hued elephant-headed god in Mohiniyattam style. The piece’s content consisted of asking for boons of protection from all the pitfalls of life and describing them and the music was composed in Ragamalika and Talamalika. The lyrics, music composition, and dance composition were all by Natya Kala Ratna Guru Kala Vijayan, performed by Mohana Iyer, with Anand Jayaram accompanying her as a vocalist and violinist. Shankar Narayanaswamy played the mridangam, and Gopa Kumar was on Edakka, a percussion instrument used in Mohiniyattam and Kathakali. Veena accompanist, Mahadevan Sriram, added to the richness of the music. Since the music was pre-recorded, performer Mohana Iyer could be the nattuvanar.

Sattriya dancer and SNA awardee Anita Sharma presented Leela Purusuttam. The Vandana began with a Nandi Sloke, which was sung in praise of Lord Rama. The belief that when one takes his name, he is released from all pains; his name means strength, helping one to go ahead on his chosen path, was reiterated in the soft and aesthetic style of Sattriya dance. Then followed a Bhatima of Ankiya Naat, “Ram Bijoy,” written by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. The composition depicted how, during Sita Swayambar, Lord Ram was the most powerful of all the others present. It narrated how he destroyed Parashurama’s pride in his strength and married Sita. The music composition was by Murari Mohan Sharma. The piece was in Taal Ek Taal and Raag Srigandhar.

Thanks to Kathak exponent Ashimbandhu Bhattacharya and his team consisting of Avik Chaki and Subroto Pandit, rasikas got a glimpse of their excellent Kathak rendition. Both Guru and Sishyas were in top form. “Naman” was very significantly an invocation to the guru, who is omnipotent and present in every corner of the universe; he is infinite. The concept of the Guru, who bestows us with the gift of intellect, knowledge, blessings, et al., expressed in the refined language of Kathak, was mesmerising.

The second piece, Ojjas (vigour), is a composition on Dhamar Tala and in Raga Darbari. The dancers exhibited the intricacies and technical prowess of Jaipur gharana coupled with the softness of Lucknow style through different tukda, tora, paran, tatakar, and tehai choreographed keeping in mind time and space. It was a delectable feast. The complete involvement of the dancers involved the audience.

Manipuri aspirant Rintu Das’ Mahashakti, an invocation of Goddess Jagaddhatri, choreographed by Bimbavati Devi and set to various talas such as Jhaptal of 10 beats, Tanchep of 4 beats, and Chaartal of 14 beats, was a delightful watch. The nuances of the Manipuri style have been meticulously imbibed by the young dancer.

Odissi dance performer Rina Jana’s self-choreographed Tulsi Das’ “Sri Ramchandra Kripalu Bhaja Mana, Harana Bhava Bhaya Daarunam” inclusion of known episodes from the life of Ram in the Sanchari bhavas added to the richness of the piece. Traditional music compositions were rearranged by Sukanta Kundu. The rhythm composition was by Dhaneswar Swain. Raag Yaman Kalyan, which is an evening raag, was most appropriate; the tapas used were a combination of Jyoti and Tripata.

A very tame and lustreless version of Poothana Moksham—Salvation of Pootana—a mono-act drama of blood and gore was by Proloy Sarkar in Kathakali style.

Maharaja Swati Tirunal’s lyric “Shankara Sree Giri Nath Prabhu” about the dance of Shiva in Chitra Sabha in Kuchipudi style ending with the performer performing ‘Tarangam’ on the rim of a brass plate lacked the grace and beauty of Kuchipudi dance.

Programme coordinators Sugata Das and Himika Barman went a long way towards the success of the programme.

The writer is a senior dance critic