Mahishasur Mardini

On Mahastami (21 October) the 5,000-plus audience at the Ramlila ground in Salt Lake was overwhelmed, awestruck and gave a standing ovation to Orissi danseuse and guru Sanchita Bhattacharya and her team of 40 dancers when they presented Mahishasur Mardini in the traditional dance-theatre form but with a new dimension by linking it to a real life situation that gave it a character totally relevant to the present era and the happenings around us: locally, nationally and internationally. This was probably the first attempt at presenting this ancient theme without deviating from the original text of “Chandi”.

The entire presentation was a combination of classical dance choreography with modern day stagecraft technologies combined with a multimedia presentation to intertwine the mythological theme and present life. This was an attempt to establish the fact that “Chandi” is no mere mythical tale but a real life situation. The good and evil, the honest and wicked remain the same in all ages; they reappear by taking different forms in different times and eras.

The root of the presentation was Mahishasur that actually embodies an extreme outburst of fury on not getting the object of lust and desire and his malevolent army chiefs were basically the representation of different human vices such as lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride — the intensification of which brings out the evil within us. These army heads were linked with some present day scenarios through multimedia techniques. For example, Durmukh, whose nature is extremely inhuman, violent and cruel, was correlated with the Nirbhaya case. Andhakasur, blind with universal hatred, was linked with a scene depicting the Mumbai bomb blasts in 2005. Germany&’s Nazi-holocaust, India&’s Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Mumbai&’s 26/11, Roop Kanwar&’s murder faked as Sati, innumerable dowry-deaths, etc, were also woven into the characters of the army chiefs who helped Mahisasur to emerge as an invincible power.

Sanchita herself portrayed Durga. The interesting part was that all her 10 hands were empty. As all the devtas started giving her weapons, each of her hands actually got them without any physical transfer – thanks to multimedia. Ultimately, Durga&’s trishul came from the sky (top of the open stage) and landed in her hand. The audience never stopped clapping.

Durga breathes out and creates Devi sena. With multimedia techniques the scene appeared as if the devisenas were created from dust. The Durga-Mahisasur fight was the climax as all the four dancers who were Durga&’s hands and Durga herself synchronised the violent war dance (Tandava) in such a way that all the hands seemed to belong to one body. This needs tremendous practice and calibre. The Lion was Purulia Chhau master Harendra, who enchanted the audience with his acrobatic stances and high energy, typical Purulia Chhau jumps.

The ultimate concept focused on Durga as “Mahamaya”, the eternal life force who maintains the balance and the dynamics of the entire universe and is also omnipresent as Mother Nature (Moola Prakriti). She is “Prana” in all living things and also in the five elements that help support life on earth. She is Maha Saraswati, who gives us the intellect and understanding of the universal Truth. She is also Maha Lakshmi, the one who gives us prosperity; Annuparna, the one who feeds the entire world, and Chandika, the one who protects and gives us the power to stand up against wrong. Her true worship would mean to kill the Mahishasur (demonic and destructive characteristics) within us, protect Mother Nature and stop all selfish wars that bring only catastrophe to both sides. Only this would be true “Durga Puja”. With this message, the entire presentation was colourful, sleek and enchanting. The dancers who deserve special mention for their performance were Shib Narayan Banerjee (Shiva), Diptangshu Pal (Mahishasura), Trishita Nandy, Aneswa Ghosh, Mouparna Ghosh, Agnidipa Nath (devisena and hands of Durga), Gaurav Ghosal (Vishnu) and Rudra Mishra (Chamar).

Rhythm

The 34th annual programme of Rhythm was organised at the Birla Academy on 1 November. As is the tradition of the organisation under the able stewardship of tabla maestro Sujit Saha, the event saw him felicitating senior artistes like Pandit Santosh Banerjee (sitar-surbahar player), Maitreyee Chatterjee (vocalist) and Suchil Mandol (poet). The musical segment of the evening began with a little ones’ group tabla-lahara under the direction of Saha and Sarbashis Karmakar. However, the main attraction of the evening was Pandit Suraranjan&’s sarod recital. He chose to portray raga Madhuwanti replete with alap and teental gatkaris in slow and fast tempos, ably assisted by Sujit Saha&’s sensitive tabla. His soulful raga elaboration and skilled tankari enthralled the audience. Finally, Rhythm&’s artistes presented their famed ensemble, Taal Vichitra. Ten percussionists on tabla, pakhwaj, Bangla dhol, khol, ghatam, madal, Western Kahan and vocal, flute and bass guitar joined in to present the thrill of rhythm based on different North Indian and Carnatic ragas. It was a unique fusion based on Patdip, Marwa, Durga, Kalavati, Jog and Kirwani. Surajit Saha, Anirban Das, Saugata Naskar, Biplab Das, Shambo Guha, Sanjib Banerjee and Sarbasis beautifully carried out their parts under the direction of Sujit Saha who also conceptualised the total theme.

Melodious book

Pandit Tejpal Singh, the seniormost surviving disciple of Ustad Amir Khan and the elder of the renowned Singh-Bandhu, did it once again by scripting music; without looking for any returns except the pleasure derived from “Sangeet Seva” in an era when the ancient guru-shishya parampara has lost its meaning, when gurus have stopped supporting even their worthy disciples, when gharanedar musicians are hounding eager learners to dole out huge amounts for an antara of a single traditional bandish!

Tejpalji went against the stream first when he authored Sangeet ke Dedeepyaman Surya Ustad Amir Khan (published by Kanishka, Delhi, in Hindi; translated by this correspondent in Bengali Sangeet Surjo Ustad Amir Khan, published by Thema Books with a second edition now in circulation). He not only gave the secrets of proper riyaz, application tricks of merukhand, but also notated versions of 40 compositions often sung by Khansaheb with their meanings to help understand the hidden philosophy behind the apparently simple lyrics and methods of finding new vistas of treating the refrains aesthetically.

Tejpalji has now authored another major collection of traditional compositions with notations in 13 major ragas in Shastreeya Sangeet Shikshan (Hindi), published by Akansha Publishing House, Delhi. Apparently meant for beginners, this book contains raga elaboration based on key phrases, several compositions in one raga, rhythm-bound phrases of vistar and short taans. All this is extremely helpful in understanding the character of the ragas, especially when there is more than one bandish to show different angles of the raga. Albeit the nuances need to be learnt by listening to the guru or great musicians; a keen learner can immensely benefit from this book as an added supplement that is authentic from all angles, including melody, rhythm, lyrics and their treatment.

Working on print to notate Indian classical music is a tough job, by all means. The publishers have done a commendable job by presenting it in a neat, dignified style that the subject deserves.     

Film fest

In a glittering event at Nandan (3 November) it was announced that the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival (14-21 November) would be inaugurated by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. Renowned actor Sharmila Tagore is the chairperson of the jury and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will preside over the event.

The inauguration will feature an innovative performance by “Maestros of Bengal”. The inaugural film is Blanka by Kokhi Hasei from the Philippines. This year, for the second time, the Kiff is organising a competition that will focus on films directed by women. There are 121 entries from 40 countries. The Royal Bengal Tiger Trophy will be awarded to the Best Film and Best Director. The cash award for the Best Film is the single largest at any international film festival now. There are 15 sections, including the competitive section. Royal Bengal Tiger Awards, NETPAC Award, with the completions for short and documentary films. For the first time this year, there is Critics Award for the best Indian language film. The musical theme for the festival reflects the interaction between Kolkata and the world – each musical phrase is started by an Indian instrument and echoed by world instruments in the “sawaal jawaab” tradition.

The festival has two main themes – bringing good world cinema to Kolkata and taking cinema to the common man in the city. Regarding the first objective, this year 149 films by 137 directors from 61 countries will be screened at 12 venues across the city over eight days. Of these, 30 are Indian films.

The announcement was aesthetically clubbed with the unveiling of festival T-shirts, a poster and a trophy of the Royal Bengal Tiger Award. Invited dignitaries Atri Bhattacharya, principal secretary, Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, West Bengal government, Kiff director-general Arindam Sil, chairman, Selection Committee, Short and Documentary Film section  Ranjit Mallick, and Moon Moon Sen, member, Kolkata Chalachitra Utsav, Haranath Chakaraborty and Yadab Mondal, special secretary to the government of West Bengal and chief executive officer, Nandan, unveiled these.

Coming up

12-15 Nov: Rasikhapriya organises 23rd Anniversary celebrations featuring vocalists Neyveli R Santhagopalan (12th, 6 pm), Maharajapuram S Ganesh Vishwanathan, R Suryaprakash (13th 5 pm), SP Ramh and violin duet by the Akkarai sisters (14th 4.30 pm), Bombay Jayashri Ramnath (15th 9.30 am); Uttam Mancha.