Chapter 2: How I developed fascination for Kathak
When I was a child, I loved to just spin around
my leg and tap my foot in a specific rhythm. I used to just dance randomly at
any music without letting anyone know, that I like to dance. In 2nd
Standard, when I was 7, my mother shifted me into a different school. My mother
also took up a job there as a high-school part-time computer teacher. The
middle school and high school students used to have an extra half hour of
school than us, primary students. So, I just used to stroll around in the large
ground, chatting with friends who waited for their vans and parents. One day, I
found myself all alone, waiting for my mother, looking at a basketball match
being played by the senior students. That was when I heard the faint sound of
ghungroos. I was a kid then, and my first reaction was fear. I remembered the
film “Bhulbhullaiya” and the ghost of Monjolika. I didn’t quite understand the
film then, but for me it was a horror film as it had the word “bhoot” in it. I
gathered up courage and decided to follow the sound of ghungroos. When I
finally found the source, I was very much overwhelmed. For in a nursery
classroom, a Kathak Dance class was being conducted. I was very much fascinated
by the dance form and I used to go their everyday and just watch the Mam teach
the girls younger to me as well as my seniors and peers. I told my mother that
I am interested in joining the dance class. She said that as I was new in the
school, I should first settle properly, make new friends, get accustomed to the
premises and after that I can join the dance class.
So, for the first year, I just focused on my
studies and my new routine in the new school.
In 3rd Standard when the circular was circulated at the beginning of the session for admission in the dance class, I was the first one to submit it. The first day of the dance class was 5th of July 2012. I already knew the teacher, my first Kathak Guru, since I used to sit and watch the class before taking the admission. My first day in the dance class was pure bliss and happiness. I was not able to believe that I have actually and finally joined the dance class. I just pinched myself several times to check if I am in a dream. The first thing I learnt was the pranam or the salutation. We consider the Earth as our Mother. And since we dance on the ground and cause pain to Mother Earth, the pranam is done at the beginning and at the end of the dance, to ask for forgiveness from Mother Earth. It shows that we are sorry for causing the pain Mother Earth is inflicted upon when we dance on Her. This idea touched me deeply and I started to love Kathak more than before.
In 3rd Standard when the circular was circulated at the beginning of the session for admission in the dance class, I was the first one to submit it. The first day of the dance class was 5th of July 2012. I already knew the teacher, my first Kathak Guru, since I used to sit and watch the class before taking the admission. My first day in the dance class was pure bliss and happiness. I was not able to believe that I have actually and finally joined the dance class. I just pinched myself several times to check if I am in a dream. The first thing I learnt was the pranam or the salutation. We consider the Earth as our Mother. And since we dance on the ground and cause pain to Mother Earth, the pranam is done at the beginning and at the end of the dance, to ask for forgiveness from Mother Earth. It shows that we are sorry for causing the pain Mother Earth is inflicted upon when we dance on Her. This idea touched me deeply and I started to love Kathak more than before.
It was the time when I first got my ghungroos, that I truly felt as a dancer. They were so shiny made of brass, woven in a spotless white broad thread. I remember that I turned them over and over again in my hands marveling at their simple yet ethereal beauty.
Ghungroos: An important deity for a dancer
(Courtesy: Google Images)
I remember that it was raining very heavily that day, so my teacher had asked me to put them in a polythene bag and not to take them out in the open until I reach home. I was a little disappointed at her words, since I didn’t want to keep them, but I knew that if I will keep them in the open, they will pick up moisture and turn black within hours, losing their gleaming and shining exterior. So, I reluctantly but carefully put them in my bag and carried them home. I still have some of the bells from my first ghungroo strings kept safely.
I was and am a very devoted student. Even though I don’t practice enough, the todas and parans are constantly ringing in my mind, my feet and hands always tap in rhythm of the taals. I like to learn new things in Kathak, especially the challenging ones. I am able to catch up footwork fast and the spins or chakkars is my strong point. But still, I am quite below average in terms of expressions. I don’t know why, but I can express myself in dance when I am alone, and when nobody is watching me. I also like to watch videos of legends like Pandit Birju Maharaj, Late Sitaradevi, Malti Shyam and Pandit Rajendra Gangani. I try to choreograph on some Kathak dance songs and perform them in front of my family.
(Courtesy:
Google Images)
Now I am preparing for Madhyama Purna, the
fifth Kathak examination. I am still learning and loving Kathak. When I started
learning Kathak, it was just a hobby. But over the years, it has become more
than just a hobby. I have come to know about the difference a classical art
form creates in our daily lives. How it calms us, how it soothes us. How it
helps in times of distress and that of happiness. How it helps to express our
feelings and our true selves. Therefore, I want to make people realize, how
beautiful and rich is Kathak or in the sense every Indian Classical Art Form.
How it makes us Indians, different from the whole world. How it makes us WHO WE
ARE: INDIANS.
THANK YOU
Mrinal
Jawalekar
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