An applaud worth effort by Ranjana Phadke and Nilima Hirve
Kathak is indeed one of the most popular classical dance forms of our country with main three Gharanas ((Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras) each of them their own beautiful and unique style and class but one thing that is a common thread is the Kavittav or Kavitta or Poetries like they are called which are performed on taal, gestures and expressions are used to tell the katha (story) making Kavittav a very important and a very interesting aspect of Kathak dance. Kavittav’s are mostly written in Hindi, Avadhi or Brij Bhasha. Many vidvan (scholars) gurus of all gharanas have written numerous kavittavs. Pt. Sukhdev Maharaj (Banaras Gharana), Pt. Lachhu Maharaj (Lucknow Gharana) Pt. Narayan Prasad (Jaipur Gharana) also Ved Mani Sinha Thakur from Raigad Gharana, Pt Rohini Bhate and many more have written numerous beautiful Kavittavs. Subject of these Kavittavs varies from Radha Krishna stories, Lord Shiv, Lord Ganesh to even different Nayikas and Rasas.
Recently Ranjana Phadke, an accomplished Kathak dancer, acclaimed teacher and renowned choreographer who is recognized for her commitment, devotion and dedication to Kathak for the last three decades decided to document and present various Kavittavs. Ranjana ji who has undergone intensive training to master the rich narrative, craft and technical aspects of Kathak and has deep understanding of the complexities of rhythm along with the creative ability to express a range of emotions flawlessly. Ranjana ji is a post graduate in Kathak and has acquired the degree of “Nritya Alankar” from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. I spoke with the creative dancer and tried to know more about why she did what she did:
What made you think of documenting and presenting Kavittavs?
It so happened that Ishavasya Gurukul asked me to interview senior Dancer Manjiri Deo, she is a dance scholar and holds a PhD in Kavittavs. To know more about her and her subject I was reading her book, which has collection of numerous kavittavs. While reading, I was totally amazed. I found so many beautiful kavittavs which I had not seen in my 30 years of dance career. That’s is when I decided immediately to work on this project. Unfortunately, the interview got cancelled but it aggravated me to do some documentation which I know will be useful for dancer world over.
How did you go about putting it all together?
Totally inspired by innumerous Kavittavs, I spoke to my dancer friend Nilima Hirve and roped her in it too. In some Kavittavs pakhavaj syllables are interwoven beautifully, in some bols, some are only with sahitya, Kathak is rich in this aspect. But I thought why not do padhant in best possible ways and post on social media. Our main intention was not only kathak students but anybody can perform with the help of the videos. Social media is the best option today, spread them across all countries and all age groups and all kind of dance enthusiasts. After every episode we took feedback from our seniors and got tremendous response.
Which was the first Kavittav?
The first episode was a simple one, on Lord Ganapati kavittavs and stutis. Then we brough forward Kavittavs on Lord Shiva, as we moved ahead, we kept improvising. I must thank Guru Shama Bhate who suggested us after third episode to not just use Vachik Abhinaya but to also perform each Kavittav. Under her guidance we went ahead with two more episodes of Kavittavs. Which got a thunderous response from senior dancers too that is when we realized we were on the right track, thereafter we made seven episodes
How many Kavittavs have you done till now and what next?
Till now we have completed almost 50 Kavittavs. We intend to document 108 Kavittavs and ofcourse each will have words and performance both. I am planning to rope in other dancers too now and make this project more enriching for all. In the past whatever I have done was always to satisfy my creativity keeping into account audience and my sensibilities and this project began with the same intension but now it has gone lot beyond that. This project is on a very larger scale, the vision is global and the ones who will be benefited are present worldwide. I assure you that even after a century if someone refers to these episodes of our Kavittavs they will be gain tremendously.
It was not easy for us at all, some Kavittavs were really difficult and unheard of. The language of some kavittavs is so tough that while we were putting it together, it was extremely difficult for us to interpret and understand. I did not want to change the words to suit todays times, that is when help from seniors came in handy, who helped us out it all together. Some Kavittavs are brilliantly composed and supremely hard to understand but, like it is said ‘Practice makes a man perfect’ our dance and recital practice worked and what you see now is interesting to hear and simple to comprehend.
Ranjana Phadke has traveled and performed in several cultural venues including national as well as international dance festivals and prestigious events. She has given a number of solo performances and has choreographed and directed many productions all over India. She has conducted workshops and has performed across the globe in UK, Netherlands, USA, Germany and Middle East and has received many awards in recognition of her talent, versatility and dedication to the art form. She is an artist who combines artistry with innovation and creativity. She has worked in collaborations with nationally acclaimed artists and has also performed in many dance ballets. Her recent productions include “Shades of Kathak” which was a collaboration with two other accomplished artists of Kathak. She composed an innovative theme-based dance drama ‘Rutuvilasaha’ which depicted the similarities between six seasons and six stages of human life from birth to near death. In her efforts to promote the dance form, Ranjana ji recently organized a Kathak Symposium in Mumbai to bring together some of the leading Kathak artists and scholars on one platform for talks. discussions and debates.
With sheer hard work, positive energy and motivated spirit Ranjana Phadke and Nilima Hirve with guidance from Guru Shama Bhate have brought forward a wonderful initiative which will be extremely valuable for the world of dance, this library on traditional Kavittavs in form of videos is freely available on youtube and all other social media platform. So, if you are a lover of Kavittavs then I am sure you will not leave an opportunity to go through the elaborate work of these talented dancers and also spread it to other dance lovers and aficionados.
