Prayaas: A mystical evening

Delhiites enjoyed a mystical Kathak performance at the 10th edition of annual Kathak production 'Prayaas 2018', organised by Rasik Performing Arts at Kamani Auditorium on December 15.

The evening started with Ganesh stuti – an invocation to Lord Ganesh, praying for success and peace. This was followed by the first performance lined up for the event – 'Khil Rahi', a presentation by the youngest batch of students at Rasik Performing Arts.

Next in queue was 'Umang' which is based on a Tarana in 'Raag Bhopali'. This Tarana is set in the sixteen beat cycle of Teentaal. 'Pieces of Ten' - a rhythmic cycle of 10 beats presenting infinite possibilities of grouping and regrouping phrases, numbers and movement patterns within the cycle orbit of ten – took the evening forward.

Speaking on the 10th edition of Prayaas, Guru Jayashree Archarya and co-founder of Rasik Performing Arts, said "I am glad that 'Prayaas' completed its 10 successful years, and I am looking forward to many more editions to come. All this was not possible without the hard work of all my students and even the parents who are sending their kids to learn classical dance. Even today, where western music and dance are dominating, there are some parents who want their kids to acquire the art of traditional classical dance form."

Creating a phenomenal aura of dance and music, many performances were staged, keeping the audience glued to their seats throughout the event. 'Echoes of nine' - a mesmerising piece of work that used 'Raag Jaijayanti' as its melodic backdrop, was also staged during Prayaas 2018.

Coming from Rasik Performing Arts, one of the batch performed 'Gati', which was based on a Sargam in 'Raag Charukeshi'. The act highlighted the joy of 'Taiyaari', which can be explained as the control and command over speed and the free flow of dance movements.

Following 'Gati' was the next act - the poetry speaks of the 'Nayika' who sets out to meet her beloved amidst the stormy night. The Tarana was composed by the legendary maestro of Indian Classical Music – Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh.

With a blend of the syllables typical of Tarana with excerpts from Persian poetry, 'Darbari Tarana' came next in the performance sequences at the event. The act is a combination of mnemonic syllables compared against the melodic exploration of a Raag and rhythmic journey of a taal, speaking about the eternal longing of the earthly soul that craves for a meeting with its divine beloved.

'Raag Bhairavi' was the last performance by the batch of Rasik Performing Arts, in which the choreography tried to capture various aspects of this musical scale and artists depicted a sense of peace and spiritual awakening.

The show-stopper of the evening was the guest artist - Sandeep Mullick who performed 'Navras' in Paaramparik Kathak, accompanied by Shiv Shankar Ray (Tabla), Anirban Bhattacharya (Vocal Music) and Salim (Sitar).