Suchanda Sangitalaya presented an evening of music at the ICCR recently. Directed by the Kathak dancer, Surangama Lala Dasgupta, Rabir Radha was a Kathak dance show based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bhanusingher Padabali. Classical dances based on Tagore's songs have been choreographed by various dancers and choreographers. For Rabir Radha, the director chose 11 songs from Bhanusingher Padabali, along with songs by Vidyapati and Govinda Das.
The novelty of the presentation was its focus on the traditional nayika bheda as depicted in Bharata's Natyashastra. Radha, the feminine agency of love, was explored through songs and dance. Bolbani, paran, paramelu and kavit from Kathak were interspersed with the songs. Radha and her sakhis depicted the emotions of the vasaksajja, abhisarika and birahotkanthita nayika through classical dance movements. It began with " Satimir rajani" and moved forward with "Bajao re Mohan banshi" and " Sundari Radhe". Lokeshwari Dasgupta was expressive in her performance to "Bajao re Mohan banshi"; the group choreography of " Gahan kusum kunja majhe" was enjoyable. The initial bolbani, dhane dhigite dhakite dhigite, before the song was apt.
The accompaniments in vocal renditions were a high point of the entire presentation. Pritha Chattopadhyay was tuneful and her diction clear; her singing created the desired drama. Sohini Ghosh sang as well. The production, conceived and scripted by Surangama Lala Dasgupta and Pritha Chattopadhyay, was neat and earnest. The costumes could have been more elegant; further, the wastage of time in between performances for costume changes was unprofessional. The dance was choreographed by Lokeshwari Dasgupta. The other dancers were Debamita Gupta, Debaleena Chakraborty and Bedaprana Roy. Siuli Bose on the esraj added valuable support.
Dhaibat presented its 36th annual programme at the ICCR. Kusumey Kusumey Charanchinho...was a compact programme of Tagore's songs, recitation, narration and dance. It started with a chorus, followed Ankita Ghosh's rendition of "Baishakher ei bhorer hawa". Srovonti Bandyopadhyay's performance of " Chhaya ghanaichhe boney boney" was impressive. Anindya De sang "Ei Srabon-bela badal-jhara" in an appropriate manner and Debapriya Roy was graceful in her dance to this song. Sritama Basu has a spontaneous flair, evident in her rendition of " Aaj pratham phuler pabo prasad khani". Arindam Bandyopadhyay soulfully sang "Ananter bani tumi" to which Debjit Mukhopadhyay danced.
Aditi Gupta touched hearts with " Biday jokhon chaibe tumi". The group dances were choreographed by Debjit Mukhopadhyay. Unfortunately, the costumes were inelegant; they should not be used for professional shows. The artists were accompanied by Anjan Bandyopadhyay (tabla), Subrata Mukhopadhyay (keyboard) and Somnath Das (flute).
