In Natyashastra, Bharata mentioned navarasa as the basis of all human emotions. These nine emotions are shringara, hasya, karuna, raudra, veera, bhaya, bibhatsa, adbhuta and shanta. Navarasa is a very popular item of a classical dance repertoire and a favourite for all classical dancers. Jhinook Mukherjee Sinha, a talented Bharatnatyam dancer and a disciple of Thankamani Kutty, presented Navaroopini, Women in Navarasa (left) at the G.D. Birla Sabhaghar recently.
Conceived and directed by the artist herself and presented by South Kolkata Nrityangan - her own institution - the semi-classical dance production chose various women characters from mythology and history to paint different emotions through their stories. Although the concept is not novel, Jhinook and her troupe displayed good team-work and synchronization, both of which are necessary for a successful production. Another strong point of the show was its narration, sensitively handled by Soumitra Chatterjee (Bengali) and Raya Bhattacharya (English).
Shringara was expressed through the love and passion that Radha had for her beloved Krishna. Veera, or the heroic mood in a woman, was nicely depicted through Rani Lakshmibai, who showed courage and self-confidence in fighting the battle in her life. It was bold, and the dancers were energetic and confident. Yashoda experienced adbhuta rasa when she asked her little Krishna to open his mouth after he swallowed clay while playing. She saw the entire universe in his mouth, and this biswaroopdarshan was a popular and obvious example of adbhuta rasa. Putana, chosen for bibhatsa rasa, was a repetitive item. Maa Durga, with her vibrant power, exemplified raudra or anger in all its forms in Mahishasurmardini. It was dramatic, lively and expressive. Jhinook had a great command over both pure dance as well as abhinaya.
The other characters chosen were Sita ( bhaya), Gandhari (karuna), Draupadi ( hasya) and Meerabai (shanta). The music direction was by Subhen Chatterjee; the script was done by Suvadeep Chakraborty (Bengali) and Soumi Sengupta (English). Lights were designed by Uttiyo Jana and costumes were aesthetically done by Neelay Sengupta. It cannot be denied that there are expectations of novel content from a dancer like Jhinook, who has 21 years' worth of experience.
Darpani, spearheaded by Arnab Bandyopadhyay, an enthusiastic and dedicated dancer, presented Ananta (right), an innovative dance production at Gyan Manch. Along with two other Odissi dancers, Sreyashi Dey and Aditi Bandyopadhyay, Arnab displayed Odissi techniques along with creative movements. The show focused on creation, the five elements or panchabhuta, and moksha. It was pleasing and enjoyable. The elements were imaginatively choreographed. The lyrical beauty of Odissi was aptly presented. The music by Subhadra Desai, a renowned vocalist, was elegant.
