It is a mild, rain-drenched evening. My destination is the 10th edition of the two-day LalitArpan festival at the India Habitat Centre. This is a festival of the torchbearers of classical performing arts started by Guru Shovana Narayan and Ustaad Shafaat Ahmed Khan. Guru Shovana Narayan, as she is fondly referred to by all and sundry, is grateful to her mentors who gave her and other artists a platform to showcase their talents. Likewise, she is extending that favour to new and upcoming talent.
This year’s edition was different as trained young professionals of Western classical arts performed for the first time. The unique feature of this festival is that it gives a chance to relatively untapped potential. Usually, festivals featuring classical arts are reserved for performance by professionals. Their name draws audience and sponsors alike, important to the success of an event. Dearth of such platforms for the young talent ironically stunts their potential growth.
LalitArpan is one such exception. It is a platform to showcase young talent. It had helped launch Aarushi Mudgal in past years. This year’s edition also presented young and relatively lesser-known talents, such as Tara Venkatesan, Dhawani Sadaphal, Sharanya Chandran, Vishwanath Mangaraj, Pritam Ghoshal, Jyoti Manral and Seema Malhotra besides members of the Asavari repertory, founded by Guru Shovana Narayan. The showcased talent was not only an outcome of the guru-shisya tradition but also of bloodline. Dhawani Sadaphal and Sharanya Chandran are two fine examples of children taking the legacy of their parents, and mentors, forward.
In a way, LalitArpan is making a tradition, rather legend, of its own. It provides the young and talented with a platform to help evolve a fine blend of tradition and modern approaches to classical performing arts. The show opened with a dance sequence by the Asavari repertory on an elongated version of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem Ta Ta Thoi Thoi (The Eternal Rhythm of Life). The Jeevan Chakra and the Kaal Chakra have been innovatively translated in this hypnotic dance sequence with meticulous footwork, a unique feature of Kathak. This version of the Nobel laureate’s song runs for more than 11 minutes. The music and dance are intricately designed; rhythm follows rest, rest follows another sequence, sequence into crescendo, crescendo into another crescendo.
LalitArpan opened with a bang as if it is in continuation of the spirit and energy of last year’s edition. It also featured two young and promising talents in soprano Tara Venkatesen and pianist Dhawani Sadaphal. Tara presented three dynamic songs and she was equally adept in each rendition. She begins with Caccini’s Ave Maria followed by Antonio Vivaldi’s Rain. Her final cover was Johann Strauss II’s The Laughing Song from the operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat). She sang her songs with conviction, ease and confidence of an avant-garde performer. Her performance belies the fact that she is still in school.
Next up was Dhawani Sadaphal. Being the daughter of well-known sitarist Parimal Sadaphal, she carries the musical tradition of her family in her genes. She performed back-to-back piano pieces of famous composers, including Beethovans’s Fur Elise. She has recently cleared first grade theory exams of the Trinity College, London.
Day One ended with Sharanya Chandran’s Bharatnatyam performance. She is the daughter of Geeta Chandran, Padamshree and famous exponent of Bharatnatyam. She begins her performance with Surya Stotram, a prayer to the Sun God, followed by Varnam in Poorvi Kalyani set in Adi Talam (a cycle of eight beats). She concludes her set with Rabindranath Tagore’s prayer to the universal God.
Day Two opened with Vishwanath Mangaraj’s solo Odissi performance. He was a bundle of energy on stage. He was one of the brightest torchbearer featured in this festival. And it is no less a feat for a dancer to perform solo for the first time in an auditorium packed with audience with possessed conviction. He began with Surya Pranam and effortlessly swam into Shankaravaranam Pallavi, which was in raag Shankaravaranam and taal Ektaali. He followed it up with Dus Avatar (tens incarnations of lord Vishnu) and concluded with Moksha. His steps were locked with the percussionist’s taal. His guru Sharon Lowen, who has been training him since he was in Class 4, said she is proud of him and that he has done extremely well. And he is yet to graduate from Delhi’s Dayal Singh College. Next up was young sarod player Pritam Ghoshal. His energetic and intense approach towards music transported the audience to a different dimension. Relatively young, Pritam has performed in India and abroad, sometimes representing India in other nations, and earned laurels for his talent.
This year’s LalitArpan festival culminated with solo performances by two young but thoroughly professional performers: Jyoti Manral and Seema Malhotra.
They mesmerised the audience with their energetic moves. Both are Kathak performers par excellence and have extensive exposure to Indian and foreign audiences. They ended the festival on a high note.