Depicting Mahabharata through kathak

PADAM SHRI awardee and eminent Kathak dancer, Shovana Narayan, enthralled the students of Delhi Public School with her outstanding performance here on Monday.

PADAM SHRI awardee and eminent Kathak dancer, Shovana Narayan, enthralled the students of Delhi Public School with her outstanding performance here on Monday.

Her depiction of the scene from Mahabharata ‘game of dice’, Yudhishthira losing his crown and the ‘Draupadi cheer haran’ kept the audience spell-bound. The programme was organised under the joint aegis of Spic Macay Foundation and DPS, Varanasi.

She related this concept with the contemporary theme of the damage caused to nature by several Duryodhans of this society. She ended her recital with the famous song in which the child form of Lord Krishna demands for the moon and then falls into his mother’s arms who lulls him to sleep, release issued here said.

Shakeel Ahmad and Vijay Sharma accompanied her on tabla and sitar, respectively, whereas Mahadev played vocalist. Narayan spoke at length about what dance has to do with internal harmony. She spoke of Yogiraj Shiva as a great dancer and of Lord Krishna as a ruler, administrator, philosopher and dancer.

Known as Kathak Queen, Shovana staged Aradhanarishwar form of Lord Shiva. Her deft footwork depicting the ashwaparan, primalu, megha paran, gait as in gati mesmerised the children.

The students were taken aback to see the skill with which she enacted the thunder, rainfall, people gaily swinging and the gait of an elephant, a snake and a boat being rowed. This, she said, was ‘gati nikas’.

Earlier, Shovana Narayan, principal Pradeep Ghosh along with Seema Rajgaria and husband of Narayan, Ambassador, Dr Herbert Traxl lit the ceremonial lamp.