Shivani Varma’s Kathak: Mother Devaki must be very happy     

When the world of arts talks about women in Krishna’s life, it will hardly include the biological mother, Devaki. It is mostly Yashodha, the foster-mother, Rukmini, the first wife and Radha, the unrequited love. It was such a lovely Janmashtami gift to see noted Kathak dancer Shivani Varma bringing Devaki alive on stage that I couldn’t help but say, “Devaki maiya must be very happy today, blessing Shivani!” It is for her enactment that Devaki, probably, for the first time is shown in an abhinaya of Kathak!”.

The Kathak of Shivani, a disciple of Guru Shovana Narayan, has always been different, adding contemporariness and keeping the audience enthralled. Her dance, now, has an extra delight of beautiful movements of eyes, showing the signs of the training that she is getting from India’s Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj. I overheard a lady, among the crowd that surrounded her after the performance, praising her, asking her guru’s name. On getting the answer, the lady, gesturing her hands some three feet from the floor, said, “How nice! I have been seeing Shovana dance since she was a child.”

It is not easy to keep a house full of dance lovers rapt, with a solo performance of 50 minutes, but this young artiste has been doing so repeatedly. Asked about her talent, she says that every time she is dancing, she loses complete awareness of herself and feels immersed in the character. Thanking her Guru Shovana for teaching her the process of how to think about the very act of abhinaya — to place the texts in Kathak performance, how she could pick up the art of stagecraft and how to conduct and present herself on stage, Shivani explains how she prepares. For Devaki, she read the Srimad-Bhagavatam — both the English and Hindi versions — to understand the character thoroughly. Dr Mohini Giri and Meera Khanna of the Guild for Service introduced her to noted Hindu scholar Acharya Shrivatsa Goswami, head priest of the Radha Ballab Temple at Vrindavan, from whom Shivani learnt a lot more about Devaki.

The delight of a much-loved 70 minute performance, that included apart from Devaki, 10 minutes of Vrindavan Leela by young dancers Aileena, Gayatri, Muskaan, Gauri, Daevi and Myra, and 20 minutes of Draupadi, was visible on the faces of the entire team. Arshad Khan who composed the music and played the esraj, Imran Khan who gave voice, Lavanya on the sitar and Anurag who played the flute. The lighting played a big role in the performance, all thanks to Nitin Jain. Yogesh Gangani and Mahaveer Gangani accompanied Shivani respectively on the tabla and the pakhawaj respectively.

Dance lovers should not miss Shivani Varma’s performances. She is one to really watch out for.

(The writer is an interior designer with a passion for photography and Hindustani literature and culture)