06-24-2008, 02:18 AM
From Deccan Chronicle about a Kannada kathak dancer!
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dance Like a man
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Murari Sharan Gupta, the only disciple of Pandit Birju Maharajji in Bengaluru, is a walking, talking exponent of the Lucknow gharana in the south. Murari attributes his perseverance and passion for this art form to his guru and believes his own evolution as a teacher is a reflection of this.
According to Murari, a lot of dedication is required for a young student to reach the rang pravesh stage as it takes close to 10 years to achieve. Training in kathak, he feels, is like building your house without boundaries. The entirety is important, not specifics. He has been in Bengaluru for three out of the 18 years of his dancing career.
The 26-year-old feels kathak is capable of depicting contemporary situations with ease despite its base being linked with the Krishna theme. He was part of Maharajjiâs repertoire Romeo and Juliet, which was staged in the city recently. He has even attempted jugalbandi with other dance forms and he says the response has been positive.
"My tarana was very well appreciated and the final piece was in Kannada where all the dancers of different genres got together. So, we kind of broke the barrier that says Kathak is restricted to Brijbhasha and Hindi. Kathak lends itself to solo and group presentations and thatâs the beauty of it."
The journey of a kathak dancer is very difficult, feels Murari. "If you are good, sikhane ke sath sath aapka sadhna bhi shuru hona chahiye. Once you think you are a guru, thatâs where your growth as a dancer stops." There is also competition from other Western dances like salsa. Inspite of this, he feels this interest is like our penchant for fast food. It will soon die out. He feels there is so much scope in the classical form that there is no need to look elsewhere.
Sponsorships for cultural events is a huge struggle for any classical art form and Murari faces this every time he has a show. "Even Maharajji faces this. Dancers are not businessmen. There is no monetary return in this ki theek hai paisa dala aur fayda hoga. Mostly, it is with my own contacts."
There are many people who ask Murari to teach them Maharajjiâs famed gath bhav. He tells them that Maharajji has been dancing for so many decades and because of his sadhna, he performs it so well. It cannot be learnt like an item number.
Murari admits that when he started out, he did not think he would last 18 years either. He feels he has achieved nothing as yet and wants to keep learning and expanding his repertoire as much as possible. He has started enjoying the seriousness and the beauty of kathak after all these years of hard work.
Murari ends by quoting Maharajji, "Guru ho aamil, sishya ho kaabil, aur bhagwan ho shamil." (The teacher should be competent, the student should be willing and God should bless them.)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dance Like a man
Â
Murari Sharan Gupta, the only disciple of Pandit Birju Maharajji in Bengaluru, is a walking, talking exponent of the Lucknow gharana in the south. Murari attributes his perseverance and passion for this art form to his guru and believes his own evolution as a teacher is a reflection of this.
According to Murari, a lot of dedication is required for a young student to reach the rang pravesh stage as it takes close to 10 years to achieve. Training in kathak, he feels, is like building your house without boundaries. The entirety is important, not specifics. He has been in Bengaluru for three out of the 18 years of his dancing career.
The 26-year-old feels kathak is capable of depicting contemporary situations with ease despite its base being linked with the Krishna theme. He was part of Maharajjiâs repertoire Romeo and Juliet, which was staged in the city recently. He has even attempted jugalbandi with other dance forms and he says the response has been positive.
"My tarana was very well appreciated and the final piece was in Kannada where all the dancers of different genres got together. So, we kind of broke the barrier that says Kathak is restricted to Brijbhasha and Hindi. Kathak lends itself to solo and group presentations and thatâs the beauty of it."
The journey of a kathak dancer is very difficult, feels Murari. "If you are good, sikhane ke sath sath aapka sadhna bhi shuru hona chahiye. Once you think you are a guru, thatâs where your growth as a dancer stops." There is also competition from other Western dances like salsa. Inspite of this, he feels this interest is like our penchant for fast food. It will soon die out. He feels there is so much scope in the classical form that there is no need to look elsewhere.
Sponsorships for cultural events is a huge struggle for any classical art form and Murari faces this every time he has a show. "Even Maharajji faces this. Dancers are not businessmen. There is no monetary return in this ki theek hai paisa dala aur fayda hoga. Mostly, it is with my own contacts."
There are many people who ask Murari to teach them Maharajjiâs famed gath bhav. He tells them that Maharajji has been dancing for so many decades and because of his sadhna, he performs it so well. It cannot be learnt like an item number.
Murari admits that when he started out, he did not think he would last 18 years either. He feels he has achieved nothing as yet and wants to keep learning and expanding his repertoire as much as possible. He has started enjoying the seriousness and the beauty of kathak after all these years of hard work.
Murari ends by quoting Maharajji, "Guru ho aamil, sishya ho kaabil, aur bhagwan ho shamil." (The teacher should be competent, the student should be willing and God should bless them.)
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