Dance is the language of Body and soul
06:55
On the
first day when I entered the Birju Maharaj Katthak nritya workshop, I was
surprised to see around 300-400 girls and a few boys dancing and learning in
unison. The first thing to overwhelm my senses was the sound of the Ghunghroos,
all together at once. In the corridors of the auditorium you could see the
girls wearing and removing their ghunghroos and dancing and practicing their
steps in circles. In the auditorium, near the stage Birju Maharaj and his
Shishya Shashwati Sen were talking and explaining the students about Nritya
Bol. At first everything seemed like chaos but after a while the sahaj rhythm
of nritya shows itself, There was no shouting or yelling or any sign of
distress, all you could hear were the beats of the tabla and the rhythm of the
nritya. The first lesson to learn from maharajji is about observation and
involvement, even the realization of dance as a philosophy comes out alive in
the workshop.
Dance is
the expression of sentiments without the use of words and Maharajji dances like
he breathes air. When you see him dance you feel like dancing yourself. Groups
of dancers turn up in the workshop one after another but it’s a totally
different experience to be a part of this workshop. Maharajji and Shashwatiji
teach you dancing like a mother would teach her kids, even if they shout at
your mistakes you know that it comes out of care.
When you
meet and talk about dance to Maharajji you understand why he is a legend. He
says that “dance does not need effort, it has to flow into you just like air.
When you dance you should dance from your soul and only then your body will
look beautiful while you are dancing. You have to dance with all your feelings
and not only with your hands and legs.” In the workshop you learn about the
laya of existence from Maharajji. Then comes body language which should flow
like water because flowing water always looks beautiful. To learn how to dance
one must be in synchronization with nature (prakriti) and should be aware of every movement one
makes. Every gesture should be sharp and should look beautiful as per the flow
of your body, even your feet should understand the rhythm of your body. Without
putting your soul into the dance one cannot learn Katthak dance like Maharjji.
When I
asked him that being a man, how can he obtain the nazakat of a woman in his
Nritya. He promptly answered, “ I love Krishna. If you see Krishna, his body is
that of a man but one can feel he is
full of laltiya and madhurya. I tried to be one with him while dancing so
people can see lalitya and madhurya in me. I dance for Krishna. Krishna is
rasik rasiya, full of madhurya and love.”
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