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Journalism of Courage
The Ashtanayika a collective nomenclature for eight heroines that depict various moods of a woman have got much space in Natya Shastra. The varied moods of the romantic heroine have been portrayed in various forms in miniature paintings,sculptures and Indian classical dance,but never has the Ashta-nayika been portrayed through four dance forms set to Rabindranath Tagores poetry. But legendary dancer Sonal Mansinghs Nayikka,that was presented by ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) on Tuesday at Azad Bhawan,was exemplary of the creativity of the famed dancer. I have worked on Tagores literature and songs since 1961. But when I wanted to work on the popular theme of Ashtanayika,I could not find any particular lyrics of Tagore on that, says Mansingh,who then culled out a selection of lyrics from Tagores Chitrangada,Pujaran,
Shapmoochan and a host of other
independent works. It was this
sub-text,set to Mohiniyattam,Kuchipudi,Odissi and Manipuri interspersed with Rabindra Nritya
and Sangeet,that made the performance interesting.
The graceful moves of these classical art forms were juxtaposed with vigorous Chhau dance by the male protagonist or the Nayaka played by Dinabandhu Dalai and crisp episodic elaborations were beautifully conveyed by the sequence. The power failure in the last segment did not deter the spirit of the performers,as they continued their performance without music and only
under the working lights. These things are part of a performers life, says Mansingh.
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