Rare beats

“We have an annual show at this time of the year in memory of my late husband,Pandit Hazarilalji,from whom I also learnt this Gharana,” explains the Mumbai-based dancer. It was Kavita Khanna — wife of actor Vinod Khanna — who suggested that the show be used to raise money for an institute that can take forward the work that Hazarilal and her late husband have done. “Kavita was my and my husband’s student,and her daughter,Shraddha,is now learning from me. There is slowly interest being generated in this dance form and,at the show,I’ll be performing with three of my students — Shraddha,Aditi Yadav and Sandeep Songra,who’s a descendant of the original founder of the Gharana.”

The Banaras Gharana was founded by Pandit Jankiprasad,who was originally from Bikaner. He was a great Sanskrit scholar who moved to Banaras where he studied the Vedas. It was these studies that inspired his creation of the rare dance syllables that form the Banaras Gharana style,and which were distinct from the ones practised by the other Gharanas like Lucknow and Jaipur. The Banaras Gharana’s stress on the use of Natawari bols,which cannot be played on the tabla or pakhawaj,make it a challenging dance style. Another point of difference is that there is an equal stress on the art of expressions,abhinaya,as there is on pure dance.

It is perhaps this last aspect of the dance that makes it so popular abroad. “I gained a platform abroad much before I got one in India,” says Hazarilal,“since they really understand the dance because of the abhinaya involved.”

She’s performed widely in the UK,Europe and the US,but it was a struggle to get performances in India. “In India,it’s only in Delhi that there are real opportunities to perform. In Mumbai,they come rarely,” she says. However,Hazarilal’s efforts have eventually caught the attention of the government,which has of late been supportive and even awarded her a Padma Shri this year. “The Gharana was once on the decline,but now,it seems like it will get the prominence it deserves,” says Hazarilal.

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