Remembering a teacher

“One can never be content with the knowledge gained in an art form,be it dance,vocal,instrumental or fine arts,” says Asawaree Patankar,founder of Udgaar,a branch of Guru Pandita Dr Rohini Bhate’s Nrityabharati Kathak Dance Academy,Pune. Patankar’s talents were nutured under the renowned kathak exponent Bhate for a decade. Udgaar now is in the process of organising a concert called ‘Dagar Chalat – Walking along with the Tradition to Reach it Further!’,as a tribute to Bhate on July 9,at S.M. Joshi Auditorium,Navi Peth.

“This year,all the performers will be women. We have included all forms of music,which are dance,vocals and instrumental performances,” says Patankar. The programme will begin with a solo tabla performance by Hetal Mehta Joshi,daughter of the legendary Kishen Maharajji.

A demonstration of Shivavandana ,written by kathak doyen,Maharaj Bindadin,and choreographed by Bhate,will be staged by Patankar. This will be followed by a Jhaptaal performance,demonstrating the technical aspects of kathak in a time cycle of 10 beats,and a Prahlad Katha piece,in which Patankar will depict the story of Bhakt Prahlad in a time cycle of 16 beats. Leading vocalist Padmatai Talwalkar from the Jaipur and Gwalior Gharana,will also be performing at the event.

After the demise of her guru,Patankar sought guidance from Nileema Adhye,one of the senior most disciples of Bhate. “I have been learning dance since I was seven-years-old and I still consider myself a student of the art,” she says,adding,“I usually choose to perform solo as it allows me to be evaluated well. All classical dance forms are essentially solo styles.”

After acquiring a masters degree in kathak from Lalit Kala Kendra,Patankar appeared for the Sangeet Acharya examination conducted by the Akhil Bharatiya Mahavidyalaya Nritya Mandal and is currently awaiting her results. “Coming from a family of non-dancers,I was skeptical about making a career in dance. Creating a stable career in this field is tough,but with patience,hard work and perseverance,one can catch any dream,” smiles Patankar.