Press Release
The ‘Katha Ballet’ festival organized by the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK), the arts and cultural center of Jaipur, concluded on 4 December. ‘Jayati Keshavam’ organized under the vision and choreography of senior Kathak Guru, Dr. Shashi Shankhla, beautifully showcased 10 incarnations of Lord Krishna.
This experimental piece was composed keeping in mind the dance techniques of the Jaipur Kathak Gharana. It incorporated 8 major rhythms used in Kathak dance – Dadra, Rupak, Kahrwa, Ekatal, Chautal, Dhamar, Teental, Jhaptaal. In the above dance piece, vocal, saatvik and acting as well Navaras and hand ‘Mudras’ of Kathak were depicted with the beauty and elegance.
The performance was based on the concept that God is all-pervasive, all-capable, but by giving special blessings to the living beings, through his vision, touch and actions, God himself appears to give his devotees the opportunity to salvage their divine ‘Leela’. The composition of ‘Jayati Keshavam’ is based on the epic song, ‘Geet Govind’ composed in Sanskrit by poet, Shri Jayadev. The lyrics of the ‘Bandish’ are in ‘Keshav Dhart Dasavidhi’ form.
Artistes who performed at the event included – Rajiv Singh, Ishwar Sharma, Radhika Arora, Niharika Joshi, Jhankriti Jain, Isha Khandelwal, Diya Singh, Angela Maria Gurung, Aira Kapoor, Diya Agarwal and Aishwi Roongta. Similarly, accompanying artistes included – Shree Munna Lal Bhat (Vocals & Harmonium), Zafar Mohammad Khan (Tabla), Mr. Hari Har Sharan Bhatt (Sitar) and Praveen Arya (Pakhavaj). The co-choreography and lighting direction was by Dr. Reema Goyal. The music in the program was by Aman Ali.