Three-day Antarang festival regaled city’s Kathak admirers

Keeping up with the annual tradition of bringing some of the most acclaimed names in the field of Kathak to Hyderabad, ‘

Antarang

’, the festival in memory of exponent

Pandit Durga Lal

, commenced at

Ravindra Bharathi

on Monday. The first day of the three-day fest began with a recital by

Indrayanee Mukherjee

and

Rachana Parulkar

, both students of Kathak dancer Uma Dogra, from Mumbai.
The duo offered a performance comprising three choreographies including a recital on Ashtapadi, Sanskrit hymns written in 12 century, and Pancham Sawari, a recital on the 15-beat rhythmic cycle. Their performance was followed by Madhu Natraj and are her troupe from Bengaluru. An eminent Kathak dancer and choreo-grapher, Madhu and her band of dancers began with a Shiva Stuti on Kandaria Shiva of Khajuraho. They followed it with Vajra Shakti in a contemporary dance style and then performed Navras in Thumri. They concluded their performance with an abstract dance choreography that garnered thumping applause from the audience.
Speaking about the festival, Mangala Bhatt, one of the organisers, said, “Every year we try to bring quality Kathak performances to Hyderabad. The city today has a cosmopolitan environment and we strive to popularise the classical dance form among as many people as possible.” The festival will conclude today with a group performance by a troupe from Ankurita Kathak Kendra, Hyderabad.