Kathak meets ballet at this festival in Jaipur

The four-day ‘Kathak Ballet’ festival began at

Jawahar Kala Kendra

on Sunday with aaradhya performance by Rachana Yadav from Delhi. Based on the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak, the dance performance attempted to portray the different characters of prominent Hindu gods – Shiva, Ganesh, Durga and Krishna -- through different ‘laya’. The distinct character, appearance and symbolism of the Gods were depicted through the choreography.

Rachana Yadav performing on day one of the festival

While the slow and steady gait of Ganesha was presented through Ganesh Stuti in vilambit laya. Durga’s dual nature of beauty and rage, softness and strength were brought alive through ‘Durga Ashtakam’ in madhya laya. Similarly, Krishna’s playfulness was choreographed through ‘Dhrutlaya’ in raga Mishr. The programme concluded with Shiv Stuti in atidhrut laya which characterized Shiva’s fury and strength, performed by Shweta Mishra and Niti Jain. The accompanying artistes included Nishit Gangani on tabla, Mahaveer Gangani on pakhawaj and padant, Vinod Gangani on vocals and Umashankar PD on sitar.