Dance teachers are always on the lookout for the ideal student and students are always on the lookout for the ideal teacher. To find the combination of both is rare and indeed is a blessing. One such instance is the case of accomplished Kathak exponent Uma Dogra, although her mentor Pandit Durgalal died at the young age, every year Uma Dogra sincerely organises the Pandit Durgalal festival as a mark of tribute to the great mentor.
The 22nd Pandit Durgalal festival was organised by Sam Ved Society for the Performing Aarts at the Nehru Centre and the highlight of the programme was the dynamic Kathak performance by San Francisco based legendary exponent Pandit Chitresh Das. Pandit Chitresh Das has established the Chandam School of Kathak in California and other countries and has been successfully functioning for more than three decades. Pandit Chitresh commenced the performance with an invocation to Lord Natarja as the Lord of creation, preservation and destruction. After the invocation, Chitresh performed pure dance sequences in the extempore style and finishing at the perfect "sum", while testing the calibre of the musicians. The most astonishing act of Chitresh was ‘Kathak Yoga’ wherein the dancer can recite the 'bols" and dance simulataneously while playing the tabla, a rare and difficult feat, which is possible after years of practise.
The ‘abhinaya’ aspect revealed the scene of Draupadi disrobement as the Pandavas lose heavily in the game of the dice with the Kauravas in the Mahabharata, this was performed with amazing dramatic quality. The programme concluded with a Krishna bhajan and the musical orchestra was led by Pandit Bhavani Shankar on Pakhawaj and Pandit Kalinath Mishra on Tabla.. The programme also featured the Kathak performance by Uma Dogra and her disciples, Bharata natyam by Vaibhav Arekar and his disciples and Odissi by Daksha Mashruwala and her disciples in the number ‘Gati Gayand’. Although all the three styles are techinically different, it was a pleasure to watch them perform on the same platform. A fine tribute to the mentors.