Pandit Durgalal Festival to showcase diverse dance forms at the NCPA

Meenakshi Srinivasan and Gauri Diwakar

When Kathak exponent Pandit Durga Lal passed away in January 1990, Uma Dogra, then 32, stayed back in Delhi for the last rites. Heartbroken though she was, gritty determination bubbled in her - to spread her guruji's name far and wide. "I promised him then, that although he had gone too soon, I will never let his name fade till the last breath of my life," the Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee recalls. After she returned to Mumbai, she set up the Sam Ved Society for Performing Arts. Within a year of her guruji's passing, she put together the first edition of the Pandit Durgalal Festival. Now, the festival, which showcases master dancers from across disciplines, returns in its 33rd edition in collaboration with the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

The evening will feature performances by two leading dance practitioners, Meenakshi Srinivasan (bharatanatyam) and Gauri Diwakar (kathak). The show will kick off with a short presentation by senior students of the Uma Dogra School of Kathak. "Our 20-minute performance is centred around Ananda Shiva, or lord Shiva in the ananda roop. The dancers will then perform a beautiful ashtamangal; this piece was initially created by my guruji, and after him, I executed it," shares Dogra.

Uma Dogra and her students

Diwakar, meanwhile, will take the stage with a traditional showcase, titled Sarve Nava. "It is time to welcome the vasant season - which signifies the birth of all things new. The show will commence with a shlok dedicated to vasant bhagwaan. The second piece will be a technical one, in search of the sam [first beat of taal]. The third piece will be on Bulleh Shah's Holi kheloo'ngi keh kar bismillah," Diwakar tells us. The dancer will also perform on Nayano ke dore laal gulaal by Suryakant Tripathi Nirala. Srinivasan, on the other hand, will present two pieces. "I'll be presenting a traditional varnam, which is usually the centrepiece in the bharatanatyam repertoire. The other piece is an episode from Valmiki's Ramayana on Sita's agni pravesha," she tells us.

In recognition of Sam Ved's efforts, the Madhya Pradesh government recently awarded the society the Rashtriya Raja Mansingh Tomar Samman, Dogra reveals. "From Kelucharan Mohapatra guruji to Hema Malini, it's our honour that such great artistes perform on our stage. The award is an appreciation of our contributions," she signs off.

On February 5; 5 pm onwards
At Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
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Cost Rs 200 onwards