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Menaka Thakkar’s Dance Company is Canada’s premiere Indian dance company and exposes audiences to the stunning beauty of traditional Indian dance. They performed the Gita Govinda, a rendition of the complete dance interpretation of the famous Sanskrit poem by 12th century poet Jayadeva depicting the love of Krishna and Radha.
Gita Govinda was a tribute to Menaka’s Odissi guru Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra. “I had created a two-hour long solo work based on the famous classic. I had been inspired by Guruji’s own choreography of the individual Ashtapadis of this long poem. He had seen me perform it, and really liked it. This is my tribute to him,” she added.
The performance began with the depiction of Dashavatharam. Then the performance took the audience through the various phases of Krishna and Radha’s relationship — the first meeting, the estrangement due to Krishna’s love for other gopis, Radha’s anguish on his neglect and betrayal and finally their union.
Krishna and Radha were played by Rajib Bhattacharya and Sujata Mohapatra, who enthralled the audiences with their heart-rendering performances. One episode in particular, where Radha asks Krishna to leave as she becomes aware of his betrayal while on his way to meet Radha, was performed with much panache. The audience could associate with the anger Radha felt as she waited hours into the night for her beloved while Krishna languished with other gopis.
Krishna’s shame in being caught and his vain attempts at convincing Radha were also beautifully depicted by the two dancers.
Sujata Mohapatra is the daughter-in-law and disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She is exceptionally graceful and won hearts with her portrayal of Radha. Rajib Bhattacharya is also a student of Kelucharan Mohapatra and has been associated with him for 12 years. He is currently under the tutelage of Ratikant Mohapatra, son of Mohapatra.
Neena Jayarajan was equally spellbinding in her recital as the sakhi. Sapna Sheravat, Urmila Chatterjee and Shantini Kangesan played the role of gopis.The performance was supported by visuals of eighteenth century Kangra paintings that have Gita Govinda as their theme.
These paintings are a blend of romantic sensuality and loving innocence and accentuated the performance. The English script and narration by Rasesh Thakkar gave a better understanding of the beautiful poem and was in sync with the artist's abhinaya. Dance historian Ashish Mohan Khokar, was the guest of honour at the event.