Sensuous 'Lavni' casts its magic in distance Israel

For connoisseurs of folk arts, the “Lavni” dance of Maharashtra is a treat for the national audience and now the traditional art form has for the first time cast its magic in Israel evoking a heartening response.

At the invitation of the Maharashtrian Mandal in Israel, a 14-member Lavni troupe from Pune under the banner of “Nakharel Naari” visited the country and staged four performances in the last week of August.

“It was for the first time this folk art performance was presented in theatres of Israel with regular booking of tickets. While Maharashtrian settlers poured in large numbers, almost 25 per cent spectators for the shows comprised Israelis,” said Varun Kamble who conducted the group.

Kamble is also one of the founders of the famous “Choufula” group of Lavni dancers that performs in various cities.

“The troupe that consisted of six female dancers and equal number of traditional instrumentalists mixed the core Lavni performance with a sprinkling of peasant dance to please the Israeli audience as the country has a distinct agricultural ethos,” he said. “The Israeli audience asked us various questions about origin of the Lavni folk dance and its evolution and spread from rural to urban regions,” Kamble added.

Two renowned Lavni artistes, Kirit Deshmukh and Sarika Nagarkar, were part of the group accompanied by among others folk musicians Venkatesh Garud, Nagesh Ghosekar and Amol Belsare.

“When we went to Israel, we came to know that the country has about 75,000 Marathi settlers keen to preserve their traditions and culture. The response to the dance staged in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was tremendous with a full house cheering the artistes throughout the shows,” Kamble said.

“Although the art of Lavni is being revived to a great extent, the artistes of the older generation were facing lots of hardships for want of sustenance as the genre was looked down upon in the past with an attached social stigma,” he added.