Vishal Krishna presented a slice of Benaras in his Kathak performance

Vishal Krishna performing at The Music Academy
| Photo Credit: K. Pichumani

It was an enjoyable afternoon of subtle artistry with Vishal Krishna, Kathak dancer of the Benares Gharana, grandson of legendary Kathak dancer Sitara Devi and renowned choreographer Gopi Krishna.

In the opening Ananda Tandav (Bairagi, teentaal, Tulsidas), Vishal as Shiva had a delicately shaking palm, depicting the shifting snake around the neck. Grace in the wrists is important, but it felt like the elegance went right up to his fingertips.

The footwork was also subtle and minutely accurate, the sounds primarily coming from the movement of the heels. From afar, one could think he was not doing any tatkar. He is also not accustomed to doing it in front of the mike, and the sound is sometimes lost at the back of the stage. With the mike, the perfect timing is apparent. The chakkars — with one leg lift as he turns around — were there for all to see.

In the 16-beat Teentaal in vilambit and drut lay, Vishal performed in slow and fast speeds, including thaat in vilamba and tihais in different matras. The repetitive lehra in a haunting Yaman was poetic. There was ghat bhav, where the dancer mimics people and animals with minimal gestures, but this was shown more elaborately in the subsequent drut lay paramparik Kathak, which presented different walks and gat nikas in Teentaal.

We do not see this much nowadays — a shy woman with a ghoonghat, Krishna, Radha and the peacock in gat bhav without lyrics, showing the lighting, drops of water and the peacock opening its plumes, all flowing so beautifully with the lehra and the movement. This subtlety is the essence of Kathak.

Vishal Krishna showcased the beauty of Kathak’s traditional features
| Photo Credit:
K. Pichumani

The abhinay piece ‘Bhoogat shyam kaun tu gori’ (Surdas) was a delightful shringar piece when Krishna and Radha first see each other by the Yamuna. Composed by Pt. Mukul Shivputra and Pt. Madhup Mudgal in Misra Pilu and visualised by Madhavi Mudgal, it captured the delicacy of the moment and the quiet promise of their relationship. Vishal shone in it.

Interestingly, Vishal danced on a brass plate — subtly emphasising the sharp tap to the softer beat. This was an addition to the Benares repertoire by his grand-aunt Alakananda Devi.

Recorded music, especially for an interactive dance form such as Kathak, is not a great idea. But the music here was of such high order, it did not matter.