A quiet cultural revolution was taking place at the Jorasanko Tagore house in Calcutta in the winter of 1927. For the first time in the history of subcontinent, young women from middle class families were staging a public performance. To shield the young performers from a possible public outrage, the farsighted Tagore included himself in the cast. "Notir Puja" made history in more ways than one.
'Shadhona' -- a centre for advancement of South Asian music and dance -- staged an adaptation of "Notir Puja" at the National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on November 9. Directed by Warda Rihab, the production employed Manipuri and a blend of classical, folk and martial dance forms of eastern India and Bengal.
The dance-drama goes back to the formative years of Buddhism. As men and women responded to Buddha's call to embrace the 'Eightfold Path,' Ajatshatru ascended the throne of his father, King Bimbisar of Magadh. The latter had renounced his noble rights to pursue nirvana through the rites of Buddhism. Ajatshatur's mounting hunger for power contradicts Buddha's doctrines of peace and forgiveness. The King bans all forms of practice of the faith. The Queen Mother is left in a dilemma; she is drawn towards the message of love, and at the same time is inconsolable as her family is rendered broken.
The court dancer Sreemati abandons her dancing bells and jewellery and resolves to embrace the new faith in the midst of this chaos. An unyielding seeker of eternal love and beauty, the path to enlightenment is presaged by Sreemati as she makes the ultimate sacrifice for her belief.
Possessing regal, graceful and evocative Manipuri dance moves, Warda Rihab dons the role of Sreemati with utmost conviction. The stealthy stances that define Manipuri dance gel well with the devotion in Buddhism.
Rihab is currently doing her B.A. in Manipuri dance at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Among her gurus are Sharmila Banerjee, Tamanna Rahman, Belayet Hossain, Kalavati Devi, Prof. C.V. Chandra Shekhar and Bimbavati Devi. Rihab has also trained in 'Pung' (Manipuri 'mridanga') and 'Thang Ta' (Manipuri martial art).
However, the young dancer was overshadowed at times by the veteran danseuse Lubna Marium (general secretary of Shadhona) as the Queen Mother, Lokeshvari. It's difficult to shrug off the latter's presence: each expression -- be it fury or despair -- is projected remarkably on the canvas that is her face.
In the brief role of Princess Ratnavali, Tahmina Anwar Anika was a revelation. It's no surprise that this prodigy won the 1st prize in 'Kathak' at the 2008 National Dance Competition organised by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Marking Rihab's debut as a dance director, "Hey Ananta Punya" deserves accolades. However, if it's evaluated based solely on its virtues, the production could have been better. Certain dancers in the group sequences did not seem ready at all. Perhaps, the director and the producers would offer an even better production next time around.
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