‘Nayak’: The Inspirational Maestros of Classical Dance

Our tradition of Indian classical dances typically shows us certain assigned roles within its field, such as that of the female as a dancer and the man as a dance master, choreographer or Nattuvanar. But at the same time, breaking out of this stereotype, we witness a tradition of male dancers coming to the forefront.Dance is not only about showcasing a woman’s beauty (physical beauty) or not only for and related to a woman, but also a platform for men to please and attract the audience with their powerful and passionate performance. This point was successfully proven by 3 male dancers pursuing different classical dances of India on the occasion of “Nayak” festival, celebrated on 17^th January at Tilak Smarak Mandir, Pune. ‘Nayak’, organized by ‘Nrutyasmi Dance Institute’ and ‘Lalit Kala Kendra (Gurukul), Savitribai Phule Pune University’, handed over the stage to 3 maestros – Kathak Dancer Anuj Mishra (Varanasi), Mayurbhanj Chhau Performer Rakesh Sai Babu (Delhi) and Bharatanatyam Exponent Parimal Phadke (Pune). These artists have created an unforgettable image of ‘Nayak’ through their dance and beliefs and have created a strong impact to change perspectives about dance and dancers. 

Lord Natraj, a form of Lord Shiva and the God of dance, is known as the originator of dance. Keeping this in mind, it is imperative that male dancers are given due respect and that the discrimination between male and female dancers ceases to exist. Such male oriented programs as ‘Nayak’, on a regular basis, can serve as a right medium to generate this awareness especially in Maharashtra as well as all over India, and also in those places where there is less awareness of classical dances.

Interview by Rujuta Jog- Anuj Mishra, Rakesh Sai Babu and Parimal Phadke

We have seen that most popular male dancers are in this field because of the rich heritage of dance in their family or due to great support from their parents. Having said that, they face many challenges and struggles in their life and battle them to progress in their dance career. In this context, in an interview by Rujuta Jog, the three ‘Nayak’s opened up about their lives and views on the subject-

Anuj Mishra

“Everybody considers that if and when a man learns classical dance, he becomes feminine. This is not the right way to look at it. Lord Shiva is the originator of dance, and he is an embodiment of masculinity. So, without any of these preconceived notions, dance can be presented not only by women but also by men! Besides that, in our country, Bollywood gets a lot of response from the people; this acknowledgement and appreciation is lacking when it comes to classical art and its artists,and I hope that changes soon!” 

– Anuj Mishra.

A disciple of the Lucknow gharana of Kathak, Anujji learnt this art from his father, Late Pt. Arjun Mishra. At ‘Nayak’, he performed Shiva Tandav, Paramelu, Thhat, Amad, Toda, Chakradhaar Paran and also an Abhinaya item of Lord Krishna’s message in the Bhagavad Geeta. His Mayur Gati, Ghodeki Chaal, 103 Chakkar and incredible footwork were pure translations of his perseverance and a sheer delight for everyone present!

“In Chhau Dance, the word Chhau is derived from the word ‘Chhaya(Shadow) or ‘Chhavani (cantonment)’. In the olden days, during war times in kingdoms, to prepare and inspire soldiers in the cantonments to take to the battlefield, this dance form was performed before them.Drawing from this background, this dance style is mostly performed by men rather than women. The overall movements of this style are more masculine. People are not really aware about this dance and this awareness can be created by introducing larger audiences to the art of Chhau.” – Rakesh Sai Babu

Rakesh Sai Babu

Chhau is a dance form which is full of Veer Rasa, energetic movements, geometric body postures and use of props. A unique characteristic of the performances by Rakeshji and his co-artistes -that the audience experienced and something worth mentioning - is theMusic! There was no use of Literature or lyrics, only traditional instruments were playing in the background at a particular speed (Laya).It was amazing to see the variety of steps, gestures and footwork of the dancers with the various rhythmic patterns set to this instrumental music. The Krishna-Arjun story of Mahabharata was also depicted through Abhinaya on this background score. The underlying base of Veera rasa was greatly highlighted through the performances and the rare, larger-than-life movements of Chhau, added to the entertainment quotient for the audience of Pune.

After beginning his performance at ‘Nayak’ by a pure dance item ‘Mallari’, Parimalji presented a ‘Bhujanga Kautvam’ followed by a ‘Padam of Parakiya Nayak’. It is noteworthy that while Padams, Javalis are typically female oriented compositions in BharataNatyam, Parimalji has written and composed both the Kautvam and Padam himself, thus setting the perfect example of pure ‘creations’ in the field of dance-literature. Ending with the ‘Thillana’, he fashioned a very energetic, joyful, beautiful atmosphere on stage and did great justice to the important parts of Nritta and Nritya of BharataNatyam. He is an artist who looks at dance with a modern as well as traditional outlook. He is researching and working on the subject ‘Nayak’ for several years now. Excerpts from his interview: 

Parimal Phadke

“The Composers who have written the compositions for dance,have based them on the concept of ‘Atma-Paramatma’. Paramatma means ‘God (Purush)’ and Atma here specifically means ‘Woman (Nayika)’.With this point of view, there is more scope for the Nayika to express herself, with the Paramatma as her lover or as her husband; these types of compositions can only be performed by female dancers and therein lies a big challenge for male dancers –how can they express themselves within this ‘Atma-Paramatma’ concept? Male dancers need to take up this challenge and mould it to their personality and dance style.” – Parimal Phadke.

In the presence of the honorable chief guests - Dance Guru Shama Bhate, Talayogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and Dr. Shubhangi Bahulikar - the three dance maestros and Rujuta Jog, who ideated the ‘Nayak’ festival, have surely started a revolution in the field of dance for a brighter future!

-Written by: Swarada Dhekane & Anushree Harihar

-Photography by: Tejdipty Pawade