Kathak: For Weight Loss, Mental Floss and …

Kathak: For Weight Loss, Mental Floss and …

As the Kumbh of Kinaesthetic dips of various stripes concluded at Kala Ashram College of Performing Arts, Udaipur; the participants took back minds cleansed of stress, presumptions and ignorance. Plus, something else...

 
Kathak: For Weight Loss, Mental Floss and …

As the Kumbh of Kinaesthetic dips of various stripes concluded at Kala Ashram College of Performing Arts, Udaipur; the participants took back minds cleansed of stress, presumptions and ignorance. Plus, something else…

Can a toda in Kathak help to reduce the waistline? Yes, try a certain Primalu. Can a specific paran relay the angst and turbulence of one’s mind into a whirlpool of explosive spins? Why not, anyone who does the Megh Paran will vouch for that. Can a performance on a riveting composition by Pandit Birju Maharaj touch the audience so deeply that while their eyes well with tears their hearts well with a joy hard to describe or pin down? It can. At least, that’s what the eyes and hearts who were present at the legend’s birthday celebration at Kala Ashram College of Performing Arts, Udaipur felt first-hand when they watched Dr. Saroj Sharma’s interpretation of a signature rendition from the vast repository of the living maestro.

Kathak: For Weight Loss, Mental Floss and …

They felt much more than that as a carnival of various celebrations and health-interventions gathered speed in the last two weeks gone by. After serving its humble ablutions on the glorious day of Pandit Birju Maharaj’s birthday (and after Director, Dr. Saroj Sharma’s visit to Delhi for the main celebration in the Capital), the team went on to usher in Basant Panchmi in full splendor and colour. This is also where Director, Dr. Saroj Sharma explained the many tangents of this dance form. Its significance as a therapy, as a spiritual catharsis and as a stress-reliever was spelt out as she explained the alignment of various body dimensions and elements that this art galvanizes effortlessly. “Our body knows a special rhythm. We have to allow it to find it and indulge in it. The brilliant syzygy of brain, mind and body along with the precise alignment of left side and right side of the human anatomy is an impossibility that Kathak makes possible. And without the artist realising its ingenious side-effects. The way Nagma (Harmonium’s role), Tabla (Percussion’s role) and Ghungroo/Tatkaar (footwork) blend seamlessly while doing Kathak is much more than a mixture of various sounds. It is a deep fusion of three dimensions that make up the underpinnings of a human being. Hence, an artist feels a cryptic sense of peace and balance even one s/he is just doing basic Tatkaar.”

Kathak: For Weight Loss, Mental Floss and …

Dr. Saroj in Delhi for Pt. Birju Maharaj’s celebrations

As the Kumbh snowballed further, participants found evidence of these arguments for themselves. They performed and participated in various forms of Kinaesthetic wonders that ranged from Tritaal compositions to mind-and-body-bending Yoga. There were Paran performances from Priyanka, Kavitt delights from Mitula, Primalu and Chakradhaar spins from Kalpana, apart from story-telling acts from some junior groups as well. The participants loved to discover the health side of Kathak here. Performers shared how happily-surprised they were to find out that the Toda they were practising is also a great way to burn calories and hone body in a good shape.

Kathak: For Weight Loss, Mental Floss and …

The Ashram, alongside, conducted a series of Boot Camps to orient various age groups to the health outcomes of Yoga and taught some fundamental-yet-simple exercises.

No wonder, the health Kumbh here made a lot of new and ardent devotees. It’s high time we rinse away undue stress from our bodies and minds. Any dip, no matter how small, matters. Take one today. Get off the tread-mill of life.

To join us on Facebook Click Here and Subscribe to UdaipurTimes Broadcast channels on   GoogleNews |  Telegram |  Signal