MG ROAD: Kathakali dancer Prabal Gupta will conduct a performance and workshop at Rangoli Metro Art Centre this Saturday. The event is organised by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Southern Regional Centre (IGNCA, SRC).
Born in West Bengal, Gupta is known for presenting both male and female characters in his performances. He tells us more about his history with the art form from God’s own country.
Being a native of West Bengal, what made you choose a dance form from Kerala?
To answer this question, I would have to tell you my history with dance. I learned Odissi for a year-and-a-half when I was five years old and then Bharatanatyam for five years. Being born on the first of May, I am attracted to uniqueness. I thought to myself, there are many who dance Bharatanatyam, so I resorted to Kathakali. That is when I started to learn the dance form under Kalamandalam Govindan Kutty, who was settled in Kolkata. He trained me for 16 years. I was drawn into the dance form by its masculinity, dramatisation, movements and the instruments it involves — chande, maddalam and edakka. I was also influenced by the highly stylised make-up. I started Kathakali in the year 1990 and there has been no looking back since then. God destined me to become a Kathakali dancer.
How did you transform the traditional dance drama into a solo performance?
In 2003, I moved from Kolkata to Bengaluru, a city where Bharatanatyam was quite popular. Kathakali was not as popular due to the fact that it is performed in Manipravalam, a form of Sanskritised Malayalam that not many understand. But Kathakali was my source of bread and butter, my only means of survival. With the help of Guru Padmanabhan, whom I studied under for seven years, and Sadanam Balakrishnan, I was able to establish solo performances in Bengaluru. Being a traditionalist, I never moved away from the roots of Kathakali.
In your research paper, you study the difference between Kathakali then and now. What do you find to be the biggest difference?
Kathakali is a traditional dance form, but the innovations have changed it. Different stories are being told through Kathakali performances. For example, many of William Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into Kathakali performances, for instance, Macbeth and Cleopatra.
What will your workshop at Rangoli cover?
I will be presenting the traditions of the dance form. And I intend to perform the Navarasam, the nine basic expressions, but I will be explicitly showcasing Karuna Rasa, the expression of sorrow.
Do you currently teach Kathakali?
I do not teach Kathakali in Bengaluru, there are hardly any takers here.
