Taking an overnight train from his home in Jalpaiguri into the heart of Kolkata was his only ticket to ensure that dance would never leave his shadows. When Odissi dancer Madhur Gupta realised there was no easy way of making his passionately held beliefs about performance come true, he plunged full throttle into the pursuit of his dance dream without thinking about the physical ramification of travelling far and beyond to learn it. His efforts have paid off well today. We met him just before he stepped on to the rehearsal stage prior to his big recital at Samsrava, a classical dance festival that brings together Odissi, Kuchipudi and Kathak.
Gupta moves with alacrity to keep pace with his jubilant heart that only knows to dance. Even when he meets us, it’s clear that he’s distracted by some of the steps he needs to practice, once he wraps up with this. “I try to be balanced but dance makes me a bit unhinged, all in a good way though,” he laughs.
Determined in his stance, for Gupta, dance is not a profession, it’s his purpose. Ever since he has known, he has been surrounded by music to facilitate the art form. “I never get tired of it. It pumps vitality into my system. I tend to induce the same abundant energy into my students so they understand that dance cannot be pursued without ardor. There is a lot more than just movement to be learnt,” says Gupta.
His upcoming show is extremely important to him for one special reason. It will be a moment of the consummation of one of his long-held desires, which is to perform a piece choreographed by his guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra. It’s called Yahi Madhava, Yahi Keshava, “It says that sometimes anger is adorned by sadness and at other times, sadness bleeds with irony,” says the dancer who believes that dance is like a jealous spouse. It cannot bear even a day of negligence.
With the fulfillment of this dream, Gupta has already set out towards another aspiration. “This time it’s motherhood that I would like to portray on stage. “A mother traverses the entire gamut of emotions in one lifetime. It would be exceedingly painstaking but unimaginably satisfying to portray some of the things she goes through. There will be so many nuances to explore and showcase,” he says. I am always up for a new challenge,” he says.
Gupta will be accompanied by Odissi dancer Arunima Ghosh. Other performances will be Yamini and Bhavana Reddy with Kuchipudi and Ragini Maharaj and Tribhuwan Maharaj with Kathak.
November 24, Triveni Kala Sangam, Tansen Marg, 6 pm onwards.
Other performers
Madhur Gupta will be accompanied by Odissi dancer Arunima Ghosh. Other performances are by Yamini and Bhavana Reddy (Kuchipudi) and Ragini Maharaj and Tribhuwan Maharaj (Kathak).