Sohni must decide; either to wait out the fierce storm or plunge into the swollen Chenab River. Her lover Mahiwal is waiting for her on the other side. But unlike the last fortnight, her earthen pot won’t keep her afloat. It’s been tampered with by people who oppose their love. She unlatches the door of her house, not once, twice, but thrice. Should she tiptoe back in and meet Mahiwal some other day or should she take the plunge? Kathak dancer Divya Goswami expresses Sohni’s dilemma brilliantly in Aqeedat, Love’s Union in the Divine, staged as part of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa.
The two-hour-long dance presentation merges Kathak, Hindustani classical music and folk arts to tell the eternal love story penned by 19th-century poet Syed Fazal Shah, based in Punjab. But the story itself is believed to be from the 10th century. “I’m a Punjabi by birth. It has been my long-standing dream to work on this story,” says 44-year-old Goswami. Her creative mission: bring out the vastness and richness of Punjab reflected in its literature, folk tradition and philosophies. “Punjab’s representation in cinema and songs makes it all look small. The state is so multi-layered and textured which I want to show the world through Kathak,” she adds.
Goswami was just six years old when her mother Geeta enrolled her in a Kathak class. She needed to keep her little daughter busy. “That’s how it started,” recalls Goswami. But she started training seriously only after she turned 11, in Pune. Before that, she had to keep moving cities and changing gurus because her father was an army officer.
In Pune, she trained under Yogini Gandhi of the Lucknow gharana for almost 17 years until 2013. She then moved to Delhi and trained under Munna Shukla until he passed away in 2022. “Guruji was a wealth of knowledge and would take great pains to teach his students,” reminisces Goswami. He would conduct one-on-one classes, which would start at 10 am and go on until 10 pm sometimes. “He encouraged his students to go out on their own and create their own shows,” says Goswami.
Aqeedat is one such revelation in rhythm. Dressed in a hand-woven phulkari dupatta, handmade parandi (hair accessory) and pipli pata jewellery, all typical to Punjab, Goswami adds to the narrative. The background installation of earthen pots was made by Goan potters. The Punjabi folk song Menu paar kara de has been incorporated in the performance along with Kathak padhant (recitation of rhythmic syllables) and Syed Fazal Shah’s lines set to Hindustani music. Her poetic inspiration is a family affair, the great poet-philosopher of Punjab, Pandit Kirpa Ram Sharma ‘Nazim’ being her ancestor.
Goswami acquired the original text of Shah’s Sohni Mahiwal from the Patiala University archives. Her mother translated it for her. Over the next year, Goswami poured herself into the act. The result is a delightful performance, which breaks free from the same old, same old stories of Radha and Krishna, giving audiences something new to appreciate. It’s also a testament to the relevance and power of Kathak.
Goswami’s versatility is notable in the way she swiftly changes character from the dainty, yet strong-willed Sohni, to her lover Mahiwal to the cruel sister-in-law and also Shah. She is a gifted dancer, strong and graceful in her footwork and chakkars (circles) and adept in her bhava (expressing different emotions). “I dance because I am, I am because I dance” is her philosophy which paraphrases Descartes. She is taking the right steps to be herself.