No it wasn’t easy and yet what an experience!
Travelling early morning from Mumbai to Pune among lush greenery and a nothing short of amazing weather almost deceived me into thinking that I was going on vacation. It took one session of intensive Kathak training to come back to reality… I had signed up for 6 days of sheer HARD WORK!!!
6 of us (3 students from Mumbai and 3 from Kolkata) left on the morning of September 10, 2012 for an intensive Kathak teacher’s training program with Guruji, Pandit Chiresh Dasji and our teacher, Guruji’s disciple, Seema Mehta, Seema didi as we fondly call her.
I clearly remember what Seema didi said when we registered for the course,”I can't even tell you what all you are going to absorb, beyond the dance. I can teach you how to teach, but it is all the hidden magic behind it that matters too!” I didn’t really get her then. Magic? What could be magical about a Kathak teacher’s training course? At best learning excellent compositions from Guruji to perfection, which we would then teach other students. How mistaken was I in thinking this!
This is how our day at training would typically be. We would assemble in the dance hall at 7 am every day, warm-up and stretch till Guruji would join us at 7.30 am. And then would start a 1.5 hour session of intensive footwork. To give you an idea of what intensive means, picture this... alternate cycles of 16-gun (*) and 24-gun (**) tatkar to a point where your legs would completely give up. At this point Guruji would be kind enough to say, “Don’t stop, just continue at a comfortable footwork pace.” I would be sooo happy to hear this only to realize that I can’t lift my feet even for 8-gun tatkar(***) anymore!
This was also that hour of the day where the clock in front of us refused to move. We knew that this session would end at 9 am. After what seemed like an endless amount of footwork when we’d glance at the clock, it would appear to have not moved at all. Among all this high speed tatkar, tarikita footwork, the only respite would be the yummy, and may I add well-earned, breakfast awaiting us after the session.
I felt truly blessed on this trip to Pune. One, to be in the presence of a Kathak maestro like Guruji; two, learning from Guruji himself; three, learning at an extremely tranquil place away from the hustle bustle of the city, surrounded by greenery on all sides; four, getting to eat wholesome and tasty food which helped survive through the days of hard-core training.
After breakfast we would have a 2 hour session of relatively “lighter” footwork. Wondering why it was called lighter when it left us just as drenched with sweat as the morning session!
Next, a quick shower followed by lunch. Then would start some extremely interesting discussions about Kathak, ranging from the origin of Kathak to the importance it is given in modern times. It is during these discusssions that I realized more than ever why Guruji is called a ‘Modern Guru’ in training. When talking to Guruji I forgot on several occasions that we are from two completely different generations. He is 67 and most of us were in our 20s and 30s. It was surprising to see how Guruji could so easily get through to us using in fact the kind of language we would relate to.
When we asked Guruji how he manages to do this, he said that he spends a lot of time observing people. This is how he understands the mindset, psychology of most people he meets within a few minutes of interacting with them.
These discussions would typically end on all days with an amazing chai-pakora session (the chai and pakoras made by one of the students). This was such a traditional touch to our sessions every day. Having open-minded, like-minded people under one roof, discussing anything and everything to do with Indian culture over chuskis of chai... wow-o-wow! Oh and I must add... tons of sudden recitation tests by Guruji during these discussions to test sharpness, alertness of our mind.
Back to the dance once again. The evening session would be learning one of the lighter compositions which involved more of gatbhao, compositions comprising expressions and feelings. On a couple of days we needed to shower one more time after this session!
A well-deserved dinner then after a day of hard work. No matter how tired we were, none of us could go to sleep just yet. This was a golden opportunity to talk some more with Guruji. When else would we get such a chance? At this time the topics would be more about a comparison of the Chhandam School of Kathak in the US and India; the attitude of the students there and here; a comparison of the outlook of their parents there and here; Guruji’s life in Kolkata; how Kathak was back then, other classical dance forms in India..
Reluctantly we would get up to go sleep mainly because we knew that another day of hard work was lined up ahead. (We would need to sleep if we wanted to be able to survive it)
After 6 very quick days, the training course came to an end. We did want to go back now because our bodies were giving up. We were all challenging this has been both physically and mentally, discussing about sleeping through the next few days, getting massages... knowing all along how lucky we have been to have experienced time. We were already discussing when a similar training can be planned next!
Personally for me, life after this experience will never be the same. To put it in a nutshell, we learnt about our Indian culture, history, philosophy, mythology, etiquettes, organic maths, fitness, stamina, mental and spiritual strength….all through the dance! Simply unbelievable!
(*) 16-gun tatkar
Tatkar is the basic footwork of Kathak. It involves 8 steps – Right left Right left, left right left right.
During 16-gun tatkar we impose 16 cycles of tatkar on 1 cycle of teen-taal consisting of 16 beats i.e. 1 cycle of tatkar per beat
(**) 24-gun tatkar
During 24-gun tatkar we impose 16 cycles of tatkar on 1 cycle of teen-taal consisting of 16 beats i.e. 1.5 cycle of tatkar per beat
(***) 8-gun tatkar
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