It was a rare treat to experience the delightful rasa of Sitara Devi’s Kathak through her senior disciple Antonia Minnecola performance in Pune recently. Accompanied on tabla by her husband, Zakir Hussain, the concert was part of yearlong series of cultural events celebrating the 50th anniversary of Kalachaya.
Sitara Devi had been there for the inauguration in February 2014. She came for one day and stayed for three. As this diamond jubilee year comes enters its last quarter, Kalachaya’s director Prabha Marathe continues to amaze me with the innovative activities she plans. This one combined a tribute to Sitara Devi, the unveiling of a bust of Tabla Maestro Ustad Allah Rakha by Zakir Hussain accompanied by brother Faisal, sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews, a rare opportunity to see Tony dance in India, plus a few more gems.
When Prabha was last in Delhi and invited me to join them for the evening and unveiling, I surprised myself by deciding to not only buy a ticket and come, but rearrange my intensive Odissi abhinaya workshop not to clash. I am very fond of Tony (Antonia) and Zakir and haven’t met either in ages. It was often easier in the USA as the crowds around Zakir-bhai when he performs in India are daunting and trips abroad are in abeyance, indefinitely as my mother lives with me and is only 98.
When I first met Tony several decades ago I was frankly thrilled to meet another videshi classical Indian dancer who “had her feet on the ground”. Ustads Allah Rakha and Zakir Hussain naturally have a long association of with the world of Kathak. Zakir even accompanied Sitara Devi’s classes when he was young. It was natural that they would initiate her training under the Queen of Kathak, Sitara Devi and that Sitara-ji would welcome and love her as she deserved and merited by years of devotion as a shishya.
In the wonderful way that everything is connected, Prabha recalled that she had helped get the University affiliation needed for Tony’s American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship to study Kathak in India. Zakir learned of this and made a donation of 1000rs to Kalachaya, a princely sum in those days.
The flavor of Sitara Devi’s artistry came alive in Tony Minnecola’s presentation; the energy, the interaction with audience, the immediacy, the freedom of movement and use of space. She might end a phrase stage center, or just a foot away from her musicians, to connect with them as well as the audience.
Zakir said at the beginning, “Besides one Tarana and one Bhajan, I don't know what she will do.
She never tells me what Tukadas, Parans, Todas, whatever that she will do. With Tony, there are no items, we will all see what happens.”
He went on to spell out what we are missing in the packaged learning and performing of dance items in Kathak (a trait not limited to only this classical style in the reduction of the indivisual artists of the current generation’s ability to improvise creatively on stage).
Tony is performing in ‘the old style; now Kathak has become much more of an item tradition, rather than the old days when the maestros, like sitara ji or so many others would get on stage and the concert would develop through interaction with the audience.”
It was a delight to see Tony’s thought process each time she went to the microphone, filtering possibilities of myriad ways to expand on what had just come before. Underpinning her command of the dance is years of classical Hindustani music training with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and a serious study of taal with Ustad Allarakha at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, when she began her Kathak training with Pandit Chitresh. Naturally, she continues that study to this day whenever Zakir is home.
Tony’s Meera Bhajan beautifully captured the trials overcome by bhakti as the venomous snake sent for her became a garland and she fearlessly drank the poison which was ineffective. We entered into Meera’s bliss in her love of Krishna. As I enjoyed Tony’s absolute immersion in the art she imbibed from her guru, I also reflected on a skill she shares with husband Zakir: the ability to offer the highest standards of classical Indian dance and music as well as create cutting edge contemporary work, most recently for an opera.
Since the mid-1970’s I remember seeing Sitara Devi’s exhilarating living-legend performances, her indefatigable energy, the large bindi and flyaway hair and color cacophony costumes. What I wasn’t aware of back then was the seminal role she played in the transition of Kathak from Mujra to the stage and the details of her pioneering role as respectable woman dancing on the stage. In the early 20th century, non-tawaif women were not taught Kathak.
A Vaishnava scholar from Banara s, Brahmin Sukdev Maharaj who was also a professional Kathak dancer and teacher, decided to train his daughters as well as his sons along with other students. He was ostracized for this but didn’t give up. His young daughter Dhanalakshmi showed real talent and was assigned to elder sister Tara to perfect her art. Dhanalakshmi took the stage name of Sitara Devi and teacher-sister Tara became mother to the famous dancer, Gopi Krishna. Her stint in films was brief; Gopi Krishna’s was life long.
Sitara Devi was passionate about life and dance. Of course, she belonged to Banaras gharana but learned from the masters of the Lucknow gharana :Acchan, Lachchu and Shambhu Maharaj.
Kalachaya events have an amazing sense of inclusiveness from stalwarts to new rasikas. There is joy, acceptance and respect for art and artists. Alongside Tony MInnecola’s memorable tribute performance to Sitara-ji, as everyone of her Kathak programs will be with her Guru Sitara is in her blood and soul, we also savored Prabha Marathe’s bhav set to a rare Pt Ravi Shankar composition. Prabha is approaching 80, one of the most senior students of Pt Birju Maharaj and the audience was delighted with her performance and her senior disciple’s dance that followed.
Rashmi Jangam, Principal of the Dance Unit at Kalachhaya, completed the evening’s range with all the freshness and joy of youthful dance. It’s reassuring to know that the next 50 years will be in her good hands, with the blessings requested from Zakir and Tony for continuing the magic created by her father, Tabla Guru Bharat Jangam along with Prabha.
Sharon Lowen is a respected exponent of Odissi, Manipuri and Mayurbhanj and Seraikella Chau whose 4 decade career in India was preceded by 17 years of modern dance and ballet in the US and an MA in dance from the University of Michigan. She can be contacted at sharonlowen.workshop @gmail.com
