The poster picture of the disciple prostrating at the feet of her late guru narrates it all: The devotion of Uma Dogra towards Pt. Durgalal, in whose memory she hosts the Durgalal festival in various cities for senior performers and the Raindrops Festival in Mumbai, featuring up-and-coming talent under the aegis of Sam Ved Society for performing arts. “It is my regret that my revered guruji passed away before I could make a name in this field. My endeavor is to keep his memory alive for generations to come,” said Dogra. Raindrops is an extension of her empathy towards young talent who struggle to find a footing in the performance arena. The fest happens in the month of July amidst heavy spells of rain but nothing deters the rasikas, who flock to the Ravindra Natya Mandir. The three-day event included group, duet and six solo performances. Film on Dogra The first day opened with ‘Nartan,’ a scintillating performance by her students and screening of ‘Kathakar, Journey of the artist,’ a film on Uma Dogra, 60, by her disciple Indrayanee Mukherjee. ‘Taal Dhamar’, a group dance, highlighted features such as uthan, thaat, ladi etc. The next group showcased dhrut laya, nine maatras, tukda, paran, parmelu et al, typical of Jaipur gharana, Tarana in raag Bageshri, Jhap taal, composed and choreographed by Pt. Durgalal, eliciting repeated ‘wah wahs’. As four disciples were dancing the ‘Varsha Ritu’ creating the monsoon mood, guru Uma Dogra, who was on an invigorating Bol Padanth, got up and did a thumri ‘Eh ri sakhi’ composed by herself. On day two, Snigdha Menon, disciple of Gayatri Subramanian presented a Ganesha slokam, ‘Aada Vanden annaiye’ and moved on to a Meera bhajan and concluded with a brief tillana in Brindavana Saranga, with Hindi Sahityam on Nataraja composed by veteran guru Rajee Narayan. The dancer proved her impeccable training with perfect araimandi and clear bhava. Gayatri (nattuvangam), Saraswati (vocal), Venkatesh ( mridangam) and Atul (flute) enhanced the enjoyment. Dipjyoti and Dipankar, young dancers from Assam, were intense in their Sattriya presentation. ‘Krishna Vandana’ and ‘Vasudeva Sutam,’ set the pace for enjoyable viewing. In ‘Raghunatha charitam,’ an abhinaya piece that began with loud conch blowing, settled into serene music. Ramayana was portrayed in a nutshell of quick sequences. In Sitaharan episode, one dancer would be Sita and the other Ravan and in the next line, their roles would change as the demon would become the demure damsel and the other an old, helpless alms seeker. The duo were synchronised from full sitting to stretching, not once losing sight of grace, sharing stage space with ease. Strong in technique Durgesh Gangani, son and shagird of Jagdish Gangani from Baroda, packed in many technical aspects of the art form such as thaat, paran, meend, chakradaar tihai, laykari etc. The chakkars (over 50) and the kavith, ‘Om Namah Shivaya,’ culminating with jumps in Siva tandava pose received approbation. Tall and stately, he has a stage presence and his vivacity was laudable. The only thing missing was a serene smile. In the final segment of the second day, guru Sujata Mohapatra was in the audience watching her disciple, Soumya Bose, present an Odissi performance. It was Nachata Ranga in Arabhi raag Ek taal, choreographed by legendary exponent Kelucharan Mohapatra. The abhinaya piece, wherein Krishna teases Radha who is plucking flowers, was interesting with portrayal of flowers falling into ‘Yamuna reva’. Mithun Shyam from Bengaluru, senior disciple of the late Padmini Ramachandran, began with Ganesha vandana. He moved on to a Kannada Devaranama (Ragamalika, kanda chapu, Kanakadasa), a rasanubhava of the popular fables of Gajendra moksha, Prahlad and Draupadi vastrakshepa. Yamanelli, a Purandaradasa Devaranama was an ode to Yama, God of death, who comes in the form of Rama, Krishna, Narasimha to annihilate the wicked. His stellar performance received a standing ovation from the full house. Dr. Anupama Kylash from Hyderabad presented Vilasini Natyam, traditional Devadasi dance of Andhra Pradesh. Beginning with a piece on Lord Ganesha and Siva she moved on to an abhinaya element comprising compiled bits from Annamacharya kritis. The concluding item termed as ‘Company Javali’ was from the compositions created to gratify the East India Company officers, hence set in western scale akin to Scottish bagpipe tune in ragam Sankarabharanam. Nayantara Parpia from Pune showcased a graceful Kathak. Vishnu Vandan in teen taal (Vilambit to dhrut laya) was followed by ‘Jhoolat Radha,’ an emotive piece and concluded with a thumri composed by Pt. Binda Din Maharaj, illustrative of Lucknow gharana. Nayantara has command over both technique and expression. “The stage space is so intimate that I felt abhinaya is more apt to communicate”, she said. The camaraderie and Dogra’s infectious dynamism made the Raindrop fest quite an experience.

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