The three-day Thirak Festival of Dance organised by Jaipur Gharana Kathaka Manisha Gulyani recently was much appreciated for being the first-of-its-kind focussing on the gharana while bringing in several stalwarts to share their experiences.
Among those who attended was Kathaka Uma Sharma, well known for her stellar performances and reviving the Natwari Nritya or the Raslila of Vrindavan. She shared her gathered experiences in her journey of dance with the assembled connoisseurs, gurus and students.
Coming from a conservative background of a family of Brahmins and deeply rooted in academics, the idea of making dance a career for Uma Sharma was altogether an alien idea. Talking of her childhood, she said, “My roots are in Dholpur but I became a Dilliwali, because my parents shifted to New Delhi. My father was a Sanskrit scholar, who composed lyrics in the Sanskrit language and spoke in that language. He was fond of music as well. So I first took to singing and I imitated Lata Mangeshkar a lot. Somewhere in the core of my heart, I wished to dance. Whenever I saw anyone dance, I was interested and picked up the piece fast. But I had no desire to be a professional dancer. My parents said that studies should be my first priority, after that I can take up the arts as a hobby.”
Meanwhile, her father opened a school in the colony they lived in to support the cultural interest of children. There Uma got a chance to watch others and copy them. Recalling her first performance, she said, “When I was about 10, for the first time, I saw Jaipur Gharana Kathak by the very talented Girivar Dayalji. My secret wish was to learn from him. I joined his class. By the time I was 12, I performed for the first time in Churuand then at the United Nations Conference in New Delhi. I remember the incident when I faced my Guru and not the audience to dance. People clapped, I was in tears.”
At a very young age, Uma saw many of the stalwarts of the Jaipur Gharana. “In the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, started by my father, many top gurus of Jaipur Gharana like Pandit Sundarlal, Pandit Sohanlal, Pandit Bansilal and Pandit Hiralal among others came.” Continuing reminiscing about that period, the dancer shared with the audience her learning a piece for her school performance. “I had requested Pandit Dayalji to teach me a piece.It was the time when Gopi Krishnanji had done a lot of Kathak choreography in ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje’. He chose the song, ‘Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya’. I mused, ‘Guruji ye to filmi gaane hai’. He insisted I do this. I did it and got the first prize in school. I was under a illusion that this what Kathak is. After a few years Pandit Brij Mohan (Birju Maharaj) came to my house and taught me a beautiful tukra.”
Emphasising on the role of destiny in her life, Uma said, “I learnt from Hiralalji in Triveni Kala Sangam. If a thing has to happen, it will happen and a path would surely be chalked out.” She took admission in Bhartiya Kala Kendra, where all the great gurus taught. “Keshav Kothari asked me to learn from Sundar Prasadji, which I did. There was intense practice. Sundar Prasadji recommended Devilalji for home practice. Among the greats, Roshan Kumari and Damayanti Joshi used to come to Guruji’s class as also Sitara Devi and Lachhu Maharaj who dropped in occasionally. It was a golden era which would never come back.”
Praising her guru, the artist remembered several others who had helped shape her journey of learning. “I learnt a lot of Kavits from my guru and Keshav Kothari suggested that I give them a gayaki style to be more creative. I took his advice. Naina Devi, the then Director of Kendra, also took a lot of interest. I learnt a lot that enriched my performance. The help that I got from many gurus helped me to go forward. Shambhu Maharaj introduced me to Ghalib’s ghazals as solo pieces. He taught me improvisation and took me to a philosophical level. Ghalib’s ghazals have so much of depth. I took 14-16 years of intense taalim and this made me what I am,” she sums up.
