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 Girnar Festival 2025- Vijay Shankere-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com December 8, 2025 The 12th Girnar Festival of classical music and dance commenced on 7th November in Junagadh, near Rajkot (Gujarat), organised by Patel Cultural Foundation jointly with Shree Patel Kelavani Mandal, Junagadh, with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India. The five days festival concluded on 11 November with the participation of more than twenty-five performers, in classical music, vocal, instrumental and classical dances featuring young and bright performers. The highlight of this year was the participation of performers from foreign countries like South Korea with Surbahar recital by Wonseok, Bharatanatyam by Roopa Kiran from Hong Kong, Dr Andrei Dragoi with a flute recital from Switzerland, Dr Dimple Nair and Sneha Nambiar from Doha and Muscat respectively for a Mohiniattam recital. The festival was conducted at Patel Kelavani Mandal Open air auditorium, RS Kataria and NP Bhalodia School Ground, opposite Housing Colony, College Road, Junagadh. CA Savjibhai M Menpara, Kantibhai G. Fadadu are the president and Managing Trustee of Shri Patel Kelavani Mandal. Kishorebhai Chavda, Rajay Thakkar, Shailesh Pandya, Vinubhai Patel and MK Patel are the key members of the Patel Cultural Foundation (Mumbai). Compere of the festival was the veteran announcer Anand Singh. The festival commenced with an interesting pakhawaj and tabla percussion rhythmic dialogue by Prashant K Gharat and Sandeep from Mumbai, followed by the enthralling Kathak recital by Rohit Parihar and Hinal Pancholi, disciples of the acclaimed mentor Pt Rajendra Gangani. Rohit is in the faculty with JG College of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad and is a charismatic performer and revealed his command over the technique of Kathak, commencing with an invocatory number in praise of Lord Shiva "Rangila Shambho" followed by an expressional number in praise of Lord Krishna and his dalliance with the Gopis in "Ban dan ayi Shyam pyari re" (Adorable Krishna makes an elegant appearance).  Dr. Sagar & Ratika Dynamic couple dancers from Tumkur (Karnataka) in the Bharatanatyam style, Dr Sagar and Ratika, commenced their sparkling performance, with a Swati Thirunal Krithi "Nrityathi Samba Shivoham" followed by a Kannada composition "Namma karuna dikayo" (evocatively sung by singer Deepthi Srinath) incorporating the episode of Markandeya, the ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, who was to be snatched away by Lord Yama but Lord Shiva protects him as he steadfastly holds onto the Shiva Linga. It was sheer pleasure to watch the husband wife duo dancing with fine synchronisation, harmony and natural expressions.  Sharvi Sharma & Mehak Vohra Bright Kathak dancers from New Delhi, Sharvi Sharma and Mehak Vohra, disciples of veteran Kathak dancer Nandini Singh entertained the audience with rhythmic delight. Elegantly attired with golden coloured blouse, white skirt with silver linings, created a fine spectacle as the duo danced with effortless ease with precision which was quite evident in the Jhap taal Tarana in raag Bageshri.  Lata Surendra & disciples The second day, Saturday featured the highlight performance with the thematic presentation 'Ashru Dhara' pertaining to the significance of the holy river Ganga, the powerful flow of the Ganga, as was controlled by Lord Shiva in his hair locks, in the contemporary perspective, wherein the purity and divinity of the holy river is questioned. With poetic narratives and stylized movements in the Bharatanatyam style with fine coordination of creative dance sequences, melodious and vibrant music, brilliantly performed by veteran dancer Dr Lata Surendra, senior disciples Ananya Iyer, Megha Pillai and her talented disciples danced with uniformity and precision, creating a fine spectacle. Akhilesh Chaturvedi along with his disciple Sweety and group from Surat, entertained the audience with his melodramatic performance with leaps and jumps off the stage, stunning the audience which mainly comprised of young students, executing complex rhythmic footwork in the Kathak style. Jeta K Patel, the disciple of Akhilesh Chaturvedi, is an aspiring Kathak dancer.  Mohiniattam ensemble led by Dr. Dimple Nair Natyakalamandiram Centre for Arts in its Mohiniattam presentation featured accomplished exponents like Dr Dimple Nair (Doha, Qatar), Sneha Nambiar (Muscat),Unnati Ajmera (Rajkot) and Nayana Prakash (Mumbai). They commenced their brief performance with Ritu Druva portraying the varied colourful facets of nature and seasons with relation to the human emotions. The four dancers portrayed the varied emotional states of the four nayikas, caught in different situations of love like Vasakasajja nayika who adorns herself to meet her Lord but he never turns up, Khandita nayika who waits whole night and is enraged to see her lover arriving early morning, after spending the night with another women, the Kalahantarita nayika who fights with her lover but repents later and the Abhisarika nayika who sets out of her house secretly on a rainy night to meet her lover. It was a pleasure to watch all the dancers with fine interpretations and mukhaja abhinaya. They are the disciples of Dr Kanak Rele and Kalamandalam C. Gopalakrishnan. Disciples of Guru Asha Nambiar from Mumbai - Mandar Chauhan and Siddharth Rane - rendered quite a pleasing Odissi duet performance. They could perform better with more spontaneity and involvement. Sunday session commenced with Bharatanatyam by Prisha G Jaria from Rajkot, Her performance was particularly noteworthy for its clarity of movements and precision. Kathak by Doli Thakkar and group from Rajkot, disciple of Guru Harsha Thakkar, created a fine impression with their vibrant and precise performance. The seven dancers commenced with invocations to Lord Shiva in Shiva Stuti "Damru har har baje", followed by the Thumri in Dadra taal, "Kahe rokat dagar pyare" (Why do you stop my way?) and with the grand Kedar Tarana. It was refreshing to watch the dancers, dancing with uniformity and rhythmic accuracy.  Nilesh Singha Mumbai's leading male Bharatanatyam exponent and founder-director of Shivoham Academy, Nilesh Singha created lasting impression with his vivacious performance. The first number featured Krishna in Vrindavan where all the Gopis are mesmerised by the magical flute music (but it was the recorded violin music which was playing) as they leave their household chores to listen to the music. The second number and the "piece-de-resistance" of the evening was the popular composition "Maha Deva Shiva Shambho", in his masterpiece performance. Interpreting the glory and power of Lord Shiva, particularly the 'Ganga avartanam' scene is the best that I have witnessed; Manipuri dancers Purbita Mukherjee and Arundhati Datta were pleasing in the Sankirtan, with the soft and graceful movements, The evening session concluded with the rhythmic Kathak performance by Sikha Bhattacharya and Koyel De from Kolkata.  Yakshagana group led by Ankita Naik as Bhasmasura Another highlight of the festival was the theatre art form of Karnataka - Yakshagana - by Ankita Naik as Bhasmasura, Tanishka Jain as Mohini and Manasi Walhekar as Shiva. Attired in the typical aharya of the tamasic character of Bhasmasura with a big moustache, it was a pleasure to watch Ankita Naik getting completely into the skin of the character, who becomes ferocious and wants to try the dangerous boon on Lord Shiva himself, who runs for his life and meets Lord Vishnu who disguises himself as the enchantress Mohini who woos Bhasmasura. They merrily dance together and by mistake he places his hand on his head and collapses. While Ankita was quite impressive in her act, Manasi as Shiva was pleasing but Tanishka Jain could be more graceful with elegant dance moves. On the whole, it was one of the best performances of the festival.  Papiya Mallick & Sanika Mallick Accomplished Kathak dancer from Jabalpur Papiya Mallick, presented a duet performance along with her daughter Sanika Mallick. Papiya is the disciple Pt Birju Maharaj and Saswati Sen. This is the first time that the mother-daughter duo performed together. Sanika is a talented dancer, and performed with perfect rhythm but she seemed a little nervous. The duo commenced with Vishnu Vandana, a prayer to Lord Vishnu, "Shantakaram Bhujaga Shayanam" as an embodiment of peace, resting on the serpent Shesha, followed by "Raas rachat Brij mein" composed and sung by Pt Birju Maharaj, choreographed by Papiya Mallick. This refers to written works by Rasika saints from Braj and Vrindavan who have composed poetry, songs (padhs) and scriptures about the rasa of Radha and Krishna's divine love, Krishna's dalliance with the Gopis, culminating with the Maha Raas in which Krishna is seen dancing with all the Gopis. Their performance concluded with the complex Tarana. Elegantly attired, it was interesting to watch the duo, dancing with uniformity and fine synchronisation.  Krityea Narsing Rana The last day of the festival commenced with Odissi performance by Krityea Narsing Rana from Mumbai, disciple of Pt Rabindra Atibudhi. Besides the first number that described the Rath Yatra with Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, Krityea was quite impressive in the Sita Swayamvara in which different kings, including Ravana tries to break the Shiva Dhanush but fails. Ultimately Lord Rama succeeds and marries Sita. Blessed with striking stage presence, Krityea impressed the audience with his comic act when most kings failed miserably. Krityea has a bright future, provided he performs consistently and concentrates on the finer aspects of dancing.  Roopa Kiran  Megha Nair Bharatanatyam by Roopa Kiran from Hong Kong, commenced with "Amba Sambavi Chandramauli" in praise of the goddess and the Meera bhajan "Pug ghungroo Meera nachi re" incorporating the saint poetess who sings and dances in complete devotion to Lord Krishna. Roopa was pleasing in expressions and command over the technique of Bharatanatyam. Accomplished Mohiniattam exponent from New Delhi, Megha Nair, disciple of Bharati Shivaji, performed elegantly, creating a lasting impression on the audience. In the ashtapadi "Chandana charchita", Radha is waiting alone, while Krishna is dancing with the Gopis. Megha deserves to be seen more often.  Sanjay Kumar Joshi  Sanjay Kumar Joshi's group The only solo male dancer from Hyderabad to perform Vilasini Natyam was Sanjay Kumar Joshi, disciple of the renowned dancer Swapnasundari. "Vighna Vinashakara" is a devotional composition that was sung and performed by Maddula Lakshminarayana with notional abhinaya while standing near the 'dhvajastamba' and addressing the deity of the temple in Vishweshwara Agraharam of Perur. In the Vinayaka Prarthana, the dancer offers salutations to the 7 musical notes, the mridangam and the cymbals, and thereafter pays homage to Lord Ganesha and prays for the success of the performance. Pallaki seva refers to the dance service rendered by the temple dancer when utsava murtis are taken out in a Pallaki (palanquin) in public procession on Tiru Vithi - the haloed pathway - which flanks the temple. The devadasi dances in divinity whenever the palanquin halted. It was an unusual presentation, performed for the first time with sincerity at Girnar Festival by Sanjay Joshi and his talented team of dancers. Ardent disciple of the legendary Pt Gopikrishna, Vaibhav Joshi rendered a Kathak-Odissi jugalbandi along with Samruddhi Joshi and group. After the Saraswati Vandana, the dancers impressed the audience with dramatization of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu in Dashavataram with music rendered by Pt Mukund Deo with lyrics in Marathi. A novel presentation of the festival was "Let the Games Begin" in which Bharatanatyam dancer from Mumbai, Namita Bodaji and her talented dancers played varied games on the stage like Kabaddi, Tug of War, Chess etc with the underlining message that games should be played in a healthy atmosphere with a holistic perspective for the welfare and betterment of the society.  Bhama Kalapam by disciples of Smita Shastri It was thrilling for the young audience of students to watch a performance out of the box. Prashita Surana, Vena Ayachit and Janvi Ambalia performed Bhama Kalapam in the Kuchipudi style. Disciples of Guru Smita Shastri of Nartan School of Classical Dances, it was quite exhilarating to watch the dancers with striking gestures and sparkling movements incorporating the beautiful and proud Satyabhama. All the performers were felicitated with the Girnar Ratna title.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
