One of Mumbai's leading Cultural centres, Swar Sadhana Samiti presented their 730th programme of classical music and dance on the digital platform on Sunday 18th December.

After the commendable Hindustani vocal music recital by Smt Mrunal Natekar-Bhide, accomplished Kathak danseuse Pallavi Shome along with five disciples presented a brilliant performance, which was noteworthy for its professional expertise, rhythmic precision and a fine extravaganza of both music and dance.

Pallavi is the daughter of acclaimed violinist Pt Pratap Pawar, who was the disciple of the veteran violinist Padma Bhushan VG Jog, Pallavi's mother Seema  also holds the degree of Sangeet Prabhakar in music. Hence Pallavi was naturally inclined to classical music and dance, she has had the privilege of learning from Kathak Kendra under the able guidance of veteran mentors like Pt Munna Lal Shukla, Reba Vidyarthi and Bharti Gupta.

Pallavi has performed in some of the most prestigious festivals all over India and abroad too. Pallavi is the director of Prashaa Nritya Academy and is imparting training to young aspirants in the field of Kathak.

It was a rare spectacle to watch Pallavi (red costume) dancing with five disciples, all attired in white costume, a fine combination of both purity and divinity. With invocations to Lord Shiva in Shiva Stuti 'Damru Baje’ interpreted the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, who is also known as "Nataraja" (King of dance) as the damru beats in rhythm which is symbolic of the rhythm to be maintained in life and the dance perspective too, the thumri introduced the audience to expressional dancing with subtle expressions and graceful movements.

The grand finale was the Rageshri Tarana that exposed the audience to the fine synthesis of music, melody and intricate footwork, revealing the command over "layakari" and fine "teyyari". The tabla maestro was in fine synchronization with the excellence of the dancers. Kudos to Pallavi and her talented disciples.

Swar Sadhna Samiti is  known for its great contribution towards the enrichment and propagation of classical music and dance and was established by veterans in the field like Pt Keki Jijina and Dr Aban Mistry.

By Guru Vijay Shanker