When dreams come true
Karachiites recently flocked to the Bahria Auditorium on a Friday night where they were treated to a night of culture, dance and entertainment with renowned classical dancer, Naheed Siddiqui. Organised by the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) — the Karachi chapter — the event was titled Khayal.

Both members and non-members of the APMC were requested to arrive early to avoid any trouble accessing and/ or purchasing passes and to ensure seating by the due time. Despite the precautions, many hopefuls arriving by the usual “half-hour-late” rule, were left stranded outside, since the tickets had been sold-out completely. The programme started almost 45 minutes after the scheduled time.

The crew that accompanied Naheed Siddiqui included her protege-in-dance, Ahsan Nadeem, Javed on violin, Babar Ali on flute, Muhammad Baksh on harmonium, Sajid Ali on tabla and Hasan Ameen Mohiuddin on ghatam, while vocals were rendered by Akbar Ali. As the musicians tuned their instruments, the audience patiently waited to be blown away.

Depicted by the hues of red worn by Naheed, the show opened with Khayal, a Raga Jogeshwari, created by Hazrat Amir Khusrau in the 13th century. Slow, subtle and increasingly graceful, Naheed handled her dupatta with finesse as she very slowly transitioned between the different postures signifying khayal (thought), her prop the dupatta, casting a silhouette on the background screen, creating an almost poignant romantic air about her. Her postures mimicked those of statuettes, the alaap of the body appropriately rendering salaam (greetings); Khayal had an understated beauty and set the mood for the rest of the evening.

Tarana — a Raga Chandra Kauns, followed after, another creation of Amir Khusrau. It had a lighter feel to it and was more playful in nature, the play being between Naheed Siddiqui and the tabla. It is difficult to imagine the piece being choreographed; Naheed clearly enjoyed herself and seemed to dance by the ear rather than by counting the taal.

Naheed’s student, Ahsan Nadeem, joined her in the third composition, Illusions — a Raga Suddh Sarang, which was meant to depict the merging of reality and fantasy and that the lines that define them are not what they seem to be. Naheed and Ahsan at first seemed to be each other’s shadows but the subtle differences in their moves soon rectified that initial impression. Ahsan was clearly the illusion in this inter-play between reality and fantasy. Had it not been for the stage presence that Naheed commands naturally, she would have been overshadowed by her own student. Graceful and delicate in his movements, Ahsan danced with emotion, displaying a lightness which gave the illusion of him dancing on air. He is a student Naheed should most definitely be proud off.


The best part of the evening, where Naheed truly seemed to come to life was in the last composition, Rhythm of Life — a Raga Jaijaiwanti. Set to a rhythmic cycle of 16 beats, Rhythm of Life was an improvisational piece. Known for pausing between performances to explain the philosophy of the Kathak dance and the meaning of her gestures, Naheed stayed true to that reputation and while her musicians tuned their instruments, she addressed the audience, talking about the importance of supporting classical dance and of projecting a softer image of Pakistan; she further explained the improvisational nature of Rhythm of Life.

Before her next performance, Naheed repeated the bol of the sequence she was about to follow and launched herself into a delightful dance, clearly displaying her mastery over tatkaar. The exuberance she displayed made it all the more enjoyable. At the end of it all, she received a full two-minute standing ovation from the audience. So far there is no comparison to Naheed Siddiqui in Kathak and she enjoys mastery over some of the most difficult tatkaar compositions.

Although the event was primarily focused on dance, it was disappointing to see that the rest of the crew members including the musicians and vocalist were kept rather in the background. The fact is that the crew contributed equally in making the show a success and therefore should not have been ignored. However, despite the routine hiccups that threatened to jeopardize the evening, the APMC team managed to pull off the event enjoyably, and they deserve to be commended for their effort.

Credits:
All of the photographs were taken by Amean J.

Note:
Only the photograph on top from this particular ensemble is been part of those that had been published in print.

First Published:
Images
June 18th, 2006