He is the world renowned Tabla maestro. One only utter “Zakir” and the very name pulls in sold out shows in a drum beat.
She is Italian and makes Kathak take on a new meaning combining her western sensibilities with her deep knowledge and appreciation of the Indian classical tradition of music and dance.
Together the maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and Kathak danseuse and wife in real life Antonia Minnecola came together to create melodic magic on stage at Clemson University , SC on 7th April 2007 .
Kathak is one of the six major classical dance forms of India and through song, dance and mime, rhythmically complex footwork, and spinning, it depicts epic poems and myths in a dramatic form. It focuses especially on the great Indian epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and the Puranas of Sanskrit literature.
Initially Kathak was used as a devotional presentation in temples but soon it graduated into the royal courts of both Hindu and Muslim rulers of India . Soon a class of elegant courtesans and dancers made Kathak an enticing and exhilarating form of visual phenomenon. It took on a different hue in different regions. While you were dazzled by the technical mastery of the Jaipur Gharana on one hand, you were seduced by the sensuous and dramatic allure of the Lucknow gharana nurtured in the courts of King Wajid Ali Shah who studied Kathak and was a poet extraordinaire.
On April 7 Toni as she is affectionately called captured the various nuances of an art form that captivated her and compelled her to train under the legendary Sitara Devi, whose powerful voice on an LP had her mesmerized. “Over a period of time you outgrow things and they don’t charm you as much as they did, but I still listen to that LP and say wow. In fact it is not available any more and I’m making copies for my students.”
For Minnecola who has trained in western classical music, and comes from a family of accomplished singers and people who deeply appreciated all art forms, mythology, history and religion, Kathak attracted her because of its fast movements, its rhythmic quality and the improvisations between the dancer and the drummer. The fact that she loved mythology and was a poet herself added to the allure and the connection she felt with the dance form.
Toni has also studied under Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and her father in law legendary tabla maestro Ustad Allah Rakha Khan.
The presentation captured so many aspects of Indian classical music and dance along with great information to encompass all levels of viewers in the audience. Zakir’s wonderful lecture demonstration showed various nuances of Tabla performance and Antonia’s light and graceful demonstration recreated life, bhava, the rasas and colors of Kathak which can be such a delightful blend of grace and beauty with the right kind of performance.
When Zakir plays, no one remains untouched. It is always a visual delight to see how smoothly he blends the technical aspects with fun story telling creating the sounds to match the story – so there we had a hare darting, a deer flying, an elephant lumbering – visuals created deftly on the tabla by his fingers – and before we knew it we were being re-introduced to the traffic in India – trucks lumbering, cars dashing from both sides, and… a zebra crossing? “It is something we only see in the Zoos in India,” said the maestro amidst laughter. There was Shiva playing the damru the very first musical drum instrument known to the Universe and the sound of the conch shell, again re-created by Zakir on the tabla. There was also the spicy exchange between an irate Radha and Lord Krishna who didn’t show up on time yet again!
Zakir talked about how Tabla overtook the mridangam to become India’s premier instrument and how music from the Vedic times has inspired worship and mediation amongst its performers.
Antonia is a delightful danseuse and she went on to capture the grace, the coquettishness, and the elegance of the courtesans of the Mughal Palaces. It was interesting to see how the confluences of Hindusim and Islam influenced the rendition of music and dance in those times. Sitara Devi her guru, said Antonia, never danced in the Mughal courts but learnt from the master performers like Acchan, Lachchu and Shambhu Maharaj and in turned taught them to her. Antonia performed a composition by her late father in law the legendary Ustad Allah rakha among other pieces
Speaking of the latter she says the tabla maestro’s extraordinary genius and knowledge made him an ever flowing fountain of artistic and creative nectar. ”The way he explained the different kind of jaatis to me, his music, the beauty of his peshkar and the way he gave me the gift of his genius and then asked me to develop it myself, was amazing. There were times when there were things that flew over my head, but I would still sit and bask in that glorious knowledge and do the best I could to capture its essence.”
Antonia also recreated the saga of Meera Bai and how all attempts to take her away from Krishna by her detractors failed. The bhajan was sung by Youssef Mahmoud, an Afghani Sufi singer and also a tabla player, Antonia beautifully captured the rapture of Meera’s love for Krishna, and how a snake sent for her became a garland and poison became nectar which she drank happily. Toni was all praise for Youssef. “ He is a wonderful singer from London who is also a tabla player and so he brings so much to the compositions I learnt from my Guru.” Youssef was accompanied by Jagannathan Ramamoorthy who Toni referred to “ as a wonderful violinist who is a disciple of N. Raja. He has a wonderful touch. He is steeped in knowledge of music in a big human and healing way.”
And how is it having the Zakir accompany her on stage? “It is both exhilarating and terrifying,” said Antonia to the audience She also thanked her husband for accompanying her. “ Personal affection aside, one must not take anything for granted,” she said tongue in cheek to which Zakir made a funny face equally mischievously bringing the house down again with laughter. In an interview Toni said, “Having Zakir playing tabla when one is dancing is like floating on a very salty sea-totally buoyant.” Toni mentions that Zakir was very young when he started going to Sitara Devi’s house to play for her dance classes. His knowledge of Kathak is phenomenal and what he may have forgotten with the passage of time comes back to him in a flash when he starts performing.
The tabla maestro himself says Kathak has much greater improvisation attached to it. For him accompanying a dancer becomes truly challenging because here he is the primary instrument and has to convey all the emotions and feelings of dance through his drums, in a balanced and harmonious way so that the drum doesn’t superimpose on the dance.
The high level of improvisation, says Zakir is what makes Kathak unique, in comparison to other classical dances like Bharat Natyam, Odissi and others because unlike in Kathak, in the other dance forms, close to 85 percent of repertoire is fixed.
Zakir says for him it has been interesting to watch Toni take on something that is not from her culture and interpret it. “She is the new generation of dancers who are from a culture that is not theirs and are yet seeped in it. Having grown up in India , having studied music I was never explained in detail, the nitty gritty of it. It was assumed that I will have to keep on practicing and the importance and the features that are necessary will reveal themselves to me. These performers of the modern times have grown up with all the details available to them and at the same time have their own take on it. So it’s an interesting partial view of what our art and tradition is, and at the same time a view that is filled with reverence.”
The concert was named Bhava – a door to union, says Toni because a union between the artist and the aesthetics of Indian art is all that the performer aspires to attain through bhava or expression.
The concert was hosted by Surabhi a student organization that came into being 10 year ago. Everyone associated with the organization is a volunteer according to Prof Amod Ogale. “The primary objective of the club is to raise an awareness of Indian classical music and dance in the Clemson community.” He adds, ‘ Most concerts draw an audience of 100 to 200. With popular artists, we draw an audience that is upwards of 600. In fact, the Percussion Ensemble featuring Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram, Sultan Khan, Selva Ganesh, and Bhavani Shankar (in 1996) and the one in 2003 with Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar, and Gingger were almost sold-out concerts (850+ people). The programs tend to seek a balance between Hindustani and Karnatic styles, and also between music and dance.”
“All of the planning and execution of these programs is done solely by the student officers; I only provide general advise to the group as their Faculty Advisor. This activity provides our student volunteers a real-life “project” experience that is hard to get in a formal course. For instance, the team had to get into action almost six months ago to plan for yesterday’s program. Their first challenge was to get the artists to agree to perform. Then, they had to work really hard to raise the funding, which was not a trivial amount. The team also works hard to ensure that programs begin and end on time, distractions in the auditorium are minimized by not allowing children under 8, but at the same time baby-sitting arrangements are made on-site, so that parents with small children are not excluded.”
Sourubh Pansare from Surabhi adds that “the idea of organizing “Bhava: A Door to Union” originated last year in my mind during an informal discussion with previous Surabhi president (Amol Janorkar). I was in constant touch with Toni about this but the idea couldn’t came to reality. Finally the persistence of Rahul (current Surabhi president) paid off and the date of the performance was finalized. The first big challenge was to raise funds for such a big event. Clemson University through various channels such as Clemson live, Clemson student government and Gantt Intercultural Center supported us in the beginning. This initial support boosted our morals and everyone started for looking into other options of raising the remaining funds. At this stage, guidance by our faculty advisor Dr. Amod Ogale proved to be of great help. We started looking for sponsorships, donations from Surabhi patrons. The businesses in and around Clemson (Ramada Inn, Days Inn, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Greene & Company, LLP, Five Spices Indian Restaurant, Saffron Indian Cuisine) supported us in variety of ways. Dr. Raktim Sen from Atlanta provided extensive support in advising us on all technical aspects including lights and sound. “
All the hard work by the student body paid off as 500 people watched the show many from outside South Carolina. Zakir Hussain had said “ Expect something out of the ordinary”. That statement was made to happen by the master performers and those who brought them here.