Kathak Meets Sufi Tradition As Manjari Chaturvedi Performs ‘Radha Raas’ At Bharat Bhavan In Bhopal

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The three-day dance festival ‘Bhavanubhav’, held at Bharat Bhavan, concluded on Sunday with the acclaimed Kathak dancer Manjari Chaturvedi’s celebrated performance, ‘Radha Raas: Radha Kanhaiya Ka Kissa’.

Lasting around 75 minutes, the core theme of the performance centred on the transcendental love between Radha and Krishna.

Through the dance form, Manjari brought to life on stage the various facets of Radha’s love: longing, union and spiritual transcendence.

A unique feature of ‘Radha Raas’ was the presentation of poetry composed by Muslim poets and literature from the Sufi tradition on Krishna, conveyed through Kathak, music and storytelling.

The performance illustrated that love and devotion transcend all boundaries.

Episodes such as the Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah, keeping the tradition of ‘Raas’ alive by embodying Krishna; the Nawab of Rampur, Raza Ali, composing poetry on Krishna and Radha; the Krishna devotion of poets like Nazir Akbarabadi and Turab Ali Qalandar; and Krishna-centric ‘Qawwalis’ still sung at Sufi shrines, introduced the audience to India’s shared cultural heritage.