Gita Govinda, the love song of Lord Krishna and Radha which has been immortalised in various dance forms and music, remains an eternal favourite to showcase the spiritual bond that Radha and Krishna shared. Written by Jayadeva, Gita Govinda throws up interesting nuances of the love-hate relationship that existed between the two

lovers. Menaka Thakkar Dance Company presented a traditional Odissi recital of this celebrated text in Mumbai on Monday. Conceptualised by Menaka Thakkar and Rasesh Thakkar, Gita Govinda is a dance production that the legendary Guru Keulcharan Mohapatra had choreographed keeping Menaka in mind years ago.
The story is about various stages in their relationship, one of togetherness, the other of estrangement and many more about love, lust and reunion.
The recital started with Dashavatar, which describes Krishna as the lord of the universe in 10 forms — matsya (fish), kurma (tortoise), varaha (boar), narasimha (giant lion man), vamana (dwarf), parasurama (Rama with an axe), Sri Rama, Sri Krishna Buddha and Kalki. The lead dancer Sujata Mohapatra opened the evening with a strong portrayal of all the 10 avatars along with four other dancers; Neena Jayarajan, Ayushi Sharma, Shanthini Kangesan and Urmila Chatterjee. With perfect poise and grace, Sujata shone in all the ten forms bringing out the characteristic element of each of the avatars. She was calmness personified as Buddha and ravenous as narasimha and righteous as Rama. Originally choreographed by Kelucharan Mohapatra, the choreography remains quite unchanged as it showcases the typical characteristic elements of Gurji’s choreography.
Next ashtapadi to be presented was the very lyrical and fluid Lalita Lavanga with Sujata as the Radha and Neena as the main sakhi. Lalita Lavanga describes how Vasant is a season for love and the sakhi describes to Radha how sad it is to see the lovers apart from each other. Sujata strikes you with her imagination and subtle yet tender emotions. Her sadness upon seeing Krishna frolick with other gopis makes you want to empathise with Radha. Sujata’s portrayal of Radha as a strong-willed woman who refuses to bow down to Krishna’s antics and carelessness is powerful and elaborate in terms of myriad expressions of anguish and sadness. Radha also wants to be the centre of his attention and love like any other woman in love and Sujata gets that right. Lalita Lavanga is followed by Sakhi He and Dheera Sameere where Radha’s sakhi tells her to go and meet Krishna as he is waiting for her near the banks of Yamuna. The excitement on Sujata’s face is appealing and connects with the audience. Neena Jayarajan as the sakhi too makes her mark and ably supports Sujata. In Pasyati, the next ashtapadi to be presented, she tells Krishna how Radha is upset and wasted for lack of love. Krishna, portrayed by Rajib Bhattacharya, could have been more effective and charming. He makes a point in the ballet at certain moments but overall fails to create the charm and ecstasy. There is an entire dance sequence after Pasyati where Krishna is besotted by other gopis and in the moments of excitement spends the entire night with other gopis. The dance sequence, which is almost a 20-minute sequence, fails to hold your attention. Beautifully choreographed, it would have made an impact had it been restricted to a lesser 10 minutes. Yahi Madhav, which is about Radha’s realisation of Krishna’s betrayal as he goes to Radha after spending the whole night with other gopis and is probably an important point in Gita Govinda where Radha makes Krishna realise the faith in any relationship. Sujata renders subtle sarcasm striking you at the right places. Her dignity and unparalleled grace shine through this one.
Priye Charusheele is where Krishna asks for forgiveness and reunites with Radha bringing alive the erotic element of Gita Govinda on stage aesthetically. In a performing art, it is difficult to bring out the love-play element, but this Gita Govinda does make a connect.
It would have been more effective if Rajib as Krishna would have been absorbed into the piece as Sujata was. Finally with Kuruyadu nandana, the couple try and keep the chemistry alive but falls short of attraction at certain moments. Overall, the production definitely deserves an applause for the effective use of multimedia through Kangra paintings and English translation of the Sanskrit script.