Mother-daughter legacies honour Sanjukta Panigrahi

MUMBAI: This year’s Sanjukta Panigrahi Mahotsav by Smitalay, a leading dance school of Mumbai established by Odissi exponent and guru Jhelum Paranjape in memory of actor Smita Patil (they were friends, who grew up together) is featuring a unique format of mother-daughter classical dancer duos in performance. This is Paranjape’s offering to her guru’s 80th birth anniversary.
The late Panigrahi, a foremost exponent of Odissi, was the first Odia woman to embrace this ancient classical dance form at an early age and ensured its revival under the tutelage of Odissi legend Kelucharan Mohapatra. Paranjape who has also trained under Mohapatra insists on marking the day as “a birthday and not anniversary”.
“As her art lives on, I wanted Smitalay to celebrate it with something unique,” said Paranjape, who drew from the notion that “there is always something special between a mother and daughter, and a daughter carrying forward her mother’s legacy”.
Started in 2024 as Sanjukta Panigrahi Yuva Mahotsav to showcase young, upcoming dancing talent, the last two decades have seen performances by over 200 young dancers, of varied Indian classical dance styles, including Chhau, Gaudiya and Yakshgana. “It was now time to revisit the term ‘yuva’ to express two generation of women artistes’ passion for dance,” she said, reminiscing about her first meeting with Panigrahi at their guru’s Cuttack home where he introduced the two.
“Guruji asked me to perform and was furious at my mistakes because of nervousness when SanjuNani (Odia for older sister, as she referred to Panigrahi) intervened asking him to take it easy. ‘She is new and will learn,’ she said patting my back. And true to her words five years later I travelled with her in a troupe led by guruji for the Festival of India in Russia for a month,” she said.
Just before the troupe’s departure for Russia, late actress Smita Patil passed on. “SanjuNani knew my turmoil and indulged me like a mother,” she said. “While she corrected juniors’ mistakes gently, she was unsparing of her own spouse and stage partner Raghunath Panigrahi for any mistake and berated him in Tamil which both spoke to keep the spat private.”
Though Paranjape only met her when she was in Odisha or Panigrahi came to Mumbai, they stayed in touch through letters and phone calls. Paranjape learnt of her cancer barely a few months before Panigrahi passed on in June 1997. “She didn’t want anyone to see her sickly and ravaged by cancer and I respected that,” she said.
Paranjape feels festivals like this keep legacy alive in the minds of both dancers and audience. “It is about keeping the flame aglow,” she said.
Such as Gauri and Tarini Sharma are third generation Kathak exponents after Gauri’s mother Guru Padma Sharma. “Tarini only took up kathak full time a few years ago. It’s a pleasure to share the stage in our first duet together. Her dedication has given me new energy,” said Gauri while Tarini admitted that it was an honour to perform with her guru and mother. “Other than being inspired by her daily, the process of choreography which brings us together was rewarding as well,” she said.
Kuchipudi exponents Vyjayanthi and Prateeksha Kashi have chosen to present Antaranga Taranga, which brings alive select events from the lives of the mother-daughter Bhoomi and Sita, who are rarely spoken about. As a sutradhar, Bhoomi speaks about her feelings when King Janaka finds her while ploughing the field, when Sita wed Rama, when Ravana abducts her and when Rama abandoned Sita.
Vyjayanthi said the Vatsalya Rasa flows as an undercurrent through the production. “Our dance on stage feels like an extension of the dance of life, a celebration of the love I feel for my daughter Prateeksha. At times, her spontaneity makes me wonder where she learnt it, since I haven’t taught her; and then realisation dawns that she is not just my disciple but an individual and a creative artiste.”
Prateeksha echoed: “Our bond gets woven on stage like magic. Years of her training are visible in every movement and step I take.”
Arundhati who will be performing Bharatanatyam with her daughter Sagarika has herself trained under her legendary mother and guru Dr Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar. She said dancing with her daughter “a moment of pure joy and learning”, while her daughter finds the intertwining of the guru-shishya and mother-daughter relationship special. “She can at once be indulgent and strict with me.”
The duo will present a special padam in Marathi composed by the Maratha king Sarfoji Raje II. Arundhati pointed out the composition was passed down from her mother and Dr Bhide-Chapekar who learnt it from her own guru Kitappa Pillai. “The piece comes from a very illuminating tradition. Along with that we will dance to a popular Shiva dhrupad,” said Arundhati.
Of the collaboration between Odissi exponent Sujata Mohapatra and her daughter Preetisha, the former said, “It is a joy to see the legacy being taken forward”, while her daughter said, “In learning and performing with mom I feel fortunate that I am able to learn what her guru Kelucharan Mohapatra taught her.”
(Watch the performances at Veer Savarkar Auditorium, Shivaji Park, today at 6pm.)