Classical dancer Pali Chandra portrays entire 'Gita Govinda' in Kathak

The Kathak portrayal of all the 24 songs in Jayadevas celebrated poem by Chandra and her team has been digitised by Kerala-based Nataysutra-Invis team, the organisation announced on Wednesday.The programme has been designed based on Natya Shastra and Abhinaya Darpana so the students of all dance forms can make use of this content in their respective forms.

After five years of meticulous research, Kathak exponent Pali Chandra has brought to life the 12th-century Sanskrit poem ''Gita Govinda'', featuring the romance between Lord Krishna and Radha along the banks of river Yamuna. The Kathak portrayal of all the 24 songs in Jayadeva's celebrated poem by Chandra and her team has been digitised by Kerala-based Nataysutra-Invis team, the organisation announced on Wednesday.

The programme has been designed based on 'Natya Shastra' and 'Abhinaya Darpana' so the students of all dance forms can make use of this content in their respective forms. Each class includes explanations and choreography tips, teaching and demonstrations, poem in action and performances. 'Poem in Action' is the essence of ''Gita Govinda'' through abhinaya with the support of an audio version of the English translation of the classical text.

As part of the subscription-based digitised content, Switzerland-based Chandra guides the students on performing the items on stage and for the new media. She also explains the meaning and nuances of the choreography, along with detailing the music compositions and dance vocabularies.

Talking about the classic text, Chandra said that even though the world Jayadeva lived in has changed drastically in the eight centuries since his time, his tale of yearning, pain and eventual fulfilment rings true to this day.

''Lord Krishna and Radha's tale epitomise the ethos of ancient India’s deeply self-aware approach to love, faith and life itself. The influence of the Gita Govinda on arts beyond dance and music of the subcontinent makes the documentation an invaluable reference material for future generations,'' the 56-year-old said. The digitised content will be open to subscribers for different periods, ranging from one to five years, according to Nataysutra -- a heritage-preserving flagship project of leading content developer Invis Multimedia.

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