Sadhana - The Eighth Principle, by Gayatri Mestry
The Eighth Principle of Pandit Chitresh Das:
साधना “Sadhana” –Devotional practice
When the dance becomes an intensive, spiritual practice, a way of life, it becomes sadhana. One of the ways in which Panditji developedsadhana was through the practice of Kathak Yoga. Kathak Yoga was inspired by the great sadhus and yogis of India—as a way of bringing the mind, body and spirit into unified focus. In Kathak Yoga, the dancer simultaneously recites the nagma, plays an instrument, and executes complex mathematical patterns with footwork and movement. CDI students, from the beginning to advanced levels, are trained in the technique of Kathak Yoga.
Sadhana, by Gayatri Mestry
Of all the values that I have learned from my family; this is one of the important ones. Both my parents and many of my family members are into arts. My mom and her relatives are into painting and sculpting, while my father’s side are into music. Throughout my life, I have watched my father play the Tabla and my mom paint beautiful paintings on canvas and dresses, all the while juggling with their responsibilities at their jobs and at home. They also somehow managed to rub some of their talents and interests into me and my sister.
My journey into dancing began when I was 5, while watching people play Garba and Dandiya in colorful attires during Navratri on the brightly lit streets of Mumbai. Listening to the drums in the live orchestra, watching the ladies dance with a diya on Ashtami, the eighth night, I knew this was something I wanted to be good at. My mom became my first dance teacher and soon I was performing and dancing to the beats of Bollywood songs on stage during Ganesh festival celebrations in our community. When I heard that a new Bharatanatyam class opened in our vicinity, I jumped at the opportunity and learned it for 2 years before the classes had to shut down for some reason. I was still hungry to learn and danced and performed many folk and tribal dances from India like Bhangara, Koli, Lavani, Katkari, Jogwa, Garbi, Madia, the bamboo dance of Mizoram, and of course Bollywood (style) in my school and college annual days and at Ganesh festivals. Most of these folk dances are inspired from Kathak and moreover, I have been a big fan of Madhuri Dixit, all my life, so learning Kathak someday, was my dream.
Well, life keeps happening, and all my other plans brought me to Boulder, Colorado in the US. Here there wasn’t even a hint of Indian dances nearby, also, I didn’t know how to drive any car. But I still wanted to dance and got into this huge Salsa community that Boulder has. I enjoyed learning and dancing to the Latin dances of Salsa, Bachata and Meringue. Then Covid happened and everything just stopped. I then saw an advertisement and learned about the online classes from Chitresh Das Institute. That’s when I realized that maybe, I have a chance to still open and write that chapter in my book which I had just wished for years ago.
Dancing and music for me, are like meditation and a way of expressing myself. I dance whenever I’m happy, sad, angry or disappointed. It has helped me navigate many highs and lows in life and now with Kathak it is helping me to stay strong in these times of uncertainty. Dancing has become a way of life, something I can’t imagine my life without.
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Make sure to join us on December 19, 2020 at 6pm PST, 9pm EST, Dec 20th 7:30am IST on our CDI’s Facebook Page and YouTube Page for our Annual Performance highlighting all the students, faculty and Youth Company of the Chitresh Das Institute, led by our brilliant Artistic Director Charlotte Moraga and amazing teachers Anita Pai, Asavari Ukidve, Preeti Zalavadia, Rucha Khisti, and Gauri Bhatnagar and our incredible Director of Percussion and tabla teacher Nilan Chaudhuri.