Prashikshan - The Second Principle by Aashi Agarwal

The Second Principle of Pandit Chitresh Das:

पिशकण “Prashikshan” - Study and training in abhinaya, the art of mime and expression, and the four elements of Kathak

Kathak comes from word “katha”, meaning story, and the kathaka is the storyteller. Abhinaya, or the art of expression and mime is at the heart of this story telling. A kathaka must study and train in abhinaya and in all four elements of kathak dance: tayari (virtuosity of technique, readiness), laykari (deep understanding of rhythm and timing), khoobsurti (beauty and grace), and nazakat (delicacy and subtlety).

IMPACT OF DADAJI’S 2ND PRINCIPLE IN LIFE - BY AASHI R. AGRAWAL

Aashi is 10 and has been studying kathak at the Chitresh Das Institute for almost three years and is currently in class with Anita Pai (Anita Didi).

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to reflect on the principles of Pandit Chitresh Das. Today, I will talk about his 2nd principle Prashikshan, which means study and training in abhinaya, the art of mime and expression, and the four elements of Kathak

IN DANCE, Prashikshan gets me excited to prepare for abhinaya so that I can express myself effectively. For example, while preparing for my performance, I paid attention to what it is that I am trying to convey with each dance move. This helps me to gracefully communicate through rhythmic and timely movements of my body and face.

IN LIFE, this perfectly fits in a lot of my daily routine. For example, in school, we are required to read a new book (which we have never read before) and then present a brief book report. So in order for my classmates to understand and get excited about reading the book, I need to practice prashikshan. To do this, I need to do 4 things. The first one is tayari, in which I analyze the segments of the book that will be useful in my report. Then, I have to have a deep understanding of the layout of the report. This includes adding the rhythm and timing of events in the book in such a way that my report content will flow. The next step would be adding khoobsurti to my writing, which I will do by using strong vocabulary and polishing the writing to convey my message precisely. Finally, to add nazakat , I would have to add expressions to my report that will spotlight the subtle details and the sentiments.

Finally, to me this means that if we are well prepared and pensive, it will help us to express ourselves more succinctly and powerfully.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Make sure to join us on December 19, 2020 at 6pm PST, 9pm EST, 7:30am IST (Dec 20th) 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.