{"id":5164,"date":"2019-08-18T00:38:48","date_gmt":"2019-08-17T19:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=5164"},"modified":"2019-08-18T06:50:27","modified_gmt":"2019-08-18T01:20:27","slug":"the-mystical-mujra-of-lekin-joothe-naina-bole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/the-mystical-mujra-of-lekin-joothe-naina-bole\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mystical Mujra of Lekin: Joothe Naina Bole"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Gulzar's

Lekin<\/em>‘s LP Vinyl Record Cover (Pic: Onlinevinylshop)<\/p><\/div>\n

It was back in 1990. I was 30 at that time when Gulzar Sahab\u2019s Lekin<\/em> released. Being an ardent fan of Gulzar\u2019s lyrics and poetic depiction of scenes with immaculately penned script and dialogues, I was keen to watch the film. More so because I had heard Lekin<\/em> was based on Rabindranath Tagore\u2019s short story Kshudhita Pashan<\/em> (The Hungry Stones), on which a much acclaimed award winning movie had already been made by veteran director Tapan Sinha. The haunting call \u2018Sab jhoot hai\u2019<\/em> shouted by a half-mad caretaker of an old Rajasthani haveli<\/em> in Kshudito Pashan<\/em> had weighed on my mind for years. It had been overpowering and ruled my limited memory of Sinha\u2019s film.<\/p>\n

My first viewing of Lekin<\/em> was unfortunately not pleasant. The godforsaken auditorium in the outskirts of Kharagpur town that screened the film was the last place you could watch a good movie. I was working on my Ph. D. in IIT Kharagpur and staying in a hostel in the campus. Frequent power cuts and adhoc cutting short of the film by the operator to accommodate the next show on time, added much to my irritation.<\/p>\n

But, one thing I must say as I still remember it vividly, the guest artist came to own my heart then and there with her eloquent dance number. I was awestruck then and I still cannot get over that feeling whenever I watch Hema Malini performing this dance. I was mesmerised by her intricate \u2018ada\u2019<\/em> graceful nuances of movements, layakari, tatkars and chakradars<\/em>. A mujra<\/em> by a court dancer can be elevated to such a divine level? Yes, it was.<\/p>\n

I was so moved that I thought to write an article on this dance. But, it took me almost another 30 years to sit and pen down my thoughts on this.<\/p>\n

Memories sometimes take you deep down the lane and you cannot stop strolling along. The memories of watching Satyajit Ray\u2019s 1958 classic Jalsaghar<\/em> (The Music Room) that had Begum Akhtar singing a thumri<\/em> and Roshan Kumari giving a triwat<\/em> performance came back. Roshan Kumari\u2019s Kathak in the film, her elegant ada <\/em>in Jaipur gharana<\/em> had left me spellbound, even at that tender age.<\/p>\n

Roshan Kumari’s triwat<\/em> Kathak recital in Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar<\/em> (1958)<\/span><\/p>\n