In an effort to popularise the dying artform of Sangeet Bari Lavani in Goa, and spark renewed interest in a significant part of India’s rich dance culture, ‘Serendipity Out and About’ recently brought the ‘Lavani Ke Rang’ performance to members of the public in community centres in Bastora and Divar Island.
Sangeet Bari Lavani is a traditional folk dance that originated in Maharashtra in the 18th and 19th centuries and is an amalgamation of dance and song performed to the beat of the traditional Indian dholki, a type of drum. Although the dance form’s existence was threatened by modernisation and other factors, Mumbai-based director and theatre producer Bhushan Korgaonkar’s B Spot Productions is doing the utmost to revitalise interest in Lavani.
“We are so happy with the warm and engaging response we received from the Goan community for the performances of ‘Lavani Ke Rang’ at the Bastora Panchayat and Community Hall and the Piedade Youth Association Club House on Divar Island. B Spot Productions aims to rejuvenate the art form of Sangeet Bari Lavani and the crowds’ response to the performances was tremendous and heartening,” said Korgaonkar post the well-received performances.
The 80-minute performance on both days was replete with the jangle of ghungroos, the beat of the dholki, tabla and the harmonium, with the vividly coloured satin sarees of the Lavani dancers throwing glints of light across the stage, and the rousing voices of the singers.
The Sangeet Bari Lavani performers comprised eminent Marathi actors and dancers like Geetanjali Kulkarni who narrated the show, Pushpa Satarkar, Gauri Jadhav, Gita Waikar, Akshay Malvankar, Chandrakant Lakhe, Vinayak Javle, Sumit Kudalkar and Shakuntalabai Nagarkar.
“We are thrilled to have received this opportunity through Serendipity Arts Festival’s ‘Serendipity Out and About’, 2024, to showcase ‘Lavani Ke Rang’ to the people of Goa, who may not have experienced it before. To us, ‘Lavani is love, and love is Lavani’, and the responses of the crowd showed us the heart that forms the core of Lavani,” said Shakuntalabai Nagarkar, 2008 Sangeet Natak Academy Award winner.
The audiences of Bastora and Divar Island were highly taken with the immersive performance, with audience members also invited to the stage to join in on the celebration of Lavani.
Sakshi Haldankar, who attended the ‘Lavani Ke Rang’ performance at Bastora Panchayat and Community Hall, stated: “This is the first time I watched a Lavani performance, and I found it visually beautiful and exciting. I am glad I got a chance to see this dance form in Goa, as otherwise we have to travel to Maharashtra to see this.”
Audience member Merlin Fernandes, who attended the Lavani performance at Piedade Youth Association Club House on Divar Island with her family, said, “This was a very different experience, as my daughters and I have never seen Lavani before. The dancers, singers and musicians gave their all, making the show an extremely memorable experience. This initiative, by ‘Serendipity Out and About’, was a great cultural eye-opener”.
The show, in Hindi and Marathi, gave a glimpse into the lives of traditional Sangeet Bari Lavani artists from the view-point of a veteran Lavani theatre malkin (owner). It also celebrated and showcased different types of mesmerising Lavani performances by traditional Sangeet Bari artists, belonging to traditional matriarchal communities.
