There is a sense of eloquence in the manner in which she speaks. That same eloquence, that same dignity, is evident in her work. Eshani Kiran Sathe, then, truly stands as not just an incredibly talented Kathak dancer but also as an artist who has a deep understanding on how to translate her art, her roots, into a language easily understood by others. After all, there is no greater achievement for an artist than the satisfaction that comes with their art being accepted by the rest of the world.
Born and raised in Akola, Maharashtra, Sathe stepped into the world of classical dance at the tender age of three. The daughter of a classically trained Kathak dancer, Sathe, initially, did not plan on forging a career in Kathak. At the beginning of it all, Kathak, as a dance form, was something she just grew up with. It ran in her blood and she loved it, sure. However, it did not become a part of who she is until much later.
When we talk about her formative years, Sathe reveals her enduring love for English Literature. She reaffirms it, at a later point, quite unequivocally, and quite unintentionally, when she talks about her love for Enid Blyton as a child. For Sathe, it was an engaging childhood, to say the least. She spent her childhood engrossed in her education and her love for English Literature while also balancing her classical dance training. To be frank, Sathe’s career path could have been a matter of circumstance. I have a sneaking suspicion that she could have been as good of an established writer as she is a Kathak dancer. And that says a lot by itself.
Now, as she looks back on it, Sathe admits that, in hindsight, juggling all her responsibilities, at that age, may seem like a lot. However, at the time, she didn’t think much of it. It was simply the way things were. And, to be frank, those very things went on to define the person Sathe is today.
If you head on over to her YouTube channel, which, by the way, is home to a wonderful curation of videos, you would probably come across a project of her’s, titled ‘Shakti’. When we discuss the project itself, Sathe elaborates further on the manner in which she approaches any project that she is a part of. At the beginning of it all, Sathe fixes herself on what she truly wants to explore with any given concept or project. In the case of ‘Shakti’, Sathe reveals that the track used for the project is tied to her on a deeply personal level. In fact, the track used for ‘Shakti’ is one that Sathe recalls as being one of the first tracks that she saw her mother perform to. Now, when she intended to use the track for her project, it carried, with it, a fusion of her own self-beliefs and her own connection to her feminine energy.
I am glad we got to talking about the projects that she is a part of. You see, one of Sathe’s primary responsibilities, as the curator at Kathak Nritya Mandir, is the creation of classical content for digital platforms. One of the first things she learnt in her journey of creating digital content is the fact that there are multiple competing avenues of content available for the audience of today. The only question, then, that remained to be asked, was what truly entices an audience to consume your content? For Sathe, the answer was simple and lay in the foundations of who she is as an artist. The basic principle was to translate her art, of Kathak, in a manner that was faithful to its roots, while, simultaneously, making it accessible to those who may not be as well-versed as others in regards to classical dance.
Today, as Sathe goes on, there is this need, for your art, to be incredibly accessible and consistently engaging to an audience. At the same time, there is also this desire, on the part of the artist, to be faithful to their roots. For Sathe, it isn’t always about just following the emerging trends. And, to be honest, it can never be about that. That route, as Sathe affirms, of warping your own creative piece or your art to fit in with a trend, will never be sustainable.
Now comes the part of the conversation where Sathe, and you must forgive my lack of vocabulary here, absolutely schools me on the nature of dance as an art form. There is this perception, one that I was inclined to as well, of dance either being a medium of popular entertainment or a medium for the perpetuation of culture. For a lot of people, dance always had to be one or the other. It could never be both.
That, Sathe explicitly states, is absolutely wrong.
Classical dance forms, though erroneously seen solely as a medium of cultural perpetuation, began as channels for storytelling. If we look at Kathak, it all began with storytellers. Kathak, as a dance form, was never just about solely being an avenue for imparting a historical legacy. It was as much a tool for entertaining an audience as it was a tool for leaving behind a cultural legacy. Classical or Cultural art forms, then, all fuse into being a medium of self-expression, education, entertainment and storytelling.
“Kathak can be a medium of expression for the artist and it can also be a medium of entertainment for the audience without necessarily having to be a route to some divine self-realization or cultural perpetuation.”
Eshani Sathe
As of now, Sathe is looking forward to hosting a series of programmes in the near future. Sathe, on the behalf of Kathak Nritya Mandir, is in the midst of organizing a programme that brings the choreography of multiple artists, including her mentor and tutor, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, in January of 2022, in the format of a live show. On a personal front, she is now cataloging a series of digital productions that she is going to put out soon.
It is truly amazing when we really get to mapping out her life so far. I said, earlier, that it may have been a matter of circumstance that Sathe chose to become a Kathak dancer instead of a writer. When I look back to that statement, I am not entirely sure anymore. With guiding figures such as her mother, Radhika Sathe, and her mentor, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, I don’t think Sathe could have gone on to being anything other than the wonderfully talented dancer that she is. Kathak called to her in a way that nothing else ever did. And, Eshani Sathe couldn’t help but answer.
