Mahanadi to Potomac... Odissi's heady progress

Odissi has a noticeable presence in many parts of the globe, says LEELA VENKATARAIMAN, just back from Potomac in the US, after attending the Second International Odissi Festival held there. This is an article published in The Hindu on September 12, 2003. See the
original article hereIt a big leap for Odissi from the Delta of the Mahanadi to the banks of the Potomac in Washington, where the Second International Odissi Festival was held from August 29 to 31.Odissi now has a noticeable presence in many parts of the globe - one of the North American universities even offering it as a subject for a degree. Mounted by the Indian Performing Arts Promotions, Inc. (IPAP), the festival began with a reception hosted by the Indian Ambassador to the United States, Lalit Mansingh, the special performance on the occasion featuring reputed torch bearers of the three main Odissi schools of late gurus Pankajcharan Das (to whose memory the entire festival was dedicated) and Guru Deba Prasad Das, and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. A gargantuan effort in assembling scholars like Dhiren Patnaik, senior dancers like Minati Misra and Rita Devi and performers

from India and North America, the three-day schedule comprising seminar interactions and performances, made an incredibly passionate endorsement of the popularity of Odissi - despite some drawbacks like inability to keep to time schedules and inadequate sound facilities at the auditorium Ernst Community Cultural Center, Northern Virginia Community College.
The seminar sessions were grouped under the three concerns of Sahitya, Sangeet and Angasoundarya (aesthetics). Technicalities like gadya/padya of the Champu or intricacies of Chhand, not unsurprisingly, went over the head of most of the younger candidates, not familiar with Sanskrit, Oriya or even Hindi. Rajika Puri's explanations with demonstration by Guru Durgacharan Ranbir on Sloka (which had a wonderful representation in the evening performance with Sangita Rangala's sensitive rendition of Ravana's Siva Stotra as choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra), Madhavi Mudgal's demonstration of verses from Amarushatakam and Aloka Kanungo's portrayal of Odissi done to a Rabindra Sangeet lyric ("Redoi Amar Nachare Nachare") were well received. The session on Angasoundariya had Ratna Roy touch upon Guru Pankajcharan's approach of translating sculptured representation into dance technique and blending the Mahari aesthetic with the Mela Nach and Jatra theatricals into a dance constantly poised between the sensual and the spiritual. The slow movement of the isolated torso as it entered another space and the punctuation of hip movement were demonstrated by her students. Minati Misra whose demonstration carried vignettes of all three gurus referred to the "intertwined creeper or snake like lasya/tandav' waves in Pankajcharan's Odissi. Sangeeta Dash showed the minimalistic style of Deba Prasad Das with the concentrated stillness of torso and the dramatic sudden shifts of level as well as the starkness of abhinaya. Rajika's crisp explanation with Guru Durgacharan's perfect demonstration of the tantric symbolism was informative Sujata Mohapatra delightfully iflustrated the sensuous delicacy of Guru Kelucharan's use of the torso.

Ramahari's references to the Odissi music tradition were the best in the Sangeet session. Vibrant in its Dhrupad style classicism was Malasri, a typical Oriya tradition, rendered by Ramahari and Prafulla Kar. The latter's lec/dem on "composing music for experimental work" was far too sketchy. As for the slot given for the role of musical instruments in Odissi, a lot more planning was needed.

The performances projected a wide array of talent. To mention a few of the highlights - Sujata Mohapatra's lasya redolent and in Hamsadhwani and the Oriya lyric "Kede Chhanda Jaane Lo Sahee", the electric impact of Deba Prasad's Sthayee as rendered by Sangeeta Dash and Rajashree Behera, Aruna Mohanty's celebration of Varsha (monsoons) with its play on the words "Barasarasa prakatila. nayana ana", Minati Mishra's stillness of abhinaya in the Ashtapadi "Yarnihe Kamiha sharanam" and Aloka Kanungo's well etched dance profile in the Pallavi and abhinaya.

Amongst the US-based dancers, six-year-old Ananya Kar, Pallavi Das in her Saveri Pallavi and Sangita Rangala showed great promise. Amongst the many institutions run by individual dancers, the group presentations by Myna Mukherjee's Nayikas, Nandita Behera's Odissi Dance Circle, Chitra Krishnamurti's Nrityalaya and Nina Gulati led Triveni School of Dance showed great choreographic flair. Jyoti composed Pallavi in Raga Megh by Mohini Mohan Patnaik had all the ingredients, though the item needed more finish. Amongst the new compositions were Guru Bichitrananda Swain's works with an exhilarating nritta expression in Tala-madhurya presented by five well-trained male dancers. Away from the conventional format and inspired by Oriya traditions like Ghanta Mardala, Dhanurdhar Reddy's mridanga vadan etc. was Siva-Parvati, an exquisitely aesthetic concept and presentation by Sharmila Biswas, characterised by restraint in laya and the "Tam Dheem Taka Dheem" type of rhythmic syllables, providing a refrain between the sabda/swara/ patha type of segments. Equally enchanting was her Srikrushna Janina based on Jagannath Das's text. Rajika Puri's 'Story of Sad' was another imaginative narrative, Her ideas for "Sthayee resculpted" needed better rehearsed rendition. The three-day fare could not have had a better ending than Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's Ashtapadi presentation of "Pashyati Dishi Dishi" which got a standing ovation.