Odissi takes centrestage
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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This past week witnessed a slew of Odissi performances, including a delightful one by Diya Sen.
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NO DEARTH OF POISE AND CONFIDENCE An able team of musicians gave Diya Sen good support throughout her performance.
Given the kind of fleeting, tenuous hold over the chauka (the square half-seated stance with out-turned knees) that many Odissi dancers have, it was pleasantly surprising to watch Diya Sen's strongly etched plie, in her recital at the India International Centre. The subdued aesthetics of costume, clean technique with movement fluidity in the isolated torso were all in the customary vein of dancers groomed under Madhavi Mudgal - undoubtedly one of the ablest transmitters of the tradition to youngsters. The tall and long-limbed Diya imparts to movement a wide ambit through sweeping hands and legs covering air and floor space respectively. The fully out-turned knees in the `muzhumandi' seated posture at the conclusion of the Sruti part of mangalacharan was a delight. But the dancer must impart more rounded grace to movements in the faster passages, which tend to have a jerkiness and abrupt quality creating a certain gawkiness. This was particularly evident in the pallavi in Bilahari, the dancer also overcome by amnesia making for uncertainty in a sequence.
The Arabhi Pallavi was smoother, though here too, preserving grace given the vigorous accelerando, is difficult.
Kavisurya Baladev Rath's "Leela Nidhi" came off best in the interpretative part. In the ashtapadi "Dheera Sameere" the dancer tended to neglect the feel of a three-cornered dialogue, which needs to be preserved in the dance interpretation. Forlorn Krishna hoping it is Radha's footsteps in every falling leaf stir, is only a visualisation by the sakhi who addresses her words to Radha - an aspect the abhinaya should not lose sight of. More experienced, subtle mukhabhinaya would enable communicating such minutiae. Having regularly participated in Madhavi Mudgal's group productions, Diya does not lack for poise and confidence. Giving her support was an able team of musicians led by Madhavi Mudgal - Manikuntala Bhowmik (vocal), Kiran Kumar (flute), Gandhi Mallik (pakhawaj), Mohammad Yar (sitar).
It was again an Odissi Sandhya at the Russian Cultural Centre where Sudhamini Dance Academy, New Jersey, USA, in association with Odissi Akademi, Lalit Kala Sansthan, Agra, and Guru Hare Krushna Behera College of Art and Culture (Balasore) presented students of Hare Krushna Behera and of his student Sudhamini. Based in New Jersey, these students of Indian origin displayed commendable commitment, group understanding, discipline and rhythmic awareness, and above all, guru bhakti, their travel to India being an exploration prompted by their own curiosity. While they have, in varying degrees, mastered the tribhanga and chauka, what they need is being able to change body levels while dancing without losing fluidity, the movement line flowing from head to feet without a break. The torso suppleness is lacking. The real problem with Diaspora dancers learning a traditional Indian form in an alien context is the lack of opportunity for frequent exposure to other Odissi dancers, the comparison leading to awareness and correction of inadequacies in their own closed circle. The odd coaching workshops during Hare Krushna Behera's occasional trips to the U.S. cannot compensate for the lack of watching Odissi. While the Saveri pallavi showed good rhythmic command, the Devi passages cried out for more animated expressions.
Kabita Dwibedi
Providing an experience of complete dancing for the students, a now trimmer Kabita Dwibedi presented through a choice of three champu compositions from Kavi Surya Baladev Ratha's Kishora-Chandrananda, built respectively round the consonants Ja, Ra and La, the three-cornered dialogue between Radha, Krishna and the Sakhi. The 17th Century Kishora-Chandrananda champu exposes in every poetic imagery whether of Krishna asking Radha to place her tender feet on his head or of Radha after moments of abandon during intimacy entreating that Krishna decorate and dress her up restoring her lost dignity - the total influence of the 12th Century Jayadeva's Geetagovind Kavya. Krishna's remorse and relenting Radha's ecstasy, the sakhi's happiness after unexpectedly stumbling on the intimate couple, and Radha's loving request to her beloved to repair the dishabille on her person were all communicated through mature abhinaya. The musicians were Prashant Kumar Behera (vocal), Prafulla Kumar (pakhawaj), Srinivas Satpathy (flute) and Balram Chand (violin).
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