These buds will bloom fully
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The poet prays to the Lord to save him from suffering
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ANCIENT TALES Geetanjali Acharya in full control of the stage.
It was a feast to the viewers' eyes to watch Geetanjali Acharya and Raseswari Mohanty, both budding artistes, performing at the two-day fete conducted by the Bhubaneswar-based Debadasi Nrutya Pratisthan.On the second day (September 26), Geetanjali presented three dance recitals — an ancient Oriya song Ahe nila saila prabala matta abarana in the abhinaya category, Bagasree Pallavi in the dance category, and an invocation to Goddess Durga.
The song Ahe nila... . , written by Muslim poet Salabega, is quite popular. An ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, the poet prays to the Lord to save him from suffering as He had come to the rescue of the elephant from the crocodile, Draupadi whose honour was at stake in the Kaurava court, Prahalad who was tortured by his father Hiranya Kashyapu.
It is written in such a simple style that any reader would find it very evocative. Geetanjali's expressions to this song were truly reflective of the poet, who lived in the 16th century. The late Guru Kelcharan Mohapatra choreographed the item in just four couplets. However, in order to beautify the dance composition he used a lot of sancharis (sanchari in classical dance is a choreographic technique in which the same idea or meaning is expressed in a variety of ways) and also dramatised the inherent theme.
Geetanjali competently danced the dramatic episodes and displayed exemplary skills with her foot steps and facial expressions. Raseswari danced Suryastaka — an elaborate dance composition based on Sanskrit slokas — choreographed by Durga Charan Ranabir.
That Raseswari is a potential dancer, was evident from her performance. Dance Guru Durga Charan's preoccupation with an elaborate dance composition of the Sun God is debatable. Without a philosophic perspective what is the meaning of describing a deity? Indian pantheon after all has legions and legions of deities.
S. C
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