Mesmerising fare
SHYAMHARI CHAKRA
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The fifth Kalinga National Festival of Martial Dance featured vivid offerings.
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Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty
MARTIAL TRADITION A medley of dance forms.
With the snow-white peace pagoda of the Japanese Buddhist shrine serving as its perfect backdrop, the 5th Kalinga National Festival of Martial Dances was mounted atop the historic Dhauli hills near Bhubaneswar this week. Being hosted by the state tourism department in association with city-based Art Vision, it has been the brainchild of the Italian dancer Padma Shri Ileana Citaristi, founder of the organisation , who made Orissa her home a quarter century ago. "The objective of the festival is to harmonize the vigour of martial tradition with the sublimity of peace through the art of dance. It showcases the vibrant martial dance traditions of the nation. We have chosen Dhauli as the ideal venue because this is the place where Emperor Ashok was believed to have fought the infamous Kalinga war before surrendering the sword and embracing Buddhism," explained Ileana. Dhauli signifies the victory of peace over war and violence and the present day violence and war-torn world needs to be reminded about it constantly through such events, she pointed out.
The inaugural evening kicked off with Kolkata-based Sapphire Creation's premiere presentation of Adyashakti, directed by Sudarshan Chakravorty. A tribute to the female force, the production used elements of several Indian dance traditions like the Theyyam, Kathakali, Kalaripayattu and Malkhamb besides modern dance movements
to explore the ritualistic cult of Shakti though a contemporary idiom.
The mesmerising music was also a fusion of the Hindustani classical and modern music beats as well.
The other exciting presentation of the evening was Laudi Khel (the stick play) by the Kalashrama troupe from the coastal Orissa district of Bhadrak. A popular folk dance and theatre form of the coastal Orissa regions, it is being practiced with dancing and singing with sticks in both the hands exclusively by the Gopal community who consider themselves as the descendants of Lord Krishna. The most mesmerising performance came from their troupe leader Nityananda Das, a single-legged Odissi dancer who lost a leg in an accident a few years ago and yet continues to dance with determination.
The centre of attraction of the concluding evening was the Raibanscee dance presentation by Sharabhuji troupe of Midnapore region of West Bengal.
The last surviving martial dance tradition of the 16th century Bengal, it was used to train the soldiers both physically and mentally. Remarkable for its expression of energy and excitement of mock-war, it's enchanting presentation by 12 male dancers directed by Tarun Pradhan, a faculty member of Viswa Bharati
University of Kolkata, had a gripping effect on the audience especially for the harmonious use of acrobatics, gimmicks, pyramid-like geometrical dance patterns and rhythmic music.
While the Karra Samu (stick play) and Katti Samu (sword play) performers from Andhra Pradesh had a disappointing performance on both the evenings, the typical Sahi Jata of the temple town of Puri presented by Udayan Cultural Academy on the concluding evening failed to live up to expectations for its monotony. Sahi Jata is one of the `seva' (services) rendered to Lord Jagannath that was developed in the `akhada' (small forts) constructed around the place of pilgrimage for the development of physical culture for defence purpose of the temple.
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