Rhythmic odyssey
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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Besides the Angaraj Utsav, this past week also witnessed "Ek Minute", a production based on dancers' myriad impressions of Delhi.
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IN TANDEM Guru Gajendra Panda and Sushmita Sahoo in performance.
Angarag was formed a year ago in memory of late Guru Debaprasad Das by Bhubaneswar-based painter/scholar Dinanath Pathy and son Sowbhagya. With a rare breath of vision, the organisation has provided a platform for not just showcasing all shades and schools of Odissi, but significantly for enabling a dialogue amongst different art forms through its excellent journal by the same name. Printed in Bhubaneswar (three issues so far) the journal in get-up and standard of coverage has been hailed by dance scholars as one of the finest contributions to art documentation.
Inaugurating the second Angarag Utsav at the Triveni Theatre in New Delhi, retired diplomat Lalit Mansingh pertinently observed that while Orissa had given the world Odissi, it did not own the dance which had entered the pan-Indian and later international scene thanks to Hungarian journalist Charles Fabri and dancer Indrani Rehman of mixed Russian/Indian descent. After the customary bestowal of the Lifetime Achievement Award (this year's awardees being Odissi pioneer Minati Misra, art commentator Shanta Serbjeet Singh and dance scholar Sunil Kothari) was the invocation sung by Ramahari Das.
Malaysian Odissi dancer Ramli Ibrahim in the all-too-brief manglacharan with Shiva stuti "Gangavataran" was the dancer par excellence. Rarely does the ecstasy of Shiva with Ganga perched on his locks and Parvati adorning his right side, or His power as expressed through the Ravana Stotra (in Debaprasad Das's Sabdaswara patha style) get communicated in such burning intensity. The dancer's streamlined body provides an object example for male dancers. The very young Debajyoti Parida from Aurobindo School, Baripada, provided refreshing Chhau moments, the poise and balance of his Dandi a pleasure to watch.
In an evening of Shiva focus, Rahul Acharya's Sivashtakam, in foot-sure rhythm, supple body postures and clean dance profile, revelled in Guru Durgacharan's choreography. Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda and Suchismita Sahoo combined well
Controlled aesthetics
Madhavi Mudgal's duet with Arushi Mudgal in the newly created Bhairavi pallavi with raga Dhyana stood out for its controlled aesthetics in minimalism, the face-to-face and back-to-back postures designed with rhythmic articulations in the space between beats and musical phrases. Rendered to Jasraj's score, the Jayadeva ashtapadi with the sakhi urging virahotkanthita Radha to shed her baseless pride and seek Krishna, saw one of the most animated abhinaya presentations by Madhavi, with Poornachandra Majhi and Manikuntala Bhowmick joining in the well-rehearsed singing. Grace and excellent technique notwithstanding, Aruna Mohanty's Jayadeva ashtapadi interpretation with Nazi Alam's melodious singing impressed more than the Rageshri pallavi sans silences, with overdone mukhabhinaya.
The U.K.-based Mitali Dev exuded agile grace in the Saveri pallavi. The dancer's mobile expressions did justice to the Oriya song "Patha Chadide" mapping the gopi's mixed mock anger, sarcasm with complete change of tone in the concluding bit, at Krishna's pranks. Jyoti Srivastava's Bajrakanti pallavi needs to evolve in music/dance togetherness. "Kadamba bane Bansi Bajilare" was more evocative. Music in generalwas dry with little involvement with the dancer.
Delhi in focus
It was a mini canvas of globalisation in dance at Alliance Francaise auditorium. French dancer Gilles Chuyen, Briar Chatterjee based in Brooklyn, New York, Cuban dancer Gloria Gregoria Gonzalea, Mexican Hollving Argaez Pizana, and Indian dancer Himani Khurana came together, blending elements from a rich store house of "Chhau to Capoiera, Classical Ballet to Kathak, Contact Improvisation to Salsa". The production entitled "Ek Minute" was based on myriad impressions of Delhi, the city where all the dancers are based at present. With music selections varying from Western music, Aqnazar Rumi and A.R Rahman's score to a cacophony of sounds, with visuals projected on the backdrop, bound with the unifying force of living in Delhi, the dancers transcended cultural frontiers in an interaction at once funny and interesting. Nizamuddin, Okhla, the Delhi train station, Kamani, parks, the chai to chapati culture, traffic-jammed streets, the footpath dwellers and rag pickers, dance classes - a fleeting array of impressions with the dancers using their individual body styles in group communication. A fine image of "Delhi in motion and emotion" as a benefit show for the Special Olympics!
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