|
Music Season
SRI KRISHNA GANA SABHA
Effective portrayal
SARASWATHI VASUDEVAN
|
Sujata’s recital came as a promise that archaism lives on despite evolution, innovation and new trends.
|
Photo: R.Shivaji Rao
Traditional Flavour: Sujata Mohapatra.
Dancer extraordinaire! Performance par excellence! A paradigm of the archaic charm of classicism that resurrected the very foundations laid by the legend Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra. An ode to Odissi, that was the quintessence of Sujata Mohapatra’s performance, retaining and sustaining the old world traditional flavour of its solo margam. A rare spectacle in the era of thematic group productions.
Daughter-in-law and disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sujata Mohapatra’s technical tenets speak volumes of her distinctive legacy. Against a stark dark backdrop her emergence on stage arrested the viewer, clad as she was in a contrasting white and copper-sulphate Odissi costume, bejewelled with silver.
An auspicious offering came in the form of Mangalacharan invoking the Mother Earth and Lord Vishnu, the Preserver and the Protector. The salutations in the sloka ‘Shantakaaram Bhujaga Shayanam’ to the reclining Lord culminated in a layered Trikandi Pranam, to the Gods, the Guru and the Sabha.
If the pure dance, executed in the Pallavi, translated into a joyous combination of strength and spontaneity, the expressional challenge was equally met with in the abhinaya set to Misra Kaafi Raag, Rupaka Taal. The genius of the visionary and composer Kelucharan Mohapatra was recreated in her multifarious delineations as the devotee mused over the endearing pranks of Krishna. Significant is the Poothana episode that remains vividly etched in this rasika’s memory.
But then, what took the flights of fancy, the highlight of the evening reflected in Varsha, choreographed with ingenuity by Ratikant Mohapatra (the doyen’s son) to the stirring musical composition of Sri Raghunath Panigrahi. Time as the master of destiny was the flowing link to depict the element of water as rain, drawing a paradox to life and love itself. While nature ignites the lovers at the onset of rain all creations experience ecstasy. Nevertheless this visible joy in the varied manifestations of the Creator perishes with the imminent deluge responsible for disaster and death. The disturbance and devastation of creation portraying life’s enslavement by time was intelligently woven.
The dance of the peacocks in unison was a visual bonus as were the representations of the elephants, deer and snake.
Delightful moments aroused curiosity to explain if Ratikant’s mardala danced to Sujata’s movements or vice versa.
The orchestra complemented the danseuse as well. The resonance of Ekalavya Muduli’s cymbals, soothing voice of Pradeep Kumar Das, Ramesh Chandra Das on the violin and flautist Srinivas Shatpathy were a successful ensemble.
With a form best suited for Odissi, Sujata’s recital came across as a promise through the performance that archaism lives on despite evolution, innovation and new trends in the arts.
A sparse audience though, compelled one to choose to believe that the mega construction in T.Nagar augmenting vehicular combat curtails accessibility to this famed sabha. But what’s that popular dictum? Where there is a will…
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Music Season
|
