Sinuous forms, supple limbs and rapt
expressions frozen in stone tell of an ancient dance
performed in Orissa as far back as the 2nd century BC
in sacred ritual to the gods. Temple dancers, the Maharis,
were consecrated to Lord Jagannath. Their dance –
a set of hand gestures and rudimentary footwork –
was an expression of their bhava for the deity. Jayadeva’s
Gita Govinda enriched the tradition. But the spreading
cult of Vaishnavism frowned upon women dancing. Instead,
it patronised young boys who dressed up as girls and
were taught by the Maharis. The boys, or Gotipuas, began
performing in public places when prohibited inside the
temples. The loss of patronage to temples and artistes
from feudal rulers and princely states added to the
decline of the art form. The 1950s saw its revival –
when scholars, teachers, and dance enthusiasts came
together to research and study manuscripts, sculpture,
painting and poetry of the region to restructure Odissi
as we know it today. A typical Odissi recital, even
today, has an ashtapadi (poem of eight couplets) or
two from Gita Govinda, which is an exquisite poem in
Sanskrit describing the love between the cowherd God
Krishna and his beloved, Radha. The dance now has a
structured classical format. But its movements continue
to reflect the motifs of Orissa’s temple architecture
and culture. It captures rhythms, melodies and also
the poetic meaning of songs taken from the vast canon
of Oriya literature.
Sharmila
Biswas (Kolkata) - Odissi - 19 October 2010 (Tuesday)
A leading dancer and choreographer
of Odissi, Sharmila Biswas was initiated by Kalavati Devi
and Guru Bipin Singh at Children’s Little Theatre, Calcutta.
She, then, came under the tutelage of the doyen of Odissi,
Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra at the Padatik Dance Centre. Sharmila
learnt abhinaya with Kalanidhi Narayanan. Her interest in
the origins of Odissi led her to study the vocabularies of
Oriya creative arts, including the life and works of the Maharis.
She has also trained in several folk and tribal dance and
music traditions of the state. Sharmila attended in 1990 the
Young Choreographers' Workshop organized by the American Dance
Festival where she interacted with eminent choreographers
of world repute. Sharmila’s choreography reflects her
strong groundwork in the traditional movement skills of India.
Proficient equally in classical Odissi and experimental choreographic
work, her originality in composition, technique and stage
design allows her to explore and create new forms of expression.
Variously honoured, Sharmila is the founder chairperson of
the Odissi Vision and Movement Centre that promotes Indian
dance and music through research, training and performances.
Presentation
The four-part presentation ABAHANI commences
with Abahan. Abahan, or Invocation, traditionally seeks to invite
the divine to bless the performance. Each dance style has evolved
its own gestural and musical expressions for this ritual. Abahan
explores these expressions in Odissi. The next piece, Gativilas,
is inspired by a Sanskrit verse commonly chanted by rural mridanga
players of Orissa. It describes the attributes of an ideal performer,
comparing her gait, stance, energy and expressions with those
of different animals. Katha Surpanakha, done in the kathakar
style, portrays the many contrasting emotions that exist simultaneously
in a person. Here, the dancer moves away from the grossness
of Surpanakha’s appearance and mind, and attempts to create
a more convincing character – her absolute focus on Rama
when she sees him, her volatile reactions after, the life-changing
realization that follows, and, finally, the grief of rejection.
The music for this segment draws on the popular styles of Coastal
Orissa and well-known medieval texts, such as Baidihesa Bilasa
by Kavisurya Upendra Bhanja and Bichitra Ramayan by Biswanath
Khuntia. The fourth and final piece is Murchhana that highlights
the special features of Odissi mridanga, and the form of Odissi
dance that emerges when accompanied by it.
