Odissi festival ‘Naman’ showcases some old and some new moves

The eleventh edition of Odissi dance festival ‘Naman’ was held in ADA Rangmandira in Bengaluru. The first day featured group items and a few solo dances by the students of Nrityantar. The second day of the festival featured three young popular Odissi dancers.

Well-known Odissi exponent Rahul Acharya took the stage by storm with his performance that was steeped in classicism. Both the pieces he presented were choreographed by his guru Durga Charan Ranbir. His stage presence and craft stood out in ‘Suryashtaka’ which was set in raag Bairagi, that aptly brought out the mystique in the theme. Rahul started with a flawless ‘suryanamaskar’, thereafter he showed various attributes of the Sun god, as divakara, the ‘jagatkarta’, the preserver of the universe. Surya’s grand tour on a seven-horsed chariot was portrayed vividly with graceful gaits and exquisite poses. Earlier, Rahul and his disciple, Sourav Mohanty, admirably executed a pallavi, a pure dance item in raag Chakravaka and ektali. Sourav seems to be a dancer to watch out for. The dance by the duo stood out for strong footwork, neat linearity and balanced movements. They complemented each other well as they took turns to dance the swara passages.

Rahul Acharya and Sourav Mohanty
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Madhulita Mohapatra, the driving force behind Nrityantar, premiered her choreographic work, ‘Shoonya to Sufi’. Scripted by noted Oriya poet Kedar Mishra, the abstract theme borrowed passages from Mirza Ghalib’s ghazals and Oriya poet Achutananda Das’ verses. The piece used the scope of rhythm immensely. Madhulita’s students Nandana, Sahana and Liya accompanied her. The dancers presented the effulgence of the all-pervading Brahman in a world where the brilliance of the sun, moon, stars and lightning does not manifest. The well-synchronised sequences were spiced with folk dance for the sufi lines, ‘Bal bal jaaoon mein tere rang rajwa’. Worldly bonds and egoistic behaviour and their worthlessness were portrayed effectively through short expressive episodes. The depiction of Ganga aarti was another striking feature of the presentation that drew applause from the audience.

Arushi Mudgal
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Fluid movements

Arushi Mudgal’s performance delighted with some brilliant music by Madhup Mudgal and choreography by the dancer herself. A jhampa taal composition in Bageshree raag saw Arushi, in lyrical fluid movements, use the stage space effectively in various rhythmic sequences. Her thematic presentation, ‘Murta-Amurta’, traced the cycle of the formless to form. The ensuing pure dance segments culminating in circles also showed the expanse of the universal energy. From sober expression of Shiva (Ardhanareeswara stotra of Shankaracharya) and Rama (‘Sri Ramachandra kripalu bhajman’), she danced mirthfully to Surdas’ poetic passages to enact episodes from Krishna’s life. Once again, the plaintive strains of Darbari ended on fast nritta passages bringing it to a finale. ‘Pranasangini re’ is a traditional piece in the Odissi repertoire, famously choreographed and presented by Kelucharan Mohapatra. The piece talks about the coyness, trepidation and anger of Radha, as she recounts to her friend an incident where Krishna dupes her by posing as a girl. Arushi’s abhinaya left a lot to be desired.

Over the years, the festival has been presenting the beauty and essence of Odissi to audiences in Bengaluru.

The writer is a freelance journalist.