Odissi is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Orissa, in eastern India.
The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as Odra-Magadhi. First century BCE bas-reliefs in the hills of Udaygiri (near Bhubaneshwar) testify to its antiquity. It was suppressed under the British raj but has been reconstructed since India gained independence.
It is particularly distinguished from other classical Indian dance forms by the importance it places upon the tribhangi (literally: three parts break), the independent movement of head, chest and pelvis,[1] and upon the basic square stance known as chauka.
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Tradition and dancers
The Odissi tradition existed in three schools; Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua. Maharis were Orissan devadasis or temple girls (their name deriving from Maha (great) and ‘Nari’ or ‘Mahri’ (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed mainly nritta (pure dance) and abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) based on mantras & slokas, later Maharis, especially, performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. Bhitari gauni Maharis, were allowed in the inner temple while bahari gauni Maharis, though in the temples, were excluded from the sanctum sanctorum.
By the sixth century the Gotipua tradition was emerging. One of the reasons given for the emergence of Gotipuas is that Vaishnavas did not approve of dancing by women. Gotipuas were young boys dressed as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. During this period, Vaishnava poets composed innumerable lyrics in Oriya dedicated to Radha and Krishna. Gotipuas danced to these compositions. The Gotipuas stepped out of the precincts of the temples.
Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was much cultivated before the British period. At that time the misuse of devadasis came under strong attack, so that Odissi dance withered in the temples and became unfashionable at court. Only the remnants of the gotipua school remained, and the reconstruction of the style required an archaeological and anthropological effort that has tended to foster a conservative purism.[2]
Dance vocabulary and repertoire
Traditional Odissi repertoire consists of:
Mangalacharan: An invocational piece. After paying homage to Lord Jagganath a sloka (hymn) in praise of some God or Goddess is sung, the meaning of which is brought out through dance. Mangalacharan also includes the ‘bhumi pranam’, begging forgiveness of mother earth for stamping on her, and the ‘trikhandi pranam’ or threefold salutation - above the head to the Gods, in front of the face to the gurus and in front of the chest to the audience.
Battu Nrutya: A dance piece offered to the Lord of dance - Lord Shiva in his ‘Batuka Bhairava’ form. This piece brings out the essence of Odissi. The the interrelationship between temple sculptural art and Odissi dance is established with an array of sculpturesque poses taken directly from the innumerable dancing sculptures adorning the temples of Orissa. These poses are stringed together with steps in different rhythms.
Pallavi: A pure dance item in which a raga is elaborated through eye movements, body postures & intricate footwork. Pallavi literally means “blossoming”. This is applicable not only to the dance, but also to the music, which accompanies it. Pallavi starts with slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end. Both the dance and the music evolve in complexity as the dancer traces multiple patterns in space, interpreting the music dexterously in the multilayered dimensions of taal (rhythm) and laya (speed).
Abhinaya: An expressional dance where a story conveyed to the audience through mudra or hand gestures (the language of Indian classical dance), facial expression and body movement. Abhinaya can be performed on verses in Sanskrit or Oriya. Most common are Abhinayas on Oriya songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishu) or Ardhanari Stotram.
Dance drama: Usually longer than Abhinaya and typically performed by more than one dancers. Some of the much appreciated dance dramas composed by Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra are: Sudama Dharitra Bhanjana, Mathamani Pradhana, Balya Leela, Rutu Samhara, Krishna Sudama, Dushmanta Sakuntala, Utkala Mauda Mani, Yagnaseni, Meghadoot, Kumari Sambhava, Sapan Nayaka. Usually Hindu mythologies are chosen as themes, but experimenting with the theme and form in recent years have led to extremely unique creations.
Moksha: The concluding item of a recital. Moksha means “spiritual liberation”. This dance represents a spiritual culmination for the dancer who soars into the realm of pure aesthetic delight. Movement and pose merge to create ever new patterns, ever new designs in space and time. The dance moves onto a crescendo that is thrilling to both, the eye and the ear. With the cosmic sound of the “Om”, the dance dissolves into nothingness — just like Moksha or the deliverance of the soul in real life.
Odissi today
Padma Vibushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Pankaj Charan Das and Guru Deba Prasad Das were the three major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi, the great exponent of Odissi, was a leading disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's and pursued his efforts to revive the art form. In the mid-sixties two other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were best known for their performances both in India and abroad. Another prominent figure was the late Guru Surendranath Jena, who taught a different style of Odissi in which the poses of the style are used as moving parts of sequences rather than static poses. The style differs from the better-known style of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra in being slower and therefore requiring greater balance and control. His disciples, including the late Usha Chettur and Radhika Jha have learned this style.
Today gurus of dance have created a new generation of highly talented dancers. Most of the present day gurus were Gotipua dancers themselves and have passed on the dance form to dancers and teachers all over India and abroad. In the early fifties the outside world began to take note of Odissi. Priyambada Mohanty and Dr. Susama Tej represented Orissa in the classical dance category at an Inter University Youth Festival in 1954 and 1955. It was here that Dr Charles Fabri witnessed their performances and hailed Odissi as a great classical dance form and helped Indrani Rehman and Sonal Mansingh study it. Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das, Mayadhar Raut, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Surendranath Jena, Kumkum Mohanty, Sonal Mansingh and Protima Gauri all contributed notably to the propagation of Odissi.
The current crop of Gurus includes Hare Krishna Behera, Nandita Behera, Sharmila Biswas, Ileana Citaristi, Meera Das, Ranjana Gauhar, Ramli Ibrahim, Aloka Kanungo, Dibakar Khuntia, Sharon Lowen, Sonal Mansingh, Daksha Mashruwala, Aruna Mohanty, Leena Mohanty, Ratikant Mohapatra, Sujata Mohapatra, Madhavi Mudgal, Sharmila Mukherjee, Oopali Operajita, Jhelum Paranjape, Chitralekha Patnaik, Gangadhar Pradhan, Manoranjan Pradhan, Durga Charan Ranbir, Madhumita Raut, Jyoti Rout, Ratna Roy, Bijayini Satpathy, Kiran Segal, Surupa Sen, Bichitrananda Swain and many others.
Some of the upcoming promising Odissi performers are Rahul Acharya, Devraj Patnaik, Ellora Patnaik, Rajika Puri, Rajashree Chintak Behera, Mamata Das, Vishnu Tattwa Das, Lipsa Dash, Sreyashi Dey, Mitali Dev, Sanjukta Dutta, Kavita Dwivedi, Shreelina Ghosh, Reela Hota, Aadya Kaktikar, Sonali Mishra, Niharika Mohanty, Arushi Mudgal, Kakoli Mukherjee, Yudhistir Nayak, Arupa Gayatri Panda, Shibani Patnaik, Debashree Pattnaik, Lingaraj Pradhan, Pabitra Kumar Pradhan, Bijay Sahoo, Colleena Shakti, and several others around the world.
Further reading
- Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
- Odissi - The Dance Divine,By Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books,2007. ISBN 81-89738-17-8
- Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. ISBN 8185026130.
- Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
- Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. ISBN 817854010X.
- Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. ISBN 8186622888.
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Odissi |
- Odissi dance Jewelry
- Odissi at the Open Directory
- Yahoo Discussion Group dedicated to Odissi
- Dancer Profiles
- Indian Performing Arts Promotions a proponent of Odissi
- Classical Indian dance portal
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