Odissi (also spelt as Orissi) is
a classical Indian dance form that originated from Orissa, a state on the
east coast of India. It is said to be one of the oldest classical dance
forms. It has been mentioned in ancient inscriptions and has been depicted
in temple sculptures that exist in famous structures like the dance hall
of the Sun Temple in Konark. Thus, it can boast a history that is almost
2,000 years old.
The Natyashastra mentions a regional
dance form known as Odhra Magadha, from which present day Odissi may have
been derived. The templedancers of Orissa were female devotees known as
maharis who played a similar role to that of the devadasis of south India.
In the 15th century, young boys who had dedicated their lives to serving
the temple were also inducted into this dance form. They were known as
gotipuas. Right up to the beginning of the 20th century, the dance form
was passed down orally from generation to generation; from mother to adopted
daughter in the case of the maharis and from teacher to the dedicated boys
for the gotipuas.
The style
Odissi is a combination of narrative
and pure dance forms. It has its roots in devotional ritual and commences
with an invocation to the deities, the earth and the gurus and ends with
a highly technical display of pure dance. The narrative elements of Odissi
are often taken from the Gita Govinda, a manuscript that has the divine
erotic love of Radha and Krishna as its theme. The relationship between
the human being and God is expressed in the form of a woman yearning for
her beloved.
Odissi manages to marry the spiritual
with the sensuous beautifully, depicting erotic sentiments in a reverential
manner. The dancers use their head, bust and torso, to express different
moods and emotions. The fluid, graceful movements are punctuated by moments
of stillness when the dancer poses as if he or she were a sculpture adorning
a temple wall. Then the dancer begins to move again giving the audience
the impression of a sculpture come to life.
A typical performance
Odissi is a soft, lyrical dance.
Female dancers wear loose silk trousers with pleats draped like a fan in
front, while male dancers wear dhotis that cover the lower half of their
bodies. Odissi is characterized by two distinctive poses: tribanga, the
three body stance, and chowk, the square squat, where the dancer adopts
a wide, flexed-knee stance with the feet turned out.
The performance usually begins with
manglacharam, in which the performer pays onbeisance to the god, the guru,
and the mother earth. This is followed by batu nritya, the striking of
various poses with instruments, and pallavi, the elaboration, in which
the dancer displays poses similar to what is depicted in the temple carvings.
The performance ends with moksha (liberation), which suggests the dancer
is reaching a state of absolute peace. In ashtpati, songs from the Gita
Govinda, are used by dancers as expressional pieces.
The musical accompaniment has strains
of both the Hindustani and Carnatic schools, using instruments like the
flute, drums and small cymbals.
The fall and rise
of Odissi
From the late 16th century, the recognition
of Odissi as an art form suffered a setback for almost 300 years as a result
of the turmoil existing on the Indian political front. The maharis were
forbidden to dance in the temples and their performances were labelled
immoral. The gotipuas too lost their patronage. To escape from the resulting
penury, the gotipuas were forced to join jatras (roving theatre groups)
where they eked out an existence dancing in the interludes between dramatic
acts. Odissi's shift from the temple to the stage can be traced to this
practice.
Odissi was revived as a neo-classical
dance form in the post-Independence era by a group of scholars, dancers
and teachers who came together as a group called Jayantika. If not for
them, this dance form would have been lost to the world forever.
The four most prominent names amongst
them are Pankaj Charan Das, Kelu Charan Mahapatra, Deba Prasad and Mayadhar
Raut. The first two along with Kum Kum Mohanty and Sanjukta Panigrihi are
hailed as the most famous modern exponents of Odissi.
