An odyssey into Odissi
MANJARI SINHA
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A seminar on Odissi music held recently in New Delhi.
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Celebrating melody The lec-dem in session.
“Odissi Music – From Tradition to Contemporary” was the title and focus of a performance-cum-seminar conceived by New Delhi-based Odissi danseuse Ranjana Gauhar at the Capital’s Triveni auditorium the other day. It was presented by her dance academy Utsav Educational and Cultural Society. The fact that the seminar coincided with the rath yatra of Lord Jagannath, was, according to the chief guest Arun K. Rath, a good omen for Odissi music, struggling for its independent identity distinct from Hindustani and Carnatic styles of Indian classical music. Citing the inscription from Hathigumpha caves, Rath emphasised that Odissi music has its own pride and place as an ancient art form.
Depicting, with his evocative voice, shringar rasa through the ‘lajjit’(coy) Rishabh and the pensive swaras of raga Multani, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, the guest of honour, explained that true art must communicates the ‘jazbaa’ (emotion). He also narrated an anecdote of the legendary Shambhu Maharaj’s awesome ‘abhinaya’, to prove his point. Yet another invitee, Dhirendranath Pattanaik, in his keynote address, elaborated upon the tradition of classical music in Orissa in great detail, right from the time of Jayadeva’s “Gita Govind” to the later texts like “Geeta Prakash”, “Sangeeta Muktawali”, “Sangeeta Kalpa Latika”, “Sangeeta Narayana”, et al. He suspected that Odissi music is not developing outside Orissa because of the language barrier and hoped that it will be recognised soon as a prominent style of classical singing in India.
The seminar was followed by a performance and a lecture-demonstration that opened with the Jagannathashtakam sung melodiously by Maheshwar Rao. Presiding over the session, Ramhari Das explained the characteristic features of Odissi music which is ‘na drut na vilambit’ i.e. neither fast nor slow, and sung in a swinging, ‘andolit’ way. He also talked about the varieties of chhand, dhruvpadanga, bhavanga, raganga and natyanga, different forms like champu, etc. This came in handy for discerning listeners to appreciate and enjoy the performances that followed.
Beyond language
Language seemed no barrier for the students of Saroj Mohanti who is teaching Odissi music to non-Oriya students in the Capital. Aashtha Shukla, for instance, was from Uttar Pradesh, Amisha Bhattacharya from West Bengal, Aarushi Khanna from Punjab and Swechha Ganapati from Tamil Nadu. They impressed the audience singing group and solo Oriya songs composed in different ragas like Shankarabharanam, Ananda Bhairavi and SaveriRamhari Das presented different forms of Odissi music starting with “Jay Jannath Nilgiripati…’ a Janana song different from a bhajan. He went on singing from champus starting with different letters to the varieties of Chohki, concluding his melodious and informative presentation with Chinta Bhairav. He explained the intricacies of Odissi music along with his mesmerising singing. Prafulla Mangraj on the mardala and Saroj Mohanti on the harmonium provided understanding support.
Earlier, Chittaranjan Malya presented a paper on the music of the Gotipua dance tradition, with the help of recorded music, to show how this tradition has nurtured and sustained Odissi music.
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