Odissi

File:Odissi stamp.jpg

stamp issued in honour of Odissi

Introduction

Odissi (or Orissi) is the traditional style of dance that originated in the state of Orissa in Eastern India, where it was performed by the maharis (temple dancers). It is one of the oldest surviving forms of dance, with evidence dating back to 2200 BC to be found in the caves of Khandagiri and Udayagiri in Orissa. Today, there are three distinct styles of Odissi, including the Gotipua style of Guru Deba Prasad Das, the Mahari style of Guru Pankaj Charan Das, and the repertoire of Odissi as formulated under the aegis of Jayantika in 1957, which is the style of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

Odissi is characterised by its curvaceous movements, sculpturesque poses full of languid grace and an imposing demeanour at the same time.

Gotipua dancers are originally pre-pubescent boys who were trained in Odissi and used to perform in public during the conservative Vaishnavite period when it was not considered right for women to do so. Their style of Odissi has many acrobatic elements and concentrates more on the chouka, a half-sit posture which is one of the two pivotal stances in Odissi.

Maharis were originally the temple dancers who danced only for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath. Their style has many unique items including the panchkanya dances.

Jayantika was a movement to revive Odissi and give it a proper format, after it almost died out due to lack of patronage by the oyal kingdoms and when the image of temple dancers was sullied by many accusations. Thanks to the efforts of this organisation, in 1958, Odissi was given the status of a classical dance by the government of India.

Dance Vocabulary and Repertoire

The two main postures used in Odissi are the tribhanga and chouka. Tribhanga is a three-body-bend in essence, and is very feminine in nature. The chouka of Odissi is comparable with the araimandalam used in Bharatanatyam, except that chouka is essentially wider than araimandalam.

A typical Odissi repertoire consists of the invocatory item 'Mangalacharan', a tribute to Lord Jagannath and the other Gods, also with stanzas to welcome the audience and to thank one's Gurus.

There are 'pallavis', which are pure dance pieces performed to 'bols', which are strings of rhythmic syllables.

'Abhinaya' is a dramatic piece where mudras, facial expressions and body language are used as tools to emote or describe. In Odissi, abhinaya pieces are performed to both Sanskrit and Oriya songs.

'Moksha' is a pure-dance piece where the dancer tries to merge with the divine.

Other common items include Dasavatara, a dance descibing the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and Batu Nritya, based on Lord Shiva.

Artists

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Pankaj Charan Das and Guru Deba Prasad Das were some of the foremost proponents of Odissi. The current crop of dancers includes Sujata Mohapatra, Aloka Kanungo, Gangadhar Pradhan, Durga Charan Ranbir, Jhelum Paranjape, Ramli Ibrahim, Surupa Sen, Ratna Roy, Madhavi Mudgal and many others.

External links

• Indian classical music and dance portal Vimoksha - An informative site on various forms of Indian classical dance and classical music.

• http://www.odissi.usAn Effort to promote Odissi

• http://www.narthaki.com - A treasure trove of information on the classical dance world.

http://www.indianetzone.com/dances/1/odissi.htm