Odissi The classical dance style of Orissa - the land of temples, the land of sculptures. The flowing movements and graceful poses of the dance bring to mind the breathtaking beauty of Orissa's temple sculptures. Whether the chiseled beauty of the temple sculptures inspire the dance, or the sculptures depict the dance is a conundrum. Tribhangi - the three - bend body position relating to Lord Krishna and Chowka - the square posture relating to Lord Jagganath along with many other graceful postures blended together can be seen hewn on the temple stones or executed exquisitely by the dancers. The dance is sculpture in movement and sculpture is frozen dance. Both are an infinite source of joy and wonderment. Add to this the Odissi music - in lilt and lyricism second to none. A harmonious blend of the chaste discipline of Carnatic music and the joyous abandon of the folk music of the east, and one has a spell - binding aesthetic experience.

Odissi like all other classical dance styles of India has its roots in the temple. In fact all forms of Indian art have their roots in religion. Indian art is a spontaneous expression of sincere devotion to God. The artiste in his devotion is united with the Almighty and feels himself as one complete whole.

Orissa evokes the name of Lord Jagganath - the Lord of the universe. It is a place of pilgrimage and for several centuries has nurtured a culture of devotion. The myths and legends woven around Lord Jaggannath provide a fascinating mythology. Various rituals have been connected with the temple and the worship of Lord Jagganath, dance being one of them. In the different forms of bhakti (devotion), dance and music have enjoyed equal importance. The Odissi dance, its growth, development, support, and existence have been inseparably linked with temple rituals.

Odissi may claim to be the earliest classical dance style of India on the basis of archeological evidence - the most outstanding being the Rani Gumpha caves (Udaygiri, Orissa) of the second century BC. These are the very first specimens of a dance scene with full orchestration found in sculptures of that historical period. Scholars have dated these caves to be earlier than the writings of Bharata's Natyashastra, in which Odissi is mentioned as the peculiar style from south eastern India called Odra Magadhi.

Whatever mention Odissi has in caves and treatises, the living tradition of the Odissi dance form has been kept up by the Maharis and the Gotipuas. Maharis are the devadasis from Orissa. ‘Mahan’ – ‘Nari’ or ‘Mahri’ are - the great one, chosen one for the seva or service to the Lord. The Maharis would sing and dance for the Deity. That was their seva to the Lord. The Maharis performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of the Geet Govind of poet Jayadev. Before the time of Jayadev, the Maharis performed mainly nritta (pure dance) and abhinaya based on mantras & shlokas.

Various reasons are attributed to the discontinuance of the Mahari tradition of dance and the emergence of the Gotipua tradition. Gotipuas were young boys dressed as girls and made to dance. They were taught the dance by the Maharis. The Maharis themselves never performed outside the precincts of the temple. It was always inside the temple. In fact there were two clans of Maharis - the bhitari gauni Maharis, who would reach the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and bahari gauni Maharis who would be in the temples but outside the sanctum sanctorum. But once the Gotipuas - these young boys were taught the dance, it stepped out of the precincts of the temples. 0ne of the reasons given for the emergence of Gotipuas is, that the Vaishnavites did not approve of dancing by women. During this period, Vaishnav poets composed innumerable lyrics in dedication to Radha and Krishna. Gotipuas danced to these compositions. Hence even to this day one sees that the Odissi repertoire is full of ashtapadis from Jayadeva's Geet Govind (performed by Maharis) and songs on Radha & Krishna by Oriya poets (performed by Gotipua). There is a discerning difference when an ashtapadi is performed with a smooth transition from one movement to the other as opposed to the slightly jerky movement when an Oriya lyric is performed.

Most of the present day Gurus themselves have been Gotipua dancers, and in their turn passed on the dance form to dancers and teachers all over India and abroad. From the precincts of the village temple to the metropolitan theatre is quite some distance. Odissi has successfully and meaningfully spanned it. The Maharis and Gotipuas are still gratefully remembered, but today it is the great Gurus coming from the same tradition that guide the destiny of Odissi. They have created a generation of highly talented dancers who have ensured the continuity of the dance form with an awareness and enriched consciousness, not by merely repeating what is handed down to them, but by creating and offering an aesthetic experience that carries the dance to greater heights. It is through the performers and teachers that the art draws its sustenance and continuity. Their number is ever increasing.

It was in the early fifties that the outside world took serious note of Odissi. It was Priyambada Mohanty who represented Orissa in the classical dance category at an Inter University Youth Festival. Dr Charles Fabri hailed Odissi as a great dance form. He helped Indrani Rehman study the dance form and the initial credit for bringing Odissi to the international scene goes to this great dancer.

With Gurus like late Padmavibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, late Guru Pankaj Charan Das, late Guru Deb Prasad Das, Guru Mayadhar Raut and dancers like Late Sanjukuta Panigrahi, Kum Kum Mohanty, Sonal Mansingh, Madhavi Mudgal and Late Protima Gauri, the propagation of Odissi is in full swing.

In recent years a number of institutions and individuals in India and abroad are imparting training in this dance form. On the whole the Odissi dance scene today is pulsating, having crossed the national frontiers it has become part of the international scene.

Dance vocabulary and repertoire

The two main postures used in Odissi are the tribhangi and chaukha. Tribhangi (literally: three parts break) is a three-body-bend in essence, and is very feminine in nature. It is it relates to the poses of Lord Krishna. The chaukha of Odissi is comparable with the araimandalam used in Bharatanatyam, except that chaukha is essentially wider than araimandalam. It is the masculine aspect of Odissi and is said to be derived from Lord Jagannath's idol at the temple in Puri.

A traditional Odissi repertoire consists of:

Mangalacharan: An invocational piece. After paying homage to Lord Jagganath, the reigning deity of Orissa, 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’, a threefold salutation, above the head to the Gods, in front of the face to all the gurus (teachers) and in front of the chest to the respected 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.

Pallavi: A pure dance item for which there are no meaningful words sung, but a particular raga (musical melody) is elaborated through eye movements, beautiful body postures & intricate footwork.

Abhinaya: Through hand gestures (the language of Indian classical dance), facial expressions and body movements (mime) the meaning of a poetic piece is brought forth & conveyed to the audience. It is telling a story without using the spoken word. Abhinay in Odissi are set to Oriya poetry by famous poets like Banamali, Upendra Bhanja, Kavi surya Baladev Ratha, or to the Ashtapadis from Jayadeva's Geetgovind.

Dashavataar: A dance piece describing the ten incarnations of the Lord. The verses are taken from the Geetgovind.

Moksha: A pure dance item with only the mardal-pakhawaj (percussion) accompaniment - the dance of liberation.

One may feel that the repertoire of an Odissi performance is limited. But it is abundant. There are various items of Mangalacharan, Pallavi, and Abhinaya depending on the hymn, raaga or poem chosen.

Artists

Guru Padma Vibushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Pankaj Charan Das and Guru Deba Prasad Das were some of the foremost proponents of Odissi. Smt. Sanjukta Panigrahi the great exponent of Odissi was the jewel in the crown in Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's endeavour to revive this art form. When Odissi was on the verge of extinction, she was the only woman who fought all odds and became a world famous exponent of Odissi.

Another prominent figure was that of Guru Surendranath Jena, who propagated 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.

The current crop of dancers includes Sujata Mohapatra, Daksha Mashruwala, Aloka Kanungo, Gangadhar Pradhan, Surupa Sen, Bijayini Satpathy, Madhumita Patnaik, Nandita Behera, Durga Charan Ranbir, Jhelum Paranjape, Ramli Ibrahim, Ratna Roy, Madhavi Mudgal, Sonal Mansingh, Ileana Citaristi, Leena Mohanty, Joyoti Das the direct disciple of Guru Sanjukta Panigrahi, and many others.