Three singularly unique dance styles in a single evening — all of it being Odissi, emerging out of individual schools. Nrityantar’s ‘Naman-2014’, a dance fest, had Kavita Dwibedi, Leena Mohanty and Nrityagram dance ensemble showcase their brand of Odissi. Aesthetics, artistry and ability were three distinct entities that can be assigned to each performance -- with Kavita Dwibedi it was creativity at its best; Leena Mohanty’s expertise with abhinaya was impressive while aesthetics and brisk dynamics ruled the Nrityagram technique. Each spoke its dialect which was not a deviation from the mother language but then had in course of time developed its own expression.
‘Shweta Mukti’ by Kavitha Dwibedi was a profound, layered, thematic presentation – it was a unique representation of five women and their redemption through Gautama Buddha. The dancer’s virtuosity was commendable, especially as she recreates the roles of the mother and wife with emotion writ across her large eyes and beautiful face. The nostalgia of Gautami as she recollects her ward’s childhood, her own growing attachment to him and finally her isolation was brought out with such a delicacy of expression that the audience got glued to their seats in utter reverence. The juxtaposition of a mother’s attitude to that of a wife was sensitively portrayed by a disdainful Yashodhara who was shattered that all her beauty and love could not hold her husband back. Kudos to Kavitha for essaying this role with ease, flitting across expressions of love, expectancy, disappointment, anger, hurt and resignation, all in matter of seconds-for this is the character of Yashodhara in the given circumstances. She acknowledges her husband’s macro vision that engulfs the micro cosmos of his domestic world.
Kavitha beautifully hovers between the ‘roudra’ and ‘karunya rasa’ in recreating the anger of a pure jilted heart and at the same time a soul that got caught in the purity of divine love. It is a very challenging emotion, and the expertise in the artist was evident in her superb abhinaya. Here, she let the vigorous footwork work out of the seething Madangi’s emotion while in the rest of the roles she assigned abhinaya a larger role. Amrapali the courtesan, vexed with material wealth and mundane pleasures finally finds that she belongs to no one and has none to call her own. Dispassion gives rise to realization and she walks the path of the virtuous Buddha. The story of Prakriti is more or less like Rabindranath Tagore’s Chandalika , an outcaste, who is elevated to a higher plane by the Buddha.
The dancer made subtle use of differently hued ‘stoles’ for each of the five roles she donned by draping them over her shoulder, the colour indicative of the mood as also the ‘rasa’ (artistic mood) that went with the character. The English prelude and consequent Hindi verse, evocative lighting and intense music spoke volumes of this production choreographed by Kavita.
Leena Mohanty chose to present a ‘margi’ repertoire with a distinct style of Odissi though the basic characteristics remained similar. From her mangalacharan (invocatory) to the pallavi in raag Madhyamavathi, it was clear-cut expressionism where abhinaya took the cake. The verve surpassed the sway which is slightly unlike the quintessential Odissi or rather our concept of this particular genre. Her interweaving of the Dashavatar within the dance piece on “Madhuban...” was a brilliant piece of creativity.
