For the US-based Bharatanatyam dancer Anwesha Das, it was a long wait to perform in her own state of Odisha. And the end to the long wait came on Saturday last with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) presenting her solo concert in the capital city of Bhubaneswar.
“Although I have been performing as a professional dancer for more than a decade in India and abroad, it was always my dream to dance in my homeland and in front of my own people who were always curious to watch an Odia girl as a Bharatanatyam dancer,” said the Odia girl who grew up in Chennai under tutelage of noted exponent Urmila Sathyanarayan. True to her remarks, there has not been any presence of Bharatanatyam dancer in the land of Odissi so far. Thus her solo recital generated good response from the audience despite the event clashing with the world famous Konark dance festival happening at the same time.
She commenced her recital with the traditional invocation, ‘Pushpanjali’ set in Vasanta ragam and Adi talam followed by a shloka in praise of Lord Vishnu – Santakaram Bhujaga sayanam .
The grace and serenity in her face was apt to delineate the characteristics of the God who epitomises peace. Moving on, Anwesha presented the central piece of her recital - the Varnam – based on navarasa. Much to the cheer of her audience, the dancer had in store a very popular Hindi song Maiyya Mori Main Nahni Makhan Khayo – set for her next presentation. In this bhajan by saint Surdas, Yashodha confronts her Krishna over the allegations of the child stealing butter. As usual to any Bharatanatyam recital, Anwesha concluded her concert with a tillana marking the joyous end to her performance.
Measured movements and restrained abhinaya exhibited the dancer’s grip over the techniques of the pure dance and the maturity in expressive dance respectively. Clarity of actions and emotions with a smooth and quick transition from one emotion to another was evident throughout the concert.
