Most disciples of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra feel fortunate to have trained under him. For his son Ratikant Mohapatra, it is a double advantage. “Learning under my father was a great experience and an honour. While performing on stage, if we had committed a mistake, he would not tell us then, but while preparing for the next performance, he would correct us,” says Ratikant Mohapatra, dancer, percussionist, guru, choreographer and archivist of Odissi.
Remembering his father, Ratikant says that his father was very patient, loving and caring.” He says that his father did not show any favouritism while imparting dance and he learnt a lot from him. “The art form he left behind is like a dictionary for us. We are all working with it,” he smiles.
Ratikant’s own creativity comes to the fore in his choreography of abstracts. Only he can turn the 10-headed demon king Ravana into a hero. He passionately says that Ravana wanted to die in the hands of Lord Vishnu and that would have been possible only if he angered Lord Rama by kidnapping Sita. He also talks about his other choreographies on Sabari, Kubjaa, Mrityu and Allah. Elaborating on Allah, Ratikant says that it is based on Subramaniam Bharathi’s poem and it was rendered by Aruna Sairam in Mumbai, in 2002; with her permission, he choreographed it.
Speaking on the subject of choreography, Ratikant says that when 10 people practice together, their ideas too come together and it enhances the performance. During his recent performance at the Sri Ramachandra Swamy temple, Shamshabad, Ratikant began with ‘ Ardha Narishwar ’, followed by ‘ Shraddha Suktam ’ and a piece on Rama and Jatayu. In Biswas , the narrative was a dialogue between God and the devotee, with beautiful use of Hindustani, Odissi and Sufi music. “Through dance, it is an exhibition on integration that Supreme Power is one,” says Ratikant. The finale was Namdev’s Marathi Abhang to Lord Vitthal.
Ratikant denies that classical dance is very slow. “It is not true. A clever dancer can do wonders. Keep the traditional form of dance, catch the current trends and bring in innovations. Stay within the boundary of the art form and work,” he advises.
Ratikant adds: “Dance is 80 percent sheer enjoyment; that’s how the art form will flourish. I have worked on the speed and executed it to perfection. The mantra is to stay true to the grammar of dance, as it is time tested.”
Performing in the precincts of the temple, the dancer says, “I feel very positive. One gets some vibrating energy.” On presenting dances in temples as a way of preserving the temples and art, Ratikant says: “It is like going back to the roots and bringing your own art form home. In the 21st century, it is a well thought of idea.” Apart from performing at Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, Ratikant regularly performs during the five-day festival at Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi in April every year. “Our first performance was in 1979, where we performed Chudamani Devi Pradan under the able guidance of my father Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. In that piece, Sanjukta Panigrahi played Goddess Sita Devi, while I performed Hanuman,” he says.
Recalling an incident related to Varanasi, Ratikant says that his father had gone to Japan during that year and was presented a Hitachi video. “One day, my father took me to the jungles where there were lots of monkeys. He told me that every day for two hours for a week, I should shoot the monkeys. I would come every day, record and leave. After doing that for one week, my father decided to play it. It was then I realised that there was one monkey in the group which was different from the others and exhibiting dance,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. This shows great guru’s thinking on how one can learn by observing our surroundings.“In India, every state has its own art form, people should first learn to appreciate their own culture and be cent percent perfect,” says Ratikant and adds: “However modern we may be, we cannot leave our roots.”“South India is the place for music and dance. It has produced great musicians. It is a real ‘Gandharv of Sangeet’. It is a great experience to be here,” he concludes.
