Drenched in emotions

Odissi exponent Madhulita Mohapatra evoked the essence of monsoon for Delhi’s connoiseurs

August 24, 2018 01:08 pm | Updated 02:09 pm IST

 WELL COORDINATED: Madhulita Mohapatra and Paridhi Joshi

WELL COORDINATED: Madhulita Mohapatra and Paridhi Joshi

It is the season of Malhar and how can artists be left untouched when nature is resplendent with such beauty all around! This past week, one witnessed Odissi exponent Madhulita Mohapatra from Bangaluru, along with her disciple Paridhi Joshi evoking the essence of monsoon for Delhi’s rasikas to drench their aesthetics in.

Presented as a part of dance festival Saare Jahan Se Accha, Madhulita began her recital with Varsha Avisar based on the excerpts from poet Kalidas’s “Ritusamhar”. The duet entered the stage and conversed with the audience through their dance, picturing, ‘The dark cloud invades the skies, swaying like a mad elephant, a proud emperor in all his glory, marching to the drumbeats of thunder, fluttering his banner of lightening. Look O' friend with swan-like eyes, welcome the arrival of the rains, the essence of life.’

With Mohapatra aptly painting a picture of lovers languishing in the absence and without the company of their beloved, her disciple Paridhi with a neat technique danced out several arasas interjected in this abhinaya. Varsha Avisar turned out to be a celebration of the arrival of rain and the pangs of separation that lovers suffer, yearning for their Lord. Set in raga Megh and tala Ektali, the rhythm composition for this piece was by Guru Dhaneswar Swain, music composition by Guru Ramahari Das and dance choreography was by Madhulita’s guru Aruna Mohanty.

The next to be presented as a solo piece by Madhulita was an ashtapadi: “Ramate Yamuna Pulina Vane” from “Geeta Govinda”, a much venerated text amongst Odissi dancers. Searching for her beloved amongst the quivering trees and vines along the banks of the Yamuna, Radha imagines Krishna touching the face of a gopi and lovingly painting musk on her moon-like face, as if it is a deer-mark on the moon. In the moments of rising passion, when he draws her face close to his, her lips are thrilled with Krishna’s kisses.

In this dance of jealousy and insecurity, a major part was a dream sequence where Krishna dallies with the gopi. Interestingly, in the musical treatment of this inward reflecting ashtapadi folk elements found their way, especially when Radha imagined Krishna dancing to the tunes of his mellifluous flute.

Madhulita Mohapatra, with graceful classicality, portrayed the pangs of this Vipralabhdha Virahini Nayika while imagining, ‘In the thick dark forest, where the beastly Love-God (Madana) is on a hunt, the shining Krishna, whose dazzling appearance, causes ripples of passion in girls, is grazing his fingers through the long, soft hair of that other woman, and decorates her curly tresses with crimson flowers, that are flashing like lightning in her black hair.’

Heart wrenching in its literary content; this ashtapadi ended when the broken nayika lamented, ‘Her lotus feet that are adorned with jewel-like rosy nails, he places those leaf-like delicate feet on his chest close to his heart and smears lac (red alta) on them.’ With this the dancer left the stage amidst much applause. The music was set to raga Pilu and Ektali and was composed by Subhash Pani with dance choreography again by Aruna Mohanty.

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