It was Odissi with a difference. Sometimes old choreographies especially by genius like Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, if not tampered with, have a magnetic appeal that seems timeless. Nitisha Nanda’s solo performance revisited some of the traditional pieces of the legendary maestro under the able guidance of Sharon Lowen which was so refreshing to watch with its quaint beauty intact.
The very first Mangalacharan itself was appealing simply because it was not the run-of-the-mill; it was on Lord Shiva — the raga Pahadi tuned by Raghunath Panigrahi found its sweetest expression in Gopinath Swain’s violin which traced the raga’s contours before handing over the stage to the dancer. Excellent footwork and gesticulations with graceful, fleeting movements set to a steady pace (within the confines of Odissi framework) that gathered momentum as the beat doubled and tripled marked Nitisha’s presentation. She drew the divine persona of the Lord of dance, now pleasant, now serene, now ferocious — at all times pulsating with rhythm in vivid expressions through mime and movement. Endowed with eyes and facial expression that spoke more than words could, the artiste breathed life into every piece she chose to present be it pure dance (sans song) or pure song!
Pure dance set to mnemonics alone in raga Mohana was like the litmus test to her artistic propensity and she stood out carrying the most complex footwork patterns with ease and grace. Some of these were so impressive to watch since we hardly come across them in the mainstream Odissi! The dancer’s balancing power and her skill to use the stage space is something to write home about. The sculpturesque postures as she eulogises the deities Saraswati, Krishna and other temple frescos, were markedly defined and propped up by her facial expression (mukhabhinaya).
Contrasting emotions
An Odissi recital can never be complete without an Ashtapadi or two and “Pashyati dishi dishi...” in Desh brought out Nitisha’s virtuosity on the abhinaya front to the fore. She was able to show contrasting emotional states of the nayika (Radha) that oscillate between dream and reality with clarity and conviction. Certain finesse in depicting details like decking herself with jhumkis and playfully touching them with a finger as if stirring them as the heroine looks at herself in the mirror; the ‘namaaz’ stances to underline the religion of the poet who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu/Krishna, fixing of the dice board prior to commencing the game — are where one feels the Kelucharan aesthetic touch for which he was well-known. By incorporating such finer touches with care, Nitisha made her performance rise to a newer realm. So were the depiction of the crocodile-tusker struggle (Gajendra Moksh episode) and the Draupadi disrobing executed to rhythm — done in brisk moves. The Moksh was a harmonious blend of dance and dedication of the art as a spiritual tool to ultimate peace.
Prafulla Kumar Mangaraj on mardala, dancer Vishwanath Mangaraj on manjira and vocalist Sushanta Kumar complemented the dancer. The show under the aegis of Manasa and Tapaswini Nav Sadhna was staged at India International Centre.
