BALANGIR: In a rare and unique effort, Dasabatara was performed by a group of artistes in the traditional form of Koshali folk dance, here recently.
Termed as Koshali Dasabatara, it was presented by the veteran exponent of Koshali music and dance Ghasiram Mishra at the town auditorium here in the run-up to Nuakhai. The dance-drama was conceptualised, composed and directed by Mishra.
Dasabatara, which is a highly sought after subject of different classical dance forms including Odissi, is about 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu that start with matsya (fish) avatar and ends with Lord Buddha. It was for the first time that the subject was performed in a folk dance form. Mishra said the main focus of the dance-drama was to explore classical elements in the Koshali dance.
It was a group performance of about 50 minutes’ duration. The different avatars of Lord Vishnu came alive on the stage through the inimitable style that left the audience spellbound.The lyrics aptly fitting the story of the incarnations was written by Mishra that lent totality to the performance. Noted singer Sarbeswar Bhoi and others lent their voice in the performance. The dance-drama had all the elements of the Koshali folk tradition and the artistes did a commendable job.
Singer Swayamprava Padhi, the Editor of Bhubaneswar’s music magazine Samadhwani, lauded the effort of the octogenarian guru. She called upon youths to come forward to take the cultural tradition forward. Balangir Collector Arindam Dakua was also present.