THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Set out with a mission of propagating the Odissi, young danseuse Prachi Hota has gained wide popularity across the country. Prachi got initiated in to Odissi dance at the age of 3 and was a disciple of Harekrishna Behera, who popularised Odissi. She was also trained under Asha Kumari and has performed across the country. She recently performed a piece of Odissi in the Guru Smarananjali Dance Festival, last week at the Changampuzha Cultural Centre here. Her body movements and sense of rhythm was met with wide appreciation
What prompted you to select Odissi from a bunch of other Indian traditional dances?
I was very young when I stared learning Odissi, so it was not a choice I made. My parents exposed me to a variety of extra-curricular activities ranging from various classical dance forms to Bollywood dance to the visual arts. In fact, I started learning folk dance and Rabindra Nritya along with Odissi. Why Odissi stuck, was probably because it helps me express who I am as an individual and centres me psychologically and emotionally.
What is the speciality of this dance compared to others?
Each art form is unique and what makes Odissi special is that it is lyrical. The flowing movements of Odissi which is a very fluid dance form makes it unique too. Odissi also strikes a good balance between Tandava, the masculine and powerful style of dance hailing from Lord Shiva and Lasya, the more feminine and slightly softer style of dance hailing from Lord Shiva’s consort, Goddess Parvati.
How do you manage to handle both your studies and dance?
I started dance and school together, so I have never had it any other way, and it has been a spectacular journey. I try and get in a certain amount of dance and studies in a day and try to lead an active life, being continually engaged in some activity or the other. I do believe in paying close attention to whatever I do, though, and try to do everything to the best of my ability.
What is your ambition in life?
I want to tell stories. Everything I do is geared towards that, be it dance or my studies. Also, I intend to dance and also probably make lots of films. I am currently engaged in writing screenplays for films.
About your training in Odissi and other art forms?
I started learning Odissi at the age of three in Kolkata, under Guru Arpita Venkatesh. After we shifted to Gurgaon in 2004, I stared training under Guru Sri Hare Krushna Behera. He introduced me to the nuances of Odissi and strengthened my foundation in the form. Under him, I grew manifold as a dancer. After his demise in 2012, I started training under Guru Y Asha Kumari and continue to do so. I also trained in Sitar under Guru Sangeeta Matoo and Vocal Music under Guru Divya Tripathi.
How far do you think Guruji’s training has influenced you?
I started training under Guruji in 2004. Guruji was a boundless storehouse of knowledge and is responsible for developing an all-round understanding of Odissi in me. He taught me to approach Odissi, not just as a dance form, but also as a path to intellectual development. He would spend hours explaining the History, various perspectives and nuances of Odiya literature and was a phenomenal teacher, explaining the complicated mathematics of Taal and Laya in the simplest and clearest of terms. A trained vocalist, he would often burst into song.
How was your experience performing recently at the ‘ Guru Smarananjali Nruthaarchana Dance Fest 2016’ ?
The dance festival I performed in yesterday, was a splendid experience. It was organised wonderfully. In fact, it is one of the neatest dance festivals I have been to. What added to the experience was the kind of respect artists were given. The audience too, was very responsive and it was a pleasure performing for them.
About your parent’s support.
My parents are the rocks of my life. The have been with me through my best and worst, both as a person and an artist. They have been supportive even in the most trying times. I get breaks from work and studies but they do not. My parents are constantly working. In fact, they are so closely tied to my life as a dancer that my mother could write a dissertation on dance and its minutiae and my father on the logistical issues involved in creating a dancer. I am like a full time occupation for them.
You have been dancing since your early age. Did you ever feel its as very hard or does it strain you?
It does not strain me at all. A life without dance surely would. It is hard work, of course, but my life is all the more satisfying for it. It helps that I have so many people to support me, for I don’t think anybody can do much on their own. Everybody needs a strong support system. It has been a balancing act all through, but I do not think I would have it any other way.
How did you feel when on the stage, performing such a wonderful masterpiece yesterday? Is there any identification with God?
Dance is always a liberating experience for me and it was such yesterday as well. The invocatory piece I perform, Vakratunda Mahakaya is one the contemporary compositions of Odissi and one can easily relate to it. That is what makes it such a pleasure to perform. Madhurastakam, the abhinaya I performed yesterday has always been one of my favourites. It was so even before I learnt it. Performing it was a transcendental experience and in that way, there was a very strong identification with God. However, I try to not to attach myself to a particular deity, and prefer instead to try and practise my art as honestly and sincerely as I can. The art form itself, thus becomes the higher entity I identify with.
Any proud moments?
Right after my first performance in Bangalore, an old lady came to me and appreciated my Abhinaya and urged me to keep dancing. A few years before that, after my first full evening recital in Gurgaon at the age of fourteen, a Korean man asked me for my autograph. I was very young at the time, and the request overwhelmed me. Such incidents encourage an artist to work harder.