Has Odissi music got the salient features of Indian classical music traditions like the Hindustani and the Carnatic? If yes, why has not been regarded as classical? Moreover, when Odissi dance has been branded as classical, how come Odissi music that is its integral part, is not! Eminent Odissi music composer and singer Ramahari Das, who has been the winner of the prestigious Akademi award this year, has the answer. ‘‘Let’s perform and prove it than deliberating on it,’’ says the guru who has been grooming scores of budding singers as the head of the Bhubaneswar-based Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya’s Odissi music department and who has been instrumental in staging Odissi music sessions in various venues in Orissa and outside the State.
As part of the mission for Odissi’s promotion, Das, a key member of the Bhubaneswar Music Circle (BMC), organised an exclusive evening of Odissi music - Sangeetayana - at Rabindra Mandap on Sunday. Besides him and his prominent disciple Bijay Kumar Jena, now an established vocalist and a faculty member of the Mahavidyalaya, their six talented students - Rupak, Matru Prasad, Amar, Sagarika, Rajalaxmi and Rebati - presented the scintillating show.
Little did the connoisseurs imagine that Odissi music has a very specialised style of singing like the Dhrupad style that is also known as Dhrubapadang. While Ramahari Das lucidly explained the salient features of Odissi music like the Dhrubapadanga, Raganga, Bhabanga and Natyanga besides the typical singing styles of Champu, Chhanda and Geet Govind, the troupe presented recitals one by one demonstrating the classical elements.
Following the inaugural group presentation, Bijay Jena had a brilliant and captivating recital of raga Chandrakant in raganga genre while Rajalaxmi and Rebati presented raga Mukhari in bhabanga. Now it was the turn of Rupak and Matruprasad to present the natyanga style of singing that was followed by Chhanda singing by Rebati-Rajalaxmi-Sagarika. Guru Das regaled with a solo recital of Champu that his guru and legendary Balakrushna Das used to sing. However, it was the duet - Bitilata jamini maulila kamini, another popular number of late Balakrushna - by the guru and the shishya Ramahari Das-Bijay Jena that was the fitting finale to the unique evening.
Prominent percussionists Niranjan Patra and Jagannath Kuanr were on mardal accompanying the concert.