Abolished long ago, the ritualistic dance of the devdasis – better known as the Maharis in ancient Orissa - at the temple of Jagannath in Puri was revived by late Odissi Guru Pankaj Charan Das who was also instrumental in revival of Odissi dance. While the guru brought it from within the temple walls onto the stage, his disciple Rupashree Mohapatra of Puri has been promoting it with a missionary zeal through performances, teaching and composing for more than a decade now. The annual Mahari Utsav that she launched last year in Bhubaneswar was another major move to highlight the dance style.
The second edition of the festival staged at Jayadev Bhawan on Friday last, however, deviated much from its objectives. It not only featured and honoured Odissi dancers, the Mahari dance performances appeared as a poor imitation of the Odissi dance style. City-based veteran Odissi dancer and choreographer Aruna Mohanty and Kolkata-based senior Odissi dancer Rina Jana were invited to perform as soloists. However, the hosts failed to explain why a festival designed exclusively to highlight the salient features of Mahari dance should showcase Odissi.
Rupashree, who had the reputation of being an impressive dancer and choreographer, failed to live up to the expectations this year. With eight dancers and seven musicians, the small stage of Jayadev Bhawan looked too crowded. And at least four of her seven accompanying dancers did not have the desired level of perfection to perform in a group with synergy. Music apart, most of the movements and expressions were so strikingly similar to Odissi that it was the costume alone which made it look different from Odissi.
Were the real Maharis obsessed with the ornaments? Lead dancer and choreographer Rupashree’s over ornamentation and decoration of the body raised this question and took a toll on the aesthetics of the presentation. If Mahari dance has to be established as a distinct dance style, it has to remain rooted to its tradition and imitating Odissi would dig the grave for this dance form that was dead for decades.