KONARK: Showcasing the best of Indian culture to visitors of mixed origins, the inaugural ceremony of Konark Festival instilled a sense of patriotism in them on Sunday.
Set against the backdrop of Konark’s iconic Sun Temple, four Odissi artistes of ‘Srjan’ made a formation of the Indian map as percussionists played the melodious and soul-stirring composition of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya, 'Vande Mataram'. Utilising nine points of the open-air stage, two other artistes joined them to depict various scenes from rural India, quintessential to the land’s culture.
They presented a unique neo-classical Odissi item, ‘Vande Mataram’, choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra in 1995. The item was set to ‘Raag Dwesh’ and ‘Tala Adi’. Soon after, Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal lighted the ceremonial lamp, ‘Srjan’ artistes presented an invocatory piece to appease the Sun God.
Throughout the act, not a single prop was used. "It was indeed a challenge to depict various objects using the dancers’ body movements. It might have been an easier task to use a cut-out as a prop for representing the sun.
But, the artistes accepted the challenge and rehearsed 365 days to make this happen," said Guru Ratikant Mohapatra. For the presentation of a pure dance piece, the artiste fused Yoga postures with Odissi moves. Set to 'Raga Sahana' and 'Taal Jati', the next piece was a prayer in praise of Goddess Bhagwati.
Next, Pune-based renowned Kathak exponent Shama Bhate and her artistes enthralled the audience with a presentation titled ‘Parampara Ke Padachinha’ or the footprints of tradition. In a pure dance presentation, set to ‘Taal Roopak’, the artistes depicted how rhythm, music, lines and speed can be synchronised.
They showcased the salient features of Kathak—’tatkaar’ or spontaneity; ‘padhant’ or chanting of bols and dynamism of the dance form and ‘laya’ or the tempo, leading to the climax. In another piece—’Chaturang’ in Raag Kedar, the artistes depicted how Kathak can amalgamate ‘sargam’, ‘sahitya’ and ‘nrittabols’.
They also presented a 16 beat item in faster tempo, perhaps the fastest of all! Another interesting item was the piece on ‘Kaliyamardam’. The mythological episode was choreographed to convey a message on pollution of water bodies in the present times.