Bangalore-based Odissi exponent Madhulita Mohapatra and her school, Nrityantar, held their annual show Naman at Ada Rangamandira Auditorium recently. A group of dancers commenced with ‘Ishwari’—an ode to Devi set to Ragamalika and Talamalika—penned by Sanskrit scholar Nityananda Mishra. It praised Ma Manikeshwari, Ma Chamundeshwari, and Ma Durgeshwari to the accompaniment of instruments like nisan, dhol, and ghanta in the traditional Sambalpuri folk music. This pulsating choreographic work explored the fierce attributes of Goddess Chamundeshwari and Durgeshwari, culminating in the triumph of good over evil.

After the Shaiva theme, the audience was treated to the Vaishnava theme of Radharani. It dealt with Krishna and Radha spending quality time. Krishna’s tribhangi pose and his mesmerising ways endeared Radha and the audience to him. Saanvi Sahoo and Susmita Dhal made quite a pair.

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Odia abhinaya piece ‘Kede chhanda janilo sahi’ written by the famous Odia poet Banamali Das, eulogising the childhood feats of Lord Krishna, interwove the popular stories of Kaliya Daman, Putana Vadh, Bakasura Vadh, and, finally, his Vishwa Roopa Darshana—one never tires of watching them. It was sweetly performed by Mihika Mahnoor—barely three years old—and Shreyashi Dey.

In ‘Sajani,’ the dancers enacted the time when Krishna was grieving for Radha, with Radha’s companion trying her best to unite them. Anjeleena Avanee and Aditi Das brought out the lyrical beauty of the piece and the feelings of the lovers in all its nuances.

The item Varsha Avisar—an excerpt from Kalidas’ Ritusamhar—welcoming the rains was quite a change of theme. The cooling drops of fresh showers usher in new life and regeneration; lovers experience unadulterated joy as does the living world. The dance celebrated the arrival of the monsoon and also expressed the pangs of separation of lovers. Myriads of motifs and metaphors were used to beautify the coming of rain. This particular piece was indeed ‘sans precedent’.

Performer Anjali Raj Urs did justice to the piece choreographed by Guru Aruna Monaty on a composition of Guru Ramahari Das in Rag Megh.

‘Bhujanga Ashtakam’ by Adi Shankaracharya depicted the divine beauty and grace of Devi Saraswati, who is worshipped for her learning and wisdom. The shloka described her beauty, which was suitably translated in the Odissi idiom. The dance described Sharada in Ragamalika, who resides by the sacred Tunga river and rides various majestic animals like the deer, horse, lion, eagle, swan, elephant, and bull, symbolising her universal power. Sahana Raghavendra Maiye performed to the composition of Basistha Kumar Nayak, the rhythm of which was composed by Soubhagya Narayan Chhotray, choreographed beautifully by Madhulita Mohapatra.

The piece ‘Shivam Dhimahi’, a tribute to Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, also known as Lord Shiva, was a group dance choreographed excellently by Madhulita Mohapatra. Right from describing his physical attributes, it gave a vivid description of his many activities that saved the gods and mankind; it retold the story of how he acquired the name of Nilkantha; it also retold the story of his celestial dance that reduces everything into nothingness.

Shriyanshee Mishra, Shreyashi Dey, Aradhya Basu, Satakshi Chatterjee, Mohiini, and Natania Dancers are Siyashree Mishra, Hansini K, Priyanshi Meher, Lakshaa M G, Sharma, Siddhi Mohanty, and Indranika Banerjee.

“Yahi Madhava, yahi Kesava”—an often performed Astapadi from Jayadeva’s Geet Govinda—was given a different outlook and dimension by Meghna Das, who came up with surprise after surprise with her myriads of interpretations of the mood of Radha, who at this point is a khanditha Nayika, through repetitive lines that aroused aesthetic pleasure. It was Binod Panda’s composition, which was originally choreographed by Guru Mayadhar Raut and was given a contemporary touch by Sahana Das.

“Dheera Samire” was yet another beautiful Astapadi by Kavi Jayadev, performed solo by Reshmi Divakaran. This particular choreographic work of Madhulita Mohapatra very successfully managed to unite the individual soul of a mortal with the divine soul of the immortal. Radha’s guru, who is her companion, constantly guides her to be with the supernatural. The music was composed by Bijoy Kumar Jena.

A Pallavi in Raag Darbari after the abhinaya pieces gave the audience a different flavour. Music composition by Rajesh Kumar Lenka. The dance choreography by Madhulita Mohapatra was full of vigour and verve; displaying the pure dance style of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan was a connoisseur’s delight. Dancers Siri K Reddy, Leah Rachel, Samiksha Singh, Madhura Sarkar, Prisha Sinha, Lipsarani Sahoo, Smruti Snigdha Pattanayak, and Sunaina S Rao regaled the audience with their sprightly dance.

Showers of life, or Varsha, was another gem from the house of Nrityantar. It was based on Kiskinda Kanda’s Ramayana. Music composition is by Guru Bijaya Kumar Jena. The rhythm composition was by Guru Bijay Kumar Barik. Dance choreography was by Madhulita Mohapatra. The dark clouds precipitating as raindrops, at first coming as tiny droplets soon to turn into torrential showers, were beautifully portrayed. There was widespread joy in displaying the symbols of rain. The dancers were all seniors and professionals who have taken to dancing perhaps as their stress-relief. Dr. Anupama Kumar, Amrita Sharma Sanagavarapu, Dr. Gargi Dasgupta, Lakshmi Arun, Mini Somakumar, Rajitha Shekhar, Srudhi Retheesh, and Sweta Mishra Bindal have been drawn to dance by their mentor Mashulita Mohapatra. Together they proved the point that dance is not a matter of competition; its main function is to spread ‘Ananda’. The role of dance, after all, is to usher in joy, and this particular piece did fulfil its part.

As the title suggests, the dance item “Hari Smarane” is in praise of Lord Vishnu and is based on the popular Devarnama/Bhakti song Hari Smarane Mado Niranthara by Shri Purandara Dasa. Constantly meditating on Hari to get salvation was the message floated. He is the one who protects those who take his shelter. Here, the dancers enacted popular stories where devotees have sought shelter under the protection of Hari. God is our ultimate refuge, and to him we must go.

He saved the elephant from the clutches of death from the crocodile. He is the one who appears as a lion and slays the elephant of sins. Prahlad, through his staunch devotion towards Hari, was repeatedly saved from the clutches of wild elephants, fire, and snakes. At the end, Hari comes in the form of Narasimha avatar and rips the belly of the evil asura Hiranyakashyap. When Draupadi was disrobed in Kuru sabha after the game of dice, he saved her honour by giving endless garments.

The music is set to Raga Ragamalika and tala Ektali and is composed by Guru Bijay Kumar Jena. Rhythm composition is by Guru Bijaya Kumar Barik. Dance choreography was by Madhulita Mohapatra. “When one is settled in a particular state, music compositions to support some of the dances should represent the state,” said Odissi exponent Madhulita Mohapatra. Karnataka State is the birthplace of Devarnamas, which are usually danced by Bharatanatyam performers.

Dancers Asha Satish, Abhipsa Pujari, Debashree Barada, Barsha Binayak, Mousumi Bera, Mugdha Pattnaik, Meenakshi Menon, Sravani Vangala, and Dayanand Akilesh were incredible Odissi dancers.

The writer is a senior dance critic