Odissi has a long-standing relationship, as early as some traces of its origin, with folk forms from the various districts of Odisha. ‘Sookshma’, an Odissi dance ballet based on the Kannada folktale ‘A flowering Tree’ by A.K. Ramanujan, by danseuse Sharmila Mukherjee and her ensemble, ‘Sanjali’, took the folk connection one step ahead. Sookshma was a part of Pravaha 2016, a dance festival hosted by Sanjali centre for Odissi dance, Bangalore, in remembrance of the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Supported by the Ministry of Culture, it is the first and one-of-a-kind attempt to embrace Kannada culture through the threads of Odissi.
The story revolves around a woman, Chenni, who is blessed, by Sookshma, an omnipresent spirit, with the ability to transform into a flowering tree that showers abundance on pouring two pitchers of water and plucking the flowers gently. After Chenni’s marriage with the Zamindar’s son, a sequence of events leads the tale to a twist, where the flowering tree is carelessly felled. The typical context sensitivity in A.K. Ramanujan’s writing, finds new dimension in the production, Sookshma, which voices the ethos of womanhood and nature and the compelling need to respect both alike.
The music by Debashis Sarkar was transcending as it should be in storytelling and lyrics by Krishnaraj Bhatt, complimenting. The stage and set by Sridhar Murthy, in line with the core of the concept, was beautifully accentuated by Jose Koshy’s lights, turning a silhouette of brown barks into sheer magic. The overall production management was done by Abhayalakshmi M.B and Megha Mehta, both students of Sanjali. The dance vocabulary was authentic even in the folk movements. There was no stiffening out of the style even while enacting dialogue. However, the formations by dancers were in more than one instance, off the mark, like a single flower fallen out of a rangoli. The make up could have been better.
The one aspect most apparent throughout the production, was the clear artistic vision of Sharmila Mukherjee, dance director/choreographer of Sookshma, right from the choice of a simple folk tale, no-clutter choreography, to keeping the balance between folk and classical elements unalloyed by each other. Balance was observed, literally too, in the gentle oscillation of shoulders and ribs, like the scales of a physical balance without tipping.
“One of the challenges was to merge a Kannada folk song with a classical Pallavi in raaga Charukeshi. Another challenge was the wedding scene where a South Indian musical flavour had to be given. As many as eight instruments were used and I did not want the production to exceed an hour,” says Sharmila, of her year long journey leading to the production.
Blending folk style with Guru Kelucharanji’s defined style of classical Odissi, was the obvious big challenge. “The folk dance was the only instance I allowed my students to use their shoulders more than they should,” she laughs. Sharmila Mukherjee’s rigorous period of training under legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, has led her to be instrumental in bringing Odissi to the forefront of the performing arts scene in Bangalore through Sanjali Centre, which trains about 100 students across four studios.
Sookshma was well attended by several luminaries from the dance/art fraternity, who complimented Sharmila Mukherjee’s efforts. A part of the proceeds of the evening directed towards Save Green initiative took the arts initiative a step closer to the wellness of the society.
