From start to finish Sujata Mohapatra was simply mesmerising. Keeping up the tempo throughout the evening, she presented an ode to Odissi through her performance.
The spotlight was on the famed “Jatayu Moksh” which came towards the end of the one-and-half-hour performance. And every time Sujata does it, she is able to evoke tears of joy as you view something divinely artistic as wells as total involvement of an artiste with the narrative which is being enacted through her matchless abhinaya. The fact that she is able to generate the ras-utpathi (aesthetic emotion at the core being) bears testimony to the artiste’s sensitivity and excellence. The sequence of events leading to Jatayu’s (mythical bird in Ramayan) valiant fight and subsequent end were delineated with utmost sensitivity . Every minute detail like for instance, Sita stepping out of her kutir to enjoy the scenic beauty around Panchvati –– Sujata lifts her foot gently as if crossing an imaginary threshold; the miming of an elephant straying in the forest, the flora and fauna dancing in joy; the deer darting and dodging and the manner in which Lakshman draws the boundary lines (Lakshman rekha) thrice are some of the memorable points of appreciation.
Sujata alternates between Sita and the deer, once in the guise of trying to woo the golden deer into her arms and next in the cloak of the deer trying to elude. Her mobile countenance could mirror the anguish of Sita altercating with Lakshman as much as it could reflect the latter’s dilemma in response to the false cry of Ram. It was amazing to watch the artiste change stance, expression, gait, all at once and in quick succession. So was the varied gait and demeanour the dancer adopts to personify the heroic Ram, the gallant Lakshman and the vile but valorous Ravan. Only an artiste of Sujata’s calibre could have handled so many characters in a solo presentation with captivating conviction. And then comes the Jatayu characterisation as Sita is being whisked away in a personalised air-carrier (pushpak viman) by Ravan. The artiste as a human dancer vanished and all we could see was a loyal, undaunted Jatayu trying to obstruct the passage of the carrier and save Sita done to folk music; a bird wincing with pain at one wing being chopped off yet not giving up the combat; a vanquished devotee (Jatayu) of Ram holding to its last breath to inform his lord and master of the hoary incident of abduction and its final salvation in the hero’s arms. “Jayatu Moksh” evoked the navarasa (nine aesthetic moods) in this brief spell. Sujata rose above the normal dancer and swept the audience off their feet.
Earlier to the saga of Jatayu, we took a peek into her virtuosity with the Pallabi in raag Bageshri which was pure footwork and gestures sans song or verse set to mnemonic syllables and swar bhol. The bhol by the vocalist Parida found an echo in the mardala (pakhawaj) by Eklavya Murali and in the anklet bells of Sujata’s feet. She danced like a doll on spring where movements of hands, wrists, waist and feet just flowed through effortlessly leaving not even a fraction of a second breathing space between each other. The tehdis (katam) were aesthetic to say the least. The famed “Sakhi hey kesi madana muraram...” ashtapadi where a lovelorn Radha (nature/prakriti personified) relates to her friend (sakhi) her romantic interludes with her beloved Krishna (purusha). The artiste embodied Radha the nayika (heroine) in her myriad moods –– the Vasavasajjika who awaits her beloved all decked up; the Virahotkantitha pining for Krishna as she hears the heavenly music emanating from his flute and as Abhisarika when she actually tip-toes out of the house in the dead of the night, removing her anklets that make a tingling sound, snuffs out the lamp in her hand so that she is not visible in the darkness and makes a secret escapade to be with Krishna. The suggestive sensuality balanced itself with deep devotion bringing out the essence of this sixth ashtapadi of Gita Govidam. Sowmyaranjan Joshi on the flute and Surmani Ramesh Chandra Das on violin made their presence felt. The mardala and vocalist made for a wonderful pair. And last but not the least was the special light effects by Jayadev that enriched the mood of every piece.
India International Centre played host to the dance recital put together by Mohinder Dhillon Music Foundation to honour Sujata Mohapatra with ‘Margaret Dhillon Annual Spirit of India Award’ for her service to classical dance.
