Great gurus are hard to find by. And Madhavi Mudgal’s guru was none other than the unrivalled genius of Odissi –Kelucharan Mohapatra. She showcased her guru’s quintessential pieces in the second half of ‘Mahima-return of the Guru’ organised under the aegis of the Raza Foundation.
With a live orchestra in tow, Madhavi began her Mangalacharan after briefing us about the early life of Kelubabu who had refined and codified the Gotipua dance of Odisha vesting it with a classical format. The repertoire was a peek into the past, of simplistic but gracious nritta patterns to bhol taan and swar with the hasta mudra alternating mostly between pataka and tri-pataka with an alapadma off and on. Unlike the present day Odissi, her footwork followed the speed cycle pattern ending in muktayi vesting it with the right sort of climax which got replicated in Bipinder Kumar Swain’s percussion.
Enraged heroine
There is no Odissi dance sans Jayadeva’s ashtapadi and guru Kelucharan had explored the depths of these romantic compositions with his creative expressions that even a tough critic like Rukmini Devi Arundale had to acknowledge the classicality of his dance form, said Madhavi before she launched into the popular ‘Yahi Madhava yahi Keshava...’ where Radha is a Khandita nayaki (enraged heroine). The sting of satire as the heroine quizzes Krishna’s duplicity was well expressed in the eyes and mukhabhinaya of the artiste. Madhavi effortlessly captured the mindset of Radha and emoted the mixed feelings of unconditional love torn by deceit hence angst and finally a show of anger denouncing his behaviour. This abhinaya was like an eye-opener to the younger generation artistes to look into the larger picture when depicting the nayika, especially Radha of the Ashtapadis, and not to compartmentalise the emotion within the titled nayika category. There was anguish in her eyes and gestures when she implores ‘Hari’ (Krishna) not to resort to bluff in trying to prove his innocence regarding his escapade with another woman.
The swift jerk with which she shirks off her feet told us the unseen aspect of her beloved begging her to allow him in by trying to hold her feet!
Krishna in disguise
The highlight of the evening was an Oriya song ‘Rana Sanghini rey ...’ which speaks of a very quaint incident of ‘alta’ (red foot paint) being applied to the feet of Radha. The song features Radha narrating the incident to her ‘sakhi’ (friend) that in the red design on her feet she suddenly found Krishna’s name and that makes her wonder at the veiled woman who had come to paint her feet as a professional and who was none other than Krishna in disguise! Madhavi Mudgal darting coy glances at the attractive alta applying woman as she squats and stretches out one foot after another to be painted was able to picturise a young, curiously shy Radha for the audience as also a visibly excited nayika who was able to detect her beloved through his signature on her feet as the song is addressed to her friend.
She literally recreated the filigree-like abhinaya as she opened layers and layers of expressive thought through gestures and mime.
Madhavi Mudgal’s performance was a pointer to all dancers, young and old, that the presence and relevance of the guru in classical performing arts is mandatory and has to be cherished for lifetime. Manikuntala Bhowmick on the vocal, Gandhi Mallick on the manjira, Yaar Mohd on the sitar, Diwan Singh on the tanpura and Ravinder on the flute complemented the artiste.
The festival was hosted at Triveni Sangam auditorium.
