Famous Odissi dancer Ayesha Dahra speaks to Business Views Editor, G. Kalyan Kumar about the dance form’s unique place among arts and its evolution. The highly graceful Odissi is known for its sculptured poses and lyrical charm.
Ayesha Dahra has been one of the visible faces of Odissi in the Indian capital. In the conversation, Ayesha traces her journey in Odissi and the significance of Indian classical dances in the contemporary milieu.
Ayesha’s performances have attracted rave reviews and immense adulation from Odissi fans.
Dahra is a multifaceted personality and was a key team member at the “Kingdom of Dreams” in Gurgaon as its Director for Communications and Marketing for many years.
Excerpts...Please comment on the Odissi dance in India and what drives its appeal? How strong is dance’s appeal among youngsters Vis a Vis other classical dance forms?
Odissi is a beautiful, sculpturesque and divine dance form with its roots in Orissa. It evolved from the worship of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri by Devadasis who would propitiate the deity with this dance.
After evolving over the decades Odissi’s fame has spread internationally thanks to stalwarts like Padmabhushan Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra.
Late Protima Bedi has done a great service to the art form with her Nrityagram in Bangalore.
Like classical dance Bharatanatyam, the appeal of Odissi is also high among youngsters and there is a greater passion for learning Odissi and excelling in it.
The interest in learning Odissi is increasing and is an indication of its soaring popularity and it is gratifying as aspirants, practitioners, and enthusiasts are swelling within India and internationally.
What is the relevance of Odissi and other classical dance forms?
Indian classical dance forms stem from the rich repertoire of the country’s cultural heritage in terms of culture, myths, lifestyle, traditions, values, beliefs, arts, literature, poetry, and history of various regions.
These dances with their nuances display a wide range of movements, rhythm, and expressions that are vast, vital and vibrant as the vocabulary of the culture.
Classical dances deliver both spiritual elevation and emotional depth and express infinite freedom for the artistic self to express.
What is the significance of Gurus in Odissi? Odissi is blessed with a great guru tradition and some contemporary names include Aruna Mohanty, Sharmila Biswas, Ratikant Mohapatra, Surupa Sen, Bijayini Satapathy and Madhavi Mudgal among others. What were the influences that brought you into Odissi? Right from teenage, I was aware of my artistic inclination and taste for seeing dances including Ballets. That eventually led to learning Odissi with a special love for it among other dance forms. You have been much appreciated for the Saveri Pallavi compositions especially the Srinagar bhava and Rati Sukha episodes from the Radha Krishna myth? The appreciation of the audience encourages me as an artist. Intense performances that move audiences result from a series of efforts that keep in mind the uniqueness of Odissi to challenge oneself and raise the bar. Consistent practice with extreme dedication is essential in many areas including foot movements, postures, and mudras in improving the grace and lyrical movements. The artist in me is subject to varied demands depending on the character portrayed, be it Radha, Sita or Draupadi. Such involvement helps to reach soulful expressions that connect with the audience and draw a good response. What are the challenges faced by emerging Odisssi artists and your message to them? Emerging dancers face many challenges. They range from lack of encouragement, skewed availability of platforms for performances and resource crunch. Considerable expenditure goes into staging a dance performance. To spend at least Rs 1 lakh in performance will be a disincentive for a beginner unless there is heavy affluence. Cultural bodies like ICCR and art academies can do a lot; they need to take steps to patronize upcoming artists by offering cost-effective platforms and incentives like scholarships. Certainly, a market economy throws many problems for dancers until they get established and become brands on their own. But such issues should not deter or dilute the determination of new dancers or get distracted. The success of a dancing career depends on the person’s passion, dedication and the ability to derive joy from the dance. It might be a solo journey but worth the struggle as recognition is bound to come sooner or later.
