Odissi has undergone major transformations throughout the centuries. In recent times, it has made a quantum leap from the temples and courts of India to the stages and theaters of the world. In its modern incarnation, Odissi Dance is highly technical, featuring rhythmical footwork, intricate hand gestures, and captivating expressions.
Amid the changes and evolution of Odissi, the Dance has preserved its devotional roots and maintained its spiritual depth. To witness a performance of Odissi Dance is to enter the place where heaven and earth touch, where sensuality and the spirituality are one in the depths of the human heart.
The dance form called Odissi has its origins in Orissa, a state in eastern
India. It was practised in the most important shrines of the region, like that of Puri,
as part of the ritual ceremonies since the year 1000, although it is believed that it
existed from as far back as 200 BC. We have 16 types of ritual services that are
done daily in the temples, from burning incense to singing and dancing; many
young girls, called maharis or devadasis dedicated their lives to the temples. Over time, the maharis were taken out of the temples and into the courts. The kings were considered the representatives of the gods and therefore they wanted the young girls to dance for them. The dances soon lost the sense of religious devotion and became only a form of entertainment
At the end of the 15th century, the Minister Ramananda Patnaik, devotee
of Vishnu, thought of spreading his cult through dance and music. He adopted little boys, dressed them up as girls, and had them dance outside the temples during the religious ceremonies. These boys were called gotipua (goti means one and pua means boy ) but not allowed inside the temples.
Sensuous and lyrical, Odissi is a dance of love and passion touching on the divine and the human, the sublime and the mundane. Its theoretical base traces back to the ‘Natya Shastra’, the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts. Attributed to Bharat Muni, the text comprises 36 chapters and 6000 poetic verses describing the performing arts. However, it transcends beyond a mechanical compilation of tools and techniques into the "Rasa" theory, which asserts that while entertainment is a desired effect of the performing arts that itself is not its primary goal, and that the primary goal is to transport the individual in the audience into another parallel reality, full of wonder, where he experiences the essence of his own consciousness, and spirituality.
The techniques of movement in Odissi are built around two basic postures: Chowk and Tribhanga. The chowk is a position imitating a square - a very masculine stance with the weight of the body equally balanced. The tribhanga is a very feminine stance where the body is deflected at the neck, torso and the knees.
The torso movement is unique to Odissi and involves moving the torso from one side to the other keeping the lower half of the body static.
In addition to the classical Natya Shastra, Odissi also draws upon the Abhinaya Darpana. As in other parts of India, creative literature too inspired the Odissi dancer and provided themes for the dance. This is especially true of the 12th century Gita Govinda by Jayadeva. It is a profound example of the nayaka-nayika bhava and surpasses other poems in its poetic and stylistic content; with the poet’s devotion for Krishna being all pervasive. Across the 24 ashtapadis are captured the changing moods of love, rapture, jealousy, anxiety, submission and union.
An Odissi orchestra essentially consists of a pakhawaj player (usually the Guru himself), a singer, a flutist, a sitar or violin player and a manjira player.
The dancer is adorned in elaborate Odiya silver jewellery and a special hair-do. The sari, usually stitched nowadays, is unique to the style.
In each performance, even a modern Odissi dancer still reaffirms the faith of the devadasis or maharis where they sought liberation or moksha through the medium of dance.
The formal repertoire of Odissi has a certain order of presentation. The opening item is Mangalacharan where the dancer enters the stage with flowers in her hands and makes an offering to mother earth. This is followed by an invocation to the deity of the dancer's choice. Generally, Ganesha is called upon to grant an auspicious beginning. The item ends with a nritta sequence with salutations to God, the Guru and the audience.
The next item is called Battu where the basic concepts of the Odissi nritta technique are highlighted bringing out the duality of the masculine and the feminine through the basic stance of the chauk and tribhanga. This is performed in praise of Batukeshwar Bhairav or Shiva.
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After Battu, comes the flowering and ornamentation of music and movements in a Pallavi. A musical composition in a particular raga is visually represented by the dancer with slow and subtle movements, building up into complex patterns highlighting rhythmic variations within the tala structure.
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This is followed by the abhinaya. Odisha has a continuing tradition of dancing to the Ashtapadis of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda since the 12th century. The lyricism of this poetry is particularly suited to the Odissi style.
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The concluding item of the repertoire is called moksha. Pakhawaj syllables are recited and the dance moves from slow to quick sequences to reach a climax, when the dancer pays the final obeisance.
