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An
odyssey in discovering Odissi. Review on the Odissi Workshop conducted by Jhelum Tai from
8th May to 23rd May (2004) “The dance is a poem of which
every movement is a word.” “Dancing should look easy; like an optical illusion. It
should seem effortless. When you do a difficult variation, the audience is
aware that it is demanding and that you have the power and strength to do it.
But in the end, when you take your bow, you should look as if you were saying,
‘Oh, it was nothing. I could do it again.”
Encapsulating the essence of a modern day "Gurukul" is
exactly what I felt when I attended this workshop. Being a student of
Smitalay, I was already initiated into what Odissi as a dance form demanded.
Yet nothing matched the cocoon-like experience where we actually breathed,
ate, drank, spoke, sang and lived on nothing else but “Odissi” for 15
days. We
had to reach the school before 10:00am, all dressed and ready in our salwar-blouse-half
sarees, while the boys struggled in time with their dhoti-kurtas. Anyone who
reached the premises beyond the stipulated time had to give a late fee of
Rs.10/-. The emphasis was not just on protocol and punctuality, but on
incorporating discipline in everything related to dance. Everyone right from
the junior-most to the senior-most was expected to be there on time, as Tai
made us do our warm up exercises for the first 15 minutes. She would then make
us dance our steps in Chowk(11 steps) and Tribhangi(10 steps) in 3-4 speeds
each. Initially we used to be half dead by the end of this and Tai would give
us a 2 minutes break and make Ankur supervise us while we re-did the same all
over again. Phew……!!! There were times when I thought I would pass out,
but as the days progressed, we all realized that this really helped us in
building our stamina so that we could dance longer. We then had a Nimbu-paani
break at 11:30am and would be back to practice Manglacharan, followed by
Basanth Pallavai, Battu, and Mohana. Tai would first take a run through of the
whole item with all those who had already learnt it alongside those who were
still learning it, and then personally teach the new steps in each of the
items, to the new learners. What I find incredible is that despite such a
large number of us dancing together, Tai’s observation seemed impeccable.
She would actually correct each and every one of us for the slightest of
mistakes we made. I really marvel her for that. We
always broke for lunch at 1:30pm which was an amazing bonding session, where
all of us got along and ate together, sharing our lives through anecdotes,
debates and fun. At the end of our lunch break, Tai would tell any 2 of the
older students to wipe the entire dance floor before we resumed dancing after
lunch. Post
lunch, Tai would make us do a little theory, which included practicing hand
gestures, eye and body movements and then call a few students each day, to
exhibit and apply the same while the rest had to guess what each one wanted to
convey. This was literally like Dance-dumb-charades. We then got up in a
single-file circle (around 40 of us) and walked walking in 3 speeds in the
Odissi style. This was something I looked forward to, and had lots of fun. Tai
would then make us brush through our basic steps once, followed by all the
items done earlier in quick succession. After this, most of us were free, and
then she would teach the senior students Aravi, followed by Baata Chaada, and
last of all Khamaj Pallavi which was taught to the senior most students. By
the time they were done, it would invariably be 6:30-7:00pm but it’s
incredible to see the zest in both Tai and her senior students, who came back
the next day like they had just returned from some vacation. On
the 23rd of May, we all presented all the new items that we had
learnt. It was really exciting, because everyone had their folks coming over
to watch them perform. Tai did the Natvangam, and the ensemble of musicians
included a sitarist, and a violinist who were professionals. Sanatan’s
sister Brinda played the Harmonium while our Pakhawaj player Rohan, also
participated in the workshop and danced on the final day. The vocalists in
each item were also students who had participated in the workshop. This
entire experience makes me draw parallels with the “Gurukul” system of
learning where everyone was treated alike. The seniors helped the juniors and
made them practice in addition to get each ones step to perfection. There was
this sense of modesty, and the bonding came in even more easily because no one
felt threatened by any sort of competition, as we were all part of one big
dance family. -Karishma Shetty
Karishma Shetty is 21 years old. She has been learning Odissi at Smitalay for the past one year. She has learnt Bharat Natyam for 13 years. |
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