Odissi

Odissi (ଓଡିଶୀ) ,(Devnagari:ओडिशी) is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Odisha, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as Odra-Magadhi. 1st century BCE bas-reliefs in the hills of Udaygiri (near Bhubaneshwar) testify to its antiquity. It was suppressed under the British but has been reconstructed since India gained independence.

It is particularly distinguished from other classical Indian dance forms by the importance it places upon the tribhangi (literally: three parts break), the independent movement of head, chest and pelvis, and upon the basic square stance known as chauka.

Origin and history

Temple rituals of Jagannath Temple, Puri, included Odissi.

The first clear picture of Odissi dance found in the Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri which was carved at the time of king Kharavela. Flanked by two queens Kharavel himself was watching a dance recital where a damsel was performing dance in front of the court with the company of female instrumentalists. Thus Odissi can be traced back to its origin as secular dance. Later it got attached with the temple culture of Odisha. Starting with the rituals of Jagannath temple in Puri it was regularly performed in Shaivite, Vaishnavite and Sakta temple in Odisha. An inscription is found where it was also engraved that a Devadasi Karpursri’s attachment to Buddhist monastery, where she was performing along with her mother and grand mother. Thus it proves that Odissi first originated as a court dance. Later it performed in all religious places of Jaina as well as Buddhist monasteries. Odissi, was initially performed in the temples as a religious offering by the 'Maharis' who dedicated their lives in the services of God. It has the most closer resemblance with sculptures of the Indian Temples.

The history of Odissi dance has been traced to an early sculpture found in the Ranigumpha caves at Udaygiri (Odisha). dating to the 2nd century BC. Thus Odissi appears to be the oldest classical dance rooted in rituals and tradition. In fact, the Natya Shastra refers to Odra Magadhi as one of the vrittis and Odra refers to Odisha.

Temple history

In Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, there exists Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Jain caves, which date back to the 2nd century BC which served as a royal palace for King Kharavela. It is suggested by scholars that Odissi is the archeologically oldest Indian classical dance form due to sculptural evidence found in the caves. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians are in Konark Sun temple and Brahmesvar temple in Bhubaneswar.

In the excavated ruins of the Buddhist Ratnagiri hills in Odisha dating back to the 6th-9th centuries, several panels and icons of dance are found resembling present days Odissi dance.

In the Tantric temples, such as the Hirapur Shrine, many of the yoginis especially are depicted in poses reminiscent of present day Odissi. When Odisha became a big centre of worship of Shiva, it is only natural that dance would be used as a form of worship, since Lord Shiva was a master dancer himself. He is the Nataraj, the Cosmic Lord of Dance. The Shaivite temples of Bhubaneswar display innumerable sculptures in postures of Odissi. The Vaishnavite Temples such as Jagannath temple and Konark sun temple abound with an array of dancing sculptures carved into the temple walls, giving testimony tha a particular school of dancing had continued from the Shaivite art tradition to the Vaishnovite art form.

Manuscript evidences

Sage Bharata's The Natya Shastra, written in 2nd century AD, speaks of four types of Pravrittis (local usages): Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali, and Odra Magadhi and the areas where each type is employed. Some scholars have interpreted that Odra Magadhi is a reference to Odissi, in fact, "the earliest literary reference to Odissi”. Abhinaya Chandrika written by Maheshvara Mahapatra is a detailed study of the various movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance reperoire. It also includes illustrations of the Karanãs mentioned in NãtyaShãstra. Manuscript Shilpaprakãsha is among those illustrated manuscripts which deals with the Odia architecture and sculpture as well as the figures of dance. In this one finds a elaborate analysis of the manner in which the salabhanjikãs or the feminine figures caleed the alasa kanyas are carved in the temple. The illustrations of Shilpaprakãsha reinforces the evidence of sculpture in temples. A rather unexpected source, the Jain Manuscripts, especially the Kalpasutra and Kalkacharya Kathãs show traces of Odia dance style although they were being executed in Gujarat. The marginal figures of dancers show women in poses and movements similar to the distinctive style of Odisha. E.g. in one of the famous illustrated Jain Manuscript called the Devasanpada Kalpasutra (1501, Jamnagar), there is depiction of the samapada, the tribhangi and the chuaka. This shows that there was a great deal of mobility between east and west and many migrations took place. According to some historians, there were groups of dancers who were brought to Puri from Gujarat and also from Andhra.

Mughal and British period

During the Mughal rule of India, the duties of the maharis, the temple dancers, shifted as they were also employed to entertain the royal family and courtiers in the royal courts. They became associated with concubinage in respect to the king and ceased to be respected solely as servants to Lord Jagannath. Although the British have helped India in several ways, a decline and degradation occurred in all the Indian classical dance styles during the British period, especially when a bill was passed prohibiting temple dancing. Most of these dancers loosing their well-deserved place in society were forced to prostitution in order to survive in the changing climate of political and cultural oppression of the British.

Tradition and dancers

Odissi artiste

The Odissi tradition existed in three schools; Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua. Maharis were Odia devadasis or temple girls (their name deriving from Maha (great) and ‘Nari’ or ‘Mahri’ (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed mainly nritta (pure dance) and abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) based on mantras & slokas, later Maharis, especially, performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. Bhitari gauni Maharis, were allowed in the inner temple while bahari gauni Maharis, though in the temples, were excluded from the sanctum sanctorum.

By the 6th century the Gotipua tradition was emerging. One of the reasons given for the emergence of Gotipuas is that Vaishnavas did not approve of dancing by women. Gotipuas were young boys dressed as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. During this period, Vaishnava poets composed innumerable lyrics in Odia dedicated to Radha and Krishna. Gotipuas danced to these compositions. The Gotipuas stepped out of the precincts of the temples.

Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was much cultivated before the British period. At that time the misuse of devadasis came under strong attack, so that Odissi dance withered in the temples and became unfashionable at court. Only the remnants of the gotipua school remained, and the reconstruction of the style required an archaeological and anthropological effort that has tended to foster a conservative purism.

Mahari tradition

The consecration of females to the service of temple dancing began in the Shaivite temples and continued in the Jagannath temple in service of the Lord Jagannath. These female attendants have been known as maharis (great women) or devadasis (servants of the lord) and have been considered the wives of Lord Jagannath. Odissi developed through their art. The first evidence of the Mahari institution in Odisha comes from a commemorative inscription by Udyota Kesari, the last King of the dynasty. In the 10th century the King’s mother, Kolavati Devi, dedicated temple dancers to Lord Shiva in the Brahmeswar Temple. Raja Anantavarma Chodagangadeva appointed dancing-girls for ritual services in the Jagannatha temple in the 11th century, and these Maharis were the ones responsible for keeping the dance alive for centuries. Through the technique of unequal division of weight and firm footwork balancing a fluid upper torso, the dancer achieves a sensuality that is uncommon in other classical dance styles. Some eminent Mahari dancers are Moni Mahari, Dimmi (Domi) Mahari, Dungri Mahari (Harapriya), and Padmashri Guru Pankaj Charan Das.

Gotipua tradition

In the Odia language Gotipua means single boy. Gotipua dance is performed only by boys who dress up as females.

During the rule of King Prataprudra Dev, who was a follower of Sri Chaitanya, started this boy dancing tradition again as Vasishnavs were not approving of the females in to dance practices. .

Dance vocabulary and repertoire

Odissi group performance by Rudrakshya

Traditional Odissi repertoire consists of:

Mangalacharan

An invocational piece. After paying homage to Lord Jagganath a sloka (hymn) in praise of some God or Goddess is sung, the meaning of which is brought out through dance. Mangalacharan also includes the ‘bhumi pranam’, begging forgiveness of mother earth for stamping on her, and the ‘trikhandi pranam’ or threefold salutation - above the head to the Gods, in front of the face to the gurus and in front of the chest to the audience.

Battu Nrutya

A dance piece offered to the Lord of dance - Lord Shiva in his ‘Batuka Bhairava’ form. This piece brings out the essence of Odissi. The interrelationship between temple sculptural art and Odissi dance is established with an array of sculpturesque poses taken directly from the innumerable dancing sculptures adorning the temples of Odisha. These poses are stringed together with steps in different rhythms.

Pallavi

A pure dance item in which a raga is elaborated through eye movements, body postures & intricate footwork. Pallavi literally means “blossoming”. This is applicable not only to the dance, but also to the music, which accompanies it. Pallavi starts with slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end. Both the dance and the music evolve in complexity as the dancer traces multiple patterns in space, interpreting the music dexterously in the multilayered dimensions of taal (rhythm) and laya (speed).

Abhinaya

An expressional dance where a story conveyed to the audience through mudra or hand gestures (the language of Indian classical dance), facial expression and body movement. Abhinaya can be performed on verses in Sanskrit or Odia. Most common are Abhinayas on Odia songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishu) or Ardhanari Stotram. Most of the abhinaya compositions are based on the Radha-Krishna theme. The Astapadis of the kãvya 'Gita Govinda' written by the Saint Jayadev are an integral part of its repertoire . The beginning pieces are dedicated to God of Odisha, Lord Jagannatha - an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Dance drama

Usually longer than Abhinaya and typically performed by more than one dancers. Some of the much appreciated dance dramas composed by Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra are: Sudama Dharitra Bhanjana, Mathamani Pradhana, Balya Leela, Rutu Samhara, Krishna Sudama, Dushmanta Sakuntala, Utkala Mauda Mani, Yagnaseni, Meghadoot, Kumara Sambhava, Sapan Nayaka. Usually Hindu mythologies are chosen as themes, but experimenting with the theme and form in recent years have led to extremely unique creations. Some worth-mentioning themes in recent years are Panchakanya, Ganga yamuna, Shrita kamalam, Mrutyuh and Tantra.

Moksha

The concluding item of a recital. Moksha means “spiritual liberation”. This dance represents a spiritual culmination for the dancer who soars into the realm of pure aesthetic delight. Movement and pose merge to create ever new patterns, ever new designs in space and time. The dance moves onto a crescendo that is thrilling to both, the eye and the ear. With the cosmic sound of the “Om”, the dance dissolves into nothingness — just like Moksha or the deliverance of the soul in real life.

Odissi terminology

Sharmila Biswas performing Odissi in a dance festival in Kerala

Alap

In Indian classical music this is the slow introductory movement in raga. It is free of rhythm.

Anadha

Hide category of the 4 musical divisions, e.g. Mardala, Tabla, and Mridangam.

Asanjukta Dhvanis

Sound created by striking the Mardala with one hand.

Avartan(a)

One complete cycle of a taal.

Bani

Odissi term used to describe the spoken drum neumonics. During dance performances Bani are spoken by the percussionist or the guru.

Bhago

In taal, this would be the groups the taal is divided into. Also the points on which the tali, or khali would be. e.g., Adital (Odissi) is divided into 4 groups of 4 beats. It is said that Adital has 4 Bhago. These are the measures. Odissi music term.

Bhajan

Devotional song.

Chondo

In tal, this would be how the divisions of the tal are divided. e.g., in Adital (Odissi), the sixteen beats are divided into 4 groups of 4. So the Chondo for Adital is 4 + 4 + 4 + 4. This describes what the Bhagos are.

Devadasis

Original temple dancers who were "servitresses of God"

Gita Govinda

Jayadev's famous poem depicting the life of Radha and Krishna. Themes from this poem tremendously affect the classical arts of India.

Goti

The barrel-shaped tension pegs which adorn the Mardala. These are made from wood and can be shifted and more straps (Pitha) can overlap them to create more or less tension for tuning.

Gotipua

Young boys trained in the fine art of Odissi dance. The Gotipuas were allowed to leave the temple and dance for the public. The current form of Odissi is heavily influenced by the Gotipua tradition (and also the temple carvings from Odisha.)

Khondo Ukutto

When bani and ukuttos are formed together to make phrases. e.g., Kititaka gadigana. Odissi term.

Mano

The ending sequence that is repeated to designate that the ending of the piece or of a section. Typically in 3 repeats. Odissi term. People in Odisha inter change Tihai and Mano. But they mean the same.

Maharis or devadasis

the original temple dancers of Odisha, but now extinct. This is the root of Odissi dance that was later taught to young boys, Gotipuas. The style is now modernized and work is being done to preserve it.

Odissi music

Main article: Odissi music

Odissi dance accompanied by Odissi music. Odissi music is a synthesis of four classes of music, i.e. dhruvapada, chitrapada, chitrakala and panchal. The dhruvapada is the first line or lines to be sung repeatedly. The use of art in music is called chitikala. Kavisurya Baladeva Rath, the renowned Odia poet wrote lyrics which are the best examples of chitrakala. Chitrapada means the arrangement of words in an alliterative style. All these were combined to form the style peculiar to Odissi music. Chhanda (metrical section) contains the essence of Odissi music. The chhandas were composed combining bhava (theme), kala (time), and swara (tune) The chaurisha represents the originality of Odissi style. All the thirty-four letters of the Odia alphabet from 'Ka' to 'Ksha' are used chronologically at the beginning of each line. A special feature of Odissi music is the padi which consists of words to be sung in druta tala (fast beat). Odissi music can be sung to different talas: navatala nine beats), dashatala(ten beats) or egar tala (eleven beats). Odissi ragas are different from the ragas of Hindustani and Karnataki music. The chief Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi. Odissi music is sung through Raganga, Bhabanga and Natyanga Dhrubapadanga followed by Champu, Chhanda, Chautisa, Pallabi, Bhajan, Janana, and Geeta govinda, which are also considered to be in the repertoire of Odissi or an allied act form of Odissi. Odissi music has codified grammars, which are presented with specified Raagas. It has also a distinctive rendition style. It is lyrical in its movement with wave-like ornamentation. The pace of singing in Odissi is not very fast nor slow, and it maintains a proportional tempo which is very soothing.

Costume and Jewellery

See also: Tarakashi and Sambalpuri Saree

The jewelry is made from intricate filigree silver jewelry pieces. Filigree, in French, means “thin wire,” and in Odia it is called Tarakasi. This highly skilled art form is more than 500 years old and is traditionally done by local artisans on the Eastern shores of Odisha. The jewelry pieces themselves are an important part of the Odissi dancer’s costume. They are the tikka (forehead ornament), allaka (head piece on which the tikka hangs), unique ear covers in intricate shapes, usually depicting a peacock’s feathers, with jimkis (bell shaped earrings) hanging from them, two necklaces- a smaller necklace worn close to the neck and a longer necklace with a hanging pendant, and two sets of bangles worn on the upper arm and wrist. The process of creating each piece takes the collaboration of many artisans each specialized in one step of the many that turns a lump of raw silver into a handcrafted work of art.

Head piece

The crown, or mahkoot, worn by the Odissi dancer is made only in the devotional city of Puri in Eastern Odisha. It is formed from the dried reed called sola in a tradition called sola kama. The reed is carved by a series of cuts into the rode-like stem and forms various types of flowers when a string is tied in the middle of the rod and pulled tight. As the string tightens, flowers bloom into, jasmines, champa-one of the five flowers of Lord Krishna’s arrows, and kadamba -the flowers under which Radha would wait for her beloved Lord Krishna.

The mahkoot consists of two parts. The flower decorated back piece, called the ghoba, sits around the dancer’s hair pulled into a bun at the back of the head. This piece represents the lotus with a thousand petals that lies above the head in the head chakra, or energy center. The longer piece that emerges from the center of the back piece is called the thiya and this represents the temple spire of Lord Jagannath or the flute of Lord Krishna.

The saree worn by Odissi dancers are generally coloured with bright shades of orange, purple, red or green. This saree features traditional prints of Odisha and shiny embellishment. This costume are drapped around the body in unique traditional way unlike other classical dance of India. Generally Sambalpuri Saree is being used in Odissi dance more than any other type of Sarees. The make-up of an Odissi dancer include Bindi (red dot) is applied on the forehead with a pattern made from sandalwood around it. Kajal (black eyeliner) is applied around the eyes with a broad outline to give them an elongated look.

Odissi gurus and performers

Padma Vibushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Pankaj Charan Das ,Guru Deba Prasad Das and Guru Raghunath Dutta were the four major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi, the great exponent of Odissi, was a leading disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's and popularized Odissi by performing extensively, both in India and abroad. In the mid-sixties, two other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were best known for their performances, both in India and abroad. Shrimati Laximipriya Mohapatra performed a piece of Odissi abhinaya in the Annapurna Theatre in Cuttack in 1948. This is widely upheld as the first ever performance of a classical Odissi dance item after its contemporary revival.

Most of the present day gurus were Gotipua dancers themselves, and have trained dancers and teachers all over India and abroad. In the early fifties, the outside world began to take note of Odissi. Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi and Dr. Susama Tej represented Odisha in the classical dance category at the Inter University Youth Festival, New Delhi, in 1954 and 1955. It was here that Dr. Charles Fabri witnessed their performances, hailed Odissi as a great classical dance form, and helped Indrani Rehman and Sonal Mansingh study it. Sadly, Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi left for the US for 16 long years, where she hardly performed, barring a recital or two here and there. She returned to India only in the mid-nineteen seventies, by which time well known dancers had already occupied a permanent and prominent space on the Odissi horizon, and by which time Odissi had evolved considerably. The baton in India was wielded gloriously, and with outstanding success and public acclaim, by Sanjukta Panigrahi, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, each of whom was a major and distinctive star.

Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das, Mayadhar Raut, Raghunath Dutt, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Surendranath Jena, Kumkum Mohanty, Ritha Devi, Minati Misra, Bandana Das, Sonal Mansingh, Oopali Operajita, Kumkum Lal, Cuckoo Meena Mohanty, Dr. Nandita Samuel and Protima Bedi contributed notably to the propagation of Odissi starting in the fifties, right up to the eighties and nineties.

Eminent contemporary gurus and performers include Hare Krishna Behera, Gangadhar Pradhan, Sonal Mansingh, Gita Mahalik, Oopali Operajita, Aruna Mohanty, Nandita Behera, Madhavi Mudgal, Trinath Maharana, Durga Charan Ranbir, Sharon Lowen, Kiran Segal, Sharmila Biswas, Sutapa Talukdar, Ileana Citaristi, Aloka Kanungo, Ratikant Mohapatra, Sujata Mohapatra, Ranjana Gauhar, Daksha Mashruwala, Poushali Mukherjee, Sharmila Mukherjee, Jhelum Paranjape, Chitralekha Patnaik, Ramli Ibrahim, Manoranjan Pradhan, Dibakar Khuntia, Madhumita Raut, Jyoti Rout, Ratna Roy, Bijayini Satpathy, Surupa Sen, Kasturi Pattanaik, Meera Das and Bichitrananda Swain.

Some of the upcoming Odissi performers are Rahul Acharya, Ramesh Chandra Jena, Devraj Patnaik, Ellora Patnaik, Kavita Dwivedi, Yudhistir Nayak, Lingaraj Pradhan, Pabitra Kumar Pradhan, Bijay Sahoo, Saswat Joshi, Rajashri Praharaj, Madhusmita Mohanty, Rajashree Chintak Behera, Sandhyadipa Kar, Rajika Puri, Vishnu Tattwa Das,Samapika Nayak, Saswati Garai-Ghosh, Shibani Patnaik, Sreyashi Dey, Bani Ray, Shreelina Ghosh, Aadya Kaktikar, Sonali Mishra, Niharika Mohanty, Arushi Mudgal, Ayona Bhaduri, Rekha Tandon and several others around the world.

Odissi in Popular Culture

In India

1993: Dressed in a resplendent orange sanyasin dhoti (probably inspired by the Mayurbhanj Chau costume worn in Shiva Tandava items), renowned actress Meenakshi Sheshadri danced a tandava item composed chiefly in Odissi, by none other than her guru late Padmabhushan Shri Kelucharan Mohapatra, in the film Damini – Lightning.

1996: Rekha was seen imparting Odissi dance lessons (Shikhandika pose) to a group of young learners, while Indira Varma was shown learning Odissi steps to the accompaniment of the mardala in Mira Nair's magnum opus film Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love.

2003: Rani Mukherjee performed a dance at the International Indian Film Academy Awards function dressed in Odissi costume and a number of celebrated Odissi expressed disapproval for insulting the integrity of the dance and the costume.

2007: An entire sequence of dance in Odissi costume was featured near the end of the Bollywood movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa and was performed by actress Vidya Balan and Malayalam actor Vineeth.

2009: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who took Odissi lessons for an India-China joint film venture, The Desire loosely based on the life of Odissi dancer Pratima Gauri Bedi.

Outside India

1991: A short (23 second) Odissi dance scene was featured in Michael Jackson's music video of Black or White. The legendary pop-singer and dancer performs some Odissi, too.

1998: Madonna danced along with Odissi dancers live on stage during the 1998 MTV Award ceremony. US-based Odissi performers, Patnaik Sisters, were chosen to choreograph and perform alongside the legendary pop artist.

Further reading

• Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
• Odissi - The Dance Divine, by Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books, 2007. ISBN 81-89738-17-8
• Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. ISBN 81-85026-13-0.
• Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
• Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. ISBN 81-7854-010-X.
• Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. ISBN 81-86622-88-8.

See also

• Ghungroo
• Indian Classical Dance
• Odisha
• Odissi music

External links

• Odissi at the Open Directory
• Classical Indian dance portal
• Mahari and Gotipua tradition
• History of Odissi
• Costume of Odissi dance
• Historical evidences on Odissi
• Odissi dance jewelry
• Gotipua Dance Gurukul