KALPANA
The World of Imagination (2019)
Kalpana - The World of Imagination
This gorgeous piece was conceived by Satpathy to weave together narrative and non-narrative imagery in an evening of Odissi. The piece builds to a cathartic crescendo where the actor and character, emotion and experience, subject and object dissolve, becoming one and the same in a palpable space beyond the self.
Part I - Mangalacharan - An Invocation
Based on an excerpt from Shyamala Dandakam attributed to the great 5th century Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, Mangalacharan is the traditional dance of invocation dedicated first to the presiding deity of Odissi dance, Lord Jagannath. The dancer offers salutations to Mother Earth and invokes the universal mother. The dance ends with ritualistic salutations to the Gods, Gurus, and the audience.
Part II - Srimati
A flowering woman in her resplendent youth is conscious of her power, though she playfully admires herself as she celebrates her beauty. A more complete awareness comes as she becomes a woman. She declares, “All the world calls me beautiful, yet, what is the meaning of this beauty other than as an offering to you, O’ Lord.”
Part III - Sakhi He
A song of love and longing from the immortal love ballad The Geet Govind written in 12th century AD by the saint poet Jayadeva about the lovers Radha and Krishna. The song of Krishna’s flute permeates the atmosphere and Radha expresses her longing to be with her beloved to her friend - “O’ Sakhi, my lord is Krishna who defeated the powerful demon Keshi and redeemed him by his touch.” She then goes on to recount her many ecstatic experiences with her beloved and says - “Go my friend, quickly bring him to me, so that I may unite with him once again.”
Part IV - Sita Haran
The episode of abduction of Sita from the great epic The Ramayana is set to an excerpt from saint poet Tulsidas’s Ram Charit Manas.
CREDITS
Mangalacharan
Original choreography Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Reimagined by Bijayini Satpathy
Musical Composition Pt. Bhubaneswar Mishra
Srimati
Choreography Surupa Sen
Musical Composition Pt. Raghunath Panigrahi
Sakhi He
Choreography Surupa Sen
Musical Composition Pt. Bhubaneswar Mishra
Sita Haran
Choreography Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Musical Composition Ashit Desai
Photo credit: Anubhava
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