The echoes of "Go, Madhava! Go, Keshava!" reverberated as the grief of a forlorn Radha questioning Krishna's absence the previous night was enacted by Odissi dancer Madhur Gupta leaving the audience ovewhelmed with empathy.
The performance was part of 'Tantu', a solo recital by the dancer, that comprised of six dance sequences celebrating the coming together of three generations of artistic sensibilities of Odissi dance form.
Madhur showcased Radha's grief and anger against Krishna for leaving her waiting while he spent the night with another woman, through expressive hand gestures (mudras) and facial expressions (bhavas).
The dance drama titled "Yahi Madhava" had several instances of the 'natya' part of a typical Odissi repertoire, involving story-based performances, during which Madhur acted out the argument that transpired between Radha and Krishna.
Perfectly blending his mudras with complementing bhavas, the dancer effortlessly depicted Radha accusing Krishna of betrayal, claiming the scratches on his body were "proclamations of passion's triumph in golden letters on emerald on your dark body scratched in love's battle".
The sequence in Ashtapadi form of dance was originally choreographed by Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra in 1961.
The performance rendered elements like jealousy and grief quintessential of human nature, in an otherwise passionate and romantic evening of Odissi performances.
Madhur, a disciple of internationally acclaimed Odissi dancers Sharon Lowen and Madhavi Mudgal, created what could be called a slight variation in the traditional Odissi performance with two sequences of Abhinaya, instead of one.
'Jhagadi Matra Hela He Shyam', an Odiya Abhinaya choreographed by Lowen, belonged to the Champu genre of Odiya poetry, which is created from an unusual setting of words.
The composition uses every letter of the alphabet and every stanza in the song starts with the same letter. Madhur began every line in his performance with Hindi letter 'Jha', vindicating its alternative title 'Jha Champu'.
The second abhinaya saw enactment of an episode from 'Kumara Sambhavam', the 2000 year-old Sanskrit epic written by Kalidasa, during which Madhur weaved the story of Shiva and Parvati's wedding night and the morning after.
He played both the Gods, showcasing a coy Parvati covering Shiva's eyes, only to realise the futility of her efforts as Shiva opens his third eye to look at her.
The evening came to a close with him performing the 'Shantam', a Moksha choreographed by Madhavi Mudgal, with slow movements fading into a quiet and soothing darkness.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
