Following the lines of Odissi

HYDERABAD: Performing for the second time only after relocating to the city, Srijanee Chakraborty’s recent performance at Lamakaan is a testimony to her passion and dedication to the dance form. A slim figure, graceful and agile, one finds the basic pre-requisites of a dancer in Srijanee. Her flowing movements brought out the quintessential ‘lasya’ aspect of Odissi.Having been trained for 12 years in Kolkata under the tutelage of Guru Poushali Mukherjee, she presently attends workshops with Nandini Ghoshal, a disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.  Dressed in the traditional Odissi costume and a pushpa chooda,  Srijanee presented three items in a short and crisply eloquent recital, at the end of which the much-impressed audience asked for more.Dancing to the ‘Jatajuta samayuta’, a raagmalika in Jyoti taal, the mangala charan was in praise of Goddess Durga. Extolling her virtues, the dancer described the beauty of the Goddess in splendid detail. She is Supratishta — with a stately bearing and  Sulochana — one with a steadfast gaze. Her posture is Tribhanga, an epitome of grace. The dancer matched the lilting music with her graceful  movements and brought out the elegant demeanor of the goddess.Then came  the description of the 10 weapons held in her 10 hands where the music and the abhinaya were pronouncedly vigorous. Mother Durga was well portrayed as the universal saviour. Each weapon had its own distinct description and its use. Srijanee depicted the war weapons with precise hasta mudras and the right amount of veera rasa. In the final salutation,  Srijanee enacted the episode where the Goddess slays the demon Mahishasura. At the end, she praised her as Mangala Kali, Bhadra Kali, Durga, Shiva, and Kshama Dhatri. Here, the calming down of the goddess and her kindness was well rendered by the artiste.The second dance was the ‘Payaliya jhankar mori’ in raag Puriya Dhanashree, a classical composition sung beautifully with a modern twist by Ajay and Abhijit Pohankar. Srijanee’s choreography was highlighted by the fusion of Odissi with elements of  Kathak. The music was a bit fast paced for the gentle, slow movements of Odissi, but the dancer carried it well. It was a cheerful Abhisarika who knew how to cross the hurdles (specially trouble makers like saas and nanand) before meeting her lover. She quickly dispensed with the noisy payal and was ready to leave with the indispensable veil draped around her with much flair. It was certainly not the timid nayika, who is often vulnerable and sounds helpless, evoking sympathy from the audience. An impressive and elegant attempt at choreography by Srijanee.In the abhinay segment, the danseuse chose the 17th century Oriya devotional poet Salabega’s famous ‘Ahe nila saila’ in the raag Mishra Goura, choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Here she brought out the pathos to the best of her ability. An autobiographical piece of Salabega, it speaks of his angst and despair of not able to receive the darshan of Lord Jagannadh. Though an ardent devotee, being a Muslim, he was never allowed into the temple. Srijanee depicted how he imagined  himself crossing the main door, climbing the steps, reaching the small door and finally the sanctum sanctorium to see the lord to his heart’s content. Interpreting on a higher plane, this journey could also mean the travails/hardships one goes through to reach the Supreme. The music helped to keep the mood melancholic. Through the refrain, the dancer repeatedly illustrated Lord Jagannadh as the huge blue mountains and how his mere thought wrenches Salabega’s heart like the lotus stem that is twisted by a herd of elephants waddling in a pond.Srijanee’s abhinaya was fairly good and her mudras were near perfect but the nritta was a bit shaky, which could have stemmed out of her nervousness. Working for a market research firm, she balances career and dance, making  time for practice. She says, “I want to establish myself here and place Odissi on the cultural map. Hyderabad audiences are culturally inclined and appreciative. I was apprehensive before the performance if I could do justice to the recital.”