“Indian Classical dance is sustained by a profound philosophy. Form seeks to merge with the formless, motions seek to become a part of the motionless, and the dancing individual seeks to become one with the eternal dance of the cosmos” - Nita Ambani

Purpose of this Piece

On most standardized tests I always answer that I am Indian American as my ethnicity. Supposedly, that encompasses my heritage and where my ancestors come from. My parents did come from India, but specifically from the state of Odisha (anglo saxon version: Orissa). Odisha is on the eastern side of India–on the Bay of Bengal. Known for the many historic temples, its most famous temple is Konark. Boasted as one of the most beautiful temples to have been created, the Konark temple has been around since the 13th century. Also known as the sun temple, it is adorned with intricately carved out statues all from stone. These statues encompass Gods and Goddesses as well as humans posing as if captured in time while dancing. These dances represent the longest standing traditional dance art form in India called Odissi.

The Konark Temple

Odissi is known for its intricate hand movement, feet movement, and expressions. This art form has been passed down from generation to generation and I have been lucky enough to learn this art form as well. Growing up in America, it is difficult finding your identity as you are trying to uncover your past but also trying to understand where you are born and how to melt in. Learning to dance really helped me connect with my culture and learn more about it outside of dance.

Statues carved into the stone of the Konark Temple

Also take a 3rd Tour of the Konark temple here!

A Brief History of Odissi

A performance of Odissi classical dance in the Shapiro Family Courtyard. The genre dates back to 200 BC! #Diwali pic.twitter.com/BApjWtcBcp

— Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (@mfaboston) November 2, 2016

It was an honor to perform at the Musuem of Fine Arts, Boston

Odissi dance has been around for centuries dating back to 2nd century BC. Of the eight classical dances of India it is considered the oldest. When looking at the temples of Konark, poses that are the basic foundation of the dance are sculpted every few inches of the temple. These incredible movements captured in time represent the important aspects of Odissi dancing: lyricism, sensuality, and Bhakti Bhava (attitude and expression of surrender and devotion).

From the Natyashastra, a treatise on the performing arts of Classical Hindu arts, the fundamentals of the dance can be traced back to it, confirming its legacy. Furthermore, aside from the Konark temple, the Jain cave-temples of Udayagiri and Khandagiri date back to the 2nd century, contain poses of women and men dancing with some having descriptions of dances being tandava and abhinaya (two embedded concepts in Odissi).

Statues carved into the stone of the Jain cave-temples of Udayagiri and Khandagiri

Later, once the rise of Kingdoms began, odissi became an art found with royalty. However, their dance was only to appease God, specifically Lord Jagannath. Many who practiced Odissi dedicated their lives to him in the form of marriage. The first dance that any Odissi dancer learns is Mangalacharan. Mangalacharan in Sanskrit itself means “prelude”, “benediction”, or “auspicious ceremony”. Specifically in Odissi, it marks the entrance of the dancer where they ask for blessings from Lord Jagannath to be able to dance for him and every other God and Goddess.

When the British invaded India, the scintillating allure they once imparted on their audience disappeared. It wasn’t not until the late 20th century when India recognized Odissi as a classical dance, and it began to gain attraction again. Soon, India started setting up scholarships for people to learn and grow others’ understanding of Odissi. When one has mastered the elements of Odissi, they will be able to express the five key elements of the art form: mangalacharan, batu/sthai, pallavi, abhinaya and moksha.

The Five Key Elements

Mangalacharan

As stated before, the Mangalacharn marks the entrance of the dancer on the stage and their beseechment for blessing from Lord Jaganath. In the video above is the classical example of Odissi Mangalacharan. Here the dancer, Sujata Mohapatra, elegantly performs the complicated parts of this particular dance. The dance marks the beginning of the long journey of dance and every step, movement, and segment has a purpose.

First (1:17), the dancer enters the stage (manch pravesh), her hands folded to carry flowers which she offers to Lord Jagannath (2:41 - pushpanjali). Afterwards, she performs vandana (2:57), a brief prayer to God. She then proceeds to ask for forgiveness from the earth (3:12) because the Earth itself is a Goddess who we trample and walk across everyday. We ask for her forgiveness to respectfully dance on her so that we can please the Gods (bhumi pranam). Usually this is done before dancing entirely. Lastly, (3:20) she performs sabha, to pay respect to her guru, the audience, and the Gods whose eyes are now upon her. She finishes the rest of the dance with an utterly entranced smile: depicting to the whole world her ethereal devotion to Lord Jagannath.

Batu

Batu is a dance that showcases the endurance an odissi dancer poses. It is known as the abstract or pure case of dancing. This dance showcases the basics of the dance: foot position, hand positions, and the numbers of positions in an eternal rhythmic beat.

Pallavi

Known as the blossoming, this dance represents the dancer’s understanding that dancing is not about rigid beats and structured movements, but how the body is a vessel and its purpose is to allow the music to flow through your body to express a story, a feeling, or emotion. The dance is much more elaborate and complicated.

Abhinaya

Abhinaya means expression. This is when a dancer has become more than a dancer, and reached the state of story teller. They can act as any of the characters in the story, expressing their heartbreak, fear and love. Many of the stories they interpret are poetry written in Gita Govinda.

Moksha

Moksha means salvation. The dancer has released themselves from earthly tethers and has become one with God. The dancer’s soul is now integrated with Them and the dancer asks for the well-being of human-kind.

Others

These forms of dance together are usually performed under the title of Manch Pravesh. When a student has mastered these five elements, they present them to an audience. Sometimes there are additional dances to showcase their own personality or own emotion. For my own Manch Pravesh, I added the dance of Durga stotra as my family Goddess is Maha Durha.

Dress Piece and Makeup

The beautiful dresses that Odissi dancers themselves have a meaning and purpose to the dance. The clothing is made from silk (Pattusari) local to the area and is colored brightly. The prints are of Odisha with designs that depict the regions from which they come from. All the jewelry is silver as most of the metal sourced from Odisha was indeed silver. Silver rings, bangles, arm bracelets, and belt are placed to secure the dress in place and let light shine on it. The hair is tied into a severe chignon with a Seenthi to keep it intact. The Seenthi represents the temples.

Classic example of an Odissi dress

A tikka is painted on the forehead to represent the ajna chakra. This chakra opens the brain to enter the subconscious allowing them to see beyond the physical world with their two eyes, and see the future with their third one. The eyes are outlined with thick kajol to allow the audience to see the slight eye expressions of the dancer. The dancers’ palms and fingers, soles and toes are painted with Alta. It represents auspiciousness and also in some cases fertility.

Vibrant and colorful Odissi dress

Names of Dance costum pieces

Lastly, and the most important are ghungroo. The ghungroo is a thick ankle bracelet made of rope where bells are stitched onto it. Every movement of the feet is captured by the ringing of the bells. Whenever a dancer performs, their guru always ties the ghungroo on their feet to represent good luck. The dancer must bow in respect for allowing their feet to be placed on their guru.

Ghungroo and feet painted with Alta

Mudras

Most dances focus on the physical limits of their bodies and leg positions. It is very rare to find a dance outside India that focuses on the exact positions of their fingers and hands. This is one facet that makes Indian dancing so unique from other dances. There are two main types of hand movements (in Hindi known as mudras).

Asamyukta Hasta Mudra

Known as single hand mudras, these mudras can be expressed using one hand.

1. Pataka- Flag
2. Tripataka – Three parts of a flag
3. Ardhapataka – Half flag
4. Kartarimukha – Scissors face
5. Mayura – Peacock
6. Ardhachandra – Half moon
7. Arala – Crooked
8. Sukhatunda – Parrot’s Beak
9. Mushti – Fist
10. Shikhara – Spire
11. Kapittha – Wood apple
12. Kataka Mukha (1,2 & 3)– Type of bird
13. Suchi – Needle
14. Chandrakala – Dark moon
15. Padmakosha – Half open lotus flower
16. Sarpashirsha – Serpent head
17. Mrigashirsha – Dear head
18. Simhamukha – Lion Face
19. Kangula – Bulb
20. Alapadma – Fully open lotus flower
21. Chatura – Smart /Square
22. Bramhara – Bee
23. Hamsasaya – Wild Goose or Swan
24. Hamsapakshya – Wild Goose or Swan’s wing
25. Samdamsa – Firefly
26. Mukula – flower bud
27. Tamrachuda – Rooster
28. Trishula – Trident (Emblem of Shiva)

Asamyukta Hasta Mudra

Samyukta Hasta Mudra

Also known as joint hand mudra, two hands are used to express meaning.

1. Anjali – Salutation
2. Kapota – Dove
3. Karkata – Crab
4. Swastika – Cross
5. Dola – Swing
6. Pushpaputa – Flower casket
7. Utsanga – Embrace
8. Shivalinga – Masculine principal
9. Katakavardhana – Link of increase
10. Kartariswastika – Crossed arrows
11. Shakata – Cart
12. Shankha – Conch shell
13. Chakra – Wheel
14. Samputa – Casket
15. Pasha – Noose
16. Kilaka – Bond
17. Matsya – Fish
18. Kurma – Turtle
19. Varaha – Wild boar
20. Garuda – Eagle
21. Nagabandha – Serpent tie
22. Khatva – Cot
23. Bherunda – Two-headed bird / pair of birds

Samyukta Hasta Mudra

Special thanks to this website for more all the images and mudra formats

Abhinaya

Sattvika Abhinaya

Through this post I have been referring to Abhinaya as expression. But, more specifically, abhinaya means leading an audience toward. What is it leading us toward? It is leading us towards the dancers own experience of their dancing, the emotion they feel they convey to us so that we too can feel. There are four major types of Abhinaya: Angika, Vacika, Aharya and Sattvika Abhinaya.

Angika Abhinaya

This is the language of expression through the body, face, and movement. The Angas, or the major limbs, and the pratyangas/upangas the minor limbs, compromise the words in the language. The six main limbs which are the head, hands, chest, waist, feet and neck. The minor limbs move along with the major limbs (an example being when you move your hands you move your fingers with it as well).

Vacika Abhinaya

This language is expressed through words, literature and drama. In most performances, the dancer should be dancing along to live music. There is an important relationship between the singer and the dancer as one has to understand and interpret their next movements. The main examples of vacika abhinaya are the ghungroos.

Aharya Abhinaya

This expression is through makeup, jewelry, and dress pieces. There are many different styles of makeup that are used to express the emotions of the dance. “Bharata describes the four varieties of colour for the face, swabhavika, (natural) prasanna (pleasant), rakta (red), and shyama, (dark). Swabhavika is used in natural conditions. Prasanna is used in the sentiments of wonder, mirth and the erotic, Rakta is used in the heroic, terrible and compassionate sentiments, shyama is used in the fearful and odious sentiments.” (nrutyayanaodissi)

Sattvika Abhinaya

This abhinaya is the expression of the state of minds. This is a natural emotion, or emotion expressed by humans. There are eight Sattavika Bhavas which don’t represent every emotion but represent the main feelings when one dances.

1. Stambha means motionlessness, numbness that comes out of emotional shock.
2. Sveda is perspiration.
3. Romanca is a thrilled state of mind when the hair on the body stand erect (horripilation).
4. Svarabhanga is a change in the tonal quality of voice due to overstress of emotion.
5. Vepathu is shivering.
6. Vaivarnya is a change in complexion (colour and skin texture of the face).
7. Asru (tears).
8. Pralaya is falling down due to fainting.

Famous Dancers

There are many famous dancers who have trained rigorously and have found salvation through dance. These are just a few whose dancing left an impact on me and I frequently visit when missing home.

Sujata Mohapatra

Aarya

Keruluchan Mohapatra

Priye Charusheelecomplete

Madhavi Mudgal

Pashyati Dishi Dishi

BijayiniSatpathy

Ramayan

Today and the Future

Odissi dancing is slowly beginning to gain traction again after being left in history for so long. I have been very fortunate to learn such an art form and will continue to learn more. In today’s world, many use Odissi as a way to express forgotten stories. Here are just a few examples one can take a look at to see how the tradition of Odissi dance has been kept alive and fusion of different classical dances with Odissi.

Trahi Durga Dance. An Odissi dance depicting the fierce Goddess Durga

An Example of a Fusion Dance

Meg Pallavi by the Chitra Dance Company

Work Cited

1. https://www.sahapedia.org/brief-history-odissi-dance
2. https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-dance/classical/odissi.html
3. https://www.britannica.com/art/odissi
4. https://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/odissi-odissi-dance-odissi-dance-form-indian-classical-dance-odisha-376902.html
5. https://www.socialvillage.in/resources/25604-list-famous-odissi-dancers
6. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/170362798375748109/
7. https://akademi.co.uk/aharyabhinaya-in-odissi
8. https://deepamodissi.com/2019/03/20/hasta-bheda/