Know Your Classical Dances: Discovering the devotional and romantic histories of temple dance Odissi

Indian classical dances – celebrated across the globe for their enriching and mesmerising virtuosity – can be traced back to centuries-old ways of storytelling, performed as much for entertainment as for the spread of cultures and knowledge. Each classical form is built upon layers of complex histories that often converge at the intersection of culture, art, politics and even conflict, readjusting its structures and boundaries in the light of revolution and reform. Consequently, varying styles of the art form find new homes and families to become gharanas, yet other dance forms are added to the ever-dynamic definition of what constitutes as classical.   This series is an attempt to reacquaint the connoisseur and engage the uninitiated in the vibrant facets of the eight classical dance forms of India by offering a glimpse into the history, performance, attire, comportment and musical accompaniments that give colour, form and rhythm to these cultural legacies. In the fifth essay, tracing the ancient roots of the lyrical and passionate Odissi. * Touted to be one of the oldest dance forms practiced in India, and known for its exceptionally sensuous and poetic aesthetic, earliest traces of Odissi can be found in sculptural art produced during the ancient period in the eastern state of Odisha, which denoted the hastaka and postures integral to its contemporary repertoire. So also, bhakti bhava or devotion and the quest for liberation have endured as lasting motifs within modern Odissi. Yet, what is more striking is its refined movement vocabulary with moorings in traditions of dance-drama that highlights the alluring and amorous shringara rasa  [emotion of love] embedded in the dance form, truly making it a connoisseur’s delight.   Traditionally performed as a temple dance dedicated to Lord Jagannath [an incarnation of Vishnu or a form of Krishna] at the religious centre in Puri and at the Sun Temple in Konark, the eastern Indian dance form was a prayer or an offering rooted in Vaishnavism, that sang of the divinity of Lord Vishnu, praised the cosmic forms of Shiva and Shakti, and acted as a medium of narrating tales from history and mythology. In its post-Independence revival, the dance form has, however, moved out of its erstwhile temple settings to not only become one of the eight classical dance forms of India as recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi but also garner international acclaim, far beyond its recognition as the dance number featured in Michael Jackson’s music video ‘Black or White.’ Ancient and medieval origins Implicit references to Odissi can be found in Bharat Muni’s seminal treatise Natya Shastra in the chapters that elucidate the different nritta  [technical] and nritya  [emotive] movements which structure most classical dances. The mention of Odra-Magadhi as one of the four vritti  [modes of expression] in this text written circa 200 BC is considered to be indicative of the movement vocabulary practised in contemporary Odissi. However, ancient cave paintings from as early as the second century BC, found in Udayagiri and Khandagiri near Bhubaneshwar, depicting the reign of the Kalinga dynasty have provided substantial historical evidence to showcase the prevalence of this dance form centuries before the Natya Shastra was composed.   During this period, Odissi travelled far and wide, beyond the confines of the east so much so that evidences of its new homes have been unearthed by the imminent art historian Kapila Vatsyayan, who found traces of two postures most crucial to Odissi, the tribhanga and the chowk in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Similar to most classical art forms, Odissi too found patronage within temple precincts particularly in the grand shrines worshipping Lord Jagannath, and was practiced in an aesthetic similar to its modern renditions by the maharis or the devdasis, young women who were given in marriage to this form of Vishnu.  

The knowledge and training of invoking the shringara, of depicting the lore of Krishna and his romance with Radha was imparted to girls from the early ages of eight or nine by older maharis who would adopt them as daughters. Trained to sing and emote religious texts and mythologies, some maharis would perform within the inner sanctorum alone, while others would present recitals in the natya mandap  [akin to a stage] adjacent to the temple, and still others would dance solely during festivities and religious ceremonies. Another performance style that emerged at the time under Odissi was the tradition of the gotipua, practiced by prepubescent boys, comprising the more rigorous tandava movements and acrobatic elements along with devotional songs and rhythms. A Sahapedia essay describing the history of this dance form suggests that the young boys would sometimes perform tableaus too, and dressed up as girls depict through their abhinaya the lore of Krishna and his relationship with the gopis of Vrindavan.   The gotipua artists were often granted patronage by the local landlords rather than the temples, and would thus perform their art in semi-religious settings showcasing their agility and suppleness. In its national revival of the 21st century, it would be the gurus trained in this very tradition who would go on to give Odissi its present structure, incorporating in its bhangis or postures multiple movements practiced by these nimble performers. Contemporary revival and performance practice  The trajectory of the maharis practicing Odissi finds parallels with that of the devdasis who performed Sadir, the erstwhile Bharatnatyam in temple precincts in the southern part of India.   Maharis, like devdasis were considered to be wives of God, and as such were prevented from forming familial or marital ties. Conjugal relations were permissible with the monarch alone, who was considered to be an incarnate of the lord himself in human form. Such severe curtailment of their sexuality, coupled with the notions of impurity etched to the act of lovemaking, meant the maharis were compelled to observe stringent norms and rules that were in sharp contrast to the subversive of ideas of love and companionship that Odissi expounded through its provocative abhinaya.   Complexities of passionate and romantic love thus intermingled with the elements of spirituality and liberation – central to the maharis’ performance practice – quickly came under attack during the British Raj, vilified for their seemingly lascivious and seductive leanings.   Maharis were deemed promiscuous and overtly sexual, and following the consolidation of the southern and eastern Indian provinces under the British rule, were completely banned from performing within temples. Stigmatised, shunned, and humiliated, the artists were stripped of their patronage. While some found shelter under declining royalty, most others were prohibited from propagating their art until the nationalist movement turned its attention to a cultural and artistic revival of indigenous traditions.

For Odissi, a revival was to begin in all earnest only in the 1950s when many imminent gotipua practitioners trained in the Raas-Leela theatre tradition like the Adi Guru of Odissi Pankaj Charan Das, Kelucharan Mohapatra, and Deba Prasad Das among others, came together to form Jayantika, an organisation that would consolidate and formalise Odissi, securing it a classical status. The Jayantika school was also responsible for introducing a structure into Odissi that could be taken in solo and well as group recitals to performance halls and theatres even as the exponents branched out to incorporate multiple influences from eastern India into this classical art. Most notable among them are Das’ introduction of folk arts like Sabdasvara Pata and Chhau into the classical repertoire as well as Mohapatra’s dedicated efforts to sustain the mahari and gotipua performance styles. Performance practice and costumes Much has been written about Odissi’s tribhanga stance, an angik abhinaya often borrowed by multiple dance forms and attained by curving the body at three distinct places: knees, torso, and the neck. Yet another stance integral to Odissi is the chowk, a pose that denotes divinity, formed by bending at the knees as they face outwards and arms outstretched in a square-like position. Varied bhangis or postures are involved in Odissi’s abhinaya, consisting of pirouettes and rhythmic footwork, replicating the very aesthetics found in the ancient cave paintings.

Within its contemporary repertoire, the dance form is known as much for its bold nritya, which transcends subtle facial expressions to make use of such curvatures of the body and the alluring swaying of the hips and torso that invoke love, romance, and most of all, desire.

In keeping with such poetic and lyrical themes, Odissi dancers drape themselves in vibrant, bring-coloured silk sarees of the local Sambalpuri or Bomkai patterns as if to celebrate love and prayer. Worn in pleats attached to the front, the saree is so wrapped around the female artist that it flaunts her rhythmic footwork accentuated by the ghungroos tied around the ankles. Hair tied up in a bun, the seenthi,  or the headgear shaped almost like a crown, adorns the forehead of the performer where as a reed tiara with peacock feathers is worn by a dancer assuming the character of Krishna.   A modern Odissi recital, complete with these flourishes, begins with a Mangalacharan or an invocation seeking the blessings of the stage, the earth, the gods, gurus as well as the rasikas [audiences]. This gradual unfurling of the artist’s presentation is followed by the nritta element Batu that lays out the purely technical grammar of the dance form including bhangis and flavours of gotipua performed to repetitive phrases.   This is followed by the Pallavi, an abstract, melodious rendition that flows into the central element, abhinaya which is often choreographed to the ashtapadis of Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam creating an imagery of the love blossoming between Radha and Krishna. Lyrical poetry in Sanskrit and Odia, filled with longing and bhakti, also makes up the nritya repertoire of an Odissi recital. The performance concludes with the moksha, a dance that rises in tempo, supported by rhythmic drumming and fast footwork swirling as if floating in a hypnotic and liberating crescendo. This rhythm in Odissi is a curious mix of Hindustani and Carnatic traditions often woven into ragas like Bhairavee, Dhanashri, Kalyana, and Shokabaradi brought to life through accompanying instruments including the tabla, harmonium, pakhawaj, cymbals, flute, swaramandal, and the barrel-like drum, mardala. A contemporary Odissi artiste’s aesthetic and performance style thereby retain a rich historical tradition, that despite undergoing multiple transformations and assimilating several influences, has sustained as a dance form which is, at its core, a celebration of the confluence of love and liberation. Read more from the Know Your Classical Dances series here . Aishwarya Sahasrabudhe writes about art, culture, books, and entertainment. Currently, she has returned to school to study the intersections between gender, culture, and development. The writer is a Kathak Visharad practicing and performing the classical dance form for over a decade. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .