Dancer Meghna Das' eyes mist over as she performs the Yahi Madava and the audience, well-versed in Odissi or otherwise, find themselves tearing up too, on a rainy Wednesday morning at Smriti Nandan, Bengaluru. Neelachal, of which the piece is a part, is Meghna's tribute to her gurus and all the influences that led her down her path as a dancer. Performed by four dancers - Anjali Raj Urs, Swati Prasad and Akila Venkat, as well as Meghna herself, Neelachal follows the traditional Odissi structure, starting out with an invocation, followed by a Pallavi, Abhinaya (made up of two pieces) and Moksha.
Taken from the Ashtapadi, the collection of Sanskrit verses that comprise the Geetha Govinda composed by 12th century poet Jayadeva, Yahi Madava holds a special place in Meghna's heart. One of the best known verses from the Geetha Govinda, it tells the story of a distraught Radha, who awaits Krishna's arrival after dusk. Full of longing that morphs slowly into despair, her eyes flit constantly to the door. When Krishna arrives, it is daybreak and his body is covered in marks, clearly given to him by another woman. "Radha is furious, she chastises him and sends him on his way," Akila Venkat whispers in an aside. "The moment she shuts the door, she is filled with repentance, wondering if she did the right thing. She hesitates, starting towards the door where Krishna attempts to pacify her with his flute. Does she open the door or not? That's the intrigue," she smiles.
"My mum would perform it when I was a child, I remember crying and not knowing why," Meghna recalled. "I would beg her to teach me and she would tell me to wait. Performing it, therefore, is a sort of triumph!" The piece happens to be one of her guru, Mayadhar Raut’s favourites, making it even more special, for Neelachal is Meghna's tribute to her teachers and her journey as a dancer. Raut, is widely regarded as one of the four pillars of Odissi (as it is known today).
Rehearsals for Neelachal are in full swing on Wednesday evening as we arrive, serenaded by the strains of the musicians. The dancer-director, Meghna Das, remarked in an aside that the musicians, who had had arrived a day earlier, travelled to the city from Bhubaneshwar specially for the show. "They have accompanied me since I was 14 years old," she smiles.
We make it in time for the Pallavi, performed to an exemplary rendition of Raag Bajrakanti. The Pallavi is a celebration of the grammar of Odissi. "It doesn't tell a story, focusing on technique instead. We enjoyed it because Mayadhar guruji tends to play with silences. You don't have footwork on each beat and the emphasis is on melody more than rhythm. Rhythmically, it's a mathematical approach, but you can't ignore the melody."
The idea for Neelachal began about a year ago, when Meghna came across work that her mother, who is also her first guru, had done in Singapore nearly 25 years ago. "It meant a great deal of research, but that's what caught my interest, really."
Meghna and Anjali Urs spent nearly a year doing research. "These performances happened in Singapore, without Odissi musicians. It was unheard of, at the time, to fly them in from another country. The unravelling proved a very interesting process, we enjoyed having to understand its depths."
The idea for Neelachal began about a year ago, when Meghna came across work that her mother, who is also her first guru, had done in Singapore nearly 25 years ago
What: Neelachal
When: Friday, July 21, 7.30 pm
Where: ADA Rangamandira, JC Road
