By Kedar Mishra
They melted in one identity but firmly remained as their own. In unison they created the best of a harmony, but individual uniqueness of their style remains intact. Diversity was the strength of this production. It was a blend of brilliance; harmonious unity of fragmented diversities. Saptavarna, a seven colored melting pot of Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Mohiniattam, Kathak, Manipuri,Thang Ta and Odissi music- all in one; making an hour long medley of charismatic beauty and creative power play. Aruna Mohanty, Odissi exponent and chief architect of this production weaved all these diverse forms of performances into one single entity and presented something spells binding and makes a mark of her own individual talent.
All the art forms displayed their influence and exquisiteness independently and also merged with one another creating a grand harmony. It was a brilliant mix of color, light, style and musical Excellences. No doubt it was the soul and lone strength of the 12th Dhauli Kalinga Mahotsav, organized in the foot hills of historical Shanti Stupa pf Dhauli from 5th to 7th of February 2016. As a critic I cannot stop without highlighting the rhythmic richness of Odissi music led by Guru Dhaneswar Swain and Guru Ramhari Das infused into the veins of Saptavarna. In a brief time span the Odissi musicians showered a multitude of Odissi Taal patterns and that was simply superb.
It was a group effort, quite efficiently guided by Aruna Mohanty and her team captains were equally talented and committed to make this harmony possible. Seven groups led by seven brilliant choreographers; Odissi led by Aruna Mohanty, Manipuri by Priti Patel, Bharatnatyam by Parswanath Upadhye, Kathak by Sandip Mallick, Mohiniattam by Mom Ganguly, Thang Ta by Imocha Singh and Odissi music ensemble led by Guru Ramhari Das and Guru Dhaneswar Swain, collaborated and complemented each other to make this creative endeavor a highly successful one.
Fusing martial Thang Ta with erotic Odissi and blending slow Manipuri movements with Kathak’s fast pacing speed are no easy task. As a synthesizer the lead choreographer has have to innovate an “odd even” formula to make this impossible possible. It would be acknowledge the effort and support of department of Tourism to go for such an expensive and highly ambitious production.
Forgetting to write about the usual introduction of the Dhauli Kalinga festival I devoted more than 350 words to Saptavarna, just because for me the festival is all about this grand production.
Prasanta Patnaik