One of the pure forms of the Seraikalla Chhau came alive to this temple city’s audiences during a Chhau dance recital organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Odisha Regional office in association with the State Department of Culture at the Rabindra Mandap on Friday.
Organised under the Horizon series of the ICCR, transformation of the Seraikalla Chhau was presented by famous dancer Pandit Gopal Prasad Dubey and his Trinetra Chhau Dance Centre from Seraikalla, Jharkhand.
Following the rituals, the event commenced with Jartaghart, a musical invocation formed with a mixture of Desh and Malhar ragas that precede every Chhau dance followed by the amorous dance Hara Parvati based on the episode prior to Kumarsambhabam.
It was followed by a realistic dance, Prajapati (butterfly), interpreting movements of the proverbial insect as enraptured in the poet’s imagination. The Chhau act on Radha Krishna portrayed the mystic lover of Radha for her cosmic lover Krishna.
The act Ardhanarishwar depicted the Hindu concept on the composite form of Purush and Prakriti as Shiva and Shakti. As per the Seraikella Chhau tradition, this concept dedicated to Ardhanarishwar as a prayer for abundant harvest is presented during the annual Chaitra Parva.
Based on the famous Ratri-Shukta of the Rig Veda, the theme of the act Ratri (night) depicted the terrifying, tranquilising and serene sublimity aspects of night whereas the act Ekalavya was based on the myth from the Mahabharata showing the dedication of tribal student Ekalavya towards his learning and Guru Dronacharya.
Based on the folklore of Odisha, Chandrabhaga proved the ultimate triumph of chastity even over the brute passion of gods over the pathos of love and hate, passion and virtue, attraction and repulsion of remorse and tragedy in all their subtleties.
As per the folklore, the great Sun Temple built at the confluence of river Chandrabhaga and the sea at Konark continued to deteriorate after the tragic death of Chandrabhaga that followed with remorseful penance of Sun God.
A vital element in the dance, the mask in Seraikella Chhau, indicates character and thematic idea in liberating the dancer from the limiting influence of the face and places a greater burden on the movement of the body.
Overall, Pandit Gopal Prasad Dubey and his group succeeded in representing the Seraikella Chhau in its purest form. Jnanpeeth Award-winning writer Sitakant Mahapatra, london-based renowned painter and writer Prafulla Mohanti, noted Odissi dancer Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi, State Culture and Tourism Department Principal Secretary Ashok Kumar Tripathy and ICCR Regional Director Minakshi Mishra were present on the occasion.