This weekend, immerse yourself in the Indian classical dance style of Odissi with a special extravaganza entitled Leela Purushottama — The Supreme Absolute. Produced by local company Kalpana Dance Theatre, this exciting new work features original choreography by Orissa-based Durga Charan Ranbir and Leena Mohanty, and will be performed by dancers from India and Malaysia accompanied by a live orchestra from Orissa.
The first half of the evening will feature pieces from the traditional Odissi repertoire, performed by Leena and Debashish Pattnayak from Orissa along with Sandhya Manoj and Nritta Ganeshi Manoharan from Malaysia. The pieces are predominantly choreographed by Durga, who was a main disciple of Deba Prasad Das, one of the four teachers responsible for the revival of Odissi in the 1950s.
Each of the four went on to establish styles and traditions of their own, with Deba’s style famous for its pristine quality and immaculate compositions. Today, Durga continues to perpetuate the same traditions of Odissi his teacher first espoused as he creates a new generation of dancers.
The second half of the production will showcase a dance drama entitled Leela Purushottama — The Supreme Absolute, based on the divine deeds of Lord Krishna. This dance drama is choreographed by Odissi exponent Leena Mohanty, who has performed several times to packed audiences in KL.
The dance drama provides a unique side of Lord Krishna as he enjoys the company of his devotees and unveils a more human side to this popular god — as a son, a father and a lover. “It’s about how Krishna shares his love with his devotees and simply enjoys being with them and giving himself to them, which is secondary to his godly duties of fighting wars and killing demons,” Leena explains.
Krishna’s playful nature and constant references to the many women who adored him is analogy to explain human existence on a spiritual platform. The love between Krishna and the milkmaids that surround him, called Gopis, represents the divine play (leela) between reality and illusion, the soul and the primordial nature, divinity and humanity. The maidens dance around Krishna like electrons move around the atom that anchors it, or like the way the human form and its energy dances around the soul of every being.
While Krishna is said to have spent much of his adult life on the battlefields fighting the Kurukshetra war, he is primarily known as the embodiment of pure love and divine joy, which in itself is the destroyer of evil and sin. Leela Purushottama — The Supreme Absolute aims to unveil this more loving side of Krishna and expressing his various personas in the same way he appeals to his devotees.
The performance will be supported by a live orchestra comprising vocalists Dheeraj Kumar Mohapatra and Bandita Ray, Sri Dhaneshwar Swain on the mardhala, Abhiram Nanda on the flute and Kalpana Paramjothi on the sitar.
Leela Purushottama — The Supreme Absolute will be held on Sunday July 17 and Monday July 18 at the Shantananda Auditorium, level 2, Temple of Fine Arts, 116 Jalan Berhala, Brickfields, KL. Tickets are RM30, RM50 and RM100, call (03) 2274 3709 or (017) 672 5672 to book.
This article appeared on the Live it! page, The Edge Financial Daily, July 15, 2011.