A night of Odissi dance

Delhiites can experience an evening of mesmerising Odissi performances this weekend as an attractive lineup is in store for them.

The event, presented by will be Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in association with Dancing Deer and will see Odissi recital by Molina Singh, will be held on December 16 at Kamani Auditorium, Mandi House. It will be presided over by Sonal Mansingh.

Molina will perform four distinct Odissi sequences woven into a solo recital, three of which are original compositions and choreographies tailor-made for Molina’s debut performance.

Opening the performance by hailing Lord Shiva, Molina will showcase her rendition of Shivastakam that was originally written by Adi Shankaracharya. The music for this 12-minute extract is choreographed by Guru Lingaraj Pradhan and is based on Mishra taal and raga.

In the next segment, Molina will demonstrate the literal illustration of the word Pallavi or ‘blooming’ with slow, extremely delicate and suave movements of the eye, neck and torso – gradually building up the momentum into a crescendo in the end. The composer of this Raga Rageshree is Guru Ramhari Das and the choreographer is Guru Gangadhar Pradhan.

The dance will embody ‘Kuruyadu Nandan’ – the last Astha-padi of Geet Govind written by 12th century poet Jayadeva – in the third segment. Known as Abhinaya, this segment is an exposition not only of the dance but also of the music that accompanies it. The piece is conceptualised by Molina Singh co-choreographed by Guru Lingaraj Pradhan.

The final performance will be depicting Moksha and will be orchestrated by music composition based on Panchabhuta gayatri mantra. In a vivacious act Molina will bring the five elements jal, vayu, agni, bhoomi and akaash together simultaneously depicted by sitar, flute, mardal, violin and manjira respectively.

The performing artists will be: Ramesh Chandra Das on violin, Srinibas Sathapathy on flute, Satchidananda Das on mardal, Lingaraj Pradahan on manjira, and Satchidananda Das will play the sitar to the music of Prakash Chandra Mohapatra while Bijay Kumar Jena will sing.

“My journey as a dancer has been unconventional. At my age I should’ve been training new Kathak students, but here I am, making my debut as an Odissi dancer. I am nervous and excited,” Molina expressed her sentiments on her debut recital

When: December 16, 6:30 pm onwards
Where: Kamani Auditorium, Mandi House

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