Sharmila Biswas’ ‘Sutra’ unravels the history of Odissi

Disseminating history through dance

While watching Odissi exponent Sharmila Biswas’ ‘Sutra’ recently in Kolkata, there were several questions that arose in my mind. Questions about history. History of dance. Representation of that history. Ways of showcasing history. Is history only to be contained in textbooks? Is the textbook the best way to disseminate performing arts histories or those histories deserve a different kind of presentation? Performances could have a wider reach after all. And what if you could learn about the history of the art form through the art form itself while watching it live? Could that amount to a more organic and in some ways rigorous engagement with an art form? Will this help to create better informed viewers and rasikas thereby benefiting the art form in a way? These were the questions that I contemplated while and after watching ‘Sutra’. which unravels the history of the Odissi dance form.

It is known to all that any history would privilege certain stories, accounts, facts over others. This has also led to contested histories or multiple histories of an occurrence. Recently, in the sphere of Dance Studies, these contested histories have birthed several debates vis a vis origin theories of classical dance forms. While those differences will remain and these discussions important, it is the artists’ prerogative to choose a retelling of the past that they are ideologically and aesthetically aligned with and then probe the same through their presentation.

Experimentation in dance is not only limited to its formal aspects but also the stories that the dance chooses to tell and how. Such was Sharmila Biswas’ attempt while conceptualising ‘Sutra’ based on her art practice and extensive research into the histories of Odissi. ‘Sutra’ like all works engaging with the past is therefore an interpretation or reading of the past as offered by a practicing artiste for whom Odissi is not just a research subject but her entire life so to speak. Research thus borrows and also enriches from experience. The act of dancing by itself is an archive. The live performance transformed into an archive comprising stories from the past as retrieved in the present.

‘Sutra’ acknowledges various origin sources of Odissi dance — mythological, religious, tribal, martial, affiliations with Buddhism, Jainism, Hindu temple sculptures, state patronage, and Gotipua. While this history is fairly well-established and available in the public domain for consumption, the biggest challenge for a choreographer is to not make it didactic. That is where the creative excellence of a choreographer lies. Sharmila makes this history rather accessible even for the uninitiated through a voiceover that accompanies or precedes the dance. The voiceover in many ways helps to follow the choreography and the chronology of events presented on stage. The movements are simple, unadorned involving a team of carefully selected young dancers. The music is measured, nuanced, and never overpowering. The visuals created through dance accentuating both movement and music. Further, the choreography clearly illustrates that the creation of the classical is influenced or impacted by various other forms often called folk or rural dances. The classical is therefore an assimilation of various sources and influences. The colonial and now archaic debate of folk versus classical is rightfully addressed or hinted at but not in a sloganeering way. If you come to think of it, this is a dissenting history too.

I have a small advice or request for Sharmila and her team to consider. What about Odissi in contemporary times? Can the present remain untouched by the past? What is the story of the dance form today? Are there new trends and undercurrents or challenges? May be she would do another production to reflect on these or perhaps respond by saying that ‘Sutra’ itself reflects Odissi in its contemporariness — the choreography, light design, music selection, costumes, overall aesthetics — everything together.

In her opening remarks before the performance, Sharmila mentioned that ‘Sutra’ also embodies the search that gave her an identity as a dancer, a city dancer embracing and thus trying to understand the rural while tracing the roots of her dance. A member from the audience quizzically asked but what about spirituality? She calmly said — why don’t you watch and find out?