Aakash Odedra dazzles with Kathak and contemporary in rare open-air recital

Aakash Odedra

It was one of those October evenings in Delhi when the air is thick with humidity, the darkness descends early and 6‘p.m.’ means the sun has set almost an hour ago. In the open air stage at the verdant Sunder Nursery, there was a darkness and a hush broken only by the occasional call of an owl or a bat or a distant dog barking. This was the setting in which Aakash Odedra was to perform ‘Echoes/Constellation’, two solos choreographed by acclaimed artists Aditi Mangaldas and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, on the invitation of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.

Kiran Nadar

A strong frame had been erected to provide a ‘ceiling’ to the open-air stage from which several props could be dangled using ropes and wires. The first solo, ‘Echoes’, featured ghungroos hanging over the stage on golden ropes. Aakash, in a black costume, stood in one corner of the stage holding golden strings in his hands and rotating them. According to Kathak and contemporary dance icon Aditi Mangaldas, one of my favourite creators in dance and the choreographer of ‘Echoes’, the bells become a metaphor for resonance, freedom, awakening and also a reflection of the dancers’ creative sensibility. The sound of the bells awakens us to the now, the present, breath, senses and life. They are not just a ritual; they are alive and evolve with the dancer. The music was by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan and the song by Shubha ji, with protracted aalaps, said, ‘Mein bairaag bhari, sovat se mein jaag padi’.

Aakash Odedra

Aakash, after rotating the strings in his hands, piled them in front of him. He touched the strings and struck them; getting up, he executed footwork and then moved in leaps across the stage. His swift chakkars were dizzying. As the lyrics said ‘anahad naad’, he formed a lotus with his hands and moved them up and down. He held the stings hung from the ceiling and swung them like a pendulum: ‘dhun bajat gagan mah beena, sur jhina’, ‘bajat anhad naad gah gah’ – you can hear the veena playing in the sky in a melody. That sur is the anahad naad, or the soundless sound.

Aakash Odedra

 

Aakash Odedra

The next set of lyrics was fast-paced. Aakash showed the various life forms: birds, bees and deer. He fell to the floor and then lifted himself upwards at a slant, sideways. How much strength from his core muscles he must have called on! He used body clapping and footwork to create the rhythm and then pirouetted so fast that for a moment, he seemed to simply be swirling in mid-air. 

Aakash Odedra

And then he sat down and picked up the strings of ghungroos to tie on his ankles. The narrative voiceover said, ‘I feel my ancestors. The blood in my veins, the stream into a river and then into the ocean. And back into a drop’, as he ‘balanced a drop’ on his hands. Next, he depicted bees on a flower moving rapidly. The exhilarating piece ended with chakkars on his knees and on his feet. Aakash presented the piece in very chaste Kathak. 

Aakash Odedra

The energy and agility of his performance was infectious. To me, the piece was an experience since in our religion, we believe that the non-living, like instruments, also come alive when they are played in the kirtan for the Lord. The same way, the ghunghroos also have a soul of their own that transcends the barrier between the living and the non-living and connects us to our roots. 

Aakash Odedra

The lighting for the piece was by Fabiana Piccioli, the rehearsal directors were Dheerendra Tiwari and Amit Khinchi, and the piece had been co-produced by Curve Theatre (Leicester), DanceXchange (Birmingham), La Comete (Chalons-en-Champagne) and supported using Lottery Funds through Arts Council England.

Aakash Odedra

What an amazing performance this was. Aakash’s athleticism and agility are unquestionable. His Kathak technique under Aditi was flawless. The concept and narrative were abstract and well-executed. The music and vocals by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan were transcendental. The production did not require much bhava, but the use of the strings of ghungroos was otherworldly. And whether the falling of the strings from the installation was accidental or intentional I do not know, but it had its impact when they fell with a thud and the ghunghroos jangled loudly. The rhythms in our body and those outside are our connection to our roots and the Almighty, to which our instuments and our ankle bells respond. Aakash depicted the concept in a fitting manner.

Aakash Odedra

In the Meera bhajan ‘Hoon Shyam Ke Rang Rachi’, Aakash was doused in the colours of dance. In nritta, he depicted getting drenched in colours from the lord. The ghunghroos at times coming to a halt, then their sound rising and falling with slight twinklings, is a trademark of Aditi’s choreography. 

Aakash Odedra

After a break and a change in stage set-up, Aakash was back in a white costume for the piece titled ‘Constellation’. The props this time were very interesting and the choreography was in contemporary dance by acclaimed Belgian dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Aakash Odedra

It was an installation with bulbs hanging from the ceiling with flexible strings that could be stretched, pulled up or down and the bulbs could be dimmed or brightened. Aakash appeared as a silhouette holding a bulb and as he pulled it, the dark bulb lit up. He went around dancing and as he touched each bulb, it lit up. As the lights shone or dimmed or flickered, he contorted, revolved and twisted as he went around the bulbs. He danced on his toes and did quick pirouettes, almost like swirling in the air. He held one bulb in his hand, pulled the string and rotated it in a circle to make a halo of light. Finally, the bulbs flickered and dimmed and Aakash sat among them.  

Aakash Odedra

This was a spell-binding performance. The theme was abstract and its interpretation contemporary. The music was out of this world. To me, the lights appeared to be stars of a constellation, Aakash dancing among them like a soul among the stars in a lively stint. The flickering, glowing, dimming of the lights reflected the moods of the emotions of the soul. The halo was the union with the super-soul. This was a trance-like experience. 

For ‘Constellation’, the lighting was by Willy Cessa, music by Olga Wojciechowska, and the rehearsal directors were Paul Zivkovich and Lewis Major. ‘Rising’ was commissioned by AKCT (London), DanceXchange (Birmingham), Sampad (Birmingham), Eastman (Antwerp), The Hat Factory (Luton), Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Dance (Leicester), South East Dance (Brighton), New Art Exchange (Nottingham), The Place (London), Curve Theatre (Leicester), Southbank Centre (London) and funded by Arts Council England and Akademi (London).

There were a few glitches, however. It was hot and humid in Delhi for an outdoor event and of course, the seating arrangement, on flat, level ground outdoors, became a hindrance in enjoying an outdoor event as the stage was not clearly visible from all the seats.

Pics: Anoop Arora