MADHAVI Mudgal Enthrals Indian Americans
PROMINENT Indian classical dancer Madhavi Mudgal performed Odissi dance in the Consulate of the Indian Embassy in New York. As part of the Baithak series, the Consulate General of India organized the third event featuring the highly renowned exponent of the Odissi style of dance along with her dancers on July 08. The recipient of innumerable awards, including the Sanskriti Award, Padma Shri, Orissa State Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Grande Medaille de la Ville by Govt. of France , Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Delhi State Parishad Samman, the Nritya Choodamani tried to apprise the audience of the nuances of the famed dance originated in the temples of Odisha .Madhavi, disciple of Guru Harekrushna Behera and born to Professor Vinay Chandra Maudgalya, founder of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, one of the most famous dance schools for Hindustani music and classical dance located in New Delhi, was once asked about her devotion to Odissi dance. Her reply was she inherited a deep love towards art and dance from her family and under the proper guidance of her guru Shri Harekrushna Behera. The dancer- teacher gave her first public performance at the age of four. She learnt Bharatanatyam and Kathak, but later switched over to Odissi as her first love. It may be recalled that Odissi dance form in ancient days used to be performed predominantly in temples by women called Devadasis for narrating religious stories and spiritual ideas about Vaishnavism based on the Geeta Govinda penned by Jayadeva about the ten incarnations of Vishnu. The 12th century poet reportedly written the epic for his dream girl who was a temple dancer.Devadasis were dedicated to the gods and forbidden to enter into wedlock. Through Odissi dance, performers conveyed ideas of other traditions related to Lord Shiva and Surya, worshipped as Gods by the people belonging to the Hindu faith.
