Reported by Kanhu Charan Gouda and Nishi Dang
Bhubaneswar, Aug 4: The city on Wednesday experienced a dance narrative ‘Antar-Yatra the journey within’ at Rabindra Mandap, which was choreographed and directed by renowned Odishi dancer, and founder of the Odishi Vision and Movement Center in Kolkata, Sharmila Biswas. The dance narrative was a combination of three dance forms- Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi and was organized by AIM for SEVA charitable trust for the underprivileged children of the rural India.
Antar-Yatra, described as a personal journey of discovery, was performed by combining the three dance forms along with the art of puppetry and the folk dance of Tamil Nadu-Pinnal Kollattam. It gave the audience a glimpse to the inner world of the women dancers of India. It represented their tentative journey of conflicting thoughts and emotions in the magical world that they create and believe in.
The music of Antar-Yatra was composed by Srijan Chatterjee, a Hindustani classical musician. The Odishi dance was performed by Sashwati Garai Ghosh, a leading Odishi dancer with elegance and accuracy. The Kuchipudi dance was performed with elegance and dynamism by Amrita Lahiri, one of the foremost young performers of Kuchipudi. The dance form, Bharatanatyam was performed by Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya, a front-ranking dancer of Bharatanatyam of the younger generation. The performers left the audience spellbound with their movements and refined approach. The songs were sung in six different languages along with the multiple voices of the narrator.
The main purpose of the event was to raise fund for AIM for SEVA charitable trust. The trust began its journey 15 years ago by Swami Dayananda Saraswati with just one hostel in Anaikatti. Today, AIM for Seva has 104 Free Student Hostels in 16 States of India that provides a nurturing environment to the rural children, enabling them to flourish. The mission and aim of the trust is to educate rural India.
