Ranjana Gauhar: A life lived in dance
For as far as she can remember, Odissi exponent Ranjana Gauhar has been consumed by dance. So much so that her family would worry that she would collapse from exhaustion after hours of relentless practice.
"I would dance for eight to nine hours a day, giving my family much anxiety about my health. But I couldn't stop, no matter how many hours of practice it involved," said Gauhar speaking to DH.
Trained under Guru Mayadhar Raut, Gauhar has had a 45-year career in dance.
"Dance inspires me. I was born to dance, and Lord Jagannath chose me on this spiritual journey," said Gauhar, a Padmashri and Sangeet Natak Academy award winner.
Gauhar is the founder-president of the non-governmental organisation "UTSAV Educational and Cultural Society—Ranjana's Odissi Dance Academy", which she started in 1987 to train young dancers and continue the guru-shishya parampara.
She organises an annual dance festival called "Utsav" to promote young talent across India.
Earlier this month, she hosted the Unbound Beats of India dance festival at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Her dancers showcased four classical dance styles on a single-stage—Odissi, Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Chhau.
"I want to enrich India's traditional and classical arts and maintain the continuity of our ancient cultural heritage," said Gauhar.
Gauhar's performances bear the signature of a distinctive style because of her extensive training in Chhau, Kathak and Manipuri, which has widened her knowledge and understanding of Indian classical dance.
Another of her impressive performances, "Hymns to Heaven," based on the saint poets of India through the ages, was held at the end of last year. This production depicted the journey of Odissi from the temple to the theatre.
"Odissi dance is like a journey of life; starting from pure bhakti and devotion in Mangalacharan, the dancer then blossoms slowly into Batu and then as an adult matures to indulge in complicated items like Pallavi," said Gauhar. "She arrives at the peak of her life as a dancer in Abhinaya, only to achieve Moksha as the ultimate truth."
"It's important to love what you are doing and give your best to what you love," said Gauhar. "Since dance is very demanding, it needs full dedication. Earlier, in the times of no social media, it used to be very difficult to get a physical platform to dance, but things have improved manifold in the time of technology for younger people."
As a part of her extended creative expression, Gauhar authored the book—"Odissi, The Dance Divine". The book delves into the evolution and aesthetics of Odissi and introduces to the readers the knowledge of contemporary gurus and eminent dancers of this living tradition.
(The author is an acclaimed artist, curator, journalist and designer)
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