Jungle Book by Odissi Dance Centre Bangalore helping Child Safety

I began my foray in the world of Indian Classical Dance from the age of 8 when I joined up with the famous dance troupe of Amala Shankar in the city of Kolkata. In my formative years I  learnt different dance forms like Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Manipuri.
The first dance steps left an indelible mark which blossomed when I came under the fold of Late Padmavibhusan Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra, the doyen of Odissi dance.  I decided to leave my mark in Odissi. I  had the opportunities to perform solo and also as a member of Guruji’s ensemble across India.
I started the Odissi Dance Centre Bangalore in 2008 at Smriti Nandan Cultural Centre, Palace Road with 7 students. Today it has 2 centres, at Indiranagar and IISc,  and boasts of a student strength of 55. My firm belief that all clay is the same and its how the potter moulds it that creates the end product has brought out the best in my students.
 
As a disciple of  Padmavibhushan  Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, not only did I learn from him the nuances of stylized  Odissi dance but also  deeply imbibed his core philosophy that  “Dance is Sadhna” and  “Teaching is  Dharma”.
This was the guiding spirit behind  my dance school and I have experienced the symbiotic relationship between performance and teaching – one feeds off the other. Every performance for me has brought a new learning which I am happy to share with my students. As the years rolled on  my students have evolved as dancers and we have co-created new expressions in this amazing world of dance.  
Some of the notable performances given by my me and my institute  have been

• India Habitat Centre, Delhi 1998  

                       

• Performing Art Festival, Dubai , 2004
• Indo French Chamber of Commerce,NCPA , Mumbai 2006
• India International Centre, Delhi 2007
• Virasat Dehradun November 2012
• Indian Council For Cultural Relations, Bangalore 2013
• Pravasanam- The Journey Bangalore 2017   
• International Performing Art  Festival, Varanasi 2017

       
In order to make dance a vehicle for social awareness and raise the consciousness towards social causes, we in our ODC Bangalore felt the need for being a vehicle in this endeavour. We chose to partner with Faith Foundation, a voluntary organization who works in the field of Child Safety. Child safety for us is the basic building block of a nation’s progress. We felt that in order for a child to contribute positively to society the child must feel safe and secure. The character Mowgli and the animal kingdom in Jungle Book epitomizes the child’s yearning in this regard. To us there are a lot of sublimal messages in this story and we hope that this message stays with the audience long after the show is over. Hence we chose to depict this story of Jungle Book  in Odissi style on 26th August 2018 which also commemorates the 10th year of our institute.
 
We also felt that we need to showcase to the discerning Bangalore audience the male form of Odissi,which is seldom  witnessed. To us this would meet our twin objective i.e. promote inclusivity in the field of Odissi dance. Rudrakshya Foundation from Bhubaneswar became,  thus,  a natural choice.
Making the above happen entails a huge expenditure which is far beyond our capacity to meet. We are appealing to the socially and culturally sensitive citizens of Bangalore to come forward and help us meet our goals.