Ranjana Gauhar presents “Ksheer Sagar”

Renowned Odissi dancer and exponent Ranjana Gauhar’s “Ksheer Sagar–The Might of the Ocean” was staged recently in Delhi, reports daily star.

The dance production wove together two mythological stories: “Chandrabhaga” and “Matsya Avatar”, both with the ocean as backdrop.

In the first production, innocent Chandrabhaga, daughter of the ocean, is a hapless pawn in a wager between the Sun God Surya and God of Love Kamdev, who try to win her hand in an attempt to prove their might. When Surya’s attentions prove too much, the traumatised Chandrabhaga prefers to jump to her death in the ocean. “The gods are also revealed to be fallible,” says choreographer- dancer-writer, filmmaker Ranjana who played a graceful Chandrabhaga and conceived the story.

The mythological story of Chandrabhaga lives on. The area around Chandrabhaga beach, located east of the famous sun temple of Konark, Odisha is a sacred site even today.

“Chandrabhaga” was performed by the students of Utsav-Ranjana’s Dance Academy. The production combined the lyrical grace of Odissi with the strong martial moves of Chhau dance. If one couldn’t take one’s eyes off the delicate footwork of the Odissi dancers, neither could one resist the prowess of the two Chhau dancers who took on the roles of Surya and Kamdev.

“Matsya Avatar” is an episode drawn from Indian mythology. Here the focus was on the first avatar of Lord Vishnu, the preserver, who was supposed to have been incarnated 10 times over. “The underlying meaning was the importance of environmental preservation and saving nature,” says Ranjana.

Transforming the complex tale of “Matsya Avatar” into the medium of dance, is a feat. But then Ranjana’s is a powerful force in the world of dance as winner of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi award.

Apart from the aesthetics of dance, she underscores her productions with live issues such as gender and environment