An ode to Jagannath

Odissi dancer Rahul Acharya will present his solo dance recital Rasa-ashraya, a spiritual journey of surrendering oneself to Lord Jagannath, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) this week.

Rahul Acharya's dance moves traces the rituals of the famous Puri Rath Yatra

Dancing since the age of three, Acharya has been trained under maestro Durga Charan Ranbir and has been practising his art from the past 27 years. "Rasa-ashraya will showcase the concept of Bhava and Rasa. My repertoire will deal with Bhakti Rasa. My performance will weave the entire days ritual during the famous Puri rath yatra, tracing the evolution of Odissi from the time of the Maharis (Devdasis) and Gotipuas (male artistes dressed as females)," says Acharya.

"The composition will be based on poet Jayadeva's prose from Geet Govinda. I will also premier my own composition of a famous Oriya song ‘Ahe Nila Saila' composed by Salabega who is a famous Muslim devotee of Jagannath," he adds.

The performance will have a live music ensemble of renowned Odissi musicians. The Odissi Mardala will be played by Niranjan Patra, the vocals will have Sukanta Kumar Kundu, and Suramani Ramesh Chandra Das will play the violin. The artiste is the first male Odissi dancer to be honoured with the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award from the Government of India. He is also a part of UNESCO's International Dance Council.

When: July 10, 7.00 pm onwards
Where: Dance Theater Godrej, NCPA, Nariman Point
Call: 22824567u00a0