We gather in the spirit of offering—an invitation to step into the timeless world of Odissi, a dance tradition that embodies prayer, sculpture, and poetry in motion.
Invocation – Mangalacharan
The evening opens with the Mangalacharan, the traditional invocation that consecrates the space. It begins with Bhūmi Pranām, a bow to Mother Earth, acknowledging the ground that holds us and the breath that sustains us.
From there, verses of Tulsidas in praise of Lord Shiva unfurl like mantra:
“I bow to the unmanifest form of Īśvara, essence of the Vedas, sky-conscious and beyond perception. Fierce yet benevolent, with Ganga flowing from His hair, the crescent moon adorning His brow, serpents as ornaments, and a smile that dissolves fear. O Beloved peacemaker, to You I bow.”
The invocation, set to Raga Bhatiyar and Tāla Jhoompa, concludes with the Trikhandi Pranām, a threefold salutation to the Divine, the Guru, and to the gathered audience. In this moment, the performance becomes prayer, the body becomes temple, and every gesture becomes an offering of gratitude.
Interactive Journey – The Language of Odissi
After the invocation, the offering turns towards you. Together we will explore Odissi’s inner language:
Chauka – the square stance of stillness and stability, symbol of Lord Jagannath, grounding the body in balance and discipline.
Tribhangi – the three-bend posture, where head, chest, and hips move in harmonious curve, awakening the body’s innate grace and reminding us that beauty lies in fluidity, not rigidity.
Mudrās – sacred hand gestures, each a seal of meaning. Like yoga’s asanas, they are meditations in miniature, allowing the dancer to speak with the silence of hands, evoking gods, rivers, trees, and the subtleties of human emotion.
In these movements we see how Odissi is not only performance but sadhana in which a discipline of body, breath, and spirit aligns us with something beyond ourselves.
Dhīra Samīre – On the Banks of the Yamuna
The offering culminates in the exquisite Ashtapadi “Dhīra Samīre” from Jayadeva’s 12th-century Gīta Govinda, one of the most luminous texts of bhakti poetry.
Here, the Sakhi (friend) gently implores Radha to go to Krishna, who waits in longing by the Yamuna’s moonlit banks: The soft wind moves through the forest, carrying the fragrance of flowers touched by Radha’s body. Krishna plays his flute, each note soaked in yearning, calling only her name. His eyes tremble with expectation at every rustle of leaf or fall of feather, thinking it is her arrival. He has prepared a bed of blossoms, a sanctuary for their union, yet every sound—the jingle of anklets, the stir of the night—seems an obstacle to their love.
In this dance, longing becomes meditation, separation (viraha) becomes devotion, and love becomes the pathway to the Divine. Through expressive abhinaya, the dancer becomes the vessel for Radha’s hesitation, Krishna’s longing, and the Sakhi’s urging—an eternal drama of the soul yearning for union with the Absolute.
Choreographed by Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra with music by Pt. Bhubaneswar Misra, this piece is a jewel of the Odissi repertoire, performed in Raga Kalyan and Tāla Ektali.
An Offering Beyond Performance
This evening is not simply a performance or a class. It is an offering of presence.
Through invocation, movement, and poetry, we enter into the yoga of dance—the union of body, breath, and spirit. Each stance becomes a prayer, each gesture a mantra, each rhythm a heartbeat that connects us to something vast and timeless.
We welcome you to receive, to participate, to move, and to remember: in dance, as in life, we are both the offering and the offered.
This event is free to attend - voluntary cash donations to the artist are gratefully received on the evening! Book here