Odissi: Kumkum Lal - Lecdem in Japan (Ashok Lal)

Odissi: Kumkum Lal - Lecdem in Japan

Director: Ashok Lal

Duration: 00:54:36; Aspect Ratio: 1.366:1; Hue: 73.957; Saturation: 0.132; Lightness: 0.572; Volume: 0.223; Cuts per Minute: 10.879; Words per Minute: 40.310

Kumkum Lal spent four years in Tokyo, Japan, teaching and performing Odissi extensively. In 1986, with her husband Ashok, she hosted Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (Guruji) and a group of musicians including the renowned composer Pt. Bhubaneswar Mishra, from India, for a month. During his stay there, Guruji taught Kumkum and held workshops for her students. Kumkum and Guruji also traveled across Japan, holding lecture demonstrations at universities and performing in different environments.

Guruji often taught, composed or rehearsed into the night. Ashok, who had just purchased his first video camera, recorded significant portions of their Japan tour.

Here, the Odissi ensemble conducts a lecture demonstration at a university near Tokyo, ostensibly in an auditorium. The multiple cuts in video footage lead one to believe that the demonstration may have taken place over 90 minutes to two hours. The video opens with Bhubaneswar Mishra demonstrating the different types of ragas and talas used in Odissi music. After that, Kumkum performs two dance items, explaining their meaning in Japanese and English. The lecdem ends with Guruji performing the ashtapadi Kuru yadunandana. The mardala falls silent because he is the one usually playing it, and the result is a magically tranquil performance where the only rhythm is provided by a gentle manjira and the strumming of the violin.

Kumkum Lal has been a disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra for more than four decades. Her initial training in Odissi was under Guru Harekrishna Behera, and she has also studied and performed creative dance with Narendra Sharma, and Chhau under Guru Krishna Chandra Naik. She has taught English at Delhi University. She was a keen reviewer of dance and has acted in plays. She has worked with Sangeet Natak Akademi as the head of their dance section and was awarded a senior fellowship by the Indian government to work on a Sanskrit treatise on Odissi.

While watching this video again, Kumkum said that the experience of teaching Japanese students had greatly improved her own Japanese language skills. Yumiko Chatani, who recently began visiting Delhi to study Odissi with Kumkum, was present while we watched this video. She revealed that she had first been exposed to Odissi in her teens, when she saw Kumkum perform in Japan. Yumiko’s passion for Odissi later took her to Nrityagram, Bangalore, where she spent a few years learning the dance form.

In a photo-feature of musician Raghu Dixit that appeared in a Bombay daily in August 2010, there was a photograph of a group of Japanese artists posing with him while at the festival Namaste India, which was held in Tokyo. He was pleasantly surprised to meet a Japanese Odissi dancer who had trained in India, he said. These tiny memories of Odissi that Kumkum has veritably strewn around Japan return to us in the most unlikely ways.

Here, her student Ranjana Dave converses with her as they watch these videos again, while reminiscence and hindsight come together. The years Ranjana spent learning from Kumkum were full of invaluable dancing, enriching conversations on all and sundry, and much relief from hostel food.

Translations of the ashtapadi Kuru yadunandana have been adapted from 'Sri Gitagovinda' (trans. Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, Gaudiya Vedanta Publications, Mathura, 2005) with inputs from Kumkum Lal.

Odissi music
Bhubaneswar Mishra
Japan
Kachikawa, Japan
Kelucharan Mohapatra
Kumkum Lal
Odissi
lecture demonstration

Bhubaneswar Mishra plays a melody on his violin. Accompanying him are Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra on the mardala and Sudarshan on the flute. The performance space is mostly a small auditorium at a university, where the troupe is presenting a lecture demonstration. Kumkum Lal's dance students are attending in large numbers, hence the venue is probably in and around Tokyo. The musicians are seated on a red carpet.

Kumkum: I was expecting more about the facets of Odissi music but he has preferred to do only ragas. But you're right, the Japanese are watching in a very patient way.
This was a lecture demonstration we gave at a university. It was probably a place near Tokyo, because many of my students from Tokyo are attending.

(Applause)
What was being played was Raga Hamsadhwani, with only five notes.
(A woman translates this into Japanese)
The camera cuts to a small aperture between screens separating the stage from the wings. Kumkum Lal stands there, ready to perform shortly after.
Mishra plays the base note, and its equivalent in the higher octave. Then he begins to play Raga Kirvani, in a six beat cycle vocalised by Guruji in the first two avartans/ cycles, before he begins playing the tala on the mardala.

Kumkum: Kirvani.

Guruji gave everything such a special touch. And he gave his best to everything.

The camera zooms out to take in the audience, then moves upwards to the skylit/ tubelit ceiling and back towards the stage, tightening into a mid-length shot of Mishra playing the violin.
Raga Kirvani ends with Guruji again saying the bols of the tala aloud.

(Japanese)
Raga Mohana, in seven beats.
Mishra plays the ascending and descending notes of an octave and begins playing the melody popularly known as Mohana Pallavi, with some stylistic modifications.
Guruji again counts out the tala and then begins playing the mardala. He again ends by speaking out the bols.

Kumkum: I think they're demonstrating a seven matra tala.

Mishra announces that he will be playing in eight matras/ beats, in adi tala.
(Japanese translation)
He plays a melody that appears at the end of the music composition for the ashtapadi Priye Charusheele from the Gitagovinda.
The camera again zooms into the screen aperture, showing Kumkum waiting in the wings. This footage is from the camera operated by Ashok Lal, we notice, though someone else has called in a professional videographer. The camera pans around the room, stopping to take in familiar faces, especially those of Kumkum's Japanese students.

This is Kaoru. She later turned into a culinary queen. She took to Indian cooking.
The lady who organised the whole tour; I think she is the one who is speaking. I think this happened at Kachikawa. There was a big programme there, a ticketed show, after which they also had the lecture demonstration in the university complex.

Mishra: So you have listened to all the popular talas used.
(Japanese translation)
There are many talas, but they are not that popular. More than 100 talas are there in India.
(Japanese translation)
(The camera moves jerkily)
Now I will come to raga, pattern, melodic pattern that is called raga.
(Japanese translation)

(Again, the camera zooms into the gaps between the screens)
You have listened to audava raga (melody with five notes). Now I will play one audava-sadava raga (melody with five notes in the ascending scale and six in the descending scale), that is, audava-sadava, that is(Japanese), ascending - five notes, descending - six notes.
(Japanese translation)
(He plays a short melodic pattern.) Mishra: Gamaka, we call it gamaka. There are ten varieties of gamakas. Grace notes...
(Japanese translation)
(He plays a line full of gamakas)
Mishra: This is gamaka. Also, there is varieties (sic).
He demonstrates a variation.
(Japanese translation)

Mishra: One more gamaka.
Then I will come to audava-sampurna
(Japanese translation, in a slightly unsure voice)
That is five, and seven.
(Japanese translation) Mishra says something, wanting to go on with the demonstration, but the interpreter continues talking in Japanese for a few moments.
He plays something, and then announces that he will play Carnatic style.
(Japanese translation)

He picks up the phrase 're ga ma' to demonstrate how they may be sung differently in the Hindustani and Carnatic styles, and ends by saying that is the South Indian style of singing.
Mishra has a fine singing voice.
He ends by asking if there is anything else the audience would like to know.
(Japanese translation, the audience laughs)
Mishra is talking about the melodic pattern of Indian music; harmony is not an important element, as he goes on to demonstrate.

(The demonstration ends here; a break in recording and the red carpet has now moved to the side; the dance component of the lecture demonstration is about to begin. Guruji's mardala is in full force. Manjul Mathur, the singer, has joined the other musicians on stage.)
The flute plays the opening notes of mangalacharan.
Guruji plays the tihai and the bols for the entry walk of the dancer commence.
By the time the camera has found a comfortable position, the first part of the walk on stage is complete and the dance steps into the second stage.

Kumkum Lal wears a neatly pinned yellow sari with a red border and white churidar. When she takes a swift bhramari (turn)
Bhumi pranam - Salutation to the earth, asking to be forgiven for stamping on it.
Kumkum leaves an offering of petals by moving downstage. The flower offering is sometimes made to the idol of Jagannatha that is placed on the stage, which is absent here.
She takes a few steps backwards, before standing in samapada to begin the invocation to Ganesha. Ashok Lal captures her slow-moving feet, that kick away from the front to curve to the back, one at a time.
The invocation is sung by Manjul Mathur.
mangalacharan

Kumkum: (registers surprise) Whose belt am I wearing? It must be Guruji's, because mine only had two rows of silver. The older belts were heavier because one of the rows was generally hollow and each silver contained a tiny metal bell. So the belt would make jingling sounds.

Vandana, a verse in praise of the deity or figure being invoked during the mangalacharan. The following verse/ sloka is from the Abhinaya Chandrika of Maheswara Mohapatra, a medieval text on Odissi dance. It is a common sloka, generally referred to as Ganesh Vandana.

Namami vighnarajatvam
Kalpavriksham tala sthitam
Uma putram mahakayam
Translation:
I salute the one who rises over obstacles,
The one who is to be found at the base of the Kalpavriksha (a mythical tree),
The son of Uma, the big-bodied one,

Kumkum: My sari is never so neatly tied. This is obviously Guruji's handiwork! (thinks to herself) Why am I not wearing any other jewellery? I must have forgotten to carry it...but how did that happen?

Dantikam nrityakovidam
Tandava priya putraya
Tandava priya rupinam
Namo chintamani nityam shuddha buddhi pradayakam
Translation:
The tusked one, the one who is proficient in dance,
The son of he who loves tandava,
The image of he who loves tandava,
I salute thee, the one who bestows pure thought.

The speed of mardala heightens as the invocation reaches its end and Mathur's voice tapers off.

Ranjana: Kumkum prefers to begin a performance with a mangalacharan that uses a simple sloka, mostly namami, because she feels a very complicated piece of dance takes away from the devotional feel of an invocation. The point of the mangalacharan is that it is not only an 'item', but an 'item' that is a prayer.

Sabha pranam:
A rhythmic piece of dance with the hands mostly in Anjali hasta, the sabha pranam ends with trikhandi pranam, a set of three salutations, where the dancer pays her obeisance to the divine, the guru and salutes the audience, specifically in that order.
After finishing the sabha pranam, Kumkum bows to the audience once more and leaves the stage.

Kumkum Lal is on stage in her performance attire, wearing a clip-on mic and holding the receiver in her hands.
(Japanese)
Kumkum: When we pray to god, we want to offer something beautiful, something good, to him. And so during the time of prayer, we offer flowers, or some sweets, or a beautiful song, and also a beautiful dance.
(Japanese translation)
So, in India, dance began many many centuries ago, and just now we cannot say when it began, but perhaps, according to the sculptures, according to the literature, it had its origin about 2000 BC. (See description for clarifications)
(Japanese translation)

Kumkum: Why am I saying 2000 BC? I probably meant two thousand years ago. Or I'm referring to references like the Dancing Girl in Harappan Civilization. Or the Vedic period. But now I wouldn't say something like that.

KumKum:...know, that many centuries ago, there used to be young girls who were dedicated to the temple and they used to, their only work was to dance as part of the prayers in the temple.
(Japanese translation)
...called maharis. The servants of the god, and they were supposed to be married to the god of the temple.
(Japanese translation)
And at that time they used to dance during the mealtime, afternoon mealtime, and during the sleeping time of the god. That was part of...when god was given, the temple deity was given some food, then the dancer used to dance to entertain the god. When he was being put to sleep, along with the rituals...
(Japanese translation)
(Break in recording)

Kumkum: As a performer, one is always growing. So when you see something that is said or done a long time ago, you might not always subscribe to the same views at a later stage, or even agree with it.

(Japanese)
Kumkum (in chowka): ...so it means four sides, a rectangle, the name means rectangle. So this is a rectangle formed by...(she demonstrates the lines that make the chowka a rectangle)...and one imaginary line here (indicating the space in front of her). This is one chowka of the hands. And the legs (goes on to locate a similar rectangle and then continues to stand in chowka).
(Japanese translation)
Kumkum says in Japanese that the chowka is a manly position, which makes the audience laugh. Then she begins to describe the tribhangi in Japanese.
Guruji intervenes to say that she should talk about the different types of bends - sama, abhanga and tribhanga. She spends a lot of time describing the tribhanga, showing different variations.
(Japanese translation interrupts her speech, everyone bursts into laughter)
Kumkum: So this style is famous for its sculpturesque quality.
(Japanese translation)

Ranjana: Why is everyone laughing?
Kumkum: That is because I said it is a manly position.

Kumkum: And we move our torso, this portion (indicates the torso) it is very mobile, so we move it about. This gives it a lyrical quality, very graceful quality, which comes from moving the torso.
(The interpreter is slightly flummoxed, Kumkum pinpoints 'soft' and 'graceful' as words that could be helpful in describing what she has just said.)
(Kumkum demonstrates torso movement)
Kumkum: This requires a lot of practice and training.
(Japanese translation)

Kumkum: So this is the controlled classical quality of the dance. And if it was just...uncontrolled, we would use our hips. (Demonstrates)
(Japanese translation)
I should also bring to you one basic quality - that we stamp our foot a lot in Indian dance. (Demonstrates) And to accentuate it, we always wear bells on our feet.
(Japanese translation)
...is matching the playing of the drum and the sound of the foot.
(Japanese translation)

Pallavi means the end of a creeper, and just as the creeper, from the buds, opens out, and then becomes like a blossom...
(Japanese translation)
...slowly becomes like a blossom, grows up.
(Break in recording)
(Japanese translation)
Kumkum: ...and this pallavi is in Raga Saveri.
(Japanese translation)
Bhubaneswar Mishra: Audava Sampurna
(Break in recording)
pallavi

I was better than Ashok when it came to Japanese. He knew around 50 words. But then, he had a secretary who did most of the communication for him; I had to explain complicated ideas in dance in Japanese!

Saveri Pallavi
Raga: Saveri
Tala: Talamalika
Choreography: Kelucharan Mohapatra
A pallavi is a pure dance (nritta) composition where a string of meaningless syllables called ukutas might be strung together in various rhythmic patterns.
The first two cycles of the ukuta are only sung and played by the musicians. The dancer is yet to enter.

Kumkum enters stage; her back is to the audience. Manjul sings, but Guruji sings along when he feels the tala is wavering.
Tala: 8 beats in one cycle
Ukuta:
Ta-jham-ta-jham-tari-jham
Tari-jham-tari-jham
Tari-jham-Tari-jham
Tari-jham...
The syllables 'ta', 'jham' and 'tari' are used in different combinations.

I was one of the first to get silver jewellery in Delhi. But you may have noticed, I always wear gold above the waist. That is how one had to dress earlier; you were supposed to wear gold jewellery. I used my mother's gold jewellery for some time, but then as it became more and more valuable, travelling with it was risky, so I had fakes made.

Tala: 8 beats
Ukuta:
(Drim ta drim - drim ta drim - )
Drim-ta-drim-drim
Ta-drim-ta-ta-na-na
Ta-na-na-dere-na
Ta-drim-ta-dere-na

Tala: 7 beats
Ukuta:
Drim-ta-drim-drim
Ta-drim-ta-ta-na-na
Ta-na-na-dere-na
Ta-drim-ta-dere-na

Tala: 6 beats
Ukuta:
Drim-ta-drim
Ta-drim-ta-na-na
Ta-na-na-dere-na
Ta-drim-dere-na

Tala: 7 beats
Ukuta:
Drim-ta-drim-drim
Ta-drim-ta-ta-na-na
Ta-na-na-dere-na
Ta-drim-ta-dere-na
Rhythmic portion commences, enunciated by Guruji

Kumkum: Saveri pallavi has motifs of srngara, the nayika gets dressed for her lover, but there is no bhava; there are only motifs.

Concluding portion of the pallavi. The original ukuta is sung at a faster pace.
Tala: 8 beats
Ukuta:
Ta-jham-ta-jham-tari-jham
Tari-jham-tari-jham
Tari-jham-Tari-jham
Tari-jham...

(Applause)
Kumkum is again on stage, speaking in Japanese with some difficulty. She is explaining the hastas that are shown to describe man and woman. She also depicts a fish and a bird.
One sees that she is leading up to the story of the Gitagovinda, specifically the Ashtapadi Kuru Yadu Nandana, which Guruji is about to perform. She describes Radha's dishevelled hair after a night of love, here, Radha's hair resembles the plume of the peacock. 'Accessories' like her waistbelt are also strewn around. Guruji is going to perform this, she announces.
Gita Govinda
Jayadeva
abhinaya
ashtapadi
TV_KM

Since Guruji is performing now, the mardala lies untouched. To provide rhythm, Bhubaneswar Mishra strums his violin in tala while Kumkum plays the manjira.
Kuru yadunandana, the final ashtapadi of Jayadeva's epic Gitagovinda
Tala: 7 beats
Raga:

Actually, Radha is already in the picture, she is sitting in the grove where they have had their rendezvous. But then Guruji brought in a tree and all that. Wonder where this is happening.

So Radha is coming from outside and she tries to attract his attention by jingling her anklets.

Kuru yadunandana chandana-shishiratarena karena payodhare
mrigamada-patrakam atramanobhava-mangala-kalasa-sahodare
nijagada sa yadunandane
kridati hrdayanandane (refrain)
Translation:
O yadunandana, with your own hands more cooling than sandalwood paste, please paint leaf patterns in musk upon my breasts, which are like the auspicious pitchers of Kamadeva.
Thus Radha spoke, while playing with her beloved, the delight of her heart.

This line mentions 'chandana', hence a lot of people think that the designs on Radha's breasts are to be of sandal paste. But what she actually means is - chandana sisira - with your hands that are as cool as chandan; she is not only asking that he should decorate her breasts, but also that they will be soothed by the cool touch of his hands. So it is only the quality of chandana that is being attributed to his hands. The quality of that tactile sensation will be an extension of these pleasurable activities.

The same line is expressed in different ways. First she asks him politely.
However, the action here means 'cooler than chandana'. How do you show something cooler than chandana? By showing dewdrops...
And the painting on her breasts is done by musk paste.

Kumkum: Guruji has used a lot of poses here. There is one in which she has her hand under one breast.
Then with confidence - with the first finger, tarjani. This is not a polite gesture, used for those who are lower than you. But she is now the swadhinbhartrka nayika. No, not even the dew is as cool, she says.

Then with shyness - Kuru, what is the appropriate way to deal with Radha, brought to this state by your passion, with her hair lying dishevelled? Her lower lip bleeds from the delicious pressure of your kisses.
In Radha's retelling, Krishna makes a gesture of subservience, and begins to grind the paste of musk he will put on her, clearly not used to the act of grinding. He takes the paste and applies it to her breasts. This is how you should be behaving now, says Radha to Krishna.
Then there is a pose, with Radha languorously taking her hands upwards and exposing her bosom.

Ranjana: Note his pose, with the knees framing the region of Radha's breasts.

Kumkum: In the first line, you're just saying 'do with your hands like this, on my breasts...'
And then in the second line (mriga mada patraka...) you say, 'do what? paint designs.' Actually, the two lines should be taken together.

Radha says - Mriga mada - the substance found in the navel of the deer, is sweet smelling. With that, paint creeper like designs upon my breasts. Draw the leaves, the creepers, and then the five flowers that make up the panchabana, on the breasts which are like the auspicious pitchers of cupid.
Kumkum: The word 'manobhava' means love. It is connected to the rest of the line, but again the singing cuts it off. The same thing happens to 'patrakam', which becomes 'patra kamatra' the way the rhythm goes. 'Mangala kalasa' could also mean various things. Pitchers are a symbol of victory, so this line could refer to the victory of Cupid over Siva. Siva reduced Cupid to ashes for disturbing his penance. But Rati, Cupid's wife pleaded with Siva and it was then allowed that Cupid would continue to exist as ananga, one without a body. He can live without a body because he is churned in the heart, in the 'mana', and his power is manifest in the energy of the heart and what happens to the body subsequently because of the heart.
Manobhava is one who is born of the 'mana'. Manmatha also means the same. Even 'manoj' means born of the 'mana'. Exists without the body and born of the mind.
Pitchers are symbols of plenty and hence auspicious, which is why one is always supposed to keep pitchers full. Another definition of the victor could be in the making of the patrakam design on the pitchers of love which are Radha's breasts; thus she establishes that she is the victor over him and he belongs to her. The pitchers are also compared to breasts. Radha's breasts are those of a young woman, firm and hard, and breasts of young women are often compared to the fruit of the bel tree.
Radha is a mysterious character. If one were to look for references in mythology, we do not really emerge with a concrete understanding of who Radha was. The genealogy of Krishna can be traced to the Bhagwat Purana. In the Bhagwat Purana, there is no mention of Radha, except as one of the many gopis. This Radha is Krishna's aunt. All the gopis are married women. All literature till the Gitagovinda did not emphasise on Radha. In fact, Ankiya Nat and other theatrical traditions which draw on the Bhagwat Purana have no mention of Radha. Only with Gitagovinda does she begin to occupy an important place. I think it has something to do with the coming of bhakti rasa. The longing for the lord and the parallels it has with the longing of a lover for their beloved - this came into the picture with Krishna in the Gitagovinda.
Now, in many places, Radha is taken to be older than Krishna. Is she an older relative now? In the first verse of Gitagovinda, Nanda asks Radha to escort Krishna back through the dark forest because Krishna is younger and is scared of going back in the dark.

'Sahodare' means 'like', it expresses the simile.
'Nija gada sa' - is where she shows shyness after making demands of Krishna. 'Hridayanandane' is an epithet of Krishna.
The only sign of aging is the curvature in Guruji's body! He has such a beautiful body, moulded to the form!

Ali-kula-ganjana-sanjanakam rati-nayaka-sayaka-mocane
tvad-adhara-cumbana-lambita-kajjalam ujjvalaya priya locane
nijagada sa yadunandane
kridati hrdayanandane
Translation:
My eyes release the arrows of cupid; the kajal on my eyes has been smudged by your kisses. Please make my eyes shine with this kajal, this kajal that eclipses the dark beauty of a swarm of bumblebees.
Thus Radha spoke, while playing with her beloved, the delight of her heart.

The lampblack/ kajal that shames even the cluster of bees in its lustrous appearance, the eyes are from where the arrows of madana emerge, in the glance and also in the drawing out of the eyes with lampblack, giving an arrow-like appearance.
One mistake in the singing is - 'alikula ganjanam anjanam' is the correct form; where does the 'sanjanakam' come from?

Your kisses have smudged my kajal; please make my eyes shine again, he priya.

She pulls him towards her and embraces him.

There are different classifications for hair - the small curls at the hairline, the mass of hair.
My beautiful hair, Radha says, do it up. The hair is likened to the chamar and dhwaja of Kamadeva. The chamar is the flywhisk and the dhwaja is the flag.

Mama rucire cikure kuru manada manasija dhvaja camare
rati-galite lalite kusumani sikhandi-sikhandaka-damare
nijagada sa yadunandane
kridati hrdayanandane
Translation:
O you who gives respect to others, do up my hair, which fell loose as we made love; my hair which is like the whisk of Kamadeva's flag. It is more captivating than the plume of a peacock; please decorate my charming hair with flower blossoms.

There is a rati-rath associated with Kamadeva, the flag flies on this chariot. This is the movement used to describe the chariot.
The first line actually describes the hair. The flywhisk is the hair on the tail of a Himalayan cow. The bushy tail of the chamar - that is what Radha's hair looks like. Frizzy, wild, the strands don't stick to each other. The rati-rath is a common symbol for Kamadeva; I think it also appears in 'sakhi he'. And the flag on the chariot contains a fish, which is a symbol of fertility.
She says, comb through my hair with your fingers and tie it up. Make a snake-like plait.

Shikhandi means a peacock, shikhandika is the tail and the tuft of the peacock, and daamare - beautiful. My hair which is as beautiful as the plume of a peacock, the chamar and dhwaja of Kama, has come loose during rati - loveplay; as you embraced me and kissed my flower-like mouth. The shloka in Vasanta Pallavi also uses 'shikhandi'; it refers to the tuft of peacock feathers that is used to tie a bun. So it can refer to peacocks in various ways.
She offers her hair to him and she looks at him using the mirror on the ring she wears.

Sarasa-ghane jaghane mama sambara-darana-varana-kandare
mani-rasana-vasanabharanani subhasaya vasaya sundare
nijagada sa yadunandane
kridati hrdayanandane
Translation:
My full hips are like the cave of the passionate elephant who is cupid. These beautiful hips full of rasa, decorate them with a waist belt, clothes and ornaments.
Thus Radha spoke, while playing with her beloved, the delight of her heart.

'Sambara darana varana'. Varana means elephant - sambara darana. Sambara was the demon who was destroyed/ darana by Pradyumna who is an embodiment of Kamadeva. A kamadeva in the appearance of an elephant. The destroying - darana, refers to the war of love, where the war of love takes place. The movements are of fighting but the mudra is of love. The word itself refers only to Kamadeva. But, in this, he is showing the fight of love. They are referring to the cavern of the demon - which is the hip in this case.
She holds her waistbelt, places it on her waist and asks Krishna to come and help her tie it.

Guruji is wearing a stitched costume here. He stopped wearing that later.

This is also an important pose from Konark.

While Kumkum did not have much to say specifically about this lecture demonstration, it is one of the many events in the course of this performance tour of Japan and, in a larger sense, an occasion in her life in Japan (of which there were many) where we see her students. Kumkum's students in Japan were her window out of the otherwise insulated life of expats. She has always been passionate about teaching. She taught her first student, Asako Takami, in her tiny kitchen, because it was the only space in the house that was not carpeted or tatami-matted. Her students became a vital part of her life - during this 1986 tour, Guruji and the other troupe members stayed in her house. Two or three of her students would drop in every day to assist her with her chores, she fondly recalls. They sometimes stayed to watch rehearsals.

(Applause)
The recording abruptly moves to a later section, with Kumkum and Guruji on stage after their performances.
The interpreter speaks in Japanese. Kumkum begins introducing the musicians.
Kumkum: Shri Bhubaneswar Mishra is the architect of Odissi music and all the songs that you heard today have been composed by him. And it is a great honour that he is here...for my performance.
(Japanese translation)
Mishra bows to the audience and is greeted by applause.
(The interpreter continues talking)
Kumkum explains that she has an 'unlikely appearance' during her performance because the half-sari she is wearing is a practice costume. The full Odissi costume, she explains, is much more elaborate, and is accompanied by headgear to match.

All the troupe members come to the centre to take a bow. We see the audience clapping.

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