International Odissi Festival 2003: Seminar - Durga Charan Ranbir on Chhanda
Duration: 00:18:58; Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1; Hue: 28.633; Saturation: 0.019; Lightness: 0.221; Volume: 0.217; Cuts per Minute: 2.899; Words per Minute: 19.926
Summary: The 2nd International Odissi Festival was organised by IPAP between August 28 - 31, 2003, in Washington D.C. Dedicated to the memory of Guru Pankaj Charan Das, who passed away in June 2003, it brought together Odissi dancers and scholars from all over the world.
Durga Charan Ranbir, disciple of the late guru Deba Prasad Das has done a lot to propagate the school of Odissi his teacher specialized in. His vast experience as a teacher of Odissi for the past 25 years includes work in institutions spread over many places like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, New Delhi, Calcutta and the USA. He was a visiting professor in the Delhi University Cultural Council, has taught in Jawaharlal Nehru Youth Center in New Delhi; Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Sangeet Niketan, Vani Vihar in Bhubaneswar; Lalit Kala Pitha, Alaka Kala Mandap in Cuttack; Satabdi Nrutyayana in Calcutta and Lotus Arts in New York. He runs his own institution Nrutyayan in Bhubaneswar.
Here, he talks about chhanda, a genre of Oriya poetry.
Deba Prasad Das
Oriya abhinaya
Rajika Puri
Washington, DC
antara
continuous
elaboration
metre
narrative
place of sanchari
poetic idiom
rhyme
sanchari
sthayi
Two points that he wanted to make about chhanda
The chhanda unlike other geetas only has a sthayi and no antara. there is no contrast or secondary thought which is a form you might find in other geeta. But in the chhanda there are two or three ways of varying the lyrics even if you just have a single line and a single thought. There could be three types of gamakas - depending on where a word is repeated in the line. For instance, in kunjabane, it is in the middle.
kunjabane kalanidhi kalanidhi kalanidhi kalasrihari
He has three different ways of showing the idea of kalanidhi, which refers to Krishna.
Ranbir demonstrates.
Verse:
kunjabane kalanidhi kalanidhi kalanidhi kalasrihari
kahanti...
In 'ramani ratana' the contrast is in what is said - the nayaka says something and something complementary is said by the nayika. The nayaka tells the kokila - what would she be thinking about me, while the nayika describes her state to the clouds, 'megha'.
Verse:
ramani ratana megha ku chahi
kahibu re megha kanta ku jai
ete dina kimpa (?) nilamba tale
...
Kastuar's remarks.
As a piece of text what does it mean to a dancer, to have only a sthayi and not an antara. When you have minimal text it can perhaps mean more freedom to the dancer.
A discussion between Kelucharan Mohapatra and Durga Charan Ranbir.
Sangeeta Dash speaks
Guru Deba Prasad Das did not use much sanchari bhava. But now when Ranbir ji composes, he is trying to add that to make it more beautiful and more elaborate; sometimes, it also helps to balance elements. It depends on the song used too. For instance the second song, 'ramani ratana' had the possibility for elaboration. In the first song the meaning is more literal. The second song describes the rains, the thunderbolt, clouds, the song of the cuckoo; that creates the impulse for lovemaking.
Rajika: This form continues - the next line will take you forward, just as you follow the whole chhanda you find an elaboration.
Madhavi: This is a narrative form; the basic structure of chhanda is the narrative.
Ramahari Das and Madhavi Mudgal: All the chhandas have been set to a particular metre, that is the main characteristic of this form. There are other poetic forms you can use for sanchari. The poetic form of chhanda should be respected.
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