The "Spellbound" Odissi performance by the Malaysian Sutra Dance Troupe on 10^th September at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar captivated the hearts of all the dance lovers and the culturally sensitive audience of Orissa. The most sensible was the costume used by the dancers that took us on a journey back to the age-old temple costume of Maharis, Devadasis and Nachunis. It is really a sensitive issue that Ramli Ibrahim, a Guru from an alien space and origin could implement, recreate and practice with this costume. Commonly the costume used by the dancers; a sari wrapped over the upper torso over the shoulder, veiling and covering feministic bodily manifestation, is more fashionable and Bollywood like that violates our temple and art tradition.

We have witnessed a few pieces of news in newspapers by local self-acclaimed dance critics condemning the costumes of the Sutra dancers. A journalist or reporter should be conscious not to produce gossip (personal or individual opinions devoid of textual truth) and unsubstantiated biased criticism on any art form. The reporters of those news pieces should be aware of the long Odissi tradition of costume that is reflected in Gitagovinda illustrated palm leaf manuscripts and temple murals. We pity the visual ignorance and boastful expertise of the reporter-critics in criticising and trying to twist public opinion.

The reporters seem to have relied more on their ignorance rather than the rich visual documents that Orissa has. We would ask them to look at the Nayikas and Alasakanyas, the damsels and maidens that decorate the façades of the temples. They would fail to see a figure wrapped in a sari as we do in Odissi dance. Since the dancers do not know how to wear a sari, they have resorted to stitched sari costume. The kanchela fashion in which the Sutra dancers were attired was a Debaprasad tradition. It has started from Indrani Rehman and is followed only by Sutra. We should celebrate variety and diversity, as our culture holds this principle as essence. These reporters are neither imbued in culture nor in different styles of Odissi. That's the real tragedy that in some newspapers, persons lacking proper knowledge and scholarship in a particular field become the journalists and reporters of that field.

First of all the reports lack the insight to the rich dance tradition of our state and perhaps these reporters have not even seen in their lifetime, a single folio of the Gitagovinda illustrated palm leaf manuscripts of Orissa where the dancing gopis are painted wearing kanchelas without covering the upper torso with odhani. It seems as if these reports have been based on gossips (talks on a personal level). The reporters should have gone through the best available texts and refined themselves before writing on dance.

These reporters should go through Kumbhara Chaka, authored by Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik where Patnaik mentions that he visited Delhi in 1958 along with Guru Debaprasad Das and his disciple Indrani Rehman to attend a seminar on dance, on the invitation of Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi. Patnaik presented a paper establishing the classical aspects of Odissi dance. Indrani danced wearing this pure and traditional Odissi costume (unstitched bandha sari). Eminent critic of Indian classical dance, Charles Fabri was also present at Indrani's performance. Debaprasad Das had restored this costume from history, back to practice in Odissi dance through his disciple Indrani, and Kalicharan Patnaik and Charles Fabri had approved of this costume as authentic Odissi. Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik, the Guru of the Gurus, considered as the main crusader of Odissi dance, who had contributed and sacrificed his whole life for the sake of Odissi dance, revered as the guide and philosopher by the three Odissi dance maestros, Pankaj Charan Das, Kelucharan Mahapatra and Debaprasad Das, had never objected to this costume. Indrani Rehman had danced in this costume in Delhi and all over the globe with her Guru Debaprasad Das.

The contribution of Indrani Rehman to popularise Odissi dance in the international arena and getting it recognised as a classical dance form is unparalleled. Indrani, the Miss India of 1950, was born with the dancer's gene, being the daughter of the great Bharatanatyam exponent Ragini Devi. Indrani's dance on Gitagovinda on 7^th April 1958 at Talkatora Gardens, New Delhi, created a positive wave and cleared the path for Odissi to stand parallel with other Indian classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Kathakali. Indrani's dancing glamour and personality drew grand applause from all corners for her performance and that helped Odissi dance in obtaining classical recognition (refer to Kumbhara Chaka, autobiography of Dr. Kalicharan Patnaik, p. 345).

Times of India (8^th April 1958) wrote on that celebrated occasion: "Testimony for the recognition of Odissi as a classical dance on par with Bharatanatyam by the dance Seminar on Monday, was found the same evening in the dance numbers presented by Indrani Rehman at the Talkatora Gardens." Statesman (8^th April 1958) wrote: "It was fit occasion for Mrs. Indrani Rehman to dance on the very day on which the Sangeet Natak Akademi officially recognised Orissi dancing as a classical system equal with Bharatanatyam and Kathakali." Hindustan Times (8^th April 1958) wrote: "Within a few hours of the Sangeet Natak Akademi dance seminar's according national status to a fifth school of Indian classical dance, namely Odissi, a large audience had the opportunity to witness the same performed by Indrani Rehman…" Was the media blind to Indrani's kanchela costume?

Now does the costume create visual pollution or is this a preconceived pollution pre-stored in the vision?

There is no specific dress code in Odissi because the Jayantika has not prescribed any sample. The different Gurus have followed their own styles. Debaprasad was very much conscious of his own creative vitality. So he rebelled out of the Jayantika style and practiced an individual style and dance costume of his own. The dress code followed by Guru Debaprasad Das and his students, Indrani Rehman and Ramli Ibrahim is typical and conforms to the tradition mentioned above. Any other evidence from the present practice is fallacious, modern and populist. They are not traditional. Therefore a purist is he who follows this long Orissan tradition and not he who depends on the modern practice.

Dhirendra Nath Patnaik has produced the photograph of Indrani Rehman wearing a kanchela without odhani, in a pure dance movement in his book Odissi Dance, published by Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, Bhubaneswar, 1971 and 1990 (refer to the plates between pp. 100-101) and has not written a single line objecting to it anywhere in his whole book. Dhirendra Nath Patnaik who was also a delegate, who presented a paper in the seminar Odissi Nrutya Alochana, edited by Kalicharan Patnaik, published by Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, did not also object to Guru Mayadhar Rout's statement on Odissi dance costume (attired upper torso with Kanchela but uncovered with sari).

So how could these reports based on the manipulated opinion of so-called dance scholars and a fistful of dance tutors, challenge and condemn the long traditional costume? Really the destructive attitude inherent in these news pieces has utterly hurt us, the general viewers and dance lovers who have seen the Sutra performance.

We are producing a chronology of evidences where dancers are shown without wearing sari as upper garment as well as odhani. These evidences cover a period of more than two thousand years starting from 2^nd century BC till 20^th century AD. The Odissi dance was recognised as classical by the Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi based on these evidences..