POST NEWS NETWORK
Bhubaneswar: Folk dances always narrate tales of tradition and grandeur pertaining to a particular community. Similarly, Ranapa dance, an old folk dance of Ganjam district which was performed at Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan here Monday, recounted the celebrations of a community of cowherds.
Thirteen artistes of Narendrapur presented a dance showcasing glimpses of Dolo Jatra and Giri Gobardhan Puja. The dance was performed on the stilts. During their performance, the artistes used percussions like Dhol and Mahuri by singing and dancing to the beats of Bajeni, a musical instrument. Interestingly, it was noticed that a female artiste, SS Swayamprabha, accompanied the group and proved that a woman can also do the dance just like men. Speaking to Orissa POST, trainer of these artistes S Venkat Rao Reddy said, “There was a time when the dance was performed by only male artistes. Subsequently, the trend has changed.
Now women are able to perform the dance exactly like their male counterparts.” Reddy also stated that the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training is providing scholarship to three women Ranapa dance artistes of Narendrapur in order to promote
the folk tradition among women. Artistes SS Swayamprabha, Pinky Das and Archana Gauda are being trained in the dance for which a scholarship is being awarded to the three. Another folk dance form ‘Chadeya’ presented by the same artistes also left the audience spellbound at the venue.
“Chadeyas are sabar tribals who gather caged birds and free them in the forests. The joy of freedom is portrayed in the Chadeya dance,” added S Venkat Rao. He suggested that in a bid to protect these dying dance forms, the state and central government must work together and provides maximum opportunities to the artistes to explore their talents. The final performance was famous Sambalpur dance to the popular song ‘Rangabati’. Eight artistes of Manorama Nrutya Kala Kendra presented the dance. With a purpose to protect the dying performing art forms of the state, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan and Infosys foundation conducted the program.
