‘Prati Nayaka’: When Aruna Mohanty Blended Odissi With Prahlada Nataka, Sahi Jata & Geeti Natya

He is not the hero, but always the opposite of it. In western aesthetics, he is called an anti-hero, but in Bharata Muni’s ‘Natya Shastra’ he is ‘Prati Nayaka’ or the proto-hero. He is the prime mover to establish the divine grace of the hero. Usually, in dance, drama and poetry we do celebrate the hero. Here I am to talk about a dance production where the opposite was celebrated. It’s a dance production titled ‘Prati Nayaka’ choreographed and presented by veteran Odissi dancer Aruna Mohanty. Almost a decade back, I scripted this idea for a young disciple of Aruna Mohanty, but ultimately that becomes the insignia of her performing brilliance.

The storyline is a bit complex, and multi-layered, covering the time zone of eternity, containing many characters and narrating an episodic drama with a philosophical undertone. It’s about the ‘fall guys’ of Indian mythology representing four eras: in Satya Yuga he was Hiranyakashipu, in Treta he was Ravana, in Dwapara he is Kamsa and in Kali Yuga the time himself is the Prati Nayaka. The tag line of the story is – “I am therefore you are”, My devilish existence facilitates your divinity to be the supreme victor.

This nuanced theme is choreographed by Aruna Mohanty with captivating ease and smoothness. She blends the theme with a style. The choreography is basically Odissi, but within the Odissi frame there are many other folk forms like Prahlada Nataka, Sahi Jata and Geeti Natya got gelled. It’s a solo production of thirty minutes nonstop on stage. The required dynamism and energy of the body in this production are quite high. The movements and footwork demand elaborate practice and extraordinary strength. When Aruna Mohanty presented this choreography at a Bhubaneswar-based festival last week, it was as fresh and as evocative as it was a decade ago. The incredible narrative and complex storytelling theme of ‘Prati Nayaka’ got a simple yet powerful expression.

In the case of Aruna Mohanty as a dancer, she does not dance, but dance prefers her to be a medium. She flows with the music; step by step, move by move and feel by feel. She makes you understand the multi-layered meanings of life. On that evening, her first presentation was ‘Samsara’ where it is described that life is a transit house.  You transit from childhood to youth and from there to old age. It’s Samsara, a fragile droplet on the lotus leaf. Her movements to signify the life in dance are soft but stunningly deep. She emphasises more on life and in her dance, life becomes the joy of divinity.

Aruna Mohanty was performing solo after a long gap of two years. Usually, she is a prolific dancer and choreographer, but COVID-19 had silenced everyone and everything for years. Her reappearance on the stage as a soloist is pure ecstasy.  She is as usual the star and the grand narrator of life and living. She presented a smaller version of her choreography ‘Samsara’ (originally it’s a pretty long one) and ‘Prati Nayaka’. Thematically both the choreographic productions are rich, diverse, multi-layered, nuanced and deeply philosophical. Aesthetically the choreography shuttles between the Desi and the Margam. It was highly sophisticated Odissi blended with Prahlada Nataka, Sahi Jata and Geeti Natya.

Simply it was an evening of pure joy and enchantment. ‘Prati Nayaka’ is one of the historic choreography in the Odissi dance style. It pushed the boundary of the tradition to a different horizon and as a performer, Aruna Mohanty signed something immortally golden on stage.