The Question Of Caste In Odissi Dance

A debate is on at the national level on “implicit and explicit casteism” in the classical dance scenario of India. The question of “implicit and explicit casteism” needs an answer from all the stakeholders of classical dance. In the era of constitutional democracy and social justice, no art form can stick to its traditional approach to caste and class. A hegemonic tradition, how far pure or divine it may be, shall definitely be countered with democratic logic and that’s happening now.

In an article published in the web magazine Scroll.in Brahma Prakash writes- “Over the years, Savarnas have increasingly consolidated their presence in almost all spheres of classical dance and music, from Bharatnatyam, Odissi and Kuchipudi to Carnatic and Hindustani music. As many performers from lower caste and minority communities have pointed out, they are systematically denied access to the classical dance spaces”.

In that context, if we look into the revival of Odissi dance, we would find a different scenario and almost an alternative structure of hierarchy. Odissi dance is an exception and fortunately, the Gurudom in Odissi was never dominated by the upper caste or class. The first three Gurus who reinvented Odissi in the 40s to 60s of the last century Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Debaprasad Das and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra came from marginal communities and none of them was born with a silver spoon. Despite the historical claim of the temple lineage of Odissi dance, there is no trace of upper caste domination in its structure, design and teachings.

The most remarkable anti-hegemonic attitude in Odissi can be found in the Guru-Shishya tradition of Odissi. In the 50s, the major dancers of Odissi came from the upper strata of the society who learnt from Gurus from marginal castes. It’s easy to see a Brahmin Sanjukta Panigrahi or Minati Mishra touching the feet of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra who came from a Chitrakar family. The question of caste was never a dominant discourse in Odissi history not because it was a non-issue; rather it can be attributed to the absence of sociological analysis of the dance history. This question will come up any day and shall demand an answer. Somehow, a counter-narrative to caste hegemony is covertly prevalent in Odissi dance traditions. All the source dances of Odissi like Mahari, Gotipua, Sakhinata, Shabda Nrutya etc are non-Brahmanic in character and structure. Every dance form in Odisha belongs to backward castes and Brahmins stay away from such art forms.

In Odisha, there is a proverb which denounces dancers and musicians as shameless people. (ସଲ୍ଲଜ ଗାଏ, ନିର୍ଲ୍ଲଜ ବାଏ, ଅତି ଅଲାଜୁକ ନାଚରେ ଯାଏ – he who sings may have little shame. He who plays instruments on stage is shameless and he who dances has no shame at all.) To be in dance was almost like being an untouchable. So the revival of Odissi in the 40s to 60s of the last century was a process of redefining a codified tradition. Odissi was Shastreeya, following rules and methodology prescribed by the Natyashastra and Abhinaya Chandrika, but in practice, it owes more to the folk and tribal dance forms of Odisha.