Dear Friends,
I thought I’d share with you a short video that I had to prepare (& submit), rather in haste, for Sutra’s online contribution to a panel discussion on Malaysian Dance, presented by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The event, on 29 April 2023, celebrated the twin auspicious occasions of 73rd anniversary of ICCR and International World Dance Day. (I thank Mrs Ramya Hirinayiniah, Director of NSCBICC for the invitation)
At that time, Sutra was at The Esplanade, Singapore, smack in the midst of preparation for Jaya Ram, the Odissi production, to be presented by Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on the 28 April, 2023.
My online presentation mainly focused on the evolution of the unique Sutra brand of Odissi in Malaysia (which is an off-shoot of the Debaprasad Parampara) and Sutra’s endeavour in the last few decades to establish Odissi in Malaysia, then a dance terrain previously unfamiliar to Odissi. Jaya Ram, brought in a significant collaboration between Guru Gajendra Panda and I, together with artistes of Sutra Foundation and musicians of Odisha. The production became the apt symbol and perfect dance celebration of the 65 years of India-Malaysia diplomatic relations. (I must also add that it has been more than a decade since Sutra came to Singapore with a full production and more than 17 years since we performed at The Esplanade.)
In this video, I spoke informally without script and, of course, was not able to cover all the grounds related to Odissi in Malaysia but touched more on Sutra’s extensive role in making Odissi one of the most popular and visible dance forms, contributing to the rich multi-cultural diversity of Malaysian Dance.
I hope you will find the video enjoyable as well as informative.
Ramli