Dear Friends,
Jaya Ram, Sutra Foundation’s newest production of Odissi,opened the first day of The Konark Festival early this December. Jaya Ram is now slated to be the closing performance at the Kartavya Path, Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) 2022.
jaya Ram, a collaboration between Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda (Tridhara, Bhubaneswar) and Datuk Ramli Ibrahim (Sutra, Malaysia) once again takes inspiration from the folk traditions of South Odisha, injecting earthy energies of music and dance vocabulary of Ram Leela & Rama Natakam, into the Odissi repertoire.
Jaya Ram has to be viewed as a collage of energies where recognisable Ramayana characters make familiar entrances & exits, referencing episodic highlights of the Ramayana. It is not a Ramayana dance-drama.
It’s been a long five years since Sutra performed in New Delhi, the last was the highly acclaimed ‘Odissi on High’, a collaboration with Rudrakshya Foundation (Bhubaneswar).
The present Jaya Ram collaboration with Guru Gajendra Panda represents a highlight in the celebration of India-Malaysia 65 years of diplomatic relations.
You can now watch Sutra’s performance of Jaya Ram at the Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) last night, 29 December 2022.
Ramli Ibrahim
Chairman, Sutra Foundation