Her Devotional Connect

With precise hand gestures that strike just the right angles, Odissi virtuoso Madhulita Mohapatra enters the stage with an unmissable expression of joy. Adorned in an ice blue sari, her body movements feel like those of a medieval temple sculpture come to life. Featuring three compositions, her recent recital, Bhava and Bhakti, began with a pallavi in devotion of Lord Jagannath, followed by an abhinaya piece from Geeta Govinda, and finally, a composition on Lord Vishnu.

- By SAMIYA CHOPRA

"For me, productions never end but keep evolving like one's understanding of the divine. Here, it is less about the story and more about reflection, surrender, and devotion," says the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee, who was joined by her senior disciples Sahana R Maiya and Paridhi Joshi on stage. "As a child, I was drawn towards Odissi and would sit glued to the television whenever Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Sanjukta Panigrahi appeared on Doordarshan, trying to mimic their grace in my own little ways," Madhulita reminisces. "Learning Odissi felt like a dream as my hometown in Odisha had no classical dance schools. Although I entered an Odissi classroom at 19, the dance had been living within me for long," she says. After marriage and mov