Odissi Vision and Movement Centre, under the guidance of Sharmila Biswas, premiered their two new productions at Sisir Mancha on August 6 in the course of the government-sponsored Rabindra Utsav. “Kshanika”, as they were named addressed two issues — the rhythm in life and death as explored by Rabindranath Tagore. An experienced dancer and a sensitive choreographer, Sharmila, in “Taal 2007”, dealt with the twelve basic taals of Odissi along with similar taals of Carnatic and Hindusthani origin and those created by Tagore. It was a brilliant composition that juggled with different beats and gave its own expression to Tagore’s philosophy. Thus the abstract seven beats of tripata found a concrete shape in “amar e ghar bahu jatan kore” — lines from the song, “Aj jyotsna rate”, based on tewra.

This balanced blending of rhythm and verse made it a striking presentation. Sharmila, along with Minakshi Chandra, Krishnendu Roy, Saswati Garai, Piyali and Priyanka, painted a colourful canvas in which inert and lifeless bols and syllables came alive as the major characters. Structured like a game played between the rural percussionists, the choreography transcended the dry calculation of taals. Apart from mardala (Banamali Maharana, Haromohon Khuntiya), mridangam (N. Shankar), khol (Kalandi Behera), tabla (Biplab Bhattacharya), ghatam and metallic gongs (Ajay Kumar Chaudhury), the sound of sticks usually used by the village gurus were coopted admirably in the production. The songs were rendered by Pubali Debnath and Debasish Sarkar. However, notwithstanding the research, team spirit, aesthetically-done costume, the whole presentation could have been more crisp and compact.

The second piece of the evening, “Touching Death...and Beyond” was a conversation between Death and the Creator. Conceived by Sharmila and choreographed by Neelay Sengupta, a talented, young choreographer, it was indeed an ambitious project. Unfortunately, the treatment of the subject was unsatisfactory. Despite the dialogue, minimal dance and props (too many of them), the piece did not move forward. Maya’s entrance, puppet-like and in an elegant costume, proved Neelay’s creative excellence. The concluding sequence made symbolic use of the ladder with the song, “Achhe dukhha achhe mrityu”. The music by the Sabar tribals of Putasinghi village of Orissa was praiseworthy. The narration, by Kunal Padhi and Anubha Fatepuria, also deserves special mention.