PETals

My Experience Meeting Guru Durga Charan Ranbir

this is a little something i put together as an assignment for Geetha Teacher, after Odissi great Guru Durga Charan Ji visited TFA one morning...

My Experience Meeting Guru Durga Charan Ranbir

On the 24th of April 2007 it was by God’s grace that I was lucky enough to be present when Guru Durga Charan Ranbir of Bhubaneswar, India visited The Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur. I had heard of him many times before, and had also read about him on the Internet, and thus knew he was no ordinary person. Guru Durga Charan Ranbir is the protégé of one the members of the famous trinity of odissi Gurus, Guru Deba Prasad Das. He is known all over the world mainly for his immense contributions to Odissi dance, especially in the unique style, or Gharana of his guru.

As he walked in with a gentle stride through the main entrance of TFA I was amazed as this man with all his knowledge and fame was so simple and humble to all around him, treating others around him as equals. He nodded politely as Geetha teacher introduced the teachers and students who were there to greet him. He was accompanied by one of his senior disciples Debasish Pattnaik, and Shrimati Shangita Namasivayam, also an Odissi dancer, teacher and choreographer from here in KL, with whom Guruji and his disciple were staying with. Guruji was down to choreograph for an Odissi show produced by Shrimathi Shangita and her dance school; a show which Debashish was also performing in.

Guruji seemed quite delighted to see our current TFA building as Geetha teacher showed him around the humble premises. He also learnt of our new building which is coming up just around the corner of Jalan Berhala. As we reached the altar we all stopped to offer prayer and Guruji took the aarti. It was quite breathtaking as I stopped to think and realized that such a renowned artiste was among our presence, and praying with us. Geetha teacher then proceeded to present Guruji with some gifts to commemorate his visit to our premises. I was then quite fortunate as Geetha teacher asked me to present Debasish, a talented dancer in his own right, with his gifts.

Everyone present then proceeded to sit opposite the altar, as Geetha teacher and Gowri teacher were about to present an Odissi item for Guruji. They presented a beautifully choreographed Mangalacharan, which delighted Guruji. Shankar anna, who was also present, then proceeded to perform a Bharathanatyam padam, set to the bhajan Sri Ramachandra. Finally, Guruji himself agreed to dance. This made me very excited; to think that I was lucky enough to witness the foremost proponent of the Guru Deba Prasad Das Gharana of Odissi, performing in front of me. As Guruji danced his Abhinaya piece to lovely Oriyan music, he exuded amazing grace, and facial expressions. Despite his age he still did many lovely poses, and continued to amaze us with his histrionics until the end. It ended too soon for me, as I would have liked to have watched and studied his dancing at least a little longer, but that was not meant to be.

After that he was showed around a little more, as others and I helped prepare for the lunch which was to be served for him. As he was beginning to eat Sumathi teacher thrust a plate of food into my hand and asked me to sit down on the same table as Guruji. I really did not want to because I felt I did not deserve to sit down at the same table as Guruji and others like Shangita akka and Shankar anna, when even Sumathi teacher and Geetha teacher were not, but I did not really have a choice. It was very lucky for me to have dined with Guruji himself

Sadly, after lunch it was time for Guruji to leave. After having signed the TFA guestbook, everyone said their goodbyes. It was a wonderful experience having met one of the foremost exponents and Gurus in the art of Odissi dance today. It would be interesting to note that while chatting with Shankar anna, Uncle Ket and the other teachers present, Guruji stated that even now he still had not actually reached the status of a Guru! Such humility from one of the greatest and most well recognized Odissi Gurus alive today…

posted by ashwyn @ 1:37 PM