My fascination for classical dance forms made me meet and interact with many dancing legends — Sonal Mansingh, Birju Maharaj, Mallika Sarabhai, Hema Malini, to name a few.
Apart from seeing them mesmerise the audience, I have had the privilege of even dining with a few of them. One such recent interaction was with leading classical dancer and a highly-renowned exponent of Odissi, Padma Shri Madhavi Mudgal.
Our conversation made me realise that she believes in doing her best and leaving the rest to God. Madhavi was born into a family devoted to classical Indian music. Her father, Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya was the founder of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi.
Initially, she studied Bharatanatyam and Kathak under eminent gurus, but she finally chose Odissi as her medium of expression. A prime disciple of legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Madhavi is credited with bringing a greatly refined sensibility to her art form.
She has received repeated acclaim in major dance festivals, which have featured her throughout the world. She is also associated with the making of several films and audio-visuals on Odissi. Talking to such a devoted and accomplished person was indeed a great pleasure.
Establishing a niche in the international dance scene as a soloist, she has received critical acclaim for her choreography. Her extensive training under renowned gurus, and her family’s musical background have provided her with a rare insight into the art of choreography.
She has also conducted workshops in the dance form all over the world. Numerous awards and honours have come her way, including the Padma Shri, the Sanskriti Award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, among others.
I could not resist asking her a few questions that were running through my head, when I got talking to her. Excerpts from the conversation:

You trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathak before taking up Odissi as your preferred medium. Why?
Lyricism and subtlety of the form attracted me. When I was introduced to dance, only Bharatanatyam and Kathak were available as classical styles. Later, the language barrier with Bharatanatyam and the showmanship of Kathak made me switch to Odissi. Then, it was still in its nascent form.
Training in other classical dance forms equipped me with an insight into varied dance vocabularies. This helped me comprehend the Odissi technique in a holistic manner. While Tala was definitely strengthened due to Kathak, Bharatanatyam enriched my understanding of abhinaya and geometry.

How do you feel after being awarded so many honours?
I feel glad and elated; I thank God for all the blessings and love, the dance world has showered on me. I strongly believe that as a dancer I should do my best and leave the rest to God to decide. I dance to dance, not to get the awards.

Can you tell me about your work at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya? Why do you think Odissi hasn’t been able to get a strong foothold in India?
Apart from teaching Odissi to various age groups, juniors and seniors, I am involved in preparing a teaching methodology that will benefit all students of the style. There is a lacuna in this field, because there is hardly a standardised understanding of even the basic grammar of the style amongst various gurus. I am also involved in composing and choreographing pieces for solo and group dances. Odissi is getting popular in India now.

You began the first-of-its-kind festival — ‘Angahaar’, it was well received too, but it fizzled off? What really went wrong?
The revival of Odissi began in the 1960s by Dev Prasad Das, Guru Pankajcharan Das and Kulucharan Mahapatra. Angahaar was mainly to popularise the dance and bring about awareness of different styles; once the main purpose was achieved, we did not go ahead with the festival. Now, it is time to experiment meaningfully with dance and understand the root well.