The book by the celebrity danseuse Padmasree, Ileana Citaristi vividly captures the martial arts of Odisha, specially the Paik dance of a bygone era, when Paiks (derived from padatik) infantry foot soldiers of the then Kalinga (the ancient name of Odisha) kept themselves in war-readiness by rigorously practicing the armed and unarmed combat styles. The book is all about such forgotten stories of valour, the skills developed with or without swords and spears, all for the sake of protecting the motherland, the highest form of dedication and sacrifice, which is faithfully portrayed by the dancer-writer. Interwoven with the martial art form are the rituals, the code of ethics and the religious practices which are still being practiced in the districts of Odisha. The book will give the reader an insight into these seemingly innocuous practices but suffused with folklores and associated with historical events that speak volumes of the heroism of the hereditary foot soldiers.
When in 1992 I started to do research on the martial traditions of Odisha I just wanted to find out how much of the martial training of the paik had gone into the grammar of the Chhau dance and through which passages the transformation had taken place. I knew there were two different opinions about the origins of the Chhau dance, one which stressed the ritualistic derivation of the dance denying any martial connection and the other which was attributing the entire evolution of the style to the gradual transformation from the mock fighting of the paik into a choreographed grammar of body movements.
This second opinion seemed more plausible to me so I decided to research on the kinetics of the martial practices to understand their basic elements, their dynamics and phases of evolution.
A six months fellowship from the Indhira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in 1991 and a subsequent two years fellowship from Ford Foundation in 2007 allowed me to make frequent trips to the villages of the Khorda area and to record the practice of the martial artists as well as interact with the local population, their history, culture and folklore It became quite evident from the very beginning that I was dealing with a rich tradition which was in a stage of decline and needed not only to be recorded and documented but also revived and restored to its social and historical dignity.
I found tremendous enthusiasm and eagerness to demonstrate from the part of young and elders alike in spite of the adverse weather conditions, economical constraints and uncertainty about the future. I will always be indebted to all the artists who so promptly and generously demonstrated their art in front of me almost being grateful that somebody was taking cognizance of their existence.
In 1993 I was able to involve the UGC (University Grant Commission) in producing a documentary on the basic technique of the paik training which was shown in the Doordarsan educational slot and in 1994 a Paik Martial Arts Academy was opened in Gurujang near Khorda on the basis of the scheme presented by me to the Government of Odisha. Unfortunately the Academy had to be closed down within two years of its functioning for mismanagement of funds and the attempts to re-open it have been futile until date. A valuable body of knowledge and expertise is at risk of vanishing for ever if the process of systematization of the technique which was started with the Academy is not promptly resumed and brought to completion.
"
Hindu (935)
Agriculture (118)
Ancient (1085)
Archaeology (754)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (910)
Biography (702)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (565)
Islam (242)
Jainism (307)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (372)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist