Culture Magazine

Apsaras of ODISSI - The Story

By Akilavenkat @artistexpress

Shifting to Bangalore from Mumbai was a relief which I cannot express through mere words. Alright alright! You can curse me all you want for leaving behind the 'city of dreams' for Bangalore. But I have my own satisfactory reasons for wanting to settle in the 'green city';  
1. To get away from my parents.2. The active art culture here. 
3. I was not fit for Mumbai. 4. I like to get to know new places and people.5. Most of the artistic friends I know via social networking are here!
So here I am finally in Bengaluru, doing what I love, exploring life to its fullest and having a ball with lovely people I have newly made friends with! The 'Apsaras of Odissi' is definitely one of the many means of enjoyment. Ashwini Raghupathy and Kristina Jones are the 2 lovely souls who I met in Nrityagram in the year 2011. Ever since then, I kept in touch with Kristina. From her, I learnt that Ashwini had startedARPAN, an organisation where she devoutly grooms people interested in learning the dance that is "Poetry in motion"- ODISSI. Presently, Arpan consists of 6 dancers and they are ready to expand their horizons and nurture the art they know and love the most. I got in touch with them within a month of moving to Bangalore. To my pleasant surprise, Ashwini came forward asking for a photo-shoot of them all. I agreed immediately and oh boy did we hit it off!

Apsaras of ODISSI - The story

(From left) Devina Wallang, Ashwini Raghupathy, Kristina Jones, Smitha Patil

My next post will consist of the 'Apsaras' pose for me with utmost patience and passion. For now, I leave you all wanting for more with a fun picture I clicked of them on our way to the Cubbon park; the place of photo-shoot.

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