Gursharan Kaur launches book on Odissi dance form

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Ms Gursharan Kaur, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife, today lauded the contribution of eminent guru Kelu Charan Mahapatra and Pankaj Charan Das to the 'Odissi ' dance form.

''Odissi has its own charm, grace, lyricism and sensuousness.... the classical dance is understood to be the synthesis of body and mind because it merges physical energy with emotional and spiritual enthusiasm,'' Ms Kaur said after releasing "Odissi, the Dance Divine'-- authored by Odissi dancer Ranjana Gauhar.

She said, ''Odissi, also called the 'dance of gods', is the intrinsically passionate style of dance that grew from the traditional temple dance''.

The book, with photographs by Dushyant Parashar shot at various temples, gives details of the presence of Odissi dance, in terms of archaeological evidence, which was found in the cave sculptures in the hills near Bhubaneswar dating back to the first century BC.

The book is also a chronological survey of the form and style of the dance.

UNI