Years later, there is another historical figure of Salbeg (or Salabega), born of a mixed marriage of a Mughal nobleman and a Brahmin window in the 17th century. The chronicler Nilamani Misra narrates the biographical events of his life, while the folkloric musical Bhakta Salbeg (1982) captures on the celluloid his times somewhat on a mythological level.
One respectfully approached some gurus and senior practitioners of Odissi dance in our land with the following three queries:
1: Since Salbeg is undoubtedly Odisha's heritage figure cutting across narrow religious barriers and since his compositions are copiously sung in the holy Ratha Yatra Festival of Lord Jagannath, would you regard Salbeg as a worthy symbol of inter-denominational amity and universal peace?
2: If you do, would you like to add Odissi choreography on Salbeg compositions in your own rich choreographic repertoire?
3: Do you think there should also be a regular Salbeg Festival, where you could join other Odissi dancers, with your choreographic oeuvre, to highlight the message of tolerance and harmony of Salbeg?
Reproduced are the responses received (presented in alphabetic order) to the three queries.
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One respectfully approached some gurus and senior practitioners of Odissi dance in our land with the following three queries:
1: Since Salbeg is undoubtedly Odisha's heritage figure cutting across narrow religious barriers and since his compositions are copiously sung in the holy Ratha Yatra Festival of Lord Jagannath, would you regard Salbeg as a worthy symbol of inter-denominational amity and universal peace?
2: If you do, would you like to add Odissi choreography on Salbeg compositions in your own rich choreographic repertoire?
3: Do you think there should also be a regular Salbeg Festival, where you could join other Odissi dancers, with your choreographic oeuvre, to highlight the message of tolerance and harmony of Salbeg?
Reproduced are the responses received (presented in alphabetic order) to the three queries.
Read more in the site
This is such an informative post and it is thoroughly reassuring to see the responses regarding bhakti poet, Salabega. His ahe nila saila remains a personal favourite, a song that moves me deeply and I would be happy to discuss a research paper I wrote on his poetry for an MPhil course at DU. Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteI hv had the blessed fortune if watching Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra perform this - should I say RELIVE the bhakri - of this saint?NCPA Bombay 2006-7? Months before he passed? I wept at the end of this piece. He BECAME Salbeg. He EMBODIED bhakti. The dancer his subject the dance were one. Today is the anniversary of his passing. The Lord us fortunate to have Guruji in His abode!
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