Tropicana Magazine Mar-Apr 2018 #117: Edge Of Excitement
MARCH into April with the Edge of Excitement: Featuring the power couple of sustainability, legendary dancer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim, and the swanky bars of Singapore. Read it here now:
MARCH into April with the Edge of Excitement: Featuring the power couple of sustainability, legendary dancer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim, and the swanky bars of Singapore. Read it here now:
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THE GAME CHANGER<br />
It is close to midnight when the AirAsia<br />
flight lands at Biju Patnaik International<br />
Airport in Bhubaneswar, India. As the<br />
journalists and dancers stumble out<br />
groggy and with sleep in our eyes, Datuk<br />
Ramli Ibrahim is waiting to welcome us at<br />
the arrivals hall, the warmth of his megawatt<br />
smile warding off the cool of the winter<br />
night. He personally greets the journalists he<br />
knows while ensuring the ease of everyone<br />
else. As we ride the van to our hotel, he keeps<br />
up a lively chatter to revive flagging spirits.<br />
It is surprising, and not a little heartwarming,<br />
to have Datuk Ramli meet us<br />
personally. We are in Odisha as part of a<br />
special group by the Sutra Foundation –<br />
made up of parents, important guests and<br />
journalists – to attend the Konark Dance<br />
Festival where Datuk Ramli and his dancers<br />
were to perform ‘Ganjam’.<br />
This is only the second time Sutra has<br />
organised a cultural tour to India, and part<br />
of the charm is seeing Datuk Ramli’s Odisha,<br />
a place he has been coming to on-and-off for<br />
the past 40 years – first as a student, then as a<br />
performer, and now, a star. Despite his busy<br />
schedule, he would take time to join some of<br />
the excursions in the tour. With his quick<br />
intelligence, extensive knowledge, personal<br />
connections and flair for storytelling, Datuk<br />
Ramli is the perfect guide.<br />
Odisha, formerly known as Orissa, is<br />
an off-the-beaten-track eastern state on the<br />
Bay of Bengal in India. It was once the seat<br />
of the Kalinga kingdom with far-reaching<br />
influence all the way to Southeast Asia. The<br />
area was a confluence of Hindu, Buddhist<br />
and Jain heritage, and its current capital city,<br />
Bhubaneswar, is known as the Temple City<br />
– it boasted 7000 temples at its zenith; less<br />
than a tenth of that remain today. This rich<br />
heritage can be viewed at the Odisha State<br />
Museum, a quiet but interesting building<br />
with a rich collection of antiquities, some<br />
dating back to the 3rd century B.C. On our<br />
visit, Datuk Ramli is keen to point out his<br />
favourite statues holding Odissi poses while<br />
explaining their significance to his dancers.<br />
107 MARCH/APRIL <strong>2018</strong> | TM
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