Tropicana Magazine Mar-Apr 2018 #117: Edge Of Excitement

THE GAME CHANGER
“Datuk Ramli and his dancers
put on an exceptional show,
a sensorial feast against the
backdrop of the 13th century
Sun Temple…”
“ Odissi has become synonymous with me and
the foundation because we have transformed a dance
that was not known to one that is. Sutra is not a fringe
company. It is a mainstream company that is able to
conduct performances for a week. We were the first to
do so when it was unheard of,” he says.
His fame is not only confined to Malaysia. Sutra
has performed in over 150 cities worldwide, including
Carnegie Hall in New York City. In India, where it
all began, he is a celebrated guest. In 2011, he was
awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for his
contributions to Odissi, a prestigious honour in the
arts that he shares with gurus such as Kelucharan
Mohapatra and Debaprasad Das. [We are thrilled to
find out that after this story was written, Datuk Ramli
had received the Padma Shri award in January 2018,
one of the highest awards in India.]
When Datuk Ramli Ibrahim performs in India, it
makes the news. Stories of his troupe performing and
of his Malaysian guests are in The Hindu. The Konark
festival billboards, which features Datuk Ramli, are
plastered all over the city. “ It’s a bit of an overkill,” he
had modestly said to the Director of Odisha Tourism,
who replied, “ But you rise to the occasion.”
Sure enough, Datuk Ramli and his dancers put on an
exceptional show, a sensorial feast against the backdrop of
the 13th century Sun Temple, famous for sculptures frozen
in Odissi poses (as well as ones of a more erotic nature). The
production, ‘Ganjam’, which first premiered at Istana Budaya
in 2015, is Sutra’s final collaboration with Dr Dinanath
Pathy, who passed away in 2016. Datuk Ramli has known and
collaborated with the Odisha artist and art historian for over
20 years, and it felt like a fitting tribute to perform the work
in this hallowed space. The video of the performance, posted
up on the Odisha Tourism’s Facebook page, had the highest
number of views of the entire festival.
After the show, the group has a late dinner at the outof-the-way
Lotus Resort, an eco-resort in Puri by the Bay of
Bengal. It has been a full day, followed by the emotional rush
of the evening’s event, and everyone is visibly tired, including
Datuk Ramli. Even so, he sits, ramrod straight, in the bus
with the rest of us for the hour-and-a-half journey back to our
hotel in Bhubaneswar. Tomorrow is another full day for him
– including site visits, a talk and an interview – before he joins
the rest of the group for Bollywood night. The razzmatazz
of Bollywood is not for him, but he knows it is good for his
dancers’ morale to have a bit of fun.
Perhaps the constant go-go-go is taking a toll because
Datuk Ramli says he hopes to take some time off soon.
“ I hope to fall back a little bit next year, to rest so as to
rejuvenate. I want to take a sabbatical. I feel I would function
much better if I take some time out to reflect.” From India
to Malaysia and all over the world, Datuk Ramli Ibrahim has
long carried out the Herculean task of championing Odissi –
so yes, he deserves a break.
111 MARCH/APRIL 2018 | TM