Library program displays Indian rituals

Traditional dancers of India invited the patrons of the East Meadow Library into a cultural festival during an event called Indian Celebration on March 25. Mala Desai, a master teacher of the classic dance Odissi, led the event with Sejal Kukadia, a tabla player and instructor, and Meena Mani, a teacher and choir director.

Odissi is the classical dance form of the Eastern Indian state of Orissa. The sculpturesque and frieze dance poses are found in the temples of Orissa and date back to the second century B.C. Odissi movements are characterized by the "S" shape the body makes in a tribhanga pose. The dance is accompanied by a North Indian style of music, punctuated by the folk-like rhythms of a two-headed drum known as a pakhawaj.

In the 20th century, especially after independence, there began a great interest in the revival of this classical dance and, as a result, Odissi has been exposed to all of India, as well as internationally. It is known for its gracefulness and lyrical beauty.

Mala Desai is a master teacher and practitioner of the Odissi. She was born in New Delhi and spent most of her life there, but her family traveled a lot because her father worked for the Indian railway. Desai started dancing at three in the “Kathak” style, a common form found in the region of Banaras. She said that the first dance she learned was a prayer to Lord Ganesh.

In 1992, Desai moved to Queens, New York, and her first public performance was at Queens Borough Hall in 1993. She began teaching students in her home and, in 1997, while pursuing a professional career in social work, she also registered the first School of Odissi Dance in New York. In 2005, Mala joined the dance faculty at the Young Indian Culture Group to teach at their weekend school in Herricks.

-Brian Stieglitz