Nageshwari started dancing too early when she was in Class III. Her elder sister Jyotirekha taught her steps for a folk number ‘Chaka Janha Kede Jhilimili’, which she danced in the school competition and got a prize. Then she performed in a public show in Balasore and there was no looking back.
Revealing about her strength in Odishi dance the youngster said, “I am proficient in ‘Lakhyasindura’, ‘Guru Brahma’, ‘Ganga Taranga’ of ‘Mangalacharana’, ‘Chhota sthayi and bada sthayi of sthayi, ‘Kalabati’, ‘Basanta’ and ‘Khirabani’ of ‘Pallavi’, ‘Jagabatara’, ‘Astasambhu’, ‘Shibastakam’, ‘Kede Chhatra’ and ‘Mana Uddharana’ of ‘Abhinaya’.” Mangalacharana, Sthayi, Pallavi, Abhinaya and Mokhya are the main phases of a complete Odishi recital.
We can see a number of dancer statues in the temple walls. Do these statues inspire an Odishi dancer? Nageswari replied, “We find ‘mardala’, ‘parswa mardala’, ‘alasa,’, ‘aaina’ and ‘abhimani’ type of female dancers in these statues. There is lot to learn from the positions of these statues.”
Nageshwari’s style of dance is called ‘TRIDHARA’. About the name she said, “since the style comprises of Odishi, Sambalpuri folk and tribal dance, it is called ‘Tridhara’. ‘Chaukapada’ is often used in this style.”
Does Odishi dance have any special and luring thing, which differentiates it from other classical dance? Nageshwari said, “You can find ‘tahia’, a fascinating head gear, only in Odishi. No other dance includes this. One can see tahia worn by Lord Jagannath in His head during the car festival.”
Nageshwari performed in a number of popular festivals including in - Khajuraho Dance Festival, Konark Dance Festival, Mukteswar Dance Festival, Puri beach festival, Baliyatra and Indian dance festival in Chennai. So far she has performed in front of dignitaries like Chief Minister Naveen Pattanik, Gajapati Maharaja Sri Divyasingh Dev, Governor of Orissa Sri Murlidhar Chandra Kant Bhandare, President of India Sri Pranab Mukherjee. She also assisted Guru Gajendra Panda in many national and international workshops. She also received the Balashree Scholarship from Govt. of India.
Asked to reveal the most interesting moment of her dancer life Nageshwari said, “In Tokyo, our group was going to perform in an open air auditorium when it started raining. We were planning to cancel the show when we saw that the audience is waiting for us drenched in water. Without delay we started dancing even if it was raining. It was a lifetime memoir for me.”
The dancer has also an embarrassing incident to her credit. She said, “I was performing in Malaysia when I found that my ‘Bengapatia’ (the gear worn on the waist) was unhooked. Within some seconds I came out of the stage, pinned it up and again I was in the performance. In this choreography I was not just a group dancer, but I was playing an important character and so could not be absent. Moved by my immediate action a woman presented me a garland of flowers. I don’t know the name of this flower but I was intimated that it was the most costly flower of their country and costs Rs. 2000/- in Indian Currency.”
Nageshwari’s top inspirer is legendary Odishi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi. None of her parents were dancers.
The other side of Nageshwari is that she also is a national level Kho-kho player. She represented her school nationally when she was in Class VIII. “I am also a social worker at mind. I love to help people. And I love chicken biriani and watered rice,” she added.
However, the young dancer is sad about the fact that Odishi is not appreciated that much in the state. She said, “While we get admiration oversees for our dance, people in the state seem hardly interested for it. I was dancing in Adivasi mela when I found that the audience started to quit the gallery. It really hurts.”
Nageshwari’s mantra is ‘Love dance and promote Odishi”.
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