EXPLORING ‘NRITYAGRAM’, THE DANCE VILLAGE
Nrityagram is a serene village with enormous peace and happiness. It is 20 km from Bangalore. Meeting classical dance enthusiasts and having a great Odia meal was a heck of happiness for me. We found Dahi-kanji the most amazing thing in the meal. After watching the documentary on the dance village, Nrityagram: For the love of dance, I knew my visit to ‘Nrityagram’ would be special.
So our visit to Nrityagram was as good as other visits? Or was it even better? Read on to know more…
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Before we go into details of Nrityagram, let us give a quick history lesson about it. Nrityagram was built in 1990 by a prominent Odissi dancer Protima Gauri. The word Nrityagram means ‘Dance Village’. It has a vernacular architecture, given shape by a well known Indian architect, Gerard da Cunha. The land for Nrityagram was given on lease by state government for 30 years and by 1990, the institution has taken root and has got an extension for another 30 years. Nrityagram is not very old but has a history of 28 years.
HOW TO REACH NRITYAGRAM?
Nrityagram is situated in a serene atmosphere of Hesaraghatta. It is 3 kms from Hesaraghatta bus stand. To reach Hesaraghatta, one can take metro to Dasarahalli and then take a bus. Take an auto from Hesaraghatta bus stand to Nrityagram as it is not connected through any other mode of transport. My bus to Hesaraghatta The auto ride from Hesaraghatta to Nrityagram is a peaceful experience which can not be missed as the beautiful roads and tempting winds can make your mood from any worse.
THE BEAUTY OF NRITYAGRAM
Nrityagram is an ostensible beauty and one can not afford to miss it. With beautiful motifs on walls, temple, amphitheatre, yoga centre, dance halls, cafe, gurukul, Dining hall and many more hits, Nrityagram is certainly a heck of beautiful destinations. Temple of dedication built in 1998. The temple in Nrityagram depicts the image of Kelucharan Mohapatra, guru of founder Protima Gauri.Temple is fashioned from the raw mud of Nrityagram and fired after it was built. It is decorated with panels depicting the dance motifs, elements and mudras. Inside is a flame that stays lit 24 hours. Students live in Nrityagram to learn odissi classical dance. Gurukul in Nrityagram can have upto 60 students at a time and is lavishly built. The dance classes going on were really eye catching and I tried to enter balkingly but strict rules brought me back to the beautiful Lynne’s Home cafe, where I had an amazing coffee and coconut cookies. Lynne’s cafe in Nrityagram Along with cafe that serves amazing food, Nrityagram also has beautiful Taj Kuteeram resort which serves some good food and provides a great stay.However, Taj Kuteeram is closed from last one year due to renovation and some other issues. Parents come with students to provide their children a beautiful classical dance platform and enjoy the beauty of Nrityagram which is also a detox in the busy life. Dining hall in Nrityagram provides a peaceful sojourn due to its beautiful architecture and serene atmosphere. I sat in the dining room for almost an hour and felt free from all burdens and experienced some real peace. Red marble is used to build the floor and the cottages are made up of mud and granite. Cottages in Nrityagram had a thatch roof in beginning which are replaced by fibreglass roof due to leakage issues.Guest cottages are surrounded with beautiful plants and birds chirping around Nrityagram gets electricity supply from Karnataka state electricity Board (BESCOM) and also has its own solar panels. Rainwater Harvesting is done by digging harvesting pits. Nrityagram has four rainwater harvesting pits and it also has Aaga, which is a pit constructed to store daily waste food and with cocopeat powder, this waste food turns into manure and used to enhance the beauty of Nrityagram by supporting the plants to grow.
MY STAY AT NRITYAGRAM
To put it simply, my stay at Nrityagram was hugely satisfying. It was almost everything I wanted and more. I stayed in a beautiful guest cottage having a scenic thatched roof. It gave an immense joy as I always wanted to live in such a place. My cottage with a thatched roof In order to stay, one has to seek permission from the officials and this has to be done before some weeks of the visit. Trust me, Nrityagram gave me one of the best experience I have ever had. The serenity, peace and joy in Nrityagram is something that will forever be a major attraction and probably anyone knowing this place would never resist coming to this place often.
MY TRAVEL COMPANIONS
Vasantha and her mother experiencing the serenity of Nrityagram Vasantha and her mother were my travel companions during my visit. I got stranded on the next day because I had no vehicle to go to the hesaraghatta bus stand and there was no facility of autos or cabs. But these amazing ladies helped me by calling the auto driver to Nrityagram and take me to the bus stand. It was their presence of mind that they took the phone number of the auto driver and later helped me. Vasantha, currently a bank manager is disabled but has a great spirit to help others and is also travel enthusiast. Her mother brought some amazing homemade banana chips which satisfied my hunger and that loving lady is also an amazing storyteller. Both the ladies were shy of getting clicked, so I took their photo while they were walking.
OFFBEAT DESTINATIONS CAN YOU BACK ON BEAT
Beautiful pathway indicators in Nrityagram Everyone gets bored from their mundane routine and mental detox becomes mandatory. So pack the bags and turn towards some offbeat destinations as they can be a real heck of happiness. Visit Nrityagram and experience the beauty of classical odissi dance. This dance village of 10 acres can really take you back on beat. It's a must visit offbeat destination.
