A Mahari's Prayer
A Mirror to her soul
Synopsis
Set in 16th century Puri within the sacred precincts of the Jagannath Temple, A Mahari’s Prayer follows Aabharana, a Mahari dedicated to Lord Jagannath, whose dance is both offering and identity. Raised within a lineage of temple service, she understands her life as sacred inheritance — her body, art, and breath consecrated to the divine. Yet when an unexpected human connection draws her beyond the ritual boundaries of the temple, she is confronted with a question that unsettles the very foundation of who she is: can devotion and desire coexist, or must one eclipse the other? As affection, memory, duty, and longing begin to blur, Aabharana must look inward to discern whether love is a liberation from destiny — or the very force that reveals its truth.
Research
This piece was developed as part of the Yaathra series .Ghirija Jayarraj’s research for A Mahari’s Prayer emerges from both lived experience and sustained artistic inquiry. Her travels to Odisha included conversations with local artists and practitioners, through which she encountered oral histories and layered perspectives on the Mahari tradition. Having undergone training in Odissi herself, she was deeply influenced by the teachings and shared narratives of her guru, Monica Singh Sangwan.
Elements within the narrative are informed by details explored in Monica Singh Sangwan’s article, History and ritualistic significance of Odissi dance today, particularly its discussion of ritual practice, temple traditions, and the historical positioning of the Mahari.
The imagined world of A Mahari’s Prayer was further shaped through research into writings such as MAHARI and A Systematic Analysis of Odissi Dance by Rahul Acharya. These texts provided historical and structural insight into the Mahari system, temple hierarchies, and the socio-ritual framework within which Odissi evolved, informing the philosophical and cultural foundations of the work.
 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |