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Bhubaneswar: The two-day cultural event titled Parirambhanam nrutya organised by Upasana Pitha on the occasion of its 8th annual festival concluded at the Bhanja Kala Mandap, Thursday.
Minister of Women and Child Department Prafulla Samal was the guest on the occasion and inaugurated the event in presence of Odisha Natak Akademy secretary Bijay Kumar Jena, mardal player Dhaneswar Swain and Odissi dancer Nabakishore Mishra.
Soon after the inauguration, Ratnapadma Jangyaseni delivered a talk on Odissi dance. According to her, traditionally, Odissi belongs to the dance-drama genre of performing art wherein dancers accompanied by musicians play out fabulous stories, spread spiritual messages or enact devotional poems from Hindu texts. The dancers wear symbolic costumes and depict the themes through rhythmic body movements, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign languages) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature.
“Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of basic dance pattern called the Bhangas. It involves lower, mid and upper as three sources of perfecting expressions and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. An Odissi performance repertoire also includes prayer,” Jangyaseni explained.
A cultural evening followed wherein students of Nrutya Upasana Pitha presented Odissi dances. Tajaswee Patnaik performed on Kali Mangacharan (Tandab of Goddess Kali) and another dance drama Asto padi lalito labanga lata (life of Lord Krishna and Radha). The next performance was by Satavisha Das, who presented an Odissi dance Bada Stai as well as Odissi champu titled Kunjo Banjo.
An Odissi dance Pallivi and a dance drama based on the life of Lord Krishna, Mohan E deli chai, were presented by T Deepti.
The evening’s programme concluded with Rupali Pani’s dance item Avatar depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and an Odissi dance Kiya lo sajoni.