Dhenkanal: Dhenkanal district is not only known as an industrial hub, but also it is famous for its variety of folk arts.
Gopal Laudi, Pala, Daskathia, Dhuduki, Danda, Paikaakhra, Ghumura, Ghantabadya, Mrudanga, Ghodanacha, Kandheinacha, Sankirtan, Khanjani and Tribal Dance are the 14 types of folk arts which have given the district an identity as a district of folk arts. Ghantabadya of Parjang, Tribal and Ghumura Dance of Kankadahada, Sadar and Gandia blocks and Danda Dance of Hindol, Gandia and Odapada have brought name and fame to the district.
At one point in time, these art forms were passing through a dark period. Owing to the ingress of western culture, more and more people were getting attracted to the modern entertainment forms such as cinema and TV leaving all the traditional art forms on the verge of dying. The artistes, who once ran their households through their performances, had begun switching over to other professions.
In 2011, these art forms and artistes got a new lease of life as district and block level art and culture associations were formed as directed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The then collector Rupa Roshan Sahu was the first one to take steps to organise the artistes in the year 2015-16. And in 2016, for the first time ‘Lokakala Mahotsav’ was organised and it was a huge success. And since then, three-day long ‘Lokakala Mahotsav’ is being organised at Mahishapat Mela Ground on the occasion of Laxmi Puja.
According to the information shared by the culture department, more than Rs 1 crore has been spent for keeping the folk arts and artistes alive between 2011 and 2019. More than 10,000 government awareness programmes have been organised involving the folk artistes and 50,000 or so artistes have been benefited directly or indirectly. As many as 1,178 artistes have been included under pension scheme.
Culture department has conferred the ‘ideal status’ on Dhenkanal for its role in preserving folk arts. Raynrusinghapur under Kamakhyanagar has the status of a ‘folk art village’. The district has been playing a vital role in spreading Odia folk art forms across the nation and that is why it has been felicitated three times in a row by the Chief Minister.
The art scholars in the district are of the opinion that more encouragement is required for the district’s folk culture to shine at global platforms.
PNN