Bhubaneswar: The concluding day of dance festival ‘Nrutyambada’ saw performance by over 20 young artistes with offering prayer to Goddess Durga through their presentation Devi Stutee at Rabindra Mandap, here Sunday. The dancers described the fierce ‘avatar’ of the Goddess when she destroyed demons Shumbha and Nishumbha and punished demon Mahishasura with her shula (lance). They urged the Goddess to bless them and asked for ‘Siddhi.’ The dance was choreographed by Guru Kelu Charan Mahapatra.
The second day also witnessed number of classical, folk, palli nrutya and tribal dance performances by young dancers. It was mesmerizing to watch kids performing Palli Nrutya to the songs Chhota Mora Gaanti and Aama Gaan Mati.
The abhinaya piece Shreeta Kamala, adapted from Jayadeva’s ‘Gita Govinda’ was well received by the audience. The dance, choreographed by Guru Pabitra Kumar Pradhan, portrays Lord Vishnu’s deed in an invocation. Dancer Deepak said, “Here the devotees praise the works and beauty of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is adorned with sparkling earrings and garland of wild flowers. He resides in the heart of the devotees as a swan in the pond.” Ten artistes featured the dance.
Kanchi Abhijana, a dance drama depicting the story of Lord Jagannath, Gajapati Raja Purussottam Dev and Maanika, captivated the attention of the audience. The dance drama is the tale of protagonist Gajapati king Purushottam Deva who had gone to the Kanchi kingdom of Vijaynagar and fallen in love with Padmavathi, the Kanchi princess. The King of Kanchi refuses to marry his daughter to Purushottam as he sweeps the precinct of Lord Jagannath’ chariot during car festival.
The Kalingan army then sets forth to avenge this humiliation. The dance drama, choreographed by Guru Aruna Mohanty, was presented by 23 artistes. Music for the composition was rendered by Akshaya Mohanty. The twoday long dance fest, organised by Orissa Dance Academy, concluded Sunday.