BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Tourism marked the opening month of the year with the Mukteswar Dance Festival set against the iconic temple. The concluding day of the programme was marked by brilliant solo and duet Odissi performances here Wednesday.
The day was kick started by a chorus ‘Shiva vandana’ performance by artistes of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya. This was followed by a solo Odissi performance of Janhabi Behera from Bhubaneswar. A duet performance of Tapan Kumar Sahu & Bidya Biswajita, Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar enthralled the audience. Group Odissi by Meera Das & Group (Gunjan Dance Academy), Cuttack was the concluding performance of the evening.
Inaugurated on January 14, all programmes of the festival were telecasted live on DD. The festival was declared open with Odisha Tourism’s Commissioner-cum-secretary Vishal Kumar Dev lighting the lamp on the inaugural day. The venue was a marvel to look at with trees adorned with Pipli’s lantern.
On the first day, the inaugural act was the chorus Shiva Vandana performed by GKCM ORC from Bhubaneswar followed by the solo Odissi performance by Surupa Sen from Bangalore.
Both the acts enthralled the packed audience which consisted of both national and foreign nationals. The art and music connoisseurs who congregated at the event were mesmerised by the flawless display of music and dance.
The utter naturalness of the Odissi duet performance by dancers Rajiv Bhattacharya and Subikash Mukherjee from Kolkata was a feast to the eyes as the pair came repeatedly rushing forward to the edge of the stage and enacted scenes from the Mahabharata.
In the end, the Odissi group performance by Pravat Kumar Swain and group (Nrutya Naibedya) demonstrated graceful synergy in the dance movements and a remarkable lightness of execution.
A visitor Ramkrishna Panda said, “I was not that interested in Odissi earlier. My father brought me along with him to the festival for the first time today. The gracefulness and artistic finesse of the performers has truly enthralled me. I look forward to come here in the future as well.
Organised by the Department of Tourism in association with Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy and Odisha Tourism Development Corporation, the Mukteswar Dance Festival witnessed more visitors on the second day.
The evening’s programme was started after lighting the lamp by Vishal Kumar Dev, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism; Utpal Kumar Pati, Joint Director, Tourism, Ratikanta Mohapatra, Director, Srjan and Bijay Kumar Jena, Secretary, Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy.
The programme started with Shiva Vandana by Rupak Kumar Parida along with his group invoking the blessing of Lord Shiva ‘Shivanamabalyashtakam’. A solo dance was performed by Lingaraj Pradhan. His first item was ‘Pallavi’ Raga-Ananda Vairabi followed by ‘Sri Rudrashtakam’.
Interacting with Orissa Post, Parida said, “Shiva is the ultimate form of glory and devotion. He is the destroyer as well as creator of all beings. Through Shivanamabalyashtakam, one can gain his blessings, which would enable one to overcome personal difficulties in life.”
The second item was duet performed by Lipsa Satpathy and Y. Asha Kumari, New Delhi who presented Pallavi Rag-Debagandhari and Tal-Jati followed by Abhinaya ‘Nabarasa’. The concluding item was group performance presented by Gurukul, Sutapa Talukdar and Group. The group started with Gajanan Bandana followed by Pallavi. Their next presentation was Abhinaya ‘Nari’ and last item was ‘Basanta’. The programme was anchored by Srinivas Ghatuari and Anuja Tarini Mishra.
Talukdar said, “It’s a divine feeling to dance amidst the colourful surrounding of Mukteswar Temple. This temple adds charm and a mystic element to our performance. I have performed all over the world. However, performing ahere amidst a spiritual environment gives me goosebumps.”
A dance connoisseur Mamta Padhi said, “I am a regular visitor of Mukteswar dance festival. All I can feel and see here is unadulterated devotion which I amplified by the performances of such stalwarts of the classical dance form.”