Bhubaneswar: After a captivating Odissi dance recital by Rajashri Praharaj and a spectacular musical treat by Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh on the Veena and R. Kumaresh on the Violin on the inaugural evening of the 24th OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival 2018, day two witnessed yet another beautiful blend of dance and music, with a vocal recital by Partha Sarathi Panigrahi and a Kuchipudi duet by Vyjayanthi and Prateeksha Kashi.
In the presence of distinguished guests, Dr. S. K. Tamotia, Vice Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Shri A K Talukdar, Vice President, Crown Hotel and Sri Lalatendu Mohanty, Priyadarshini Handloom, the evening commenced with a vocal rendition of the Geeta Govinda by Partha Sarathi ‘Baboo’ Panigrahi, son of the legendary duo of Odissi, late Smt. Sanjukta and Suramani Pt. Raghunath Panigrahi. With a deep soulful voice like his father, Pt. Raghunath Panigrahi, Baboo enthralled the audience with Srita Kamala, Mamiyam Chalita Vilokya and Dheera Samire, Ashtapadis from the Geeta Govinda. He also sang Jaya Durge in praise of the power and grandeur of Goddess Durga with great poise and feeling. Baboo was ably accompanied by Bibhu Prasad Tripathy on the Keyboard, Dushmant Parida on Percussion and Rabi Narayan Barik on the Cymbals. A true son of his father, it was a great sight to glimpses of the great maestro Raghunathji in Baboo, who is ably carrying forward the rich musical legacy that he has been entrusted with.
The second programme of the evening was a Kuchipudi duet by the highly reputed mother-daughter duo of Vyjayanthi Kashi and Prateeksha Kashi from Bangalore. Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi’s concept and choreography of Antaranga-taranga was presented skillfully with a blend of both elegance and great energy, with dialogues that heightened the dramatic effect. The entire production was a depiction of variations of the Vatsalya Rasa. The first item portrayed the Vatsalya Rasa between God and devotee through the story of Narasimha and Prahlad. Taken from the Krishna Leela Tarangini by Sri Narayana Teertha, this piece highlighted the theatrical aspects of Kuchipudi with a seamless blend of Nritya, Nritta and Natya in the depiction of the Rasa between Narayana (Narasimha) and his devotee Prahlad through different experiences in his life. The second piece, Jagadoddharana is a popular composition portraying the Vatsalya Rasa between mother and son. Although Yashoda is not the actual mother of Krishna, her unconditional motherly love for him was brought out beautifully by Vyjayanthi Kashi.
In their final presentation, Bhumi Sita, specially choreographed for the Award Festival, they showed the Vatsalya Rasa between mother and daughter, narrating the feelings of Bhumi towards her daughter through the various phases of her life, her marriage to Lord Ram and especially during her final wish to return to the womb of her mother. Accompanied by a flawless live orchestra with Aishwariya Nityananda and Akhila Pajimanu on the Vocals, Shashishankara Bhadrachar on the Mridangam, Jayaram KS on the Flute, Vishwanath NV on the Violin, Anil Iyer on the Natuvangam and Naveen MG on the lights, the experience of Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi and the energy of Prateeksha made Antaranga-taranga an aesthetic delight for the audience and a befitting conclusion to the second evening of the Award Festival.
Srjan, the organizers of the festival are proud to present artistes of such high calibre year–after-year and the next three days of the festival have performances by AGAM, the Bangalore-based Carnatic Music Progressive Rock Band, Kathak Maestro Pt. Rajendra Gangani, immensely talented Violinist Ambi Subramaniam, and Srjan’s very own Odissi dance ensemble.
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